There is a sense in which the first three beatitudes are about humility. 

• Poverty in spirit is humility toward God. 
• Mourning is humility toward self. 
• Meekness is humility toward others. 

These opening beatitudes present the foundational aspects of the humility that characterize the blessed. Yet these beatitudes build on one another. To be poor in spirit is to mourn. To mourn is to be meek. These beatitudes also build on one another in the opposite direction. Meekness comes naturally to those who are poor in spirit and mourn their sin. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The man who is truly meek is the man who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.”

The first two beatitudes promote negative virtues. Poverty of spirit acknowledges one’s spiritual bankruptcy. The poor in spirit mourn the sinfulness of their sin. Matthew 5:5 is the first positive statement Jesus makes about the life God blesses. It is one of the most important statements of Jesus. It is the way of the kingdom of heaven. It is the difference between godliness and worldliness. The world blesses the mighty, macho, and militant. God blesses the meek. The virtue of meekness is essential to Christianity. 

You must be meek to be saved. James 1:21 says, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The word of God is planted seed. It contains power to save souls. But it must be received with meekness to produce life. Without meekness, the hardhearted sinner will not accept what the Bible says about his sinful ways and Christ’s saving work. It takes meekness to accept the handout of God’s sparing mercy and amazing grace in Christ. 

You must be meek to be like Christ. Matthew 11:29 says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is the only verse where Jesus describes the character condition of his heart. The heart of Jesus is “gentle and lowly.” Jesus describes himself this way to invite would-be disciples to come to him, put on his yoke, and learn from him. The high and mighty do not learn their prideful ways from Jesus. Christlikeness is gentle and lowly. 

You must be meek to witness effectively. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” To witness for Christ is to get the gospel right and get the gospel out. Effective witnessing involves our manner as well as our message. The gospel is offensive to the sinner. Our proclamation of it should not be. Proclaim Jesus with gentleness and respect. 

Sinclair Ferguson wrote: “There is probably no more beautiful quality in a Christian than meekness. It enhances manliness; it adorns femininity. It is a jewel polished by grace. But it is all too rare.” The world does not recognize, respect, or reward meekness. God blesses the meek. Jesus says to the meek, “Congratulations! You’re already blessed.” What does it mean to be meek? Here are four marks of the mighty meek. 

Meekness Reveals Strength.

Galatians 5:23 lists meekness as the fruit of the Spirit. Meekness is not a personality type, natural characteristic, or human achievement. Meekness is the work of the Spirit to make us like Christ. Yet we often do not pursue, practice, and prize meekness. When was the last time you prayed for meekness? In this regard, the church is no different than the world. We would not consider it a compliment to be called a meek person. Jesus calls the meek blessed.   

What is meekness? Look up a definition of meekness in a dictionary or a synonym in a thesaurus, and you will find the picture of a weak-willed person. That is not how the Bible views meekness. D.A. Carson wrote: “A meek person is not necessarily indecisive or timid. He is not so unsure of himself that he could be pushed over by a hard slap from a wet noodle. Still less is meekness to be confused with mere affability. Some people are just naturally nice and easy-going; but then again, so are some dogs. Meekness goes much deeper.”

The Greek word translated “meek” referred to soothing medicine, a gentle breeze, or a tamed horse. Drugs, winds, and colts are destructive or beneficial, depending on whether their strength is under control. Prescribed medicine can ease pain, cure sickness, and restore health. Drug abuse ruins lives. A gentle breeze brings relief in the scorching heat. Harnessed winds produce energy. Hurricane winds destroy cities. An undisciplined horse is threatened by and a threat to anyone who approaches it. A tame or trained horse is the most useful of animals.

Southern horse breeders say, “The meekest horse wins the race.” Champion horses are not weak, timid, or fearful. They are strong but submissive to the one who holds the reins. When I was a boy preacher, my father asked the church to pray that he would discipline my gifts without breaking my spirit. This is the heavenly father’s will and work for all his children. 

Proverbs 16:32 says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” A person who can control himself is better than a person who can conquer cities. Proverbs 25:28 says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” In the ancient world, strong cities had fortified walls. A city without walls was vulnerable, defenseless, and unimportant. Meekness is not weakness. 

• It is power under control. 
• It is disciplined strength. 
• It is submission to divine authority. 

Meekness is more than self-control. It is God-control. It is self-control rooted in confidence that God is in control.  

Meekness Requires Trust.

Matthew 5:5 borrows language from Psalm 37:10-11: “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” This psalm of David is key to understanding what it means for the meek to be blessed. The theme of the psalm is stated upfront. Psalm 37:1-2 says, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers. For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” Evildoers oppose God’s way, will, and word. Their wrongdoing may work for a while. But the people of God are not to lose heart over the prosperity of the wicked. They will soon be mowed down as grass in the field. This is easier to amen than it is to apply. 

• It is not easy to sit still while wrongdoers do their thing. 
• It is not easy to be patient in the face of mistreatment. 
• It is not easy to refuse to stand up for yourself. 
• It is not easy not to take matters into your own hands. 
• It is not easy to respond to malice with meekness. 

How do you practice meekness when everything in you screams, “Don’t just stand there. Do something!” Psalm 37:3-4 answers: Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Here is the challenge of meekness: Do you trust in the Lord? It is not about how you are treated. It is about how you trust. 

The meek are strong enough to give up control of their lives. It does not mean their lives are controlled by luck, fate, chance, happenstance, or accident. It does not mean their lives are in the control of mean, bitter, or ungodly people. It does not mean their lives are in the control of Satan and his demonic cohorts. The meek give up control because they believe that God is in control. 

After the American missionary Adoniram Judson began his ministry in Burma, he was caught by natives, strung up by his thumbs, and flung into a filthy prison. When asked, “Now what of your plans to win the heathen to Christ?” Judson calmly replied, “My future is as bright as the promises of God.” 

Would-be leaders in Corinth claimed Paul was not a godly man or spiritual leader. 2 Corinthians 10:1 responds, “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” Paul was a man with many faults. But he refuted their claim that he was not a man of God. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” To be meek does not mean you do not fight. It means you do not fight with carnal weapons. You cannot win spiritual battles with worldly weapons. You win spiritual battles with the weapons of the Lord. The weapons you choose prove where your trust lies. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Meekness Reflects Gentleness.

• Poverty of spirit and mourning are about you and God. 
• Meekness is about you, God, and others. 

Meekness is a proper attitude toward God reflected in a proper attitude toward people. The Greek word for meekness has been called untranslatable. Like art, it is hard to define. But you recognize it when you see it. The best synonym for meekness is gentleness, which is to treat others with care, concern, and compassion. Meekness responds with gentleness when others treat you unfairly or unjustly. The deacons would pray, “Lord, teach us to give up the right for our fellow man’s wrong.” They were praying for meekness. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “Meekness does not show itself when you are wrong, but when you are right.”

The Old Testament is filled with examples that godliness is meekness. 

Abraham became a wealthy man as he walked with God. His nephew Lot, who left home with him, also became wealthy. Their respective herds became too large to share the land. Abraham ended the dispute by proposing they separate. He permitted Lot to choose whatever land he wanted first. He would take what was left. Abraham was the blessed patriarch. Lot was the uninvited tagalong. Yet Abraham let his worldly-minded nephew take advantage of him to keep the peace.

Joseph was hated by his brothers because their father gave him a multicolored coat, and God gave him a dream. His brothers sold him into slavery and said an animal killed him. The Lord was with Joseph and made him prime minister of Egypt. During a famine, his brothers came to him for food. After their father died, Joseph’s brothers feared Joseph would get even with them. Genesis 50:19-21 says, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.”

David was a man after God’s own heart. David’s son Absalom conspired against him and launched a civil war. As David fled Jerusalem, one of Saul’s family members named Shimei cursed him continually, calling David a bloody and worthless man. In 2 Samuel 16:9, Abishai responded, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” David told his servants to leave Shimei alone. He only succeeded because God allowed it. The Lord repaid David with good for enduring it. 

Numbers 12:3 says, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” After his wife Zipporah died, Moses married a Cushite from Northern Africa. Aaron and Miriam took issue with his interracial marriage. “Has the Lord indeed only spoken through Moses?” they asked. “Has he not spoken through us also?” The Lord summoned the three of them outside the camp. He made it clear that Moses was his chosen leader, not them. The Lord struck Miriam with leprosy. She became as white as snow. In meekness, Moses pleaded with the Lord to heal her. 

There are many Old Testament examples of meekness. Jesus is the New Testament example of meekness. Matthew 11:29 describes Jesus as “gentle and lowly in heart.” When Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter cut off a soldier’s ear. Jesus made it clear he could call down legions of angels from the Father to stop his arrest. Luke 23:34 Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Meekness triumphed at the cross. 

1 Peter 2:23-25 says, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Meekness Receives Blessings.

 It is hard for us to swallow that the meek are blessed. The reason the meek are blessed is harder to swallow: “for they shall inherit the earth.” This is the nature of salvation. The meek inherit the earth. They do not work, strive, or fight for it. The blessing of God is a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the righteous.

“Inherit” reminds us that being right with God is about relationship, not rules, rituals, and religion. Inheritance is the allotment of the estate a father bestows upon his children. To inherit anything from the heavenly Father is to be born again and adopted in Christ. To receive an inheritance assumes someone has died. We receive an inheritance by the death of the Savior. Ephesians 1:11 says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” We also receive an inheritance by death to self. Galatians 6:14 says, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” Rudolph Stier said it well: “Self-renunciation is the way to world-dominion.”

Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is a present assurance of a future inheritance. Christians go to heaven after they die. But the kingdom of heaven is theirs here and now. Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” This is a future inheritance of a present reality. If Jesus said, “They shall inherit heaven,” it would only restate the first beatitude. Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth. 

Matthew Henry commented: “It is almost the only expressly temporal promise in all the New Testament.” Psalm 37:11 says, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” David was talking about land on Earth. Do not spiritualize the language of Jesus to mean something else. The meek shall inherit the earth. The original is emphatic: “They, and only they, shall inherit the earth.”

• The meek may not inherit the right the right-of-way if they do not assert themselves. 
• The meek may not inherit a meal at dinner if they do not make their plate before others. 
• The meek may not inherit a promotion on the job if they do not outdo their coworkers. 

But the meek shall inherit the earth. Evolution teaches the survival of the fittest. Christianity teaches the survival of the meekest. Jesus will come again, accompanied by his holy angels. Jesus will also come again, accompanied by his holy people. And the meek shall inherit the earth. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 says, “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present of the future – all yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

One day, Napoleon’s prized steed ran away. A private jumped on a horse and chased it down. When the private returned the horse, Napoleon smiled and said, “Thank you, captain.” The overjoyed private immediately took his old uniform to the quartermaster and exchanged it for a captain’s uniform. He then ran to the barracks, packed his bags, and moved into the officer’s quarters. In an instant, the commander-in-chief changed his status from a lowly private to a commissioned officer. He simply acted on the word of the commander. Whose report will you believe?