Blessed Are the Meek

Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth."

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Our Father is to get the glory for the way His disciples live. And so in our meekness we must glorify God. But how is that possible? How does meekness – becoming and being meek – glorify God?

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:3-4

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.”

Our sinful nature naturally causes us to be proud. We want to feel that we are not cripples. We wish to find joy and fulfillment of life through self-reliance, self-confidence, self-determination, and self-esteem. We don’t want to be dependent on another being for anything. We want to be self-reliant.

But Christ, in His Beatitudes, said,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

What does this ‘poor in spirit’ mean?

The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This meditation starts a series on the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12.

Love Your Neighbour

Matthew 22:34-40

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

These commands are radical. The essence of sin is pursuing happiness without God and without the happiness of others in God. In other words, sin is not depending on God for our happiness and not caring for the godly happiness of others. That is why these two commandments are the greatest.

Why Meditate?

Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
(Psalm 119:97)

Here are 10 reasons to read and meditate on God's Word.

Meditate on These Things

"I will meditate on Your precepts” (Psalm 119:15a)

There are a multitude of Biblical passages that promise that God will be with us and not forsake us in anything in this life. The Father said, through the prophet Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Jesus Himself said, in Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. 
We are also promised that the Holy Spirit will be with us: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18).

See also Matthew 18:20, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Hebrews 13:5-6, and Revelation 3:20.

However, God does not only have communion with us, but it follows that we should have communion with Him. This is the foundation for meditation. Christian meditation is communion with God through His Word. This communion is invaluable. It is delightful. It is imperative. Why?