eministry

Blessed are the Meek

Consequences inevitably flow from every worldview, and few worldviews have had an influence as negative as the nihilism found in Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought. His concept of the Übermensch, the superman who creates his own values and lives by his own rules in the exercise of his “will to power,” was a driving force behind Nazism’s rise in Germany and the attempted eradication of “unfit” individuals in Adolf Hitler’s concentration camps. Even today, postmodernism’s tendency to see everything as driven by a desire for power reflects Nietzsche’s shadow.

Nietzsche was especially critical of Christianity because he believed that it inhibits the emergence of the Übermensch and prevents the full evolution of humanity. He saw Christ’s emphasis on meekness as crippling to the human heart and mind. Yet, if we are not careful, we can adopt a similar understanding. In fact, many of us are likely to see meekness as weakness, as a quality that produces men and women who have no backbone and courage. This represents a false view of meekness, however, for the two individuals most associated with meekness in Scripture were anything but weak or cowardly. We are referring, of course, to Moses and Jesus, both of whom are called meek but whose strength of leadership and courage are plainly evident in the Bible (Num. 12:3; 16; Matt. 11:29; 21:12–17, KJV).

Actually, the concept of meekness has no meaning unless we remember that it takes strength to display meekness and humility. The cowardly, insecure person is not really meek if he defers to others or is consistently self-deprecating, for it is in his nature to avoid conflict and remain a background player. On the other hand, the more power and courage that one has, the greater the need for that person to temper these qualities with grace and humility. We see this par excellence in the Son of God, who, though being in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be grasped for His own advantage at the expense of others. Instead, He walked the earth with meekness, exercising His power with sensitivity (Phil 2:5–11). Thus, He was invested with all authority on heaven and earth, an authority by which He promises that His meek followers will likewise inherit the earth and reign with Him over creation (Matt. 5:5; 28:18; 2 Tim. 2:12).

Understanding that Christ begins the Beatitudes with a promise that the kingdom of heaven belongs only to those who recognize their poverty of spirit and thus repent and believe the gospel (Matt. 5:3) helps us avoid a fundamental error often made regarding the teaching of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is wellknown outside the church, and the Beatitudes are often embraced as promises of God to all people, regardless of their religious convictions. But if the blessing of the kingdom of heaven belongs only to those who repent and trust Jesus, the Beatitudes are not promises for everyone. They are promises for Christians, for those who daily take up their crosses and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).

It is particularly important to remember this when we consider the second beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). Reading this, we might immediately think it refers to God comforting us when we mourn a loved one’s death. Of course, as believers we do experience God’s consolation in times of loss, but this is just one way the promise of the second beatitude is fulfilled. There are other reasons that the Lord’s people mourn in Scripture, and His promise to comfort our mourning applies to these situations as well.

First, we may experience the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit and mourn for our sin and its offense against our holy Creator. We see biblical examples of this in David’s repentance for his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:1–23; Ps. 51) and the response of the Jewish pilgrims to Peter’s Pentecost sermon, when they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:1–41). This experience of mourning over sin is part of what it means to be “poor in Spirit,” tying the second beatitude nicely to the first one.

We may also mourn in the midst of suffering for the kingdom. Although we have a certain kind of joy in such trouble, Scripture is honest that this pain is real. Jeremiah mourned over the prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous remnant of Israel (Jer. 12:1–4). Even Jesus was a “man of sorrows” who mourned the wickedness of the Israelites and suffered for His people (Isa. 53; Luke 13:34–35; 22:39–46). God’s comfort of His mourning people means that those who suffer for righteousness’ sake will receive an eternal reward (Matt. 5:12).