Sermon: Sunday, 14th September, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:5-6
The beatitudes are a portrait of the kind of people Jesus wants his disciples to be. We are those who are poor in spirit, understanding that spiritually speaking we are beggars. This leads us to mourning over our sin. We have true sorrow before God for our wrong thoughts, words and actions knowing that it is God’s rules we have broken, and it is God we have let down. Not everyone values being poor in spirit and mourning our sin before God, but Jesus does, and we are called to be his disciples. The first two beatitudes are both connected to humility. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought but are to have a realistic and sober view of ourselves. This humility helps us to relate both to God and to others in the right way. Proud people might easily feel they do not need God and might look down on others because they have an inflated view of themselves. These first two beatitudes, then, are foundational. It is likely this is why they come first in the list.
Have you been thinking and praying about these virtues since last Sunday? Do you want a heart that is poor in spirit and mourns over the gulf between God’s character and ours? The truth is, the eight virtues listed in the beatitudes are greatly valued by Jesus but perhaps we have not valued them as we should have. The next two virtues are also undervalued in our culture – meekness and longing to grow in righteousness.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.’ (Matthew 5:5)
Meek people are sometimes thought of as unassertive and easily dominated. To use an animal metaphor, it is someone who is spineless like a jellyfish. But that is not what meekness is. Meekness is very different to weakness. Meekness is very different from being spineless and timid. Actually, meekness is a virtue whose beauty we urgently need to rediscover.
What is a good definition of meekness?
John Stott: ‘Gentle, humble, considerate, courteous and therefore exercising self-control without which these qualities would be impossible.’
I think it’s good to think of meekness as humility towards God and gentleness towards other people. To use a much better animal metaphor, meekness is like a horse which has been tamed and whose power and strength are under control. In other words, it is a horse which answers to the reins. A wild horse has great strength, but it is no use to us as it kicks and bucks and is actually something dangerous. Think of a domesticated horse. Is it weak? Absolutely not! But its strength is now directed in the right way. This is meekness – strength under control.
Let’s break this picture down. Meek people are humble towards God. This is seen in how we respond to God’s Word, the Bible. ‘…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.’ (James 1:1) The word for meekness is here translated ‘humbly’. Humble and meek people are happy to give God his rightful place. If God says something which we don’t understand or struggle with, the humble conclude that God knows best, and it must be our own lack of understanding that gives rise to the problem. God is all-wise and all-knowing and can be trusted. It is we who are so limited. When we hear a sermon in church, and get into the car afterwards to drive home, the meek person is not evaluating how the preacher got on: ‘He was good today or bad today’. Nor are they judging others in the light of the sermon. Instead, he or she is keen to see how what was taught can be put into practice in their own lives, at home and at work. We are to meekly receive God’s word.
The meek also humbly accept the providence of God. Things happen in our lives which might bring us great pain and confusion and hurt. But even in that, we recognise that God has a reason for it, even when we have no idea what that reason is.
Jerry Bridges: ‘God does as he wills and we can do nothing except what he wills. This would be terrifying if that were all we knew about God. But God is not only sovereign; he is perfect in his unfailing love and infinite in his wisdom, which is far beyond our ability to understand.’
As well as being humble towards God, the meek are gentle towards other people. Gentleness is a massively underrated quality. Were I to go back in time to my early 20s, I wish I had understood the value of gentleness.
‘Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.’ (Numbers 12:3)
‘Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.’ (Matthew 11:28-29) If you want to be like Moses or like Jesus, you need to be gentle. Jesus is the quintessential human being. And he is gentle. We need to be gentle.
Sometimes we have this idea of manliness that we need to be pushy and assertive in order to be men. What garbage. True men are gentle. And true women are also gentle. Husbands who follow Jesus properly need to display gentleness and when we don’t we need to repent. Parents need to parent with gentleness, even if we weren’t parented that way. We need to be gentle with our friends and colleagues, even if they mistreat us. The gentle person does not retaliate or give people the cold shoulder. They don’t wallow in self-pity or burn with resentment. They don’t cut people off when they are not treated in the way they want to be. That’s not the way of Jesus.
Blessed are the meek. Terry Johnson helpfully outlines the way in which the first 3 beatitudes connect together:
‘Those who are poor in spirit not only mourn their sins in relation to God but are so humiliated by their corruption and worldliness that they are gentle and humble in relation to others, particularly the weakness of others… because they know their own profound flaws, they are tender in dealing with the flaws of others.’
How do you respond to the weakness of others? When we ourselves make significant mistakes in life and are treated with gentleness it is healing and precious.
How should we behave as we pastor one another in the church? We should not ignore one another’s wrongs. Sometimes we need to speak to others about concerns. ‘Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.’ (Galatians 6:1) When we speak to unbelievers about Jesus, what should be our tone? ‘…in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.’ (1 Peter 3:15)
This sermon could make little or no difference to your life or it could make a huge difference. Let’s be positive. How could it make a huge difference? We need to realise that this meekness, connected to humility before God and gentleness towards others, is something supernatural. Gentleness is one of the fruit of the Spirit. The word used in Galatians 5:23 is this same word – meekness. We need to ask the Spirit to give us meekness. Will you ask? I am not a naturally meek person. I’ve made a hash of this. But as the years have rolled on, it has been my heart-felt prayer to be meek.
Listen to the promise which Jesus gives. We might think that the meek will be trampled all over by others and miss out in life. Jesus says they will inherit the earth. The tv series called ‘The Apprentice’ has been running for 20 years. Contestants compete for a cash prize and to work with Allan Sugar. Many watch as they are fascinated about how horrible and cut-throat people can be to get ahead and win the prize. In that world of business, the meek seem to inherit nothing. But in the long-run, with eternity in mind, the meek will not lose out. ‘But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.’ (Psalm 37:11) This land is the land of Heaven. Even in this life, the meek will be more contented than the pushy and domineering. And in the life to come, things will not be as they appear now. The meek and not the proud and pushy will inherit the Kingdom of God. A great reversal will take place. The meek shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5-6)
Those keen to grow in righteousness are sometimes thought of as narrow-minded, ‘holier than thou’ and legalistic. This is wrong. Rather, this hunger is the intense desire we have to both know God and to be like God.
Few of us have ever been truly thirsty or starving for food. But we understand what Jesus is conveying.
‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ (Matthew 6:33)
‘As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.’ (Psalm 42:1)
I know from my dogs that if they go out on a long walk and there is no water, the first thing they do when they come in is have a big drink. We thirst to have a positive relationship with God through the Word and prayer and to be like him. This is a desire for holiness.
Terry Johnson describes this kind of person:
‘He sees his self-righteousness and pride and longs to be humble. He sees his lust and longs to be pure in heart. He sees his hypocrisy, and he longs to be a man of integrity. He sees his harsh and condemning spirit, and he longs to be gracious and forgiving. He sees his failure as a father, as a husband, as a friend, and he longs to be fulfilled.’
Robert Murray McCheyne: ‘Make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be.’
Can you relate to this hunger and thirst? I hope so. If not, ask God that you would have such a longing. This is such a positive thing to pray for. Our lives as disciples is not just about what we don’t do. It must also be about what we do. We are called to take off the dirty clothes and put on the new clothes.
‘Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator… Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.’ (Colossians 3)
Let’s be honest. What do you hunger and thirst for? Is it money or success? Is it just a quiet life and to be able to do what you want? The prodigal son went looking for satisfaction in the wrong places. He thought if he could just get away from family responsibilities and enjoy doing anything he wanted with his money – all those things he was told were wrong. Perhaps at first, they felt good. In the end there was no satisfaction to be found there. We were made for a relationship with God and so it stands to reason that only he can satisfy our souls. Money and what it can buy cannot. Nor can other people, power or pleasure. The Samaritan woman realised that after her sixth partner. Jesus promises you today that if you devote yourself to knowing God and being like God you shall be satisfied. The promise is not ‘Blessed are those who play with the Christian faith and keep God at arm’s length for they shall be satisfied’. Pray that God would help you to seek him and his ways.
But God uses means. God has already revealed to us the ways in which we can know him and be like him. It’s not rocket science. They are things we hear repeatedly, but if we don’t do them then we will miss out. We need to put to death the wrong things in our lives, with God’s help. Take a no-nonsense approach to sin. ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils… But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith…’ (1 Timothy 6)
Ask God to give you a hunger for weekly worship in church. A hunger to hear God’s Word being read and preached. Ask for a hunger to meet up with other believers in Bible study and fellowship. Ask for the discipline and love to turn off your phones and TVs and go away to a quiet place just to be by yourself with God. Pray that this would be your routine and that you would relish these times with God and guard them.