Matthew 5:5 (NASB)
[5] "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Are only those who have a gentle disposition or personality blessed?
I don't think that is the message Jesus was trying to convey in this beatitude. God created us with different personalities and dispositions. Tactfully said, some of God's men and women are passionate and excitable like Peter. However, this does not mean that they cannot be blessed by God.
The one who is gentle and meek must be cautious. Their mild manner might cause them to miss the opportunity to grasp the courage that is needed at times in their relationship with God, especially when boldness is required.
The passionate and excitable individual must learn to grasp the gentle spirit that comes in a loving relationship with God. Both characteristics are hard and easy, depending on the makeup of the individual.
For the passionate and excitable individual it is often hard to keep from hurting the feelings of those around them. They are often misunderstood, especially by the meek and gentle individual. Many see them as rude and obnoxious.
On the other hand, the gentle and meek individual often misses opportunities to witness or speak out because of their gentle disposition. They are often looked on as weak and uncommitted.
When considering this beatitude, we usually think of this gentleness more in terms of being humble and meek as an intentional manner of acting and living out our lives. But let's look at it from a different angle. We have been looking at how the beatitudes show us how people are blessed by God in their needs not their strengths.
They are not always blessed by God because they have become humble and meek, or because they act intentionally to be a gentle person, although God does bless such efforts of self restraint for the sake of Christian character and witness.
Sometimes, the gentle are blessed because in their gentle disposition, which is more a personality trait than a purposeful action, they need God's help to be bold and speak out or act in a bold manner.
For example, one may be of such a disposition that to speak out on an important issue, with a Christian point of view, might never happen unless God blessed such an individual with the courage to speak out. Something they would never do on their own. The same could be applied to someone who is so gentle or meek, that on their own, they could never witness to someone about their relationship with Christ.
In looking at Christ's beatitude, "Blessed are the gentle", we need to keep our focus true. Jesus was God incarnate. He came to help mankind with his greatest need.
When you observe the actions and reactions of people with their different personalities, tainted and twisted by sin, you see mankind at the point of his greatest need. I believe this beatitude speaks to the needs of our different personalities.
So how does the New Testament speak to the needs of our personalities? It was an overwhelming task to try to narrow this topic down to one sermon. But rotating around the life of Jesus on this earth, is the answer to the complex questions we face in our approach to a relationship with God.
Jesus reveals an aspect of gentleness in His own character as He describes Himself and His redemptive actions toward sinful mankind. (Matthew 11:29)
"Blessed are the gentle" is a desired characteristic which, at times, and by certain individuals, must be a purposeful act of the will. In other words, it does not come natural to them.
In the example of Jesus, we see two different applications of the beatitude about being blessed by God because you are gentle. Jesus' actions in clearing the temple (John 2:15) show the passionate and excitable side of Jesus. There isn't much gentleness in His actions here. Yet He describes Himself as gentle in (Matthew 11:29).
John 2:13-16 (NASB)
[13] The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
[14] And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
[15] And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
[16] and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."
Now, I don't pretend to know the mind of Christ in this bold action of passion. If I did not have any other information on how Jesus acted in His lifetime, I might draw the conclusion that He was a harsh taskmaster.
However, I do have a lot of other information about Jesus and how He acted while He lived here on earth. When you look at His life as a whole, you come to the conclusion that He was a kind and gentle man.
I don't know what it took for Jesus to act with such passion in this incident. I do know that it must have been hard for Him because He did not normally act like this. I wonder if He had second thoughts about His actions of harshness, even though He knew He was doing what was needed at the time.
Sometimes, the gentle must be stirred to action by the power of God, to take passionate actions that are not in keeping with their personality or disposition, in order to do what is right and necessary.
Matthew 11:27-30 (NASB)
[27] "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
[28] "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
[29] "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
[30] "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Jesus' description of His own disposition or personality was that of a kind and gentle man, not a hard taskmaster who had come to condemn the world. The actions of His life, and the words from His mouth, reveal a man that had come to show His love for mankind, in spite of their sinfulness.
This same aspect of gentleness is expressed in the efforts of godly women in securing the salvation of their husbands.
1 Peter 3:1-5 (NASB)
[1] In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
[2] as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
[3] Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
[4] but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
[5] For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;
In our modern, politically correct society, we gasp for breath when anyone mentions the thought that a wife is to be submissive to her husband. We have been very creative about explaining it away and even taking it out of the marriage vows of most of our wedding ceremonies. But that does not change what the Word of God says.
If you look at this comment about a wife being submissive to her husband, in the context that it is being used, you will see that this submissiveness is promoted as a divine mission of redemption.
The purposeful actions of gentleness by a godly wife are used by God to bring the blessing of possible salvation to an ungodly husband. God can use an excitable and passionate disposition or a gentle and mild personality, to bring about the salvation of sinful mankind.
The key is allowing God to use us, even in our weaknesses, even at our greatest points of need.
Another aspect of this gentleness is seen in the meek actions of an individual who has a gentle personality or disposition. (Mark 5:24-34)
"Blessed are the gentle" is also a statement of available help that is provided by God to those who are sometimes rendered ineffective by their gentle disposition. We will look at an example of a gentle woman that is helped and blessed by God.
First a little background.
Mk 5:24-34
Mark 5:24-34 (NASB)
[24] And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
[25] A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years,
[26] and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse--
[27] after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.
[28] For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well."
[29] Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
[30] Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?"
[31] And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"
[32] And He looked around to see the woman who had done this.
[33] But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
[34] And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."
Faith is the key to the blessing of God. Faith that in my timidity, God will work even though I am not bold like, say Peter was.
The key to all of this discussion has to do with understanding that no matter who we are, no matter what our disposition or personality is like, God wants to bless us in several ways.
As always, the choice is for every individual to make.
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002.
I want to thank my research assistants, Debi Peck and Robyn Harper (HARPER), who do hours of research to provide some of my study resources. I also want to thank Vonda Watson-Bostick and Robyn Harper, who help me with editing.