Category: meekness

Meek Like Jesus

How can we respond to a world that encourages us to lift ourselves up and put others down? To bristle when corrected or to justify and rationalize our actions rather than to listen and consider? As often is the case, we need to visit with Jesus.

Neal Pollard

Meek Like Jesus

Neal Pollard

We live in an age where we are not conditioned to take correction humbly. Instead, we can quickly become full of defensiveness and self-justification. We may even become indignant at the approach of someone, especially if we find ourselves in some way superior to them. It is also an age where humbling and lowering ourselves for the good and benefit of another is not particularly attractive, especially if it is not wallpapered on a social media platform. We may be quick to let others know our value and importance, but to praise and uphold someone else is undesirable. This can often lead us to be impatient with the perceived shortcomings of people that annoy us and put us out. How many do not know or have forgotten these words, that “pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth” God hates (Prov. 8:13).

In contrast, consider a statement Jesus makes about Himself and a similar statement Paul makes about Jesus. First, think about Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:29: “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.” Look especially at the words “gentle” and “humble.” Gentle, quoting the NASB, is “meek” in the KJV. It is an adjective here, and Paul uses the noun form in 2 Corinthians 10:1. “It is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness, not in weakness, but in power. It is a balance born in strength of character” (Zodhiates, WSNTDICT, np). This is one of the beatitudes Jesus calls on us to have (Mat. 5:5; 1 Pet. 3:4). He exhibits it Himself as He enters Jerusalem the last week of His life (Mat. 21:5). Both times it is used of disciples, it is either rewarded or highly esteemed by God. The noun form (gentleness/meekness) gives us a fuller understanding. It is a “gentleness of attitude and behavior, in contrast with harshness in one’s dealings with others” (Louw-Nida, 748).

The second word there in Matthew 11:28 is “humble,” which when used literally spoke of a person who was short in stature. It was the word for the lowly and the poor, one with no social standing. It speaks of insignificance. But, Jesus combines this word with gentle to say that this is how He saw Himself. Paul uses the same word in 2 Corinthians 10:1, when he says he is “meek” when face to face with those Christians.  He was unpretentious in behavior (TDNT). 

The last word, the one Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 10:1 along with Jesus’ word meek (gentle), is “gentleness.” The word suggests “the harmonious disposition of character and frame of mind…” that “becomes, in relation with neighbors, an accommodating attitude, a happy harmony” (Spicq and Ernest, TLNT, np). Consider this explanation of the word. Trench ties this word to God’s grace, retreating from strictness against sinful men, making allowances for our imperfect righteousness, and His refusal to exact extreme penalties when He has every right (cf. Synonyms, 155). It is gracious forbearance, granting clemency or pardon. Paul urged Corinth “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.”

Let’s put all this together. What Jesus possessed and demonstrated, what we are called to imitate, is a gentleness in attitude and action when dealing with others. This comes from not thinking too highly of ourselves and our talents, intelligence, and influence (Rom. 12:3,16). Out of this we cut people slack and give them the benefit of the doubt. If the perfect Son of God was characterized this way, I need to walk in His footsteps. This will help me when someone corrects me or if I need to correct someone else (2 Tim. 2:24). I look honestly at myself, knowing that I have strengths but I also have weaknesses–just like those I deal with each day. Gentle, humble, meek, and forbearing. That was Jesus. That should be me, too. 

I Want To Be A Lipizzaner

Friday’s Column: Brent’s Bent

Brent Pollard

The majestic Lipizzan horse is a sight to behold. One of its dressage gaits is called the levade. If you’ve seen a horse in a heraldic setting, you’ve likely seen something akin to this pose. The horse raises and draws in its forelegs, balancing its bodyweight on its bent hind legs. Lipizzaners are relatively few today, with about 3,000 of them in the world. However, owners prize them for their docile and highly obedient natures. These characteristics are something I wish to emphasize as I consider Jesus’ appeal for us to be “meek” or “gentle” (Matthew 5.5).  

The history of the Lipizzan breed goes back to around 800 A.D. Muslims invaded the Iberian peninsula and brought their Arabian and Berber horses with them. The Muslims bred their Arabians and Berbers with local Spanish horse breeds. One of the resulting horse breeds was the Andalusian. Fast forward to the late 1500s, and you find Archduke Charles II establishing a stud in Lipizza, Austria, known today as Lilica. He bred this Andalusian with Arabian, Berber, Baroque, and the now-extinct Neapolitan horses. The horses produced in Lipizza were equally at home on the battlefield and in aristocratic riding venues.  

In the same latter half of the sixteenth century, the Spanish Riding School began in Vienna. This school has trained these Austrian bred horses for over 450 years using the classical dressage, which the Greek, Xenophon, described. And that is the glue that brings this entire discourse together. Xenophon referred to properly trained horses, ready for battle, as praus. That is the Greek word used by Jesus in Matthew 5.5. So, if you want to see a horse that has been meeked, look at the Lipizzaner during its performance.  

Interestingly, with time’s passage, meekness has been equated to weakness or timidity. Surely weakness or timidity would not be a mindset needed for those wishing to enter the Kingdom. If a horse acted as the modern conception of that word, it would be useless. Is this desirable trait watered down due to its probable source of Psalm 37.11? David wrote: “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (KJV).  

Newer translations of that passage, like the NASB1995, will substitute “humility” for the word meek. However, if you look to the original Hebrew, the term employed is anav. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon suggests that within this context, anav means “poor, weak, and afflicted Israel.”1 If you read the entire thirty-seventh Psalm, you note that David describes the destruction of evildoers, which creates a void to be filled by the anav (meek or humble) persons (Psalm 37.7-11). 

The problem with bringing David’s meaning to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the Septuagint would have likely influenced Matthew as he recorded the words of our Lord, and it uses praus. Of course, it may be that Jesus quoted the Septuagint, too. Christ seems to do so on several occasions. As Koine Greek was the lingua franca, why wouldn’t He use the Septuagint in His public teaching? Ultimately, it matters little whether Jesus quoted from the Masoretic Text or the Septuagint since we must deal with the Greek in which the Holy Spirit wrote it for you and me today.  

As a quick aside, the church or Kingdom is not an institution that Jesus’ meek will be inheriting from defeated evildoers, as were David’s meek. Instead, Jesus built this institution Himself and now adds the saved to it (Acts 2.47). These saved may be sin-weary and spiritually afflicted upon entry (cf. Matthew 11.28-30), but Jesus adds them to a spotless church without blemish (Ephesians 5.27). Even if Psalm 37.11 was in the mind of our Lord when He preached, He made an entirely different application of it centered on the idea of the “meeked man.” 

Aristotle said that a meek man was one remaining between the extremes of cowardice and recklessness. In other words, a courageous man. 2 That takes us back to Xenophon and our Lipizzaners, the descendants of the Greek war-horse. What kind of a horse would Alexander the Great ride to glory on the battlefield? We know because historians have written much about him. The horse’s name was Bucephalus. Plutarch said Alexander perceived that Bucephalus was spooked by his own shadow and so situated the animal to face away from his source of fear. 3 No man could ride Bucephalus but Alexander. Alexander brought Bucephalus’ power under control. Following the body of knowledge passed down by such men as Xenophon, young Alexander meeked Bucephalus.  

So, what virtue was Jesus urging us to adopt? Naturally, we cannot physically become Lipizzaners. Still, we can discipline ourselves to become docile (i.e., ready to receive instruction) and highly obedient (i.e., willing to carry out those orders) as that magnificent horse. As such, we are equally as fit for service in the war against Satan as being a Barnabas to fellow Christians. Hence, a meeked Christian is far from poor and weak. He knows who holds his reins. As such, he enjoys what is his and what the Lord has promised him. Doesn’t that make you want to be like the Lipizzaner too?   

Sources Cited and Consulted 

1 “Strong’s Hebrew: 6035. עָנָו (Anav) — Poor, Afflicted, Humble, Meek.” Bible Hub, Bible Hub, biblehub.com/hebrew/6035.htm. 

2 Chaignot, Mary  Jane. “Definition of Meekness.” BibleWise, Biblewise.com, www.biblewise.com/bible_study/questions/definition-meekness.php. 

3 Wasson, Donald L. “Bucephalus.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 2 Feb. 2022, www.worldhistory.org/Bucephalus/. 

Kawsar, Iffat. “Lipizzan Horse: A Horse Dedicated to Spanish Riding School in Vienna.” The Vet Expert, The Vet Expert, 11 June 2021, www.thevetexpert.com/lipizzan-horse-a-horse-dedicated-to-spanish-riding-school-in-viena/.  

Photo credit: Max Pixel (Creative Commons)

Word Study: “Meekness”

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary III

Gary Pollard

If a person is described as being meek, we often picture a kind but timid, submissive, hand-wringing, non-confrontational, or powerless individual. Our idea of meekness doesn’t really work well with the biblical idea. Here are a few ways πραΰς (prah-oos) is used.

  1. Not thinking too highly of self (Matthew 5.5; II Timothy 2.25; James 1.21) is one way to understand meekness. It doesn’t mean we undervalue or demean ourselves, but it does mean we keep our egos in check. In James 1.21, meekness means we have the good sense not to fight what God says and allow his Word to be part of us.

  2. Meekness is also used to describe Jesus (Matthew 11.29; II Corinthians 10.1). If meekness is the absence of power, we have a problem. In contrast to a Pharisaical attitude, Jesus is gentle (πραΰς). Instead of summoning an angelic army to punish those who were about to kill him, Jesus allowed everything to happen (II Cor. 10.1).

  3. Meekness is an attitude we must have when we face the unpleasant task of correcting a member. In Galatians 6.1, correcting is described as “fixing/mending” and must be done with a gentle disposition.

The word is used in several other passages, but we should understand it to mean “gentle” or “humble” or “lenient” (context is important). Meekness is when we value others above ourselves. A meek person is not necessarily a powerless person, but is one who doesn’t misuse the power they have.

Being Kind

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary III

Gary Pollard

Most readers can hopefully state to themselves, “I haven’t murdered, stolen, committed adultery, etc.” While we know that forgiveness can be had for all of our sins, humans in general typically want to avoid practices that harm others. 

We have brief encounters with others constantly. Most of those encounters will not leave much of a lasting impression on anyone involved. Two types of encounters definitely leave a lasting impression, though: good ones and bad ones. Bad ones seem to stick the longest. 

So when people encounter us, do we leave a lasting impression? If we do, is it positive? If someone doesn’t walk away thinking, “Man, they were so nice!!!” we have room to grow. As an aside, I’m talking exclusively about normal interactions with others. The Christian and Self-Defense is a study for later. 

While we avoid practices that bring physical harm to others, do we invest in being kind? How do we treat staff at restaurants, people who are obviously different from us, people who may be under us in an authoritative chain or over us? 

It’s easy to be indifferent. For some, it’s easy to be rude and unlikeable in general. Christians must put energy into being kind to others. Give other people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t assume bad intentions. Even in the face of persecution, Christians are commanded to respond rationally and with meekness and fear (I Peter 3.15,16). If we’re supposed to be that composed in the face of persecution, shouldn’t we be all the more kind in everyday encounters? 

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them” (I John 2.9-11). 

“Moments of Meekness”

Friday’s Column: Brent’s Biblical Bytes

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Brent Pollard

Have you ever experienced a moment of meekness? I did recently. I was driving “over the mountain” to go to a doctor’s appointment in Gainesville, Georgia. As I was making my way around the curves of US 19/129, I came upon a truck pulling a camper. He was the engine of a “train” consisting of about four cars. I was the “caboose.” Fortunately, I was in no rush. So, despite the driver’s lack of courtesy, making the traffic back up behind him without utilizing the slow vehicle pull-offs, I just enjoyed the tunes on my radio and tried to let the transmission do more braking than my brakes.  

As I sang along to a 1990s song, the truck pulling the camper drove through dense leaf debris. An enchanting scene suddenly unfolded. The sun shone through the trees, illuminating the fall colors. The bright blue sky was visible above. The rocky walls along the shoulder of the road glistened with water. And drifting leaves filled the air. The entire spectacle was likely only nanoseconds in length but magically seemed longer. That is an example of a moment of meekness. 

Have you ever wondered how the meek “inherit the earth” (Matthew 5.5)? Moments of meekness as the one described above punctuate the days of the meek. Such moments arise because of what it means to be meek. Meekness is not weakness. As used Biblically, meekness denotes gentleness and humility. Meekness was an adjective used to describe Moses (Numbers 12.3) and Jesus (Matthew 11.29). Neither men were weak. Moses died at 120, still full of vigor (Deuteronomy 34.7). Jesus made a “scourge of cords” (NASB) to drive out the temple’s money changers (John 2.15). Yet, Moses and Jesus were humble servants of God. They embodied the “still lifestyle” that knows the “I Am” is God (Psalm 46.10). Thus, as Burton Coffman notes in Matthew 5.5: 

“This is not a mere prophecy that the Christians shall be the landed gentry, but it is a statement that their relationship to the earth and its possessions shall be such as to bring them the greatest possible benefit and enjoyment of it.” 1  

There is nothing special about me. I am quite ordinary, except for having endured many physical hardships. Yet, I refused to become perturbed by life’s circumstances on that day, and that allowed the joy of my salvation bubble to the surface. I recognized my insignificance and God’s greatness. God created this beautiful world, and He showed me something fantastic in an instant. I could have easily been too distracted to notice. How sad!  

This moment of meekness makes me wonder how often I have squandered my inheritance. How oft have I refused to be still enough to see something special shown by God? Did I miss a moment of meekness when I worried about making it to an appointment on time? Did a miss a meek moment while distracted by my smartphone? Such moments of meekness may be a regular occurrence, and it is just that I have overlooked them.  

Let us strive to be still to see the moments of meekness God sends our way.     

Sources Sited: 

1 Coffman, James Burton. “Commentary on Matthew 5:4”. “Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/matthew-5.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.