Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.

“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Matthew 5: 1-12 NASB

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

What the Word is Saying

This portion of scripture is often referred to the Sermon on the Mount and begins with what are commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. These are comparisons in line with the Kingdom of God. Then are in contrast to the worlds standards or what most would think of people in these conditions. Jesus calls attention to this for two reasons. One is to encourage those in these conditions and two to change the thinking of those who are not.

Beatitude---Kingdom Principle

Poor In Spirit---Kingdom of Heaven

Mourn---Comforted

Gentle---Inherit the Earth

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness---Satisfied

Merciful---Mercy

Pure in Heart---See God

Persecuted for the Sake of Righteousness---Kingdom of Heaven

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me (Jesus)---Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In the next 9 blog posts we will look at each one individually and attempt to see what the Lord is teaching us in them. Having looked at the “those who mourn” yesterday, today we will look at those who are “Gentile.”

Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

The New International Version renders “gentle” as meek. I think this goes a long way in defining what is meant be this beatitude. The meek or gentle people are those who have been beaten down by society. They are ostracized and taken advantage of by the rich, strong, and powerful. Jesus is saying “hey, don’t think for a minute that God does not see your plight. There will be a recompence and in the end you will see your suffering rewarded.”

The meek or gentle are those who have a peaceful spirit. They are entrusting their rights to vengeance to their creator. Additionally, they don’t boast, are not quarrelsome, or creators of strife. Rather they are the ones who have given up their “rights” in order to be a witness to the world of God’s forgiving nature. This is not to say that they are weak. They may in fact be quite strong like an ox that has been trained. The animal has immense strength and not to be trifled with in the wild. However, if the animal has been tamed the animal submits to the authority of its master and uses its strength for the masters’ purposes. In this case pulling a plow or wagon. In the same way the gentle person is not weak but instead yields to the authority of their Lord and does what He is asking them to do. Their life is not focused on their own goals. Rather they are submitting to the goals of their Lord.

The Kingdom principle here is that the reward will be found in Jesus. The Jewish people equated inheriting the earth with inheriting the promised land. So, when Jesus said they will inherit the earth they knew He was talking about the ultimate promise of reigning with Him in His future kingdom. Of course then this all points back to His Lordship in your life. If Jesus is really the Lord of your life you will not be concerned about your reward here on earth. You will know that it has no eternal value and that any suffering you have here will ultimately be rewarded upon His return. This begs the question, “where is your kingdom priority?” Are your treasures laid up in Heaven? Are you willing to suffer because your Master has asked you to? Jesus said blessed are the Gentile, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, and these are kingdom principles. They stand in opposition to what the world would have you believe.

To follow the Lord means to give up your rights and do as He has asked you to. Do not fail to do as He asks. Maybe you have been convicted by this message. I implore you to repent and really seek Jesus and ask Him how He wants you to live your life. Then do it! No matter the cost, because great will be your reward in Heaven.

If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.

Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.

Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.