Matt 5:1–12 — The Dynamics of Kingdom Righteousness: Beatitude 3

The Beatitudes and Kingdom Righteousness

As we work through the Sermon on the Mount, we come now to the third Beatitude: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). Before considering it, we need to review briefly how we should interpret the Beatitudes as a whole.

Preparing Our Hearts to Pursue Righteousness

The theme of righteousness runs throughout the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says, “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Again, in Matthew 6:33, he says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

This sermon is addressed to disciples. Matthew makes that clear at the beginning: Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and teaches the disciples who come to him. The crowds are present, listening in, but he is speaking to those who have committed themselves to him as Savior and Lord. He calls them to live the righteousness that his kingdom requires.

This righteousness exceeds the external rule-keeping of the scribes and Pharisees. It is embodied in Christ himself. The characteristics, attitudes, and conduct described in the Sermon on the Mount are those of his own life.

Jesus will explain the righteous requirements of the kingdom in detail. He will teach, for example, that abstaining from murder does not amount to keeping the law if we leave anger untouched in our hearts. Before he sets forth those requirements, however, he prepares us to pursue them in the right spirit.

He does not want us to pursue righteousness as though we were earning merit before God or acquiring grounds for boasting before others. The Beatitudes prepare us to pursue it with humility, as sinners who know that they have been redeemed and have become Christ’s disciples.

A Secure Future That Blesses Us Now

Jesus gives eight Beatitudes, or blessings. The eighth includes not only the blessing on the persecuted in verse 10 but also its expansion in verses 11–12. He is declaring that his disciples are blessed. Though the world may despise their poverty of spirit, they are heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

But when do they experience this blessing? The emphasis is on the future. The second through seventh Beatitudes, in verses 4–9, use the future tense: those who mourn “shall be comforted,” and so on. At first, this might suggest an exclusively future blessing, something we will receive only at Christ’s return in the new creation.

Yet because that future is secure in Christ, its blessedness reaches into the present. We are his disciples and members of his kingdom. Our inheritance is certain, and that makes us blessed now despite our present condition. The first and eighth Beatitudes express this in the present tense: “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Paul describes the same reality in Romans 5. Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. That hope is a confident certainty. The glory of God is the glory of heaven, the new creation—the inheritance Jesus promises here. Because our future is secure, we are blessed in the present.

We therefore pursue kingdom righteousness because heaven is already ours, purchased for us by Christ. We desire the qualities Jesus will describe: loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, forgiving, laying up treasures in heaven, and refraining from judging others. We pursue them as those who already possess the inheritance, rather than as a means of earning it.

It is essential, then, not to read the Beatitudes as conditional statements. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” does not mean that you must first work at becoming meek enough to qualify for the inheritance. That reading misses Jesus’ point. He is declaring what is true of his disciples: you who are meek are blessed, for you will inherit the earth.

There is a paradox here. Meekness and inheriting the earth seem to stand at opposite poles. The meek are precisely those who do not inherit the earth now. Yet Jesus says that they are blessed because they will inherit it. A reversal is coming in the age to come, and confidence in that reversal enables us to live now in the blessedness of union with Christ and to express his attitudes and conduct in our lives.

The Beatitudes primarily declare who we are in Christ and what is true of us. They do imply that we should grow in meekness, mercy, and the other qualities they describe, but their emphasis prepares us for the commands that follow.

From Spiritual Poverty to the Promised Inheritance

We considered the first two Beatitudes previously. The first, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” may be paraphrased this way: Being a Christian entails knowing your spiritual poverty and lack of righteousness. Yet rejoice and consider yourself blessed, for it is precisely such people who are spiritually rich as heirs of the heavenly kingdom.

The second says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” As a Christian, you mourn over your sin and lack of righteousness. Yet you will be comforted, and that comfort is not reserved entirely for Christ’s return. Even now, free justification turns your mourning into rejoicing.

The third Beatitude calls us to rely on the inheritance of righteousness—to place our hope in the future inheritance secured by the righteousness of Christ. We can describe this simply as “banking on heaven.”

The Identity of the Meek

Who are the meek whom Jesus pronounces blessed?

Those Who Wait for the Lord

The Greek dictionary BDAG defines the word translated “meek” as “pertaining to not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, unassuming.” Typical translations include “gentle,” “humble,” and “meek.” Understandably, many readers take it to describe a personality trait.

Meekness certainly has implications for our conduct, and we will consider them. Yet I do not believe Jesus is primarily describing a personality trait here. He is quoting Psalm 37, and that Old Testament context clarifies his meaning.

The psalm tells us not to fret over evildoers, who will soon fade away. Verses 8–11 develop that thought:

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

Notice first the reference to the land. The Hebrew word eretz can mean “land” or “earth.” It appears in Genesis 1:1, where God creates the heavens and the earth, and in the promises of the land to Abraham. The land of Canaan was a bounded, local expression of the promised new creation. Ultimately, the promise was that Abraham would inherit the world, as Paul explains in Romans 4:13.

Notice also the parallel between verses 9 and 11. Verse 9 says that “those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land”; verse 11 says that “the meek shall inherit the land.” The psalm serves as an inspired dictionary: the meek are those who wait for the Lord. They rely on heaven, looking for their inheritance in the age to come rather than resting in what they possess in this life.

God’s Humble and Afflicted People

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term anavim is variously translated “meek,” “humble,” “lowly,” or “afflicted.” Especially in the Psalms, it describes God’s people. It does not distinguish one believer’s temperament from another’s. It identifies the people who humbly wait upon God.

Psalm 25:8–9 says:

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

The word appears twice, translated “humble,” though it could also be rendered “meek.”

Psalm 34:1–2 says:

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

The invitation is for God’s people, those who wait for their inheritance, to hear and rejoice. Psalm 147:6 makes the contrast particularly clear: “The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.” The humble are God’s people, contrasted with the wicked.

We find the same language in Isaiah. The messianic prophecy in Isaiah 11 describes the coming Messiah, filled with the Spirit and exercising judicial authority: “With righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (v. 4). Isaiah 29:19 likewise promises, “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.”

This background, especially Psalm 37, shows how Jesus uses the term in Matthew 5. It applies to all disciples, all who are savingly joined to him, have heard his call to follow him, and have entered his kingdom.

The same is true of the first two Beatitudes. To be a Christian is to be poor in spirit, to recognize your lack of righteousness, to mourn over your sin, and to come to Christ in faith. Likewise, the meek are all true disciples. Meekness here is a spiritual quality, with implications for character, rather than a personality trait that distinguishes some Christians from others.

An Inheritance Still Awaited

The meek are those who do not inherit the earth now. They lack the power, influence, wealth, authority, and importance that the world prizes. In the Gospels, they are found among fishermen, Gentiles, tax collectors, sinners, the sick, and society’s outcasts. This does not include everyone in those categories simply by virtue of belonging to them; it describes those who come to Jesus in faith and enter his kingdom.

Though the world considers them unimportant, they are the ones who will inherit the earth. They stand in contrast to those who think they already possess their inheritance.

In this sense, “inheriting the earth” now can mean possessing whatever the world values in this present evil age: money, influence, power, status, fame, or pleasure. There is a religious version as well. The Pharisees valued their standing as great scholars of the law and their strict observance of the rabbis’ oral traditions.

The meek know that they do not possess their inheritance in the present age. They are waiting for the age to come. To return to Psalm 37, they wait for the Lord. A true disciple is someone who is banking on heaven.

The Hope of the Meek

Jesus states their hope plainly: “They shall inherit the earth.”

The Glory of the New Creation

Brothers and sisters, this is a wonderful promise. People often imagine heaven as an ethereal existence, as though we will float on clouds. Sometimes it is described in terms of the beatific vision. There is truth in that: we will see God spiritually, rather than with physical eyes. The sixth Beatitude itself promises that the pure in heart “shall see God.”

Yet our hope also has a concrete, physical character. We will inherit the earth. Heaven is not an absence of created, physical reality. It is creation purified from sin, glorified, and wholly dedicated to God’s holy presence. As the Old Testament describes it, God’s glory will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.

This will far exceed our present experience of creation. At present, a veil separates the visible and invisible dimensions of reality. We see the earthly world around us, but we do not see the invisible realm of God’s presence and his holy angels. In the new creation, that veil will be removed. Heaven and earth will be one, God will fill the earth with his glory, and we will worship him forever.

Paul describes this hope as something substantial and weighty: “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). That weight of glory exceeds anything we can presently conceive. Heaven is the glorified, renewed creation, and we will have glorified bodies fitted to dwell there.

The Inheritance Secured by the Second Adam

This hope goes back to the promise set before Adam in the garden under the covenant of works. Adam was called to obey God by abstaining from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and confronting the serpent when he came to test him. Had Adam passed the test and pronounced God’s judgment upon the serpent, he would have been permitted to eat from the tree of life.

He, his family, and the whole creation would then have entered that glorious consummation: God dwelling in creation, and man, made in God’s image, possessing a glorified body that radiates God’s glory. Humanity would have seen God face to face and dwelt with him in his heavenly temple. This was the original future hope of the covenant of works.

Adam failed. He broke God’s law and violated the covenant, plunging himself and his descendants into sin and condemnation. Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden and from God’s holy presence.

Yet before Adam sinned, indeed before creation, God had planned redemption in the eternal counsel of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the covenant of redemption, Christ was appointed to come as the second Adam. The second person of the Trinity would become man, be born under the law, live in perfect obedience to God, and go to the cross in the final act of obedience, laying down his life for his people.

Through that act of righteousness, Christ would achieve the original hope that Adam failed to attain. This is what lies behind Jesus’ promise. The whole sweep of Scripture comes into focus in this one verse: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Blessed are those who wait, who know that they do not yet possess their inheritance but confidently hope for it. They will inherit the new creation offered to Adam and secured by Christ’s perfect righteousness.

Only the Righteous Can Inherit

The inheritance belongs to the righteous. We see this principle in Israel’s history. God saved Israel by grace, bringing them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and judging Egypt’s gods. Having redeemed them, he required righteousness of them as they entered and dwelt in the land. He gave them his law, the Ten Commandments: only the righteous could dwell in his inheritance.

Israel failed to maintain that righteousness. God repeatedly forgave them in mercy and provided the sacrificial system for the atonement of their sins. Eventually, however, their apostasy extended even to their kings, and God brought judgment. Just as Adam and Eve had been exiled from the garden, Israel was exiled from God’s holy land and presence.

Only the righteous can inherit the earth. How wonderful, then, to know that although we are not righteous in ourselves, and our own righteousness is as filthy rags, we possess the righteousness of Christ. He has won and purchased the inheritance for us. We cannot lose it; it is guaranteed. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is the down payment that guarantees our future possession.

The hope of the meek is to inherit the earth: the inheritance promised to Adam in the garden, portrayed in Israel’s life under the old covenant, and finally secured by Christ, the second Adam and the true Israel.

The Blessedness of the Meek

We can now paraphrase the third Beatitude: Being a Christian means being meek, waiting for the glorious inheritance of the age to come rather than thinking that you already possess it. This goes against the world’s values, yet count it all joy and consider yourself blessed. One day you will inherit the renewed earth. Relying on that promise gives you strength to live with Christ’s meekness in the present age.

What a blessing it is to be among the meek, the childlike people of King Jesus. They are outsiders now, despised in the world’s eyes, yet their future inheritance is absolutely certain.

Freedom from Seizing Our Inheritance Now

Consider the contrast with those determined to seize their inheritance in this life. We see this on both the political left and the political right. People become angry, violent, and self-righteous because this world is all they have. They fight fiercely over it because, for them, there is nothing beyond it. That is not a blessed way to live.

As heirs of the glorious kingdom to come, we can be humble and meek. We do not need to live in anger, violence, or self-righteousness. This world is passing away, and a greater inheritance awaits us.

Here we can begin to see the implications of meekness for our conduct. We should grow in meekness, and we see its perfection in Christ himself.

The Meekness and Gentleness of Christ

In 2 Corinthians 10:1, Paul pleads with a church struggling with many sins and problems: “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” He appeals to Christ’s meekness rather than simply invoking his apostolic authority and ordering them to repent.

Paul had met Christ on the Damascus road. Whether he knew him before the crucifixion and resurrection is uncertain, though possible. In any case, he knew Christ’s meekness and gentleness.

Matthew uses the word translated “meek” in this Beatitude twice more in reference to Jesus. In Matthew 11:28–29, Jesus says:

Come to me, all who labor 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.

“Gentle” is the same word. Jesus is meek and lowly in heart.

Again, in Matthew 21:5, Jesus enters Jerusalem riding a donkey, knowing that he is going to the cross. Matthew quotes Zechariah:

Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

Here “humble” translates that same word.

Although the Beatitude primarily identifies Christ’s people, we should strive to grow in his meekness through union with him. He possesses the perfect balance of meekness and assertiveness. His is the meekness of the true King, who has all power and authority and does not need to grasp for them.

He drove the money changers from the temple and sharply rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23, pronouncing woes upon them as blind guides. His meekness never prevented him from standing for righteousness. We are called to become like him, rather than merely to cultivate a particular temperament.

Stronger Hope and Deeper Comfort in Christ

As we live in Christ’s meekness and rely on our future inheritance, our hope grows stronger. We long more deeply for heaven and gain a greater assurance that it is real and that our hope is certain.

Our experience of union with Christ also deepens. This does not mean that we become more united to him, but that our union becomes more consciously real to us. We can live meekly in hope of the age to come only because we belong to him.

There may be occasions when we must turn the other cheek or bear an offense without defending ourselves. We can do so in Christ. Paul writes, “Just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ” (2 Cor. 1:5). As we suffer in union with Christ, we also receive his comfort.

The difficulties of being outsiders in this world—waiting for our inheritance while others seem to possess theirs—are real sufferings. Yet they also bring blessing because we share in Christ’s sufferings.

Paul develops this paradox in 2 Corinthians 4 through the image of treasure in jars of clay. Outwardly, a clay jar is ordinary, fragile, and easily broken. Yet within it lies something precious. We have Christ and the Holy Spirit, though outwardly we remain weak.

Paul says that we have this treasure “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” He continues:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Cor. 4:8–10)

The clay jar suffers, yet the inward reality of the Spirit sustains us. We carry Christ’s death in our bodies so that his life may be manifested there. We have this treasure—Christ himself—in jars of clay.

Love and Compassion for Our Enemies

Waiting for heaven also fills our hearts with love and compassion for our enemies. I am not thinking only of enemies on the scale of Roman emperors persecuting Christians. We encounter opposition in ordinary life, including conflicts and struggles within the church.

How can we respond with compassion? We do not have to secure recognition that we are right in every controversy now. We can wait for vindication when Christ returns. We do not have to seize it for ourselves in this present age.

We may have to accept that we will not be vindicated for the time being. Yet we know that we will inherit the earth, and we can wait for the day of Christ. Hope in the age to come transforms the way we live today, enabling us to serve Christ humbly because we live for something beyond this age.

Holy Boldness with Gentleness and Respect

Confidence in our eternal inheritance also makes us bold with a holy, Christlike boldness. Christ was perfectly meek, yet he cleansed the temple and stood for righteousness. We can seek that same balance of meekness and assertiveness. This is the boldness of the Spirit, rather than the fleshly determination to prove ourselves right and everyone else wrong.

First Peter illustrates this well. Peter writes to Christians who are suffering persecution and being marginalized because of their faith. They even face the possibility of death for bearing Christ’s name. He calls them to live out of their union with Christ and to suffer with him and for him.

In that setting, Peter exhorts them: “Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” adding, “Yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15). The word translated “gentleness” expresses the same meekness. This is spiritual confidence shaped by Christ.

Christian apologists, who defend the faith, have helped me answer questions about Christianity. I have also used their materials with my son as he has wrestled with questions of faith. I appreciate their work. Yet some defenders of Christianity argue in ways that lack gentleness and respect. They belittle unbelievers, treating them as though only a fool could fail to believe in God. Such arguments may display fleshly confidence rather than Christ’s meekness.

Peter does call us to make a defense. The word “apology” in this context means a defense, rather than an expression of regret. Yet that defense must be offered with Christ’s gentleness and respect.

If you do not have to win every argument in this life, if you can wait for heaven and rely on your promised inheritance, you are free to speak with a boldness that breathes the spirit of Christ. Perhaps such a defense will be more effective in winning people to the Lord as they see his character in the way we speak.

What a wonderful blessing it is to be among the meek. Blessed are you, brothers and sisters, who are meek in Christ, for you will inherit the earth.