Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
The Blessed Life - Session 4
What if everything the world teaches about power, strength, and victory is completely backward? In this illuminating study of Matthew 5:5, we explore Jesus’s counterintuitive words: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Our culture prizes self-assertion, conquest, and control. The philosophy of the world could be summed up in the oft-quoted (though misattributed) line: “When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.” This mindset—take until nothing is left to take, conquer until there is no one left to conquer—is deeply ingrained in human nature. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus flips this value system on its head.
The original audience would have found His words shocking. The Jewish people had lived under centuries of oppression—first by Babylon, then Assyria, Greece, and Rome. They knew firsthand the brutality of a dog-eat-dog world. To hear “blessed are the meek” would have sounded nonsensical. Meekness wasn’t strength in their eyes; it seemed like surrender. Yet Jesus calls His followers to embrace a radically different posture.
So what does meekness actually mean? Contrary to modern assumptions, it is not weakness, passivity, or being a pushover. Biblical meekness—praus in Greek—is strength under God’s control, a quiet and gentle confidence born from deep trust in the Lord. It is not self-assertiveness or self-interest but a Spirit-led disposition that accepts God’s dealings as good, without disputing or resisting. Meekness requires removing ourselves from the throne of our lives and yielding to God’s kingship.
We see this illustrated in Moses, who was described as “very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). When his leadership was challenged, Moses didn’t defend himself or fight for his position. Instead, he trusted God to act on his behalf and even interceded for his sister when she was struck with leprosy. Abraham showed similar meekness in allowing Lot to choose the best land first, and David displayed it when he turned to the Lord for strength instead of defending himself against his own men.
But the ultimate example of meekness is Jesus Himself. During His wilderness temptation, He refused shortcuts to glory and submitted fully to the Father’s plan. On Palm Sunday, riding humbly into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus revealed both humility and authority. In Gethsemane, He prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” willingly surrendering to the Father’s will even though it meant the agony of the cross. Meekness doesn’t mean weakness—it means incredible strength restrained in perfect trust.
This third Beatitude reveals a beautiful spiritual progression: first, we recognize our spiritual poverty (poor in spirit); then, we mourn over our sin and find comfort in Christ; now, as we submit to God’s sovereign will, we embrace meekness and receive the promise that we will inherit the earth.
Inheritance is key here. Unlike the world’s way—where you take, fight, and grab for power—this is something given, not earned. Inheriting the earth means receiving what belongs to Christ as co-heirs with Him. It points both to a present reality and a future hope. Even now, as citizens of God’s kingdom, we can rest in His provision. One day, in the “not yet,” we will fully receive our portion in the new heavens and new earth, where all things a
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Tonight I'm going to open our time with something that I don't know if I've ever seen done before. We're going to open it with a quote from a 80s film. So when Alexander sold the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer. So that's a quote from Hans Gruber from the Christmas film Die Hard. This is not a I would recommend filtering for any of those films, but this quote that's misattributed as being from classical literature. I mean, I guess, depending on your opinion of the film as to whether it's classical literature, it sums up perfectly the world's system and the world's mindset Take until there is nothing left to take, conquer until there is nothing left to conquer, and be strong in your own cause.
Johnathan Schutz:Tonight we're going to look at how Jesus takes this entire concept and entirely turns it on its head. So just to really quickly recap where we've been the last few weeks Tyler kicked us off looking at the Sermon on the Mount as a whole, eben walked us through what being poor in spirit means, which is being fully dependent on God, and last week Nick took us on a deep dive into what it really means to mourn on the inward, on the inner man, as opposed to just on the outside for the whole world to see. So tonight let's go ahead and read our verse for this evening, and we're going to take a running start. So we're jumping in Matthew 5, 3 through 5. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Johnathan Schutz:So, again as a reminder, the original audience for the Sermon on the Mount could be broken up into three different groups. There were the disciples, those who were already following Jesus. There's the crowds. Those are the people who wanted to know more, they were curious, and then those were his enemies and those were those who came to find fault with him, whether or not they left the same way or not. All of these people were predominantly Jews. They were a people who were so desperate to cling on to their own right standing with God right Through holding on to rabbinical law and holding on to who they right standing with God right Through holding on to rabbinical law and holding on to who they were, and they were a people who had been oppressed under the boot of one group after another for generations First the Babylonians, then the Assyrians, then the Greeks, then the Romans. So they knew from very, very strong personal experience that this is a dog-eat-dog world. You look out for yourself, you do everything right or you get steamrolled.
Johnathan Schutz:So from that perspective, putting yourself in those shoes, how would blessed are the meek have struck you? This is actual audience participation. How would it have struck you if somebody comes up and says blessed are the meek. And that is your nation's history? Anyway, it's yeah, right, right. That doesn't make any sense, it doesn't compute. So let's go ahead and jump in then.
Johnathan Schutz:For what is meekness? Because, again, it clearly is a word that Jesus used for a reason. It's not one that we really use much in the modern day, and when we do, it generally means something different than what it actually means in scripture. Meek, from a modern perspective, what does that mean to you? What other synonyms immediately jump to your mind? Anybody Weak, okay. Humble, okay, humble. Gentle, okay. Any others Kind, okay. These are all good words. Some are right in line, but some are a little bit off from the actual biblical definition.
Johnathan Schutz:When we think of the word meek, we often think of it as being a weak person or a pushover. If we do actually associate with scripture, we associate it with the Jesus that you probably saw over your grandma's fireplace. This is a weak, pale, pasty, mamby-pamby guy with perfectly straight hair, a perfectly trimmed beard, a perfectly white tunic that has never seen anything of the outside world and a little white, fluffy lamb in his arms. Right. That's what we think of if we think the word meek and we're associating with scripture. But that's Jesus was gentle, yes, and we're going to see what gentleness is and we're going to see more about what meekness means to Jesus. But it's not weakness, it's not being a pushover. That version of Jesus is not the version of Jesus that we see in Scripture. So meekness is also translated.
Johnathan Schutz:This word that is used in Matthew is also translated as humbleness, gentleness, and it's the Greek word praos, but it's a different word. That's, interestingly enough, a different word than is used for gentleness in the fruits of the spirit. So it is gentle, but it's not the same word for gentle. That word is praotes. Praotes is the derivative word. Praos is the root, praotes is the derivative. So whenever we're talking about what Mark talked about a few weeks ago about the root and the shoot the root prautes is the derivative. So whenever we're talking about what Mark talked about a few weeks ago about the root and the shoot, the root and the fruit praus, the meekness of the Beatitudes is the root and the gentleness of the fruit of the spirit is the fruit.
Johnathan Schutz:Real meekness is yieldedness. It's strength under God's control. It is a quiet and gentle confidence born of complete faith and trust in the Lord. I'd like to read for a moment from the outline of biblical usage. Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good and therefore without disputing or resisting. Gentleness or meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God's goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will. So what we're talking about here is a humility that comes from taking ourselves off of the throne of our lives and placing the one who should be on the throne there. It's recognizing that he is the king and not us A great example of meekness.
Johnathan Schutz:In scripture we're going to look back at the Old Testament for a minute, we can find that in the life of Moses, in Numbers 12, when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, particularly questioning his right to lead the people of Israel, they're questioning the very core of what he's doing. We get an interesting statement about Moses' reaction in verse 3. So this is Numbers 12.3, and all this is ESV. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth. Now this is a little bit funny whenever you realize that it's actually Moses who's writing this. But whenever we actually look at his actual reaction, we actually see that backed up. It's not just a statement from Moses. He doesn't defend himself, he doesn't argue his own cause. He does nothing to secure his own authority over the people of Israel. The Lord thunders forth on Moses' behalf and Moses' only reaction recorded in scripture to this whole incident is him crying out for his sister when she struck with leprosy. He let the Lord work on his behalf. He learned the lesson at the Red Sea to stand and watch the salvation of the Lord.
Johnathan Schutz:There are many other examples that are awesome in the Old Testament of meekness that we could touch on. There's Abraham when dealing with Lot and his herdsmen. Knowing that God had given blessings to Abraham himself, he left it to Lot to choose which direction he should go, trusting in the Lord to determine who's going to prosper, what the outcome of this situation was going to be. David when his men wanted to turn on him, after all their possessions and families had been taken, he turned to the Lord for strength and didn't defend himself, but he looked to the Lord for strength, to the one who could solve the situation. And there are many more that we could dig into, but those are just a couple. But since it's really and truly Jesus's own definition of meekness that really matters here, this is Jesus talking. He is our example.
Johnathan Schutz:I wanna jump into several examples from his life in the temptation in the wilderness. Each one of the temptations from the enemy was a way to shortcut God's master plan, to have the nations bow down before him, to show off his power, to see himself made king without going to the cross. It's all shortcuts of the plan and the purposes that God had set forth, but Jesus maintained his eye on the goal and resisted every one of those. If we skip ahead to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, matthew says in Matthew 21,. Four through five.
Johnathan Schutz:This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying. 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. The word humble there is our prowse from the Beatitudes. Jesus was humbly entering Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey. In the garden of Gethsemane, in Jesus' prayer, not my will, but yours be done, we see Jesus humbling himself and entrusting himself to the father's will, even though he could have called down legions of angels to rescue him. In none of these situations was Jesus being weak, and not one of them. He was as much of a warrior as a manly man as we see in any other time. In the wilderness temptation, he's going toe to toe with the prince of this age, using scripture to combat every single attack, not giving up an inch. He was enduring and destroying every lie with scripture. With it is written During his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, jesus was more of a king than anyone there living had ever seen.
Johnathan Schutz:Not only was Jesus fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah in riding out a donkey, he was claiming himself to be king in the line of David, echoing first kings when Solomon rode into Jerusalem on David's mule. It's a sign of humility combined with authority. Here, jesus is not being the type or the shadow riding in on an animal of mixed origin. He's riding in on a pure animal, on the donkey, claiming himself to be the king of kings, lord of lords, and to be in the line of David. To anybody who had eyes to see and ears to hear, this wasn't a weak act. He was coming into Jerusalem as king to conquer death In the garden. He was getting ready to storm the gates of hell and deliver a death blow to death itself.
Johnathan Schutz:In this meekness there he's not rolling over but was willingly, actively, agonizingly, to the point of shedding drops of blood, submitting himself, his will and his life to his father it says in Philippians 2a and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, and moving even further forward. We see that when he went to the cross, he did not open his mouth in his own defense, but endured the full penalty for sin as a sheep before the shearer winning our salvation the full penalty for sin as a sheep before the shearer winning our salvation. In every single one of these examples, the one who's calling us to live a life of meekness is not showing us a life of case or a seraph, flippancy or inaction, or being an unmanly weakling. I know, for guys I'm using the word manly a lot because for guys, whenever we hear this, it grates at who we are. We go. I need to be strong, I need to protect, I need to provide, but this is not a call to be weak. It's not a call to not stand. It is a call to stand when there is no other, when it seems that there's nothing behind you, except if you know who is behind you, you can stand in meekness.
Johnathan Schutz:Something to note here as well is that a key element of Jesus' work on the cross was his meekness itself. I just read Philippians 2.8, but let's look at the surrounding verses. We're going to look at Philippians 2, verse 5 through 11. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he found himself. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, god has highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven. Jesus is eternally God, but we see something special here. He is glorified by the Father in a special way because of how he humbled himself in doing this. He purchased us through that act as a people and inheritance for himself. He made himself through that known as savior and has been exalted for all to see as king of kings and Lord of lords, and he reigns forever.
Johnathan Schutz:Meekness is not the normal human condition, but it comes from rightfully understanding who we are, who Christ is and who we are in Christ, comes from rightfully understanding who we are, who Christ is and who we are in Christ. Meekness allows us to be humble and gentle, even as we stand strongly, as we've already said, and moving into the second half of the passage, it opens the door to inheriting the earth. So let's take a step back, as we have this little transition point to looking at the blessings found, and I wanna look at the progression of the Beatitudes in this point. As we look and as we continue and I hope everybody will be continuing to come back week after week there's a progression that we see where one Beatitude builds upon another, builds upon another. So first week we're poor in spirit. We recognize our inability and this is the entry point into the kingdom of heaven those who mourn. We recognize our sin and how we have to have the Savior. And then through that, through that humility, we're comforted by the work of Christ. And now those who are meek, those who are no longer seeking their own earthly wants, desires or needs, but are submitted to the sovereign kingly will of their father, and then we inherit with the Son. So the first thing to note about this blessing for they will inherit the earth. This is inheriting, this is not taking.
Johnathan Schutz:Looking back at that quote at the beginning, with the Hans Gruber quote that looks at the world system we take, we take, we take because it's all up to us. Inheritance comes from having a lineage where there is somebody who has the thing and it is given to you because you're a child. That's not the way the world works. Inheriting is based on recognizing our father. The king has placed all things under Christ's feet. So, even if we did want to take it, it is not ours to take for ourselves. It belongs to Christ. If we are not sons of the king, if we're not in right standing with him, we cannot inherit. The inheritance that comes to the meek, does not come to just anybody who has a false sense of humility. It comes to those who actually have set Christ on the throne of their lives.
Johnathan Schutz:This promise is a perfect example of the already and not yet of the kingdom and, more specifically, of the Beatitudes. As we look at each of these things, there's an already. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is here. The declaration that Jesus came to make is that the kingdom of heaven is here. God is with us. But there's also a not yet, where all things are brought into full consummation. This is a great example of that. It's very much mirroring another already and not yet statement. That's later in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, 33. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. We are called to renounce our own thrones and to seek the heavenly kingdom, and as we do that, all that we need will be provided for us by our caring father. This isn't a prosperity gospel you get everything that you want whenever you just believe. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a loving father giving what is needed to his children. It is a promise, again, for now and for the not yet. Again, there's a not yet. As followers of Christ, we are strangers in the land where we live. We are dual citizens, both here on earth and of the heavenly kingdom, awaiting the day eagerly when the earth is made new.
Johnathan Schutz:I want to look at Hebrews 11, 13 through 16. I want to look at Hebrews 11, 13 through 16. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return, but as it is, they desire a better country that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, god is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Johnathan Schutz:I don't know about you, but whenever I hear songs that sing about all things being made new. I'm specifically thinking about the music from Rich Mullins back in the eighties. I get teary because there's a sense of homesickness that I get in my heart. There's a longing for home, there's a longing for all this to be made new, and a lot of this is. It's a longing to see Jesus face to face. It's a longing for him directly, but it's also to see him receive all that he was promised.
Johnathan Schutz:The consummation of all things, all things being made right, sees a new heavens and a new earth where all the good things that God has made but have been corrupted are made new. It sees Christ receiving his bride, a people from every tribe, nation, people and tongue. It sees us receiving our portion, our reward, jesus himself. We fully receive our inheritance as sons in that day, and that is what we are looking forward to in the not yet. Romans 8, 16 through 17 says the spirit himself bears witness, with our spirit, that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. So just to recap how all this works right Knowing we are citizens of a kingdom, knowing that the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.
Johnathan Schutz:We can stand as confident sons, knowing that we don't have to stick up for our own rights. Yes, we'll be stirred up for a zeal out of a zeal for the things that make the Lord's heartache. Yes, we will be stirred up for those that he's given to us that make the Lord's heartache. Yes, we will be stirred up for those that he's given to us, but whenever it comes to ourselves, we don't have to stand up for our own rights. Meekness does not breed inaction, but it breeds the right action. We then, from that place, operate in confident assurance of who is behind us. There's a greater strength than the world can ever know inside of us, and it does not matter if the odds are against us or not. We humbly occupy this broken world until he comes. So, with that knowledge, we don't conquer the earth in the same way that earthly kingdoms do. We are more than conquerors. Through him who loved us, and we are looking for the kind of inheritance that the world is looking for. When we, as co-heirs with Christ, inherit the earth, we're being a part of what Christ has promised, receiving that people that was his that was promised to him people from every tribe, nation and tongue. I want to close by specifically looking at the hope we have in that not yet.
Johnathan Schutz:Meekness means letting go of our own control of our own destinies. It means letting go of our pride, not seeking self-interest, of our own control of our own destinies. It means letting go of our pride, not seeking self-interest, not engaging the way the world does. This is entirely counter to nature. It's terrifying. I don't know if anybody here has ever scuba dove before. I got an opportunity to do a beginner scuba diving class but you put that regulator in your mouth and you know you've got the tank and you're breathing, fine, right. And then you go under the water and every fiber of your being screams that if I do that, I'm gonna die. This is completely counter to nature and this is what meekness is in the Christian walk. It only works if we serve a sovereign, truly reigning God, if someone has already done the work for us that we could not do to purchase the work for us, that we could not do to purchase the inheritance for us.
Johnathan Schutz:Revelations 5.5. And one of the elders said to me weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals when the ultimate victory has been won, the ultimate victory over sin, the death, hell, the grave has been won in Christ, but we are still in hostile territory. We may not be conquerors in the earthly sense, but there's a form of conquering that we are still called to. I want to read Revelation 12, 10 through 11.
Johnathan Schutz:And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of this Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God, and they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony, for they love not their lives unto the death. That's how we conquer. We don't fight against flesh and blood, but we meekly, strongly, humbly and, as counterintuitively as it sounds, gently stand against the powers of this world. And we win by resting and standing in the finished work of Christ. But eventually, eventually, we will inherit the earth. Eventually, all that has been promised to Christ will be his.
Johnathan Schutz:And he who was seated on the throne said behold, I am making all things new. And he said write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me it is done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty. I will give from the spring of water of life, without payment, to the one who conquers, like we talked about in that last verse, to the one who conquers. Who conquers, like we talked about in that last verse, to the one who conquers. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. That's Revelation 21,. Five through seven.
Johnathan Schutz:When we entrust ourselves to our father, when we meekly, humbly, refuse to place ourselves on the throne, when we stand firm in the blood of the lamb, we operate as sons and we will inherit with these son. I would like to pray for us as we close and then want to let you guys get to the discussion questions and really look at how does this affect your own life? Operating out of meekness requires spiritual muscles that aren't naturally in us. It's not the natural way we want to actually operate if we're in our flesh, and I'd like to encourage you to really dig in with each other and look at the practical ways that this can be played out.
Johnathan Schutz:Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this evening Again. We thank you for your people, we thank you for your word and, father, we thank you that you are on the throne, that we don't have to watch out for our own self-interest, we don't have to be looking out for number one Lord. We can entrust that entirely into your trustworthy, sovereign kingly hands, because you have overcome and you have conquered. I ask that you'd help us to look at our own lives and our own hearts and see where we've placed ourselves on the throne, and I ask that you would help us to remove ourselves from it, that we would not look out for our own self-interest, but we would look to glorify you in everything and, father, in every interaction and in every thing that we do and say. I ask the Trinity Community Church would be defined as a church made up of meek believers who stand strongly in you. So, father, I just thank you Again, I thank you for these people here and I just pray your blessings upon them in Jesus' name.
