His Meekness

“‘Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.’’ — Acts 2:36. ‘*Take My yoke uvon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’’ — -Matt. 11:29, 30.

‘‘Now I, Paul, myself intreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.’’ — 2 Cor, 10:1.

‘‘Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’’ — Matt. 21:5.

Thus far we have studied five features in the picture which God has drawn in His own Word of the real Christ, the Christ of actual fact as distinguished from the Christ of man’s fancies and dreams, the Christ of romance, the Christ that never did and never will exist and that ought not to exist. We have studied His Holiness, His Love to God the Father, His Love to Men, His Love for Souls, and His Compassion. This morning’ we are to study the sixth feature in that picture, a feature that will suggest the last we studied, His Compassion, but which at the same time is quite distinct from it. Our subject this morning is, The Meekness of Jesus Christ. We have. four texts: Acts 2:36: ‘‘Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom ye crucified.’’ Matt. 11:29, 30: ‘‘Zake My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden 1s light.”’ 2 Cor. 10:1: ‘‘Now I, Paul, myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.’’ Matt. 21:5: ‘‘Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’’ Three of these four texts state and emphasize the fact that the Lord Jesus was meek. In the second text His lowliness is put in close connection with His meekness and at first I thought of combining these two in one sermon, but found that the material was so abundant as to necessitate two sermons, and, furthermore, though closely associated, they are entirely separate and distinct features in the portrait. The meekness of Christ is one thing; His lowliness and humility is quite another thing.

I. What ts Meekness?

The first question that confronts us is, What is Meekness? We shall find it is something quite different from the ordinary conception of meekness. The thought that the word ‘‘Meekness’’ conveys to the average mind, that indeed it formerly conveyed to my own mind, is that of ‘‘natient submissiveness under injustice and injury.’’ Now, Jesus displayed that as we shall see at some future day when we come to study His Humility, but that is not what the Bible means by ‘‘meekness.’’ T’he Greek word translated ‘‘meek’’ in our texts means, according to its usage in Greek literature from Homer down, ‘‘gentle’’ or ‘‘mild.’?’ The word in its Bible usage means the same. I have carefully looked up the sixteen passages in the Bible in which the word and its derivatives are found, and the connections in which the word is found clearly show that the meaning of ‘‘meekness’’ is that attitude of mind that is opposed to harshness and contentiousness, the attitude of mind that shows itself in mildness and gentleness and tenderness in dealing with others. The thought of gentleness in dealing with, and correcting the errors of, others is the predominant thought. This comes out in three of our texts; e.g., in Matt. 11:29: ‘‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly m heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’’ The thought here evidently is that we will find rest in learning of Jesus because He is a gentle and not a harsh teacher and master. This is still more evident from v. 30, ‘‘For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’’ The Greek word translated ‘‘easy’’ in this verse really means ‘‘mild,’’ ‘‘kind,’’ ‘‘pleasant,’’ or ‘‘gracious.’’ That gentleness or mildness is the thought of the word in 2 Cor: 10:1, ‘‘“Now I, Paul, myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ,’’ is evident from the word with which it is coupled, ‘‘gentleness.’’ That gentleness as distinguished from the warlike spirit is the thought in Matt. 21:5,°Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass,’’ is evident from His meekness being associated with His coming’ sitting on an ass, the beast of burden and service, as distinguished from the horse which in the Bible is associated with war.

IT, How the Meekness of the Christ Was
Manifested

That the thought of gentleness and mildness and tenderness in dealing with and correcting the errors of others is the thought of God in speaking of the meekness of Christ will become more evident as we consider the second question, How the Meekness of the Christ Was Manifested.

1. In the first place, the Meekness of the Christ was manifested in His gentle dealing with those whose spiritual life was fragile and the flame of whose love to God was flickering. This comes out beautifully in Isaiah’s prophetic vision of the coming Christ which Matthew quotes and applies to Jesus of Nazareth in Matt. 12:20, ‘‘A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shalt He not quench.’’ (Cf. Isa. 42:1-3.) The feeble and flickering faith and love of many is here compared to the reed that is bruised and almost broken and the wick that is smoking and almost extinguished, The Lord Jesus will treat all such, not with the severity and sternness that will crush and extinguish, but the tenderness that will strengthen and cherish and fan into a flame. It is a lesson we all need to learn in dealing with those who are young in the Christian life and weak in their faith. There is a great danger of discouraging these by expecting too much and demanding too much of them. Many a one who was once like a reed that was nearly broken is to-day a stalwart oak able to resist any violent storm, and many a one who was once like a smouldering wick about going out, is now a brightly shining light for God. But many a well-meaning but tactless and self-sufficient and unchristian zealot for the truth and the right crushes many such a bruised reed and quenches many such a smoking wick. Oh, that we all were more like our Lord in this. He dealt with the most considerate and delicate and exquisite tenderness with the broken, and with gentle breath encouraged the fire that was nearly gone out, instead of blowing it out with a too vigorous blast.

2.. In the second place, the Meékness of the Christ was manifested in His gently telling the outrageous but penitent sinner that her sins were forgwen and for her to go in peace. We see this illustrated in the incident to which we have already referred in speaking of the Compassion of Christ, the incident of the outcast woman of

Capernaum recorded in Luke 7. When she came into the house of Simon where Jesus was reclining at the table, Simon and the other guests would have driven the woman from the house in righteous indignation at her vile conduct in the past, but Jesus, looking into those tear-dimmed eyes, saw the dawning of a better life, saw the sincere penitence and the budding faith in Himself, and said unto her, ‘‘Thy sins are forgiven,’” and then again He said to the woman, “‘ Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.’’ (Luke 7:48, 50.) Which are we more like, our Lord Jesus or Simon, the Pharisee?

Many years ago, in my first pastorate, in an out station, a woman who had been a notorious sinner was converted and desired to be baptized by immersion. We gathered at a pool of water, I went down into the pool with the woman and buried her and her past beneath the baptizmal waters and she was raised again into newness of life; but some good people, really good people I think, thought it was dreadful that I should baptize a woman like that, at least so soon. Though they were good people in many ways, in this they certainly were utterly unlike the Lord. Some of the saintliest people I have ever known were once the vilest of the vile; but fortunately for them, in the beginnings of their Christian life, they had fallen in with those who had learned at least something of — the meekness of the Christ of God.

I know a man who is loved and honored by thousands, loved and honored as few are loved and honored in many a State of the Union and on both sides of the Atlantic; but until he was forty-two years of age he was one of the wickedest and vilest of men. He was converted, very thoroughly converted and yet extremely sensitive and weak and easily discouraged. He came to Chicago while still a young convert and fell in with those who loved him and trusted him in spite of the black record of the past. But he had grave discouragements still.. One day he was sorely discouraged. He went to the house of a friend who had welcomed him to the hearth, yes, to the very heart of his own home circle. A little child who could scarcely talk ran eagerly to him and he took her up in his arms and she, throwing her arms around his neck, whispered, ‘‘I love oo, Coby.’’ It was a message of hope and cheer from heaven spoken by an infant’s lips. It saved him to Christian service, a service in which he has been marvelously blessed. Suppose he had been received with severity, with cold words and suspicion, and excluded from that family circle? Where would he have been to-day?

3. In the third place, the Meekness of the real Christ was manifested in His tenderly saying to a moral coward who had tried to steal a blessing from Hum unseen by any and confessing it to none, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.’’ This we see in the case of the woman who had the issue of blood. (Mk. 5:33, 34.) She had been ill for many years with a complaint that separated her from contact with the clean. ‘‘She had heard of Jesus’? and ‘‘came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment.’’ ‘‘For,’’ she said, ‘‘if I touch but His garments, I shall be made whole.’’ She was a coward, she should have come openly, she should have confessed openly what He had done, before the confession was wrung from her, but the Lord Jesus did not spurn her on that account. He gently asked, ‘‘Who touched my garments?’’?’ To the disciples it seemed a foolish question, for many were crowding around Him and in that sense touched Him, but only one had really ‘‘touched’’?’ Him. The woman was full of fear and trembling. She knew she had done wrong. She was afraid He would drive her from Him and that she would lose the blessing, but with gentleness indescribable He turns to her and says, ‘“‘Daughter, be of good comfort, thy farth hath made thee whole, go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.’’ (Cf. Matt. 9:22.) Now, this woman was clearly in the wrong. She should, as we have said, come openly and declared her need and she should have confessed the healing. She richly deserved reproof. She deserved to go without the blessing she sought to obtain in an underhanded way, without rendering to the Lord Jesus the acknowledgment and honor He so richly de-. served, but how matchless was the gentleness and tenderness of our Lord! He did indeed bring out the public confession of her former need and present healing, but so gently. Our Lord could be severe, He could be scathing in His rebukes, as we have already seen in studying His Holiness and as we shall see again some day in studying His rugged manliness. Ah, yes, but He could be more mild and gentle than the gentlest mother. That is an art we all need to learn more fully and to practice more constantly. You will say, ‘‘That is not my natural temperament.’’ Then get a supernatural temperament, get it by supernatural grace that transforms a wrong temperament into a Christlike temperament, get it by the filling of the Holy Spirit, for ‘‘The fruit of the Spirit 1s Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Fath, Meekness, Self-control.’’ (Gal. 5 :22, 23.)

4. In the fourth place, the Meekness of the Christ of God was manifested in the gentleness - with which He rebuked the stubborn unbelief of a willful though honest doubter. This we see in the case of Thomas. You know the story as recorded in John 20: 24-28. You recall how when our Lord appeared to the disciples on the evening of His resurrection, Thomas was not with the other dis- - ciples. And you recall, too, how when Thomas returned to the apostolic company, the disciples in concert cried, ‘‘We have seen the Lord.’’ Then you will remember how he said, ‘‘Haxcept I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my. finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe,’’ A week passes and Thomas remained in his unbelief. But on the evening of the first day of the next week the disciples are gathered together again and this time Thomas is with them and ‘‘ Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you,’’ to the whole company. Then He turns to Thomas and says to him so gently (E wonder just how He looked when He said it), ‘*Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put vt mto my side: and be not faithless but believing.’’ There is many a doubter to-day, many a stubborn, willful doubter who can be won by treatment like that. But we try to pound our beliefs into their heads. We get angry and contentious and argumentative and self-assertive when they will not accept our beliefs at once. We will never win them that way. We simply confirm them in their doubt and unbelief. But you say, ‘‘They are unreasonable.’’ Yes, they are unreasonable, and you are un-Christlike. Thomas was most unreasonable. He was stubborn, he was willful, he said, ‘‘Unless I am given the exact kind of proof I demand, I wilt not believe, no matter how sufficient other proofs given are.’’ But unreasonable as Thomas was not to believe the competent testimony of the men whom he so well knew, and as willful as he was in trying to dictate just what kind of proofs must be given him, our Lord Jesus was gentle and so kind. And soon we see Thomas on his knees looking up into the face of Jesus and crying, ‘‘My Lord and my God.’’ I saw a man like that last summer in China. JI watched him with keen and most astonished interest. He was gently courteous with every one, with the Chinese as well as with the Europeans; with the Chinese coolie as well as with the Chinese gentleman; with the stubborn skeptic as well as with the enthusiastic believer in Christ, and he won every one. I saw little children fiock around him and drink in every work he spoke; I saw prominent scholars defer to him; I saw a proud Chinese gentleman yield to him and do with alacrity what he was very loath to do. Where had he learned it? He had learned it from the Lord Jesus, to whom he had turned in such early boyhood that he had not the faintest recollection of when he was converted. Many of us were converted later in life, and we had been harsh and overbearing and self-assertive and dominating before we were converted, and we have brought much of our severity and our dominating self-assertion and determination to bend every one else to our point of view, whether they will or not, into our new life. But we can learn better this morning.

5. In the fifth place, the Meekness of the Christ was manifested in the tenderness with which He rebuked self-confidence and a consequent fall and rank unfaithfulness and a thrice-repeated and flagrant denial of Hvmself. The especial mstance of this which we have in mind is, of course, that of Peter. You can read about it in John 21: 15-17. You remember how Peter had said on the night before the crucifixion, ‘‘ Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended.’’ And how he had said again, ‘‘Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee.’’ (Matt. 26: 33-35.) And you remember, too, how a little later when faced with a charge eee by a servant girl, ‘‘Thou art one of this man’s disciuples,’’ Peter’s courage instantly vanished and his protestations of loyalty were utterly forgotten and how three times he denied his Lord, the last time with oaths and cursings. Now, Jesus is risen from the dead and Peter meets Him on the shores of Galilee. Breakfast is over and our Lord inquires of Peter, ‘‘Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these??? and Peter answers, ““Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.’’ And Jesus says, ‘‘Feed my lambs.’’ Then again a second time Jesus asks, “‘Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me?’’ And again Peter replies, ‘‘ Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.’’ And Jesus says, ‘‘Tend my sheep.’’ Then a third time, the Lord, looking into Peter’s eyes, beginning to fill with tears, asks, ‘Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?’’ And Peter answers with the tears now flowing from his eyes, ‘‘Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.’’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘‘Feed my sheep.’’ Oh, how wonderfully tender it all was! Searching, it is true, but how tender! How gentle!

and all the more effective because gentle. Peter was grieved, grieved all the more deeply because it was so gentle. Peter never forgot it, he never denied his Lord again. When standing before the very council that had condemned Christ to death, he said, ‘‘Ye rulers of the people, and elders, tf we this day are examined concerning good deal done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that m the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, even in Him doth this man stand here before you whole. He is the stone which was set at naught of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And wm none ather is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that 1s given among men, wherein we must be saved.’’ (Acts 4: 8-12.) How differently some of us would have treated Peter. We would have received him back; oh, yes, but what a sound trouncing we would have first given him. I can imagine myself handling Peter and saying fiercely in ‘‘righteous indignation,’’ ‘‘Simon, you coward, you poltroon, denying your Lord with oaths and curses. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You ought to go and hide your head. You ought to hesitate to show yourself in the presence of His disciples.’? Ah me, how unlike we are to Him whom we call ‘‘our Lord.’’.

6. In the sixth place, the meekness of the

Christ was manifested m His tender and pleading reproof of His betrayer, Judas Iscariot. We see this in John 138: 21, 27: ‘“‘Jesus was troubled m the spirit, and testified, and sad, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me,’’ and later when He had given the sop to Judas and when ‘‘after the sop,’’ Satan had entered into Judas, Jesus turned to him and said, ‘‘ That thow doest, do quickly.’’ What tenderness, what pleading there was in all this. We will feel it more if we try to imagine the tone in which Jesus said it. It is true that in the case of Judas the meekness of our Lord failed to bring him to repentance, but ‘‘the devil had already entered into Judas’’ and the devil, alas! is incorrigible, even before the meekness and gentleness of our Lord. We see the same thing once more in the Garden when Judas came with the priests and soldiers to arrest Jesus and drag Him to trial and crucifixion. Judas brazenly approaches Jesus and kisses Him again and again in seeming affection, but in reality to mark him out as the one to arrest, and our Lord says with eyes that are tear-filled with pity and a voice that is shaking with compassionate yearning, ‘‘ Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with kiss?’’ (Luke 22: 47, 48.) Our Lord would win Judas even yet if it were possible. If anything would have succeeded, that would.

7. In the seventh place, the meekness of the Christ was manifested in His praying for His murderers, for those very ones whose hands nailed

Hwm to the cross. The story is so well known to you all that I hardly need repeat it. Jesus is hanging on the cross. Heisin awful agony, awful physical agony, but far more awful mental and spiritual agony; for the whole weight of man’s Bins has been laid upon ‘‘Him Who knew no sim’’ and who therefore recoiled in spiritual horror from sin as no other man ever recoiled, for no other was ever so holy as He. And the Father’s face is being hidden from Him by the black cloud of your sins and mine. His heart is already breaking, and soon He will cry in an agony such as no other son of man ever knew, “‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’’ And now from the cross He looks down at those who a few moments ago drove the nails into His hands and feet and reared the cross and left Him hanging there, and He sees them now gambling for the garments they have stripped from His poor body and He utters a prayer, — not a prayer of execration but a prayer of wondrous pity, ‘‘ Father, forgwe them; for they know not what they do.’’ (Luke 23:34.) I cannot go on. The sublime simplicity and pathos of the Divine record beggars and makes impossible all attempts at human exposition. I do not need to attempt it. Go meditate upon it alone and never forget that ‘‘He that saith he abideth im Hum ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.’’ (I Jobn 2:6.);