The Meek will Inherit the Earth

Q: What did Jesus mean when he said blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth? 

A: Thank you for your question. In order to answer your question, I believe it is necessary to understand some common misconceptions about the Sermon on the Mount. Many Christians believe and teach that Jesus was speaking to Christians. Therefore, they look at the Sermon on the Mount as a sort of Christian Constitution; that it was given as a means of encouraging, guiding and instructing Christians in our daily lives. The Sermon on the Mount was not given by Jesus as way of showing us how we are to live our lives and interact with other people. The questions that need to be, but are rarely, asked are, "Who was Jesus talking to?", "Why was He speaking to them in that manner?" and "What did His audience hear Him to say?" Jesus was talking to an audience primarily made up of Jews who were trying to live under the Law of Moses. His purpose in speaking to them was not to instruct them, or Christians, how to live, but to show them that their attempts at obedience to the law were not enough to please God. Furthermore, the teachers of the law and Pharisees had developed a system of living they added to the Law of Moses which was designed to prevent someone from coming close to violating the Law.

For example, in Matthew 5:3, Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Pharisees had been teaching that blessed are the rich in spirit. By rich in spirit they were meaning those people who prayed more, studied more and were obedient to the Law. So, when Jesus said "blessed are the poor in spirit," this was in direct contradiction to what they believed. Continuing on into Matthew 5:4, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Again, this was the exact opposite of what the Pharisees believed and taught. The Pharisees believed that if you were suffering or mourning it was because you must have sinned against God and were being punished. So, for them to hear Jesus say that those who suffer are the blessed ones and that God will comfort them must have been a shock. After all, the Law of Moses rewarded obedience and cursed failure. The entire motivation of the Pharisees and many of the Jews was to be blessed by God because according to the scriptures God said, "All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 28:2)." And in the subsequent verses God would detail what those blessings would be. He also detailed the curses for disobedience, but that is a subject for another time.

Therefore, when you consider Matthew 5:5, you can see it in a different light. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." To be meek means to be "patient, long-suffering, or submissive in disposition or nature; humble." As one Bible commentary says about this verse, it "refers not so much to an attitude toward man as a disposition before God, namely, humility." If you think about it, what is a possible byproduct of believing you have found a way to be obedient to God? It is religious pride. When it came to the Pharisees and the Jewish people it is not hard to imagine many of them developing a sense of pride. God calls them His "chosen people." He personally gave them the Law through Moses. Therefore, when Jesus comes along and tells them, in no uncertain terms, that their status and apparent obedience is not enough to please God, you can see how they would scoff at His message. However, the meek, or humble, are those who realize they cannot be obedient enough to God's Law, any law for that matter. They are the ones who realize that the only way they will be pleasing before God and inherit the earth is by His grace and mercy. That is what Jesus was trying to push them towards. He wanted them to ultimately realize that what was required of them was to "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." That is simply impossible to do no matter how hard one tries or how obedient they believe themselves to be.

Many Christians are guilty of using the Sermon on the Mount for a purpose God never intended. The Law of Moses, in general, and the Sermon on the Mount, specifically, were given to lead a person to Christ, not to guide a Christian once we have come to faith in Him. Honestly, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior you are already one of the "meek" who will inherit the earth. You have realized that your obedience was not like that of Jesus Christ and that your only hope of going to heaven was to humble yourself and accept God's grace and mercy provided through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While there is nothing wrong with reading the Bible and determining what God is trying to say to you, do not do that at the expense of first learning who the original audience was that was being written to or spoken to, what they believed at the time it was happening and why the author was saying what he was saying. You always here about context and that is one way to determine the context of a passage. And, of course, always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who will decipher the meaning of His word for you. I pray this answer has been some help to you. Grace and Peace.