Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

From Background Notes [BN] for May 26^th & 27^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Jesus, the suffering servant of Yahweh, referred to himself as “meek” in two other passages found in Matthew: 11:29 and 21:5. In the first instance…

…he is under the yoke along with his followers. In the second, he is coming into Jerusalem riding a donkey. For Jews the “yoke” could mean either life lived under Torah or life in slavery to the ruling powers. Jesus accepted the lowly role of sharing in a common humanity through his incarnation. He did this so that he might set free those whose voices had been silenced by the powers arrayed against God’s kingdom. Finding Israel oppressed, “like sheep without a shepherd,” he allowed himself to become the Lamb of God who did not open his mouth when put on trial (see Isaiah 53). Through the cross he let himself go in surrender to his Father’s will, and took the form of a servant, obedient to death.

Those who identify with Jesus in this kind of meekness live under the promise, “they will inherit the earth.” Ordinarily, inheritance belongs to those who come from families with capital — property and possessions. Increasingly in Palestine, land acquisition became concentrated in the hands of the few. The prophets spoke against such practices: “Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land” (Isaiah 5:8). For each house added, a house was subtracted from the inheritance of the debtors and those who lost their lands. Torah had rules about returning property during years of Jubilee, but Israel had blatantly neglected this provision in their law code, and the result was a large underclass — the “meek” — who lived under the control of those who owned property.

The way of life Jesus envisioned would overturn the prevailing value system and return the basis for inheritance to those who had lost it. He promised that the meek will inherit the earth. [BN, 7]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene –

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm