PARADIGM SHIFT

Fall: Week Four

Blessed Are the Meek:

Beatitudes III – (Matthew 5:3-10)

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

– Matthew 5:5 (NIV)

The English word “meek” is misleading.  It is often defined as being submissive or even spineless, but the Greek word “plaus” that is used here is a much deeper word.  “Meek” is not something that we often want to be known as, but “plaus” was an honorable adjective in ancient Greece. Some versions of the Bible translate “plaus” as “gentle,” but even that in the English fails to convey the whole meaning of this word. So as I was researching to try to get to the root of this mysterious word, I stumbled once again upon William Barclay’s The Daily Study Bible and found this interpretation: “O the bliss of the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time, who has every instinct, and impulse, and passion under control because he himself is God-controlled, who has the humility to realise his own ignorance and his own weakness, for such a man is a king among men!”

The theme of humble, gentle people rising to the top of society runs throughout the narrative of the Old Testament; from Adam and Eve, to Abraham (Dt 4:38), to Moses (Num 12:3), and to David (Ps 37:11). Jesus uses this radical ideology to demonstrate that His followers were to be set apart from and not to conform to the way that the world is run. In our society, we our taught at a very young age that the only way to get through life is to cheat, fight, and do anything and everything to win; ‘the end justifies the means’ if you will. That mindset is not compatible to Christ’s kingdom. It is different, and we as members of that kingdom are required to live different.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). This verse is a rally call, it was for ancient Israel, and it certainly is for the members of Christ’s kingdom. If we are going to ‘take this world back for Christ,’ then we must humble ourselves before the Lord and let Him do His work through us. Strive to be meek, strive to be humble, strive to be different, but most importantly, strive to grow closer to Jesus Christ, for He is our Brother, our Friend, our Savior, and our King.

Fall: Week Two

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit:

Beatitudes I – (Matthew 5:3-10)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“

- Matthew 5:3 (NIV)

Now that we quickly got to the heart of the Sermon on the Mount last week, it is time to zoom out and refocus on the beginning of Jesus’ message: the Beatitudes.  Jesus stood up and basically blessed the normal, everyday ‘good man,’ which completely flew in the face of the honor-system of ancient Israelite culture.  A man was to be high and mighty, rich and successful, well-known and respected.  Sound familiar?  But this Jesus guy just stood up and said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The meaning of the term “blessed” is often confused, but after looking at the Greek and Hebrew roots of the word, I found that it referred to having a kind of joy that is uninfluenced by outside forces.  Also, the structure of the Beatitudes mirrors the structure of Psalm 1:1 and a few other Old Testament verses that imply that this was an exclamation, not just a hopeful ideal.  William Barclay sums this up in his commentary, The Daily Study Bible with this interpretation: “O the bliss of the man who has realised his own utter helplessness, and who has put his whole trust in God, for thus alone he can render to God that perfect obedience which will make him a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.”

In order for us to truly “seek first His kingdom,” we need to humble ourselves and submit to the will of the Lord.  The Bible and church history are filled with the weak, the broken, and the lost who were called by God to do great things.  Look at Abraham, Moses, David, the Twelve Disciples, Paul, and so many more.  God does not want the self-righteous, independent, nor arrogant in His kingdom; He wants those who have truly witnessed His love and who whole-heartedly love Him back.

A look back at 2 Chronicles 7:14 shows us that the first step in turning back to God is to humble yourself and pray.  I urge you to take a look at yourself and realize that if you are trying to live independent from God, then you will never experience true joy.  Please talk to God this week, but more importantly, just listen; spend some quiet time in prayer everyday, and it will help re-center you and God will give you the strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13).