The Sermon on the Mount
Blessed are the gentle; Matthew 5:5
Background: Traditional Location for the Sermon on the Mount
Exposition of Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
- Blessed: Happiness or inward joy that comes from God
- The Gentle
- Translations
o Meek (KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV), Gentle (NASB, HCSB), Humble (NASB, NLT)
- Other occurrences
o In Matthew – Matthew 11:29 and Matthew 21:5 (attitudes of Christ)
o Outside Matthew –
- James 1:21 (attitude toward God)
- Galatians 5:22-23 (attribute of Spirit filled Christians)
- Colossians 3:12 and Ephesians 4:1-3 (attitude for preserving church unity)
- Galatians 6:1 and II Timothy 2:24-26 (attitude in confronting sinners)
- I Peter 3:15 (attitude in witnessing to the lost)
- Titus 3:1-2 (attitude towards all people)
- Conclusion:
o The Gentle live submitted to God and His Word.
o The Gentle are kind and gracious in their words and actions towards believers and unbelievers alike, especially when confronting believers concerning sin and unbelievers concerning Christ.
o This gentleness is not weakness, but a strong, unwavering commitment to God and His Word matched with humility and gentleness of thoughts, words and actions toward God and all people.
- They shall inherit the earth
- Paradoxical in nature: the gentle usually get run over on the earth
- Tied to the Old Testament pledge to Israel of the Promised Land, Deuteronomy 31:6-8
- Tied to the Old Testament principles, Psalm 37 (especially verse 11)
- Tied to the promise of an eternal inheritance for believers, Colossians 1:11-12
The Sermon on the Mount
Blessed are the gentle; Matthew 5:5
- New Series Background
- Video (Video )
- Background (Header Slide)
- Picture 1 (Slide 1)
- Picture 2 (Slide 2)
- Scripture Reading and Prayer
- We will read all twelve of these verses every week
- Goal is for us to become extremely familiar with these verses
- Read Matthew 5:3-12 (slides)
- Exposition of Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Header Slide)
- The challenge of the beatitudes – this week especially, the challenge of being gentle in my demeanor
- I am naturally a very type A, aggressive, task oriented individual
- It is difficult for me to be gentle, especially with my own kids
- This verse has really been hard on me all week long
- Read Matthew 5:5 (Slide 2)
- Blessed: Happiness or inward joy that comes from God
- The Gentle
- Translations
o Meek (KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV), Gentle (NASB, HCSB), Humble (NASB, NLT)
- Other occurrences
o In Matthew – Matthew 11:29 and Matthew 21:5 (attitudes of Christ)
o The context of Matthew 11:28 – 30 (Slide 3)
o The context of Matthew 21:5 (Slide 4)
o Outside Matthew –
- James 1:21 (attitude toward God) (Slide 5)
- Galatians 5:22-23 (attribute of Spirit filled Christians) (Slide 6)
- Colossians 3:12 and Ephesians 4:1-3 (attitude for preserving church unity)
- Read Ephesians 4:1-3 (Slide 7)
- Galatians 6:1 and II Timothy 2:24-26 (attitude in confronting sinners)
- Read II Timothy 2:24-26 (Slide 8)
- I Peter 3:15 (attitude in witnessing to the lost)
- Read I Peter 3:15 (Slide 9)
- Titus 3:1-2 (attitude towards all people)
- Conclusion:
o The Gentle live submitted to God and His Word.
o The Gentle are kind and gracious in their words and actions towards believers and unbelievers alike, especially when confronting believers concerning sin and unbelievers concerning Christ.
o This gentleness is not weakness, but a strong, unwavering commitment to God and His Word matched with humility and gentleness of thoughts, words and actions toward God and all people.
- They shall inherit the earth
- Paradoxical in nature: the gentle usually get run over on the earth
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
- Tied to the Old Testament pledge to Israel of the Promised Land, Deuteronomy 31:6-8 (Slide 10)
- Tied to the Old Testament principles, Psalm 37 (especially verse 11) (Slide 11)
- Tied to the promise of an eternal inheritance for believers, Colossians 1:11-12 (Slide 12)
- Closing – Read Matthew 5:5 (Slide 13)
- Blessing or happiness belongs to the gentle
- Why? Because they know that their gentleness will result in God’s everlasting favor, God Himself will give them an everlasting inheritance
- Application, let’s begin with parenting – there is a blessing on the gentle – a strong, unwavering commitment to God and His Word with humility and gentleness in our thoughts, words and actions toward our children
- How about our relationship with our spouse – a humility and gentleness in our thoughts, words and actions toward our spouse
- Fellow workers, church members, neighbors, the lost people in our lives that we care enough about them to share the gospel, the believers in our lives that we care enough to confront them in areas of sin