Our last episode ended with the question, “So if the Model of Meekness could shift into a mode of such strong, incendiary actions and words, what then is meekness?”
Now for the answer.
True meekness is that condition of character that has absolutely no agenda, except for God’s.
Jesus was meek because he came to earth with no plans of his own, no mission except the one God gave him. He had no personal ambition; no private scheme to promote or protect; no need to watch over his reputation. Jesus did not seek a “Holy Grail” that promised personal fulfillment while derailing him from his God-given mission (Matt 4:1-11).
In fact, he found no real satisfaction in this present age. “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (John 4:32). Only Father’s mission filled the craving in Jesus’ mighty heart. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).
That is meekness. It says, “Yourkingdom come, yourwill be done at whatever cost necessary to me. Nothing else satisfies. Every other consideration is dead. I have nothing to possess or gain in this world except your will.” No one could steal that from Jesus; no one could threaten him. His wellbeing and identity were determined, and sheltered, by his meekness.
Liberated from the demands of people’s opinions – both flatterers and foes – Jesus literally had nothing to lose. Therefore he was always, completely at the Father’s disposal.
None of the special interest groups of Israel could prevail upon him to join their cause, or even support them. No Pharisee could convert him to their puritan movement. No Sadducee could pressure him into temple politics. No Zealot could recruit him into militant extremism. Not even Judas’ betrayal could tempt him to defend his honor.
He never had to calculate his words to maintain popular opinion. He never feared the cost of obedience. As a result, he could hear the Spirit’s faintest whispers and feel the subtlest promptings. Having no self-interest or commitment to self-preservation, Jesus was acutely sensitive to the will of the one with whom he had to do. And precisely that was his meekness.
Jesus was the Model of Meekness.
All hail this Model of Meekness! He is the King of Glory! Happy are all who follow him. They are liberated by the laying down of their rights for the sake of a higher call. They may possess nothing in this age, but one day they will inherit the earth.