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The Meekness And Strength Of Jesus
November 03, 2013
Jesus was the embodiment of both meekness and strength during adversity. He set the example for us to be humble toward all, but ready to stand up against evil in leadership, wherever we may find it. Sometimes it is found in corrupt religious leaders or ungodly local or national political leaders. The strong in faith trust God enough to serve one another, yet are ready to be firm when that is appropriate.
Bernie Parsons
The Meekness and Strength of Jesus
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Load church of Christ on 11-03-2013
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 11-10-2013
In our last lesson, I covered many aspects of the fruitful, spiritually
mature believer in Jesus Christ. One point that I made is that meekness does
not equate to weakness. Jesus proved that by the life that He lived.
Jesus Was Meek
Jesus was the embodiment of meekness, starting with prophecy about Him and
His behavior.
Acts 8:32 "The place of the
scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his
generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh
the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus."
The above passage that the eunuch was reading is found in Isaiah 53:7.
Matthew 27:11 “And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked
him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou
sayest.
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered
nothing.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness
against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled
greatly.”
Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
2 Corinthians 10:1 “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the
meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence
am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:”
Jesus Rebuked Spiritual Corruption
John 2:13 "And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the
changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money,
and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my
Father's house an house of merchandise."
Some try to say that in the above passage, Jesus beat the moneychangers.
However, in the Greek rendering of this passage, it states that He made the
whip and drove out the animals, then overturned the tables of the
moneychangers and told them to take their merchandise and leave.
Luke 11:52 "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye
hindered."
Matthew 23:13 "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more
the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the
temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple,
he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that
sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever
sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that
sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all
things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that
dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by
him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint
and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law,
judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave
the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within
full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are
full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the
tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have
been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of
them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?"
Jesus Challenged Political Corruption
Jesus rebuked Herod regarding His impending crucifixion.
Luke 13:31 "The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto
him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out
devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be
perfected.
33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following:
for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem."
Jesus reminded Pilate that his power only existed because God allowed it.
John 19:7 "The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to
die, because he made himself the Son of God.
8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art
thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it
were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath
the greater sin."
We see from these scriptures that Jesus was meek, but bold and strong,
taking on corrupt religious leaders as well as arrogant political leaders.
Meekness is not weakness.
