The Greek word translated as “meek” in Matthew 5:5 was a word that commonly described these three things in Jesus’ day: a soothing medicine, a gentle breeze, and a broken colt. 

  • Doctors might give a meek medicine to a patient with a high fever in order to help them sleep.  The medicine relieved the situation and drove people back to health.
  • A meek breeze would be like a refreshing, gentle wind at the end of a hard day working in the sun.  It served to restore and refresh a tired body.
  • Every colt has to be broken and made meek before it can function on the farm.  Someone has to break the colt and control its power so that it can be used productively.

What do all of those things have in common?  POWER! All three things – the medicine, the wind, and the colt – have GREAT POWER and are very useful when that power is under control!

  • Medicine has power to calm nerves, kill germs, strengthen organs, and cure illness.  However, an overdose of medicine can be deadly.
  • Wind has the power to drive huge wind turbines and move large vessels across the oceans.  A light summer breeze is refreshing and a windy day in Phoenix might drive away the smog.  However, we know wind that’s out of control can be very destructive.  Monsoon winds can knock down trees.  Last year out in Camp Verde, a micro-burst of wind blew a mobile home upside down.
  • A horse is a beautiful and powerful animal as long as their power is controlled.  If you’ve been to a rodeo, you can appreciate the wildly destructive forces of a horse that’s out of control.

All these things have great power.  When that power is under control, it is called “meekness” in the Bible.

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Mark Stafford

Senior Pastor