Gentleness that Precedes the Crucifixion

Scripture — Matthew 5:5-6, 10-12 (NRSV)

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. . . . Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Devotion

This devotion is scheduled to appear in mailboxes on a Friday in early April, just two days before Palm Sunday, when many Christians will remember Jesus riding a colt into Jerusalem for the Passover feast while crowds gathered and laid palm branches on the ground to honor him. Matthew’s gospel recounts the preparation for this event with a quotation from the prophet Zechariah. In the NIV, the passage from Matthew 21:5 reads:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The celebration with palm branches was intended for a king, and honor was indeed shown to Jesus that day. But those who know the Gospel story know that just a few days later, Jesus was arrested and put to death by crucifixion.

In yesterday’s devotion, I looked at a short section of the Beatitudes and Jesus’ teaching about the blessedness that results from being meek (or gentle) and from pursuing righteousness. This passage—as well as much of the Sermon on the Mount that runs throughout Matthew 5-7—makes many Christians uncomfortable. Indeed, I am among those who find this teaching difficult. So when I draw from the Sermon on the Mount in my writings and teachings, I’m not surprised to meet with resistance even from others within the Christian church. For example, after reading my recent book Aslan’s Breath, on C. S. Lewis’s portrayal of the Holy Spirit in the Narnia stories, one reviewer complained that I emphasized gentleness as a Christian virtue and as part of the fruit of the Spirit’s work in our lives. The reviewer was bothered by that emphasis, and referred to my call to gentleness as “secular”—despite the fact that the book repeatedly pointed to Biblical models of gentleness.

I understand that resistance and discomfort. Meekness/gentleness is generally not a path to worldly power or comfort. Indeed, meekness might result in suffering. Or death. That Jesus understood this is suggested just a few verses later in the Beatitudes when he goes on to say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The persecution of those who follow the way of Christ seems to be connected with the whole of the Beatitudes: with being poor in spirit (v.3), with mourning (v.4), with being merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers (vv. 7-9) and of course with meekness and a pursuit of righteousness.

The connection to righteousness is explicit. When we hunger for righteousness more than for power or comfort, and in our hunger for righteousness we seek to practice the virtue of meekness, we will suffer persecution. One of the things that stands out to me in the Beatitudes is that each of the first seven statements of blessing is short and concise. But when Jesus gets to persecution of his followers, he suddenly expands his teaching, spending three verses repeating and emphasizing his point—calling blessed those who suffer persecution for his sake, and saying we should rejoice when it happens.

That is part of a thread Paul picks up on in his own profoundly uncomfortable teaching in Romans 8:16-17, when he writes about our adoption into God’s kingdom and the promise of the resurrection. After the encouraging words reminding us that “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,” he adds the important condition, “if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” That is a big uncomfortable “if”! The implication seems to be that if we don’t suffer with Christ, we don’t have the promise of being glorified with him when he returns.

I don’t particularly want to suffer. I’m not excited to be persecuted for my faith. And I certainly don’t find it easy to rejoice when I am. I’d rather be told that following Christ will lead to power, wealth, and comfort, instead of being told to practice meekness and rejoice in suffering. It is tempting to look for teachers who can give us reasons to dismiss these challenging teachings, and it would be easy for me as a leader to ignore such passages in my own writing and teaching in order to gain approval. That is part of the reason for Paul’s exhortation and warning to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2-4) to preach the word even though some in his congregation would prefer to have their ears tickled with less challenging messages.

And this brings us back to Palm Sunday. The adjective that Zechariah’s prophecy—and later Matthew’s gospel—associates with Jesus as he enters Jerusalem is “gentle,” or as some translators render it, “humble”.  Jesus’ great strength was shown in gentle humility, or what we might also call meekness. Jesus would soon come to know firsthand that the cost of such gentleness is death. No wonder it makes us uncomfortable. But it is the way of the Christ.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: “Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake” (Matt 5:10).