By: Obed Pineda
While waiting for his audience with Caesar, having appealed his case to the Roman emperor, the apostle to the Gentiles was allowed to remain in custody under house arrest instead of sitting in a cold and harsh prison cell (cf. Acts 25:7-12, 28:16, 23, 30-31). Holy Writ reveals that Paul redeemed those two years spent imprisoned wisely by “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:31). Neither did Paul neglect his care for the beloved saints due to his unjust imprisonment, as verified by the now known Prison Epistles of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Through the inspired power of his quill, Paul expressed from his custody quarters, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4). The confidence previously mentioned by the beloved physician Luke in Acts 28:31 is clearly visible with this doxology (i.e. an expression of praise to God) that he wrote while under house arrest. His inspired praise of God also reveals a spirit of meekness in the apostle who had once declared “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” in response to Agabus’ foretelling of his unrighteous apprehension by the Jews at Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-14). Unequivocally, Paul’s extraordinary example of submission to the will of God as it pertained to his person, should eradicate all false pretenses that meekness equates to weakness or softness of character. It is unwise and disrespectful to dare paint the apostle Paul with the color of cowardice knowing what he voluntarily endured for the Kingdom (cf. Acts 14:19-22, 1st Corinthians 15:29-32). On the contrary, the apostle’s example unveils the portrait of a man firmly in control of his spirit (cf. Proverbs 23:17-18). Thus, this establishes that to be meek is to submit all of one’s will over to God, without grumbling (cf. Philippians 2:14-17, 4:10-13). It is important to bring to mind also that meekness is included in the Master’s description of a model citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven stating, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). This beatitude uttered by the Lord Jesus sprouts a curious question as it concerns Paul’s case: How could Paul inherit the earth as a prisoner? Although he was eventually freed from his first imprisonment, it is a historical fact that he was imprisoned again, only to be executed by Nero Caesar (cf. 2nd Timothy 4:6-8). Knowing that Paul did indeed die a martyr’s death along with his revelation to Timothy that he had no regrets about losing his life for the Kingdom’s sake, validates two crucial truths necessary in order to make sense of the Savior’s beatitude. First, Paul’s confidence that “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” because the faithful life he devoted to Christ Jesus proves that he was undoubtedly a meek man (cf. Luke 12:35-44, Matthew 25:20-23).Second, because Paul was martyred in Rome it cannot be disputed that he did not receive the literal, physical earth as an inheritance (despite being a citizen of the heavenly Kingdom who committed his life to the service of the King, cf. Philippians 3:3-11, 20-21). These two facts aid us to properly exegete the beatitude when it is remembered that Jesus was speaking of His spiritual Kingdom and not a physical one, as the Jews of His time expected (cf. John 18:33-37)! Furthermore, notice that in his doxology Paul is thanking God for the “spiritual blessings in the heavenly places” that is allotted to Christians exclusively (Ephesians 1:3). After being taught the proper interpretation of the Messianic prophecies, Paul no longer sought an earthly estate. The Holy Spirit taught Paul (through inspiration) that the inheritance that the meek are to receive is the Kingdom of Heaven and for this reason espoused “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14). Upon reading this sacred Scripture, it is beautiful to realize that the first three of the beatitudes are fulfilled exactly as Christ declared (cf. Matthew 5:3-5). The inspired Paul verifies that God the Father is Who blesses those who humble themselves before His mighty hand (i.e. “poor in spirit) by making them eligible to receive His inheritance. The humble in spirit are comforted (for we mourn) after learning that God not only qualified us to be partakers of His inheritance but that He also liberated us from the dominant grip of darkness, by transferring us into His magnificent light. It is after this benevolent action that the meek receive the spiritual inheritance of being allowed to remain in His Son’s kingdom (i.e. “the earth”), having been naturalized into citizenship through the redemption found in His blood. Because all of the beatitudes are spiritual in nature, it must not be forgotten that Jesus is using figurative language, and not being literal. For example, the idea that those who mourn shall be comforted should not be understood that God will literally descend from heaven to physically wrap His arms around us and provide comfort during our grief. The concept presented by the Redeemer in that imagery is the same as that which the apostle Paul explained to the Corinthians concerning the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (cf. 2nd Corinthians 7:10-11). The comfort takes place in learning that “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation” (2nd Corinthians 7:10a). Thus, the same is so with the promised estate made to the meek; it is a spiritual blessing that Jesus speaks about. It is the same blessing that He spoke about when He instructs that through obedience to His commandments, one makes a home with God (cf. John 14:21-23, Ezekiel 37:21-28). The Hebrew penman also concurs that those who have put on Christ in baptism “have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22). Verily, Father Abraham did not settle for physical Canaan since he desired “a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).