Road to the cross: The Meek Road
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Sarah Han
Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11
Passion Week: passionate suffering and passionate love
• “Your powerful King Jesus comes to you, gentle”
• Greek word for gentle is praus (πραΰς) which is translated meek, gentle, humble
Jesus is the powerful King that rode a donkey like a gentle servant
• In Matthew 11:28-39 Jesus says: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am praus (πραΰς) (gentle and humble) in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
• Revelation 19:11-16 (The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast): I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
• Zechariah 9:9: in the Hebrew version the word used for praus (πραΰς) is the Hebrew word ‘ani (עָנִי) which means poor, afflicted, downtrodden, oppressed, wretched, lowly, in humble circumstances.
• Luke 4 declares his mission statement by reading from Isaiah 61;1 in the synagogue, and he says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the ‘ani (עָנִי), the poor, the broken-hearted…
Jesus is the King of gentle power and the King of the afflicted
For those of you that are feeling exhausted from fighting your circumstances this week, what would it look like to lay down your armour? How can you live in praus (πραΰς) by simply resting in the fact that Jesus has already fought for you and won?
• The Jesus of Revelation 19 and of Matthew 21 is standing guard over your life.
• Matthew 5:5: Jesus says, Blessed are the praus (πραΰς) for they will inherit the earth
