Gentle Power Jesus

Introduction: Gentleness is a difficult word to define. Several writers and Bible commentators have tried to define the word "gentle".

Gentleness comes from the Greek word praotes. It is one of the most untranslatable words in the English language. It is difficult not because we do not have the knowledge of what gentleness is about, but there are no words in English that accurately captures the range of meanings for praotes.

Matthew Henry best describes it as the quality "wherewith to govern our passions and resentments, so as not to be easily provoked, and when we are so, to be soon pacified."

The Gentle Power of Jesus

1. Matt. 11:29 says Jesus is meek and gentle, yet later in Matt. 21:5 he is a king coming in power but coming gently on a colt.

2. As a result of the art and literature we read, Jesus has been depicted as a personality without force, who responded to life passively.

3. Yet Jesus spoke of living and living with joy.

4. This same Jesus cleansed the temple by force

5. A gentle man could not be this way, but a man with praotes could!

   1. He cleansed the temple

   2. Forgave an adulterous woman whom the religious leaders condemned forever

6. Jesus was submissive to God's will---it is a dimension of gentleness.

Always Teachable

1. The second dimension is being open to being taught.

2. There is no arrogance

3. Gentleness allows acceptance of what we don't know and a willingness to change what we know if it is error.

4. Take strength to put our wills aside and accept another, in this case, God's will for our lives.

Being Considerate of Others

1. The third dimension of gentleness is one of consideration of others.

2. Considerate is a sensitive appreciation for a situation or person---we are fast losing this ability!

3. We should respond with gentleness or consideration when discussing our faith with others---sometimes we feel threatened and so respond in a defensive way rather than a considerate way that appreciates their ignorance of the facts.

Conclusion: When we address all these sides of gentleness, submission, being teachable and considerate then a power develops within us.  We become grounded and like a mighty tree the winds of change and different doctrine does not affect us. We continue to grow into that which the Lord would have us be…. gentle people with power!