What “earth” will the meek inherit (Matt. 5.5)?
The answer seems obvious; there is only one Planet Earth. But it is not so obvious, for two reasons: (1) Psalm 37.11 underlies the third beatitude, and it clearly refers to the “land.” In the Old Testament, the “land” denotes Israel, which God promised to Abraham (Gen. 12.1, 7).
(2) The Greek word for “earth” (ge) can refer both to the entire planet and to particular regions within it. So, for example, we read about “the ge of Bethlehem” (Matt. 2.6), “the gen of Israel” (2.20, 21), “the ge of Zebulun and ge of Naphtali” (4.15), and—quoting God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.1—“the ges I will show you” (Acts 7.3). In all these cases, the proper translation is “land,” not “earth,” and they all refer to Israel.
So, did Jesus promise Israel as the inheritance of the meek?
In my opinion, the answer is both yes and no. The third beatitude quotes the language of Psalm 37.11 and alludes to the imagery of Isaiah 61.7, both of which speak about the Promised Land. Consequently, it is hard to deny that Jesus promised his observant Jewish followers possession of Israel, in keeping with the covenant God made with them through Moses (Deut. 4.1, 16.20).
And yet, the trajectory of blessing in the New Testament extends beyond Israel and the Jews. Or rather, it extends through them to the world and the Gentiles. Not only did God promise Abraham the land, after all; he promised that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12.3). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that he had not come “to abolish the Law or the Prophets…but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5.17). And in 2 Corinthians 1.20, Paul wrote, “no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” God’s promise to Abraham of land and blessing has been fulfilled in Jesus. That is why, it seems to me, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be “witnesses in Jersualem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1.8).
In other words, the “earth” Jesus promised is not less than Israel but certainly much more.
And that consideration leads me to draw this conclusion: A shallow reading of the first two beatitudes might lead you to think that the Christian life is solely concerned with spirituality, heaven, and the future. After all, what else could the words “poor in spirit,’ “kingdom of heaven,” and “will be comforted” point to? Obviously, I do not want to deny that the Christian life is concerned with such things. But I strongly deny that the Christian life is concerned solely with such things. The Christian life is also concerned with materiality, the “earth,” and the present. An authentic Christian, then, can never be so heavenly minded that he is of no earthly good, for a heavenly perspective always keeps an eye firmly fixed on our little planetary ball.
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