A History of Gentleness
Matthew 11:25–30 and 12:18–21
Philip Comfort has translated these passages, which were poems in the original Greek, into modern English verse. Watch the video below then read silently through the poems. After taking time on the video to familiarise yourself with the poems, take time on the second reading, to ponder and notice.
Jesus’ Prayer and Invitation
Matthew 11:25–30
25–26 I praise you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that it was your good pleasure to veil these truths from the shrewd and intelligent and to reveal them to children. 27 No one knows the Son except the Father; no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him— these are the ones given to me by my Father. 28 Come to me, all you who are heavy and weary, and I will relieve you. 29–30 Shoulder my yoke by learning from me— my yoke is easy and my load is light, my heart is gentle, and I am meek. I will give your souls repose.
Jesus, the Chosen Servant
Matthew 12:18–21
18 Look at my Servant, my chosen One,
my beloved, my soul’s delight.
When I pour my Spirit upon him,
he will restore the world to justice—
19 not by raising his voice or crying out,
so as to be heard in the streets.
20 He will not snap a bruised, bent reed;
he will not snuff a smoldering wick,
for he has come to restore the way of justice
21 and give all nations reason for hope.
Philip Comfort, The Poems and Hymns of the New Testament. Used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers. www.wipfandstock.com
The history of the english word, gentle, is a little convoluted. It derives from the Latin gens which means; of a clan or family, like the word genealogy which is a study of such. Then, during the middle english period, it started to attach to the nobility or high ranking clans or family hence gentleman/gentlewoman. It then evolved to take on the Christian or chivalrous characteristics of those high born leaders. So if you were a high ranking person you were therefore kind, meek and good as well as gentle born. In more modern times the nobility aspect of it has disappeared and it has come to mean mild, tender, easy i.e. not harsh.
There must have been some gentlefolk during the middle english period who embodied the characteristics of gentleness, in order to have that association, but I can’t help but think that it was a mixed picture and a generally idealised understanding. I am not convinced that every gentleman was gentle…
There is an aspect of gentleness in both these poems above and they sit side by side in Philip Comfort’s book though there are a number of verses in between them in Matthew’s gospel.
The first two stanzas of the first poem are directed to God the Father by Jesus and we are listening in. He speaks of revelation and knowledge and being truly known by the Father. Throughout all four gospels, it wasn’t the intelligent, smart or devout people who recognised Jesus or understood what he said but those you wouldn’t expect, including children. Those who were intelligent tried to explain away or dismiss Jesus and what he was saying about himself but to these others it was obvious. In coming to Jesus, we need to believe him at his word and come as we are without pretence.
The third stanza is directed at us. Jesus meets us where we are and does not add an extra burden but helps us shoulder a lighter burden. We can’t avoid troubles and sorrows so just as in the poem attached to the piano piece, Patience, Jesus walks with us in our struggles and shows us gentleness, leading us to our true rest.
In the second poem Jesus draws on an understanding of the characteristics of gentleness that attached to the puzzling passage in Isaiah 42 about a suffering servant. This passage and the idea of the suffering servant was much debated in rabbinic circles. Was the suffering servant the messiah or the people of Israel or someone else? It did not seem acceptable that the messiah should suffer, as the messiah was understood as a victorious king-like figure, so it was assumed to be the people of Israel.
Here, Matthew is applying a section of the Isaiah poem to Jesus as a fulfilment of a prophecy of the messiah, which is a radical understanding of the messiah. It speaks of an upside-down kingdom, the king being a true servant of the people, justice being restored and those being oppressed being seen and heard. A leader who embodies gentleness and kindness, in other words a true gentleman!
As I meditated on these poems, the line about a reed from the second poem conjured up a picture in my mind of sitting by a lake bordered by reeds, listening to their quiet rustling in a soft breeze that slowly rises and falls.