Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is … gentleness”
The word “gentleness” is a word you do not hear very often – especially when describing a man. Most young men prefer to display attitudes that they consider macho.
Jesus was certainly a gentle man. He was easily approachable by those who wanted the truth. Women and children did not feel threatened by Him. The people flocked to hear Him during the early years of His ministry.
Some may be tempted to think that He was not so gentle when He made a whip and turned over the moneychanger’s tables in the Temple. It is very doubtful that He whipped anybody. All He had to do was startle a cow or bull (550 to 1,000+ pounds) with the whip and there is no doubt that anyone who saw this animal quickly coming their way would move – without hesitation. Remember also His motive behind this action – to purify His Father’s Temple so God could be honored in it again – which seems to have been forgotten by these men.
Being gentle does not at all mean being weak. No one could ever consider Jesus to be a marshmallow if they knew more about Him from the Bible. Unfortunately, many paintings of Him erroneously make Him look that way.
The thing that made the difference in Christ was that He was filled with the Holy Spirit. All He said and did was in love. God’s love in our hearts can make any person gentle, and it can make someone put others before themselves – a very rare attitude today.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he rode on a donkey – not a horse. A horse can scare people away, but a donkey would not do so easily. It was a gentler animal. By using a donkey (Zechariah 9:9 prophesied that their King would come this way), this King showed He was approachable, friendly, and humble – not arrogant, rude, uncaring, violent, and proud. Of course, when He comes back at the Second Coming, our King will show a different side because the time of His patience toward the unbelieving world and sin will be past.
It must be remembered that this kind of gentleness is given (produced) to the believer when walking close to the Holy Spirit. It is not something we do for ourselves. Gentleness works with patience and peace.