The Beatitudes
10 Truths
Blessed are the merciful (Matthew 5:7).
Matthew's Beatitude 5
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God.
Jesus has been teaching the attitudes we need to have as His disciples in this world. These are attitudes that make us more like Him. Mercy is no different because it is something we do not have to give, but we must give if we want to be more like Jesus.
Mercy is an undeserved, loving, selfless, and compassionate response to an offense against you. God gave mercy to disobedient Israel many times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus poured out His compassion and mercy on people who desperately needed His intervention. We get to show mercy to those who have offended us to demonstrate Jesus’s change in us.
Three Situations for Mercy
There are at least three situations in which we need to be merciful. These reasons have to do with how we react to others.
- Forgiveness. Someone has wronged you. You know it is wrong and so do they. How you react makes all the difference. Jesus calls us to forgive others. This requires mercy. We would be right in making them pay for what they did. But this isn’t about being right. It is about love, forgiveness, and mercy. Jesus teaches us how to forgive others by example. On the Cross, He forgave everyone for what they were doing to Him. If Jesus can forgive people for crucifying Him, we as His disciples can forgive others. Forgiving others requires us to be merciful to them because they are in the wrong.
- Compassion. Compassion is showing kindness, favor, and grace to others. We do it because we know what it is like to be in their position. Showing compassion to others was one of the main ministries of Jesus’s care for others. It requires putting yourself in another person’s shoes. You remember when you were in their spot. Now you have the power to do something for them.
- Judgment. Often in the world today, you see a contrast between judgment and mercy. The unjust judge showed a widow mercy because she wouldn’t leave him alone (Luke 18:1-8). He was not merciful by choice. He was merciful because he was sick of her. Judgment is similar to this situation for forgiveness. A person does not deserve mercy. We can choose to be merciful or to judge them. Our judgment could be right. But that does not mean we have to judge.
Why We Should Be Merciful
Jesus teaches us to be merciful. We shouldn’t need another reason. God has been merciful to us. He did more than He ever needed to do for us. He could have shown us the harshest judgment, but He offered Himself through Jesus at the Cross instead. When we show mercy to others, we demonstrate Jesus’s teachings and that we are learning how to be good disciples. It is our witness of Him to the world.
Showing mercy to others will cost you something. It may be your pride, your desire to repay a person’s wrong toward you, or your sense of justice and what someone deserves. But think of what it will cost you if you don’t show mercy. You will not represent Jesus well. You will not have a good reputation. And you will not have another person willing to show mercy to you when you are in need.
All these examples of ways we need to be merciful – forgiveness, compassion, and judgment – give us ways to be merciful to others. They require us to obey the teachings of our Lord and Master. They require us to step up and show the world what Jesus is like.
We show mercy in forgiving others because God has forgiven us. You cannot refuse to forgive others without realizing God’s great forgiveness of your worst offenses. Maybe you have been in the wrong and wronged others, and you needed forgiveness.
Another way we show mercy to others is through compassion. You remember what it was like when you could have used some compassion from someone else. Here’s your opportunity to show compassion to a person who needs it the most. Jesus showed you compassion by saving you, cleansing you, and bestowing His grace upon you. It is only fitting that we have mercy and compassion on others because God has been compassionate to us.
We also show mercy by the way we duel out judgment. You can throw the book at the guilty person or you can give them mercy. When was the last time someone judged you with impunity, gave you the riot act even if you did deserve it? You can be the person who gives mercy instead of judgment to someone who doesn’t deserve it. God gives us mercy instead of judgment. He has given us His grace instead. James teaches that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).
We need to be merciful to others because we needed mercy from Jesus and from others. We owe it to our Lord to do what He did for us for someone else. It is the way of our Master. This is not Karma. It is not “if you don’t do it, it will come back to you the same way or worse.” This is about obedience to Jesus.
Receiving Mercy
Jesus promises that those who are merciful will receive mercy. How and from whom? The way Jesus speaks is what scholars call a divine passive. It is an action done to us by God. God is the one who will show us mercy because we have shown mercy to others.
God has already shown us mercy in saving our souls, but He will give mercy when He judges at the end of time. Jesus continues to give us mercy every day. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). All we can do is be grateful and show mercy to others. When you show others mercy, let them know it is because Jesus showed you mercy.
Life Change
- When is the last time you had the choice to show a person mercy? Did you do it? What will you do the next time you have the opportunity?
- Are you learning how to forgive, have compassion, and judge others by God’s measuring stick of mercy?
- Have you lost anything by showing mercy to someone else? How did it turn out for you?
- What thought process and principle can you set up for the next time you someone mercy? Put it into practice today. Prepare yourself for God’s blessing in showing mercy.
- How do you react when someone does not forgive, show compassion, or judges you wrongly? Can you get past the gut reaction of returning evil for evil?