Matthew 5:7

Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you, and I hope that it's well read and treasured in your hearts.

And turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 7.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 5 verse 7.

Matthew 5:7

For the past month we've been considering together, as we learn from Jesus' teaching in what's most often called the Sermon on the Mount,

what citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven look like.

The overarching question before us has been, what characterizes those who follow the King of the Kingdom?

Matthew chapter 4 verse 17.

Matthew 4:17

Matthew is presented to us the very beginning of Jesus' ministry and records for us.

From that time, Jesus began to preach.

And he summarizes his preaching.

Jesus saying, repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

And then we see at the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 a crowd gathering together.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And Jesus, seeing the crowds, goes up onto a mountain.

And he sits down and his disciples gather around him.

And then Matthew records in verse 2,

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying.

So we've considered, and I've asserted to you, that his primary audience are these disciples.

And certainly there are others in his hearing.

And we'll see much later in the sermon, he gives some very stark warning to those in his hearing.

And I think it's right to understand that he's talking to those who are already citizens, those who were his disciples of this Kingdom.

He's saying, this is what you will look like.

Jesus declares that the citizens of his Kingdom are blessed or flourishing, we've talked a bit about.

We have looked at the first four of these declarations of blessedness and seen that followers of Jesus Christ will be, verse 3,

Those who recognize their spiritual poverty.

Those who see that they have nothing to offer God apart from the wealth that is found in Christ.

We've seen that those who mourn of their sinful state and the sinful state of the world around them,

Who look at the world and see how very sin sick it is, are declared blessed.

We have seen that those who are meek when wronged, people who don't seek retribution in their own cases, are blessed.

And we've seen that those who have a deep longing to be found righteous and to persist in righteousness,

Are declared by Jesus to be blessed.

These people are declared blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

They shall be comforted.

They shall inherit the earth.

And they shall be satisfied.

So join me now in considering the next of Jesus' declarations of blessedness in Matthew 5, verse 7.

Matthew 5:7

Before I read this short verse, let me remind you, beloved,

And this is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Matthew 5, verse 7.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

So what does it mean to be merciful?

Let's begin answering that question by stating that God is merciful.

God's mercy is his goodness, particularly where people are miserable or distressed.

Let me show you some examples.

David says in 2 Samuel 24, 14,

When Paul speaks of the fact that God comforts us in affliction in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3,

2 Corinthians 1:3

He calls God the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

The Greek word translated in today's text, merciful,

Is the same used in the Septuagint,

That ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament that I spent way too much time explaining to you last week.

The Septuagint uses the Greek word for the Hebrew word most common in describing God's character.

The word used most often in the Hebrew language, speaking of God's character,

Is this word the same that we find in our text today in the Greek language.

It's often translated as mercy, love, loving kindness, or steadfast love.

In most places you read in the Old Testament, you see those English words or phrases,

This is that same Hebrew word translated into Greek that we find in our text today.

In all of these cases, however,

The idea passes beyond affection to compassion in action.

It's expressed love.

This loving kindness is not a feeling God has, but a way that he works.

God's mercy is expressed, and it is expressed in helping those who are in need.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a recipient, praise the Lord, of God's mercy.

He has been merciful to you.

He is merciful and has expressed mercy to you.

Apart from Christ, we find ourselves in an absolutely miserable state.

We are separated from God and without any hope in this world.

But because of God's loving kindness, because he is merciful, he has saved us in Christ.

Our salvation is this great expression of God's merciful character.

On your bulletin today, the Thomas Watson quote,

Which I do, by the way, not as a proof to anything that I say, but to connect you to our history.

We have a family that extends back through centuries.

And I think it's helpful for us to see that we're not the only ones thinking in this way.

Thomas Watson wrote,

God is more willing to pardon than to punish.

Mercy does more multiply in him than sin in us.

Praise the Lord.

Mercy is his nature.

So God is merciful as we're considering what it means for us to be merciful.

We need to also consider that Jesus Christ is merciful.

Jesus is the great expression of God's mercy toward us.

And he sets for us an example of being merciful.

In Matthew chapter 9 and verse 27,

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Two blind men cry out to Jesus saying,

Have mercy on us, son of David.

And we can read on that Jesus heals their blindness.

John MacArthur, our contemporary pastor, in his commentary on this text, wrote,

Jesus Christ was the most merciful human being who ever lived.

He reached out to heal the sick, restore the crippled, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and even life to the dead.

He found prostitutes, tax collectors, the debauched and the drunken, and drew them into a circle of love and forgiveness.

Jesus wept with the sorrowing and gave compassion to the lonely.

He took little children into his arms and blessed them.

He was merciful to everyone.

He was mercy incarnate.

God's very character made flesh that we might view him and learn from him how it is that we are also meant to be merciful.

Beloved praise be to God that we, who were once the destitute and the outcast,

we who were in great need, miserable and distressed,

have been shown mercy in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Peter expresses this very sentiment in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3,

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

where he writes,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to his great mercy,

he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

And Paul tells us in Titus chapter 3 verse 5,

Titus 3:5

that Jesus saved us,

not because of works done by us in righteousness,

but according to his own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

So we have as our great example for what it means to be merciful,

this God-man who came and not only served in the temporal,

but served in the eternal,

laying down his very life for the sake of ours.

This is the very impetus.

This is the foundation on which we build lives of mercy,

that God in Christ was merciful to us.

It is the reason that we turn and are merciful to others.

But we are not naturally merciful.

This is not a thing that comes of our own doing.

Before Paul's statement of that incredible truth in Titus 3.5,

that we are saved according to Christ's own mercy,

he writes in Titus 3 verse 3,

Titus 3:3

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient,

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days, listen to the opposite of mercy,

in malice and envy,

hated by others and hating one another.

This is the natural state of man.

This is where we find ourselves apart from Christ,

apart from the renewing work of God,

we are not merciful.

This is true today,

and it was most certainly true in Jesus' day.

Both Roman and Jewish culture,

mercy was equated,

it was seen to be the same as weakness.

The two walked hand in hand together.

To give you just a brief example from Roman culture,

when a baby was born into a family,

the father could decide whether or not the baby would live.

Would give the baby a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

And in many cases,

if the baby didn't meet the father's standard,

the baby would be immediately drowned.

This was natural and normal in Roman culture.

Anybody in our country that wants to praise Rome,

the Rome of yesteryear,

oh, shake your heads at them.

Slaves were put to death at the whim of the master.

Wives could be put to death at the whim of the husband.

The culture was not merciful.

To be merciful was to be weak.

And Jewish culture,

despite all of their commands given in the Old Testament,

also expressed lots of unmerciful attitude.

Look quickly later in Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:43

verse 43 and following,

where Jesus says,

verse 43,

you have heard that it was said,

so this would be a common saying of the day,

you have heard that it was said,

you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

So here's the common teaching of the day.

Be unmerciful.

What is Jesus' response to this teaching?

He says,

with the authority that Christ could bring to bear,

but I say to you,

love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you, right?

Be merciful so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good

and sends rain on the just and the unjust, right?

Be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful.

Prove yourself to be sons by expressing his character.

And he goes on,

verses 46 and 47,

for if you love those who love you,

what reward do you have?

How easy is it to love those who love us?

Do not even tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers,

what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

It's of no benefit to you,

but rather be merciful.

Also, Matthew chapter 23 and verse 23.

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

these are often called the woes.

He speaks woes to the Pharisees,

which are quite the opposite of these declarations of blessedness.

He says,

woe to you,

scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites,

for you tithe mint and dill and cumin.

They were down to the tithe

and these very,

very tiny things,

these very particular things,

which Jesus commends them for,

but then says,

and you have neglected the weightier matters of the law,

justice and mercy and faithfulness.

These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

So,

the one of the ruling classes,

religious Jews of the day,

Jesus says to them,

woe to you,

you hypocrites,

you care about stuff,

so tiny.

He says later in chapter 23,

that you strain out the gnat

and you swallow the camel.

You're neglecting the weighty matters of the law.

There's another account that makes a similar point in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

You can mark Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

This is likely a story familiar to you.

Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 25.

Jesus is making this very point.

This teaching would have just been astonishing to them

because remember,

this is a people who are not naturally merciful.

This is what they're talking about right now.

The culture of the day.

Not naturally merciful.

Beginning in verse 25.

And behold,

a lawyer stood up to put him to the test,

saying,

Teacher,

what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And Jesus said to him,

what is written in the law?

How do you read it?

And he answered,

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul,

and with all your strength,

and with all your mind,

and your neighbor as yourself.

And Jesus said to him,

you have answered correctly.

Do this,

and you will live.

Right?

So it's the right answer.

One of the themes of the Sermon on the Mount

is whole person righteousness.

So not merely the exterior of rightness,

but the interior as well.

And this man needed this to be addressed,

this lawyer.

So verse 29,

but he,

desiring to justify himself,

right?

Not a man who's poor in spirit,

said to Jesus,

and who is my neighbor?

Jesus replied,

you don't ask Jesus questions like this.

Jesus replied,

a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,

and he fell among robbers,

this was a dangerous road to travel,

who stripped him,

and beat him,

and departed,

leaving him half dead.

Now in the eyes of the religious elite,

this would have made him dirty,

unclean,

right?

They couldn't practice mercy,

because they didn't want to defile themselves

with the blood of this man.

So verse 31,

now by chance,

a priest was going down that road,

and when he saw him,

he passed by on the other side.

So likewise,

a Levite,

when he came to the place and saw him,

passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan,

now understand,

to Jesus' Jewish audience,

found here in Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10 · chapter mention

the Samaritans were not a liked people,

right?

There's a lot of misunderstanding,

miscommunication.

Look up what a Samaritan is,

and you get all kinds of answers.

But most likely,

Samaritans were people that had intermarried

during the Assyrian captivity,

and were transplanted back into the Samaritan town.

So Jews perceived them as kind of half-breeds.

When Israel was resettled,

the second temple,

the Samaritans wanted to help in the building of it,

and they denied them the ability to,

and so they had built their own temple,

and had their own form of worship.

So there's a lot of butting heads between the two.

So you need to see that this Samaritan

is expressing that his neighbor

is this Jewish man

that's been beaten and left

on the side of the road.

So verse 33,

But a Samaritan,

as he journeyed,

came to where he was,

and when he saw him,

he had compassion.

He went to him and bound up his wounds,

pouring on oil and wine disinfectant.

Then he set him on his own animal

and brought him to an inn

and took care of him.

And the next day,

he took out two denarii,

two days' wages,

and gave them to the innkeeper,

saying,

Take care of him,

and whatever more you spend,

I will repay you when I come back.

Which of these three do you think

proved to be a neighbor

to the man who fell among the robbers?

And he said,

the lawyer said,

the one who showed him mercy.

And Jesus said to him,

You go and do likewise.

So in very practical ways,

express this attitude of mercifulness.

Go and be merciful.

If you're to love the Lord your God,

as the lawyer said,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your strength,

and with all your mind,

and your neighbor as yourself,

this will get expressed.

We are not naturally merciful,

but we are called to be merciful.

Those who have been made new

in Jesus Christ will be.

This will be the evidencing

that we've been made new in Christ.

We will be merciful.

Those who have received mercy

will express mercy.

And beloved,

we do not do this perfectly.

But we should desire to do it perfectly.

We should be seeing the outworking

of these first four beatitudes.

That we recognize we're poor in spirit.

We're broken over our sin

and the sin of the world.

We find ourselves meek,

submitting ourselves to the will of the Father.

Not seeking retribution

for our own rights to be defended.

We're hungering

and we're thirsting for righteousness.

And this begins to work itself out

in things like mercy.

Now, God has in his character

incommunicable and communicable attributes.

That is to say,

incommunicable attributes

are characteristics

that we as human beings

cannot emulate.

Praise God, that's true, right?

That he's God and we're not.

He's the creator.

He created all things

and we're the created.

Some examples of this

would be God's independence.

You may remember from a while ago,

God's aseity.

That he plugs into nothing,

but everything plugs into him.

He's self-existent.

We're not.

We're dependent upon

this creator God

who has made us

and sustains us.

God is also unchangeable.

It's one of his attributes.

It's unchangeableness,

if you'll allow,

or immutability.

God does not change,

but praise the Lord,

we do,

and hopefully,

we're changing for the better.

But the communicable attributes

are things,

characteristics of God

that we can,

by grace,

and should emulate.

and merciful,

loving,

kind,

is one

of those attributes

that,

by the power that God

works within us,

we can emulate.

Not with perfection,

not the way he expresses it,

but we can be pressing

and working

in that direction.

We can serve

as image bearers

in the way

that we're merciful

to others.

Beloved,

we show ourselves

to be citizens

of the kingdom of heaven

by being merciful,

by showing

that we follow

the king

of this kingdom,

by feeding the hungry,

caring for the orphan

and the widow,

by comforting

the bereaved,

by loving the lonely

and rejected,

by forgiving

the offender,

by showing

compassion

to the destitute.

I am glad

to be part

of a church

that as I think

about what it means

to be merciful,

I can trace

acts of mercy

even in this week.

Even mercy

expressed toward me.

Paul writes

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1:3

chapter 1

verse 3 and 4,

Blessed be the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies

and God

of all comfort.

I read that to you

previously.

But verse 4

goes on to say,

Who comforts us

in all our affliction

so that we

may be able

to comfort those

who are in any

affliction

with the comfort

with which we

ourselves

are comforted

by God.

You see,

God comforts,

God is merciful

toward us

in our affliction

so that

we can be

comforters,

be merciful

to others

in their

affliction,

in the same

way.

So we're meant

to be merciful,

right?

By God's grace,

those of us

who have been

made new

in Christ

are meant

to live

this way.

Jesus told

a parable

as a warning

to those

who are not

merciful.

And I want you

to also turn

there with me.

So turn to

Matthew chapter

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

18

and verse

23.

The uninspired

subtitle you'll

probably see in

your copy of

God's word

will be

the unmerciful

servant.

It's a very

apt title

for this

parable.

Matthew

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18

beginning in

verse 23

and following.

Jesus said

the kingdom

of heaven

may be

compared to

a king

who wished

to settle

accounts

with the

servants.

So you see

very careful

what he's

saying here,

right?

He's saying

this is what

the kingdom

of heaven

is like.

This is

how it

operates.

As those

who are

either in

that kingdom

or those

who are not

but may be

looking into

it and

desiring to

be part

of it,

we should

really listen

to what's

being said

here by

our Lord

and Savior.

Verse 24,

when he

began to

settle,

one was

brought to

him who

owed him

10,000

talents.

Now,

this is a

staggering

sum of

money.

You'll see

people,

they'll try

to say

this would

be like

millions

and millions

of dollars

today,

but it's

not really

an amount

you could

put a

figure on.

A talent

was the

largest

unit in

that modern

in the day

of currency,

the largest

unit,

and 10,000

was the

highest figure

used in

ancient

accounting.

So he's

using the

two very

highest numbers

he possibly

could use

in this case

to say this

was an

astounding

debt.

This was a

debt that

was not

going to

be repaid.

Verse 25

And since

he could

not pay,

his master

ordered him

to be sold

with his

wife and

children and

all that

he had

and payment

to be

made.

So the

servant fell

on his

knees,

imploring

him,

have patience

with me

and I will

pay you

everything.

And out

of pity

for him,

the master

of that

servant

released him

and forgave

him the

debt.

What an

astounding

thing.

This

unpay

able

debt.

He deserved

to be

sold and

to be

punished

until he

could pay

the debt.

And this

servant says

there's not

a chance

I'll pay

it back.

Have

mercy

on me.

And he's

forgiven

the debt.

Verse 28

But when the

same servant

went out,

he found

one of his

fellow servants

who owed

him a

hundred

denarii.

And seizing

him,

he began

to choke

him,

saying,

pay what

you owe.

Now,

this is

comparatively

a hundred

denarii,

comparatively

a fraction

of what he

owed his

master.

It's a

fraction.

A denarius

being the

common silver

coin of the

day,

was equivalent

to about a

day's wage

for a

laborer.

Kind of the

typical blue

collar wage

of the day.

So I think

it's important

for us to

note that

this is still

a great

sum.

This is

three months

wages.

I think

about three

months wages.

Man,

that's a

debt.

That's a

debt owed.

Right?

But it's

relatively

insignificant.

It's

relatively

insignificant.

Verse 29.

So his

fellow servant

fell down

and pleaded

with him,

have patience

with me

and I

will pay

you.

He refused

and went

and put him

in prison

until he

should pay

the debt.

When his

fellow servant

saw what

had taken

place,

they were

greatly

distressed

and they

went and

reported to

their master

all that

had taken

place.

Then his

master summoned

him and

said to

him,

you wicked

servant,

I forgave

you all

that debt

because you

pleaded with

me and

should not

you have

had mercy

on your

fellow servant

as I

had mercy

on you.

And in

anger,

his master

delivered him

to the

jailers until

he should

pay all

his debt.

So also

my heavenly

father will

do to

every one

of you

if you

do not

forgive

your brother

from your

heart.

So here

we see

a man

who has

received

astounding

mercy,

this offer

of forgiveness

of his debt,

but he

doesn't turn

and offer

the same.

Jesus is

saying this

is what the

kingdom of

heaven could

be compared

to.

We,

owing

an astounding

unpayable

infinite

debt

to God

have seen

by faith

that debt

canceled

and the

infinite

righteousness

of Christ

credited

to us

and so

we ought

to then

turn and

offer

the same

kind of

forgiveness

to others.

Right?

Little

infinitesimal

debts now

owed us.

We ought to

be turning

around to

others

and offering

them an

astounding

amount

of mercy.

Beloved,

it is wrong

for the church

not to be

part of

mercy ministries

because we

pay our

taxes.

It is wrong

for us to

feel embittered

towards those

who take

advantage

of social

welfare.

We ought

to go

to them,

right?

Hearts

recognizing

that we

have been

forgiven,

that we

have taken

advantage

and offer

great

mercy.

to these

people.

This is

the way

we're

meant to

live as

citizens of

the kingdom

of heaven.

And so

why does

Jesus

declare

blessed

these

people,

these

merciful

people?

And our

text says,

for they

shall

receive

mercy.

Those

who have

received

mercy will

be merciful

and

therefore

will

receive

mercy.

It's a

great big

mercy loop.

In

Matthew

Matthew 25:31

chapter

25,

verse 31

and following,

Jesus

speaks of

the final

judgment

and the

basis for

his

judgment,

as we

will see,

is mercy

shown to

others.

So join me

there.

I know

there's a lot

of text

today.

Matthew

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25.

Now hear me

carefully as we

read this.

We are not

saying that

because we're

merciful, we

earn God's

favor.

We've been

shown mercy

and so we're

merciful, right?

We're found

in him.

We're

citizens of

the kingdom

and this

is the

evidence,

right?

This is the

evidence that

we've received

the mercy

of God

and will

fully and

finally receive

the mercy

of God.

So do not

get that wrong.

No one is

saying that

we're saved

by our

works here.

Listen to what

Jesus says,

verse 31

and following.

When the

Son of Man

comes in

his glory

and all

the angels

with him,

then he will

sit on his

glorious throne.

Before him

will be gathered

all the nations

and he will

separate people

one from

another as a

shepherd separates

the sheep

from the goats

and he will

place the sheep

on his right

but the goats

on his left.

So there's going

to be this final

judgment.

There's going

to be a

separation

and we want

to be counted

among the

sheep.

Those who are

placed in the

place of honor

at the right

of the glorious

throne.

Verse 34

Then the king

will say to

those on his

right,

Come you

who are blessed

by my father.

Inherit the

kingdom prepared

for you from

the foundation

of the world.

For I was

hungry and

you gave me

food.

I was thirsty

and you gave

me drink.

I was a

stranger and

you welcomed

me.

I was naked

and you clothed

me.

I was sick

and you visited

me.

I was in

prison and

you came to

me.

All things,

all things

that we can

do.

Verse 37

Then the

righteous will

answer him

saying,

Lord,

when did we

see you hungry

and feed you

or thirsty

and give you

drink?

And when

do we see

you a stranger

and welcome

you or naked

and clothe

you?

And when

do we see

you sick

or in

prison and

visit you?

And the

king will

answer them,

Truly,

I say to

you,

as you did

it to one

of the least

of these,

my brothers,

you did

it to

me.

I pray

that you

count yourself

and that

others who

are examining

your life

count you

among these

blessed

sheep.

That we

can say of

ourselves and

that people

who are

around us

looking at

our lives

or inviting

into our

lives can

say,

Merciful,

yes,

merciful,

you are

merciful.

As God's

been merciful

to you,

you are

merciful.

this

working

is the

evidence

of your

salvation,

that you

belong to

the kingdom

of heaven.

I pray

that you

are not

counted

amongst

the goats.

Verse 41,

then he

will say

to those

on his

left,

depart

from me,

you cursed

into the

eternal fire

prepared for

the devil

and his

angels.

For I

was hungry

and you

gave me

no food.

I was

thirsty

and you

gave me

no drink.

I was

a stranger

and you

did not

welcome

me,

naked

and you

did not

clothe

me,

sick

and in

prison

and you

did not

visit me.

Then they

also will

answer

saying,

Lord,

when did

we see

you hungry

or thirsty

or a

stranger

or naked

or sick

or in

prison

and did

not

minister

to you?

Then you

will answer

them saying,

truly I

say to you,

as you

did not

do it

to one

of the

least of

these,

you did

not do

it to

me.

And these

will go

away

into

eternal

punishment,

but the

righteous

into

eternal

life.

There's

a weighty

thing to

consider

here,

to really

ask

ourselves,

and again,

those around

us,

those who

are following

the way

of Christ,

those who

are citizens

of the

kingdom,

am I

merciful?

Does this

characterize

my life?

Some of

you may

know about

the mercy

of God,

but have

yet to

experience

the mercy

of God,

have yet

to turn

to Christ

by faith.

And we

have a

beautiful

promise in

closing in

James 2,

James 2:13

verse 13.

James writes,

for judgment

is without

mercy to

one who

has shown

no mercy.

Hear that

again.

For judgment

is without

mercy to

one who

has shown

no mercy.

Mercy,

triumphs

over judgment.

So Jesus

says,

blessed are

the merciful,

for they

shall receive

mercy.

Let's pray

together.