Happy are the Merciful

Please open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

We have been in the Beatitudes, which has been an amazing chapter, amazing verses of Scripture.

Matthew 5, verses 1 to 12.

Matthew 5:1–12

I'm going to be focusing just on the fifth Beatitude, verse 7, but I will read the whole thing.

But let me pray before I do.

Father, we are all sinners in need of mercy.

And you have given us so much mercy.

And so we ask God that right now, you would address us from your word.

And help us to remember and relish the great mercy that you have shown us in Jesus Christ.

And even as we rehearse those truths, want you transform us.

Renew our own mercy, the mercy that we show to those around us.

Meet with us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you're able, please stand for the reading of God's word from Matthew 5.

I'll read from verse 1 to verse 12.

전전

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you, persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

For so they persecute the prophets who are before you.

This is God's holy and authoritative word. You may be seated.

We have come to the pivot point of the Beatitudes.

I've mentioned a couple times before that the first four Beatitudes all describe a form of emptiness.

Lacking something.

Being poor in spirit.

Being needy.

Being meek.

Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness.

Mourning something you lack.

But we go from needing mercy, people who need mercy in the first four Beatitudes,

now to being merciful.

Being full of mercy toward others.

And the rest of the Beatitudes will be describing Christian fullness.

What we are like as God's mercy overflows from our own lives.

And so the main point of this message that I want to share with you this evening is that

those who have received God's mercy are merciful toward others.

And that they will receive mercy in turn.

So first we'll talk about what mercy is.

Secondly, how to become full of mercy.

And third, we'll talk about who receives mercy.

In terms of details, we don't find much in verse 7.

It just says,

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

But mercy, if you trace this theme throughout the scriptures, is manifold.

It's variegated.

It's very rich with layers of meaning.

But first, let's look at the most relevant context in the Gospel of Matthew itself.

In Matthew 9, 27, in Matthew 20, verse 30, we see the blind men crying out to Jesus for help,

Matthew 20:30

saying,

Have mercy on me.

We hear a similar cry from a Canaanite woman whose daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.

In Matthew 15, 22,

Have mercy on me.

And then a man whose son is suffering from terrible seizures in Matthew 17, 15, again,

Have mercy on me.

We see that pattern in the other Gospels as well.

A leper cries out,

Have mercy on me.

So from this pattern of people who cry out for mercy,

we can see that mercy is associated with those who are in need.

It belongs to those who need help.

Those who are not entitled to something or have earned something,

but someone who needs mercy nonetheless.

That's why the Greek word for alms or charitable giving used in the New Testament

is derived from the same word for mercy.

So in Matthew 6, 2-4,

when Jesus speaks of giving to the needy,

if you translate them more literally,

it's doing acts of mercy.

So mercy is an expression.

Charitable giving is an act of mercy, expression of mercy.

So it's the needy who cry out for mercy.

Jesus confirms this in Matthew 9, 10-13.

The Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners.

And Jesus says,

So once again, who are the objects of mercy?

It's the sick, not the healthy.

It's the sinners, not the righteous.

The needy need mercy.

To be merciful then is to have compassion for the needy in both your disposition toward them

and your deed toward them.

In both your attitude and your actions,

to have compassion for the needy.

In situations where there is physical, material need,

the merciful are going to have the impulse to meet that need,

tangible ways to help them.

In spiritual situations, when there's spiritual need,

where there are sinners,

the impulse of the merciful will be to forgive and to be gracious.

When Jesus says,

I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

he is contrasting,

he's quoting from Hosea 6, verse 6,

Hosea 6:6

and he is contrasting genuine inward piety

from superficial outward piety,

fleeting outward piety.

It's the same distinction that Samuel makes in 1 Samuel 15, 22.

You may know the story.

When Saul, the king of Israel,

was instructed by God to destroy the Amalekites

because of their wickedness

and to not take any spoils from the war.

However, Saul decides that that's too much of a waste.

Well, look at all this good livestock,

look at all this treasure,

look at all this food,

and he decides to keep them for himself

and for the people.

And when Samuel confronts him about his disobedience,

Saul deviously says,

Oh, no, no, no, I kept all this

so that we could bring it as a sacrifice to God.

And then Samuel says,

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice

and to listen than the fad of rams.

How many times have we paid lip service to God

and made outward sacrifices,

show of piety,

while inwardly our hearts are far from him?

Maybe even using these shows of piety

as misdirection to distract people's attention

from our disobedience.

Maybe even seeking to distract God himself.

That's what the Pharisees did.

On the outside, they were righteous

because they were great at keeping up

an appearance of conformity,

keeping the formalities of rituals,

but they did not truly know God

or obey God from the heart.

And how do we know that they didn't obey God from the heart?

Because they had no mercy towards sinners.

In Matthew 23, 23, 24,

Jesus denounces the Pharisees saying,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites, for you tithe mint and dill and cumin

and have neglected the weightier matters of the law,

justice and mercy and faithfulness.

These you ought to have done

without neglecting the others,

you blind guides straining out a gnat

and swallowing a camel.

These Pharisees painstakingly kept the minutiae of the law.

They would, we talk about tithing

and sometimes people ask me,

do you tithe from the net or from the gross?

Like, what do you, what do you do?

Like, it's kind of like those questions a little bit,

but they were tithing 10% of the smallest spices

that they used to God.

They carefully strained out a gnat

from their drinks and foods.

The gnat is the smallest insect that caused impurity

in Jewish ritual.

However, after straining out a gnat,

they turned around and they ate camels,

which is the largest unclean animal ceremonially

in the Old Testament.

They weren't literally eating camels.

Jesus is using a figure of speech

to say that they care about the minutiae,

painstakingly care about the minutiae,

and then they neglect the weightier matters of the law.

So what is Jesus saying?

He's speaking of priorities, being merciful,

showing mercy is the bigger stuff that God cares about.

Mercy is one of the weightier matters of the law.

You're obeying the small commands,

well, good, good for you.

Keep doing that,

but don't neglect the bigger commands.

At the heart of Christian obedience

is a heart of mercy.

A classic example of mercy

is the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In Luke 10, 25 to 37,

Jesus tells this story of a man

who is mugged by a band of robbers,

and he is left half dead.

But what good luck for him,

because a priest happens to be walking by,

a minister of the temple of God.

And he sees the man,

and after seeing the man in need,

he decides that he's going to walk around

on the other side.

But never fear,

because there comes another person

and he's a Levite,

someone who ministers in the temple as well,

assists the priests.

If a priest is equivalent to a modern-day pastor,

the Levite is equivalent to a modern-day deacon

or worship leader.

Surely he'll come and help this person in need,

but again, the Levite sees the person,

and he says that he walks by on the other side.

But then, in comes a Samaritan.

He's an unlikely hero of the story

because the Jews despise Samaritans,

because they view them as religious heretics,

ethnic half-breeds, and political traitors.

And yet, the Samaritan is the one who cares for the man

and goes the extra mile.

He puts him on his donkey,

brings him over to an inn,

attends to his wounds,

and pays for his stay there

until he can fully recover.

And then Jesus asks his hearers,

after telling his parable,

which of these three,

the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan,

do you think proved to be a neighbor

to the man who fell among the robbers?

And a lawyer responds,

the one who showed him mercy.

And Jesus says to him,

you go and do likewise.

The priest and the Levite in those days

were the ones who were responsible

for offering sacrifices in the temple.

And yet, they were the very ones

who in this parable

failed to keep the weightier matters of the law.

This is serving in that way

as cautionary tales of what Jesus just said

in Matthew 9, 13,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

So let's ask ourselves,

in what ways do we honor God with our lips

while our hearts are far from him?

In what ways are we keeping

the less important commands

but neglecting the more important commands

like being merciful?

I hesitate to use this example

because I do want to encourage you all

to show up to worship on time.

However,

if you are more concerned

with showing up to church on time

than with being merciful

to your spouse and kids,

if you are irate

and punishing toward them

when running late to church,

then you are neglecting

the weightier matters of the law.

If you are more concerned

with theological minutiae

than being merciful toward the people

who disagree with you theologically,

if instead of correcting them

with gentleness and mercifulness,

as it says in 2 Timothy 2, 25,

you are haughty and you're demeaning

in your discourse with them,

then you are neglecting

the weightier matters of the law.

If you are so invested

in pursuing justice

or certain social or moral issues

that you run roughshod over people

and you guilt-truth them

and you cancel them

and you ruin the reputation

of anybody who stands in your way,

then you are neglecting

the weightier matters of the law.

Blessed are the merciful

for they shall receive mercy.

We can flesh out this picture of mercy

by looking at the example

of power excellence,

of God himself.

This is what Jesus told us to do

in Luke 6, 36,

be merciful even as your father

is merciful.

Two different Hebrew words

in the Old Testament

are often translated as merciful

in the Greek translation

of the Old Testament.

And they are sometimes

in alternate translations

rendered gracious

or steadfast love.

Grace and steadfast love.

Again, they're related words

with the word mercy.

The two terms,

the words merciful and gracious

occur a dozen or so times together,

paired together in the Old Testament.

And they invariably describe God.

God is the one

who is gracious and merciful.

We find this meaning

in the Hebrew word

for steadfast love and grace.

Let's look at a few examples

from the Old Testament

where it describes

specific actions of God

that flow from

and stem from

his merciful nature.

It says in Nehemiah 9, 17,

that even though the Israelites

refused to obey God

and they stiffened their necks,

meaning they got stubborn

instead of letting God direct them,

they stiffened their necks

and resisted him.

God, it says,

was ready to forgive,

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger

and abounding in steadfast love

and did not forsake them.

Because God is merciful,

he was ready to forgive.

He did not forsake them.

2 Chronicles 30, verse 9,

2 Chronicles 30:9

enjoins Israelites

who have strayed from God

to return to him.

And how does he try

to motivate them

to return to him?

He says,

For the Lord your God

is gracious and merciful

and will not turn away

his face from you.

Because God is merciful,

he does not turn his face

from us when we return to him,

even after we have sinned

against him

and have strayed from him.

Jeremiah 3, 12 says,

Return, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.

I will not look on you

in anger,

for I am merciful,

declares the Lord.

I will not be angry forever.

Because God is merciful,

once again,

he will not look on in anger

at us forever.

He relents in his anger.

In spite of our manifold sins

and our repeated sins,

God, right now,

loves us still

and forgives all of our iniquity,

rebellion, and sin.

And what do you call

a God like that?

We call him merciful.

Isn't this so different

from the picture

that we have of God sometimes?

Maybe you walked

into church today

with guilt, shame, dread,

weighing down upon your soul.

Do you fear

that God will abandon you?

Do you fear

his angry countenance?

Do you fear

that you are now

beyond the pale of his mercy?

You can rest assured

Lord, you are not

because God is full of mercy.

He is ready to forgive.

He will not turn his face

from you

if you return to him.

He will not be angry forever.

This is an amazing truth.

But we also must not

misunderstand

this precious truth

that God is merciful

does not mean

that he is an indulgent

or permissive father.

Our God is also

the consuming fire.

He is the thrice holy God.

Sometimes I think we

as Christians

can have an imbalanced

or skewed view of God.

Sometimes we

overemphasize love

and mercy

to the neglect

of truth and righteousness

or the vice versa.

Much like how a toddler

colors their coloring pages.

You know,

like,

I like blue

so everything is blue

or I like pink

so everything is blue

and it doesn't stay

within the lines either.

And it's only

as they mature

as artists

that they learn

to color in nuances

and shades

and contrast

and use

complementary colors.

Likewise,

as we mature

as Christians

we learn to appreciate

and delight in

and worship

the fullness

of God's glory

and character.

the King James Version

renders Psalm 85

Psalms 85:10

verse 10 this way.

Mercy and truth

are met together.

Righteousness and peace

have kissed each other.

That's what God is like.

And it looks

then that means

that's what it looks like

for us

to be merciful also.

Taking our cue from God

being merciful

does not mean

that we never seek

or enforce

justice or righteousness.

Once again

20th century

Welsh pastor

that I've been quoting

in every sermon

in the Beatitudes

so far.

I know some of you guys

have started a book club

to go through

the studies

in the Sermon on the Mount

by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

I cannot be more proud

of you guys.

It is

started by a Welshman

nonetheless.

And he writes

in his book

there are so many

people today

who think

that being merciful

means to be easygoing

not to see things

or if we do see them

to pretend

we have not.

That of course

is a particular danger

in an age like this

which does not believe

in law or discipline

and in a sense

does not believe

in justice

or righteousness.

The idea today

is that man

should absolutely

be free-minded

that he has the right

to do just what he likes.

The merciful person

many people think

is one who smiles

at transgression

and law-breaking.

He says

what does it matter?

Let's carry on.

He is a flabby

kind of person

that's that word again

easygoing

easy to get on with

to whom it does not matter

whether laws

are broken or not

who is not concerned

about keeping them.

Only a person

who upholds righteousness

can be truly merciful.

Let me explain.

Showing mercy to sinners

and forgiving sin

is hard work

and sometimes

it's painful work

but being permissive

towards sinners

and condoning

or ignoring sin

is easy

and it's painless.

I read a remarkable

concession

from a New York Times

columnist

named Nicholas Kristof

this weekend.

His article

was entitled

We Thought

We Were Compassionate

But We Were Too Permissive.

He writes

As a good liberal

I used to oppose

arresting people

for using drugs.

They need health care

not handcuffs

I thought.

But then

to my surprise

and dismay

I found myself

praying

that my old pal

Drew Goff

would be arrested.

Drew 40 years old

was homeless

using fentanyl

and also selling it.

His wife

who was with him

was pregnant

and had overdosed

27 times

including twice

in a single day.

It seemed only

a matter of time

before Drew

killed himself

or one of his customers.

So Drew's mom

and I confided

to each other

our hope

that he would end up

in the relative safety

of prison

and get treatment there.

It's the only way

to save his life

his mom said wearily.

And in the end

Drew himself agreed.

Drew's most recent

tumble into addiction

came in part

because of a permissive

liberal culture

toward drugs

on the west coast.

This was meant

to be compassionate

but it almost

killed him

and has killed

many of my other friends.

You see

being merciful

and compassionate

is not the same thing

as being permissive

and indulgent.

Maybe you're really good

at overlooking

the sins of others

but maybe you're

too good.

Maybe others

sin against God

actually don't

grieve you

at all.

maybe you don't

actually care

about sin.

If that's the case

you are not

merciful.

You're permissive.

You're not

compassionate.

You're not

compassionate

toward sinners.

You are complicit

with sinners.

Psalm 119

136

says this

My eyes shed

stream of tears

because people

do not keep

your law.

It's only people

who mourn sin

who can truly

be merciful

toward sinners.

How then

do we

simultaneously

pursue justice

and righteousness

but also be merciful?

I don't think

we can come up

from Scripture

a rigid rule

that we can apply

to every situation

every single situation.

I think the answer

is to mingle

justice and mercy

according to

Scripture informed

and Spirit led

discernment

and wisdom.

Let's think of

some specific examples.

Do merciful employers

ever fire

incompetent

and delinquent

employees?

Of course they do.

If they didn't

then they would not

be good managers

and the company

would suffer.

They would not

be faithful

in their work

and they would

not meet their goals

and the company

would cease

to be a public service.

But merciful employers

might give

that employee

another chance.

that employer

might use

what is in

his or her power

to help the employee

to grow

and improve

and perform better.

Do merciful parents

ever discipline

their children

their disobedient children?

If they are obedient

to the Scriptures

yes they will

but they're not going

to be hardened

disciplinarians.

They'll have

a merciful posture.

They're not going

to punish

every offense

nor be harsh

with their children

or provoke them

to anger

as it says

in Ephesians 6.4.

They will be firm

yet gracious.

They will teach

and uphold righteousness

and yet they will

also show mercy

to their children

so that they can

represent God

to them.

God who is described

as the Father

of mercies

and the God

of all comfort

in 2 Corinthians 1.3.

Do merciful pastors

ever excommunicate

unrepentant church members?

Yes, but they will not

excommunicate members

for every little sin

nor will they be hasty

to excommunicate

church members.

If they are merciful

they will patiently

endure evil

they will exhort

and entreat earnestly

!

And if there is still

unrepentance

they will excommunicate

with tears.

Do merciful police officers

and lawyers

and judges

ever prosecute

and sentence people.

Of course they do.

If they didn't

we'd have a lawless society.

But if they are merciful

they won't press

every single case.

Some of you guys

have been pulled over

for speeding.

I know this

because it comes up

in the children's ministry

vetting process.

I will not

make it public

to anybody.

but when you do

sometimes you have

gotten a ticket

from a police officer

but maybe other times

you got pulled over

and the police officer

just gave you a warning

and didn't give you

a ticket

and let you off.

It's happened to me before.

You received mercy.

A judge in court

has to give everyone

equal justice under law

but he must be

impartial

and unbiased

but if he is merciful

he might use

his discretion

sometimes

when he has

the latitude

to lessen the sentence

reduce the fines

or dismiss

a minor charge

particularly when

the defendant

is repentant

or it's a first time

offense

where there are

other extenuating

circumstances.

Sometimes we're going

to give people

what they deserve.

That's justice.

Other times

we're going to

spare people

what they deserve

and that's mercy.

The Bible does not

give us

an exhaustive list

of do's and don'ts

about how to be merciful

in every single circumstance

and I think that's

for the better.

Notice how the

fifth beatitude

is phrased.

Like the rest

of the beatitudes

it speaks

not primarily

of what we do

but of who we are

because if we are

merciful

then we will

show mercy

and we will know

how to respond

in the situations

that come to us

because we have

been transformed

by the gospel

of Jesus Christ

from the inside out.

I've already shown

my hand here

by saying that

but with having

defined what mercy

is let's not talk

about how to become

full of mercy.

Again like the

other beatitudes

this is not something

that we can attain

apart from God

or apart from Christ.

These are all

divinely wrought

and spirit born traits

their spiritual virtues

enabled by God

and here's the key

to becoming merciful.

Ephesians 4.32

says be kind

to one another

tender hearted

forgiving one another

as God in Christ

forgave you.

How do we cultivate

mercifulness

kindness

tender heartedness

forgiveness

by receiving first

God's mercy

in Jesus Christ.

He forgave us.

You see this again

in Colossians 3.12-13

put on then

as God's chosen ones

holy and beloved

compassionate hearts

or merciful hearts

kindness

humility

meekness

and patience

bearing with one another

and if one has a complaint

against another

forgiving each other.

The list

very closely resembles

the beatitudes

right?

Meekness

humility

compassionate hearts

mercy

and the key

to obeying that command

again it says

later in that verse

as the Lord

has forgiven you

so you also

must forgive.

Once again

it's by receiving

and remembering

the mercy of God

that we become

merciful people.

We find this principle

all over the New Testament

in 1 John 4

it commends us

to love our brothers

and sisters in Christ

but how

do we love our brothers

and sisters in Christ?

It tells us

in 1 John 4.19

we love

because God

first loved us

in this

is love

not that we

have loved God

but that he

loved us

and sent his son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

Beloved

if God so loved us

we also ought to

love one another.

The greatest mercy

that God

has ever shown us

is in the sending

of his only son

Jesus Christ

to die on the cross

for our sins.

We have all

sinned against God.

We have all

had pride

in our hearts.

We have made

ourselves

gods and lords

over our own lives

rather than submitting

to God

and worshipping God.

In political terms

we call that

treason

rebellion.

God could have

condemned us

for our sin

and he could have

damned us

for eternity

in hell

and that would have

been justice.

That's what man

would have done

in his place.

But praise be to God

that he is God

and not man

because instead

when he saw us

in our sin

and in our misery

his heart

welled up

with pity

and he had

compassion on us.

God says

in Hosea 11

8-9

my heart

recoils

within me

my compassion

grows warm

and tender

I will not

execute my

burning anger

I will not

again destroy

Ephraim

for I am God

and not a man

the Holy One

in your midst

and I will not

come in wrath.

It's like man

to be vindictive

and vengeful

it is like God

to be merciful.

Instead of coming

in wrath

what does it say

in Luke 1

7-8

describing Jesus'

coming as the

sunrise

the sunrise

visited us

from on high

why?

Because

of the tender

mercy

of our God

the tender

mercy

of our God

you have

all heard

and know

and love

Ephesians 2

4-5

but God

being rich

in mercy

because of

the great

love with

which he

loved us

even when

we were

dead

in our

trespasses

made us

alive

together

with Christ

by grace

you have

been saved.

It's

God's

tender

mercy

his

wealth

of mercy

richness

in mercy

and his

great

love

that's

the reason

God sent

Jesus'

only son

to die

on the

cross

for us

to redeem

us

from

death

and what

did we

bring to

the table?

We brought

no worth

no merit

it doesn't

say that

God made

us alive

together

with Christ

while we

were

sincerely

pursuing

him

and trying

to please

him

no it

says

that God

made us

alive

together

with Christ

even

when

we were

dead

in our

trespass

that's

why

it's

mercy

remember

our

definition

to be

merciful

is to

have

compassion

for the

needy

in

disposition

and

deed

if we

in some

way

deserve

to be

saved

it would

not be

mercy

it would

be

merit

salvation

then would

be a

reward

and a

wage

not a

gift

but it

turns out

salvation

is a

gift

it's a

grace

and it's

a mercy

some years

ago there

was a

famous

recording

artist

who claimed

to have

been

converted

to

Christianity

and I

along with

many of

you were

very excited

about it

it was

getting a lot

of media

attention

but then

in one of

the interviews

he said

that because

he is worth

three billion

dollars

and because

he's the

number one

Google search

brand in the

world

that God

was showing

off

and showing

out

by saying

that oh

he works

for me

he belongs

to me

he didn't

understand

mercy

and you

can see

now from

the way

he has

turned

around

from that

confession

God

saved him

because he's

so great

and he

wants to

show off

his latest

acquisition

that is

so far

from the

biblical

mindset

contrast that

with what

Paul says

in Philippians

three

he says

that every

reason he

has

for confidence

in the

flesh

things that

he might

boast about

that it's

all rubbish

compared to

the surpassing

worth of

knowing Christ

Jesus my

Lord

he says

same Paul

says in

first

Timothy

1 16

but I

received

mercy

for this

reason

not so

God can

show off

about what

a great

person

Paul is

now he

belongs

to me

I

received

mercy

for this

reason

that in

me

as the

foremost

of

sinners

Jesus

Christ

might

display

his

perfect

patience

as an

example

to those

who were

to believe

in him

for eternal

life

the reason

why he

received

mercy

Paul says

is so

that God

might show

how patient

and merciful

he is

to save

a chief

of sinners

in other

words

God saved

us

not because

we're

trophies

but despite

the fact

that we're

trash

trash

isn't

that what

rubbish

is

trash

refuse

dung

that's

all

that we

have

to offer

to God

in our

flesh

the church

is not

Jesus's

trophy

wife

it's

the

whore

that was

redeemed

by the

mercy

of God

God

saves us

not because

we're

amazing

but because

he is

amazing

not to

showcase

our

merits

but to

showcase

his

mercy

and when

we remember

how much

we have

been forgiven

how much

mercy

we have

received

it makes

us

merciful

and forgiving

toward others

there's so much

mercy

we've talked

about and we've

only talked

about God

the Father

he says

of Jesus

in Hebrews

2

17

18

therefore

he had

to be

made

like his

brothers

in every

respect

so that

he might

become

a merciful

and faithful

high priest

in the service

of God

to make

propitiation

for the sins

of the people

for because

he himself

has suffered

when tempted

he's able

to help

those who

are being

tempted

what makes

Jesus

a merciful

high priest

what makes

Jesus

a merciful

high priest

who intercedes

on our behalf

and advocates

for us

that he was

made like

us

in every

respect

he took

on human

flesh

he walked

on the

earth

he suffered

he wept

he was

tempted

and that's

why he's

not callous

or indifferent

to our

sufferings

and struggles

he's

compassionate

and he's

merciful

we read

this from

the assurance

of pardon

in Hebrews

4

we do

not have

a high

priest

who is

unable

to

sympathize

with our

weaknesses

but one

who in

every respect

has been

tempted

as we

are

yet

without

sin

let us

then

with confidence

draw near

to his throne

of grace

that we may

receive mercy

and find

grace to

help in

time of

need

what gives

us confidence

to approach

God's throne

confident

that we're

going to

receive mercy

there

and find

grace

there

we have

a high

priest

who mediates

for us

who sympathizes

with our

weaknesses

because he

has been

made like

us in

every respect

Jesus

gets

us

Jesus

knows

us

Jesus

sees

our

tears

Jesus

has

lived

on

this

fallen

and

broken

world

Jesus

knows

our

struggles

he

knows

how

hard

he

can

get

and

because

he

shares

our

human

nature

he

has

compassion

on

us

so

so

much

that

even

as

he

is

being

crucified

being

killed

unjustly

he

prays

and

pleads

with

his

father

on

behalf

of

the

very

people

who

are

killing

him

in

Luke

23

34

father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

that's

a

merciful

high

priest

and

that's

a

wonderful

comfort

to

us

who

are

needy

sinners

but

if

mercy

is

for

the

needy

the

promise

of

Matthew

Matthew 5:7

5

verse

7

seems

to

contradict

that

because

it

says

blessed

are

the

merciful

for

they

shall

receive

mercy

this

is my

third

point

who

receives

mercy

is

God's

mercy

reserved

for

those

who

are

needy

those

who

need

mercy

or

for

those

who

are

full

of

mercy

the

answer

the

answer

is

yes

to

both

first

it's

the

merciful

who

receives

mercy

the

bible

teaches

this

consistently

2

samuel

22

26

and

psalm

18

25

which

quotes

it

says

with

the

merciful

you

show

yourself

merciful

proverbs

11

17

says

a

merciful

person

does

himself

good

but

the

cruel

person

does

himself

harm

james

2

13

judgment

is

without

mercy

to

one

who

has

shown

no

mercy

jesus

says

later

on

in

matthew

6

14

to

15

if

you

forgive

others

their

trespasses

your

heavenly

father

will

also

forgive

you

but

if

you

do

not

forgive

others

their

trespasses

neither

will

your

father

forgive

your

trespasses

the

testimony

of

scripture

is

consistent

and

clear

only

those

who

show

mercy

to

others

will

receive

mercy

from

god

but

wait a

minute

aren't

we

saved

by

grace

through

faith

alone

doesn't

this

sound

like

earning

god's

mercy

with

our

own

mercy

isn't

that

salvation

by

works

and

not

by

grace

these

are

good

questions

to

raise

while

it

is

true

that

merciful

people

receive

god's

mercy

that

does

not

therefore

mean

that

god's

that

we

merit

god's

mercy

by

our

mercifulness

if

that

were

the

case

it

would

no

longer

be

mercy

we

remember

mercy

by

definition

is

given

to

someone

who

is

needy

someone

who

is

not

entitled

to

anything

or

someone

who

hasn't

earned

what

it

is

that

they

receive

if

we

merit

mercy

then

mercy

ceases

to

be

mercy

it's

a

contradiction

in

terms

so

while

mercifulness

is

a

criterion

that

God

uses

in

his

judgment

to

decide

who

will

receive

mercy

in

the

end

it

is

not

the