Living A Life Of Mercy | Matthew 5:7

So good to see everybody.

Guess I'll steal that clicker from you.

Thank you.

Good morning.

We are crawling our way through the Beatitudes as we go through this sermon series on the Sermon of the Mount.

Today we're talking about the merciful.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

What comes to mind when we think about mercy?

I tell you what came to my mind when I thought about mercy.

I think of some images, someone, you know, begging not to be punished, right?

Falling to their knees, um, begging for mercy.

I think of maybe a conflict where we choose, uh, I'm gonna choose not to hit back this time.

I'm gonna refrain from that.

I'm not gonna be mean to them, I'm gonna choose kindness, uh, mercy.

Another picture that came to my mind is a judge.

A judge who instead of convicting a guilty person, shows mercy and lets them go free.

And the hope is that that person, so moved by the mercy that was shown him, will go and show mercy to others.

Maybe you had a similar idea or similar pictures in your mind when you think of mercy.

In fact, Jesus kind of paints that picture of mercy and his parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 28.

Matthew 28, if you want to turn over there.

Matthew 28, if you remember in this parable, you have a servant who is forgiven an impossible debt by his master.

It was a sum that was too large to pay, and the master forgives him of that debt, and then that servant goes to a fellow servant and forces him to pay a tiny debt.

Forces that man to pay him back a very small amount and throws him in prison.

And the master hears about this, and he says, Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant?

Let's just read the first, uh, the last few verses, verses 32 through 35.

It says, 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.

Notice the master's words there, right?

He uses the word mercy.

I had mercy on you, so why didn't you show mercy to your fellow servant?

Why didn't you practice mercy?

And this is how we often view mercy.

It's how mercy is pictured.

One of the more basic readings of mercy.

And it's and it's good, right?

Blessed are the merciful.

I think this is a true reading.

There's a wrong that's been done, there's a debt that is owed, and it's released.

That's mercy there.

Mercy is not getting the bad things that we actually deserve.

Sometimes how it's how it's talked about.

But mercy in this case, when you look at this parable, means forgiving someone who has wronged you, who owes you something.

I think while all that is true, that's not where mercy ends, though.

Forgiveness is not the whole of mercy.

Right?

And Jesus, when he says blessed are the merciful, he's taking that much further than I'm gonna forgive you of this debt, I'm gonna forgive you of that crime.

In fact, if you look at the whole book of Matthew, Jesus is doing a lot with this word, not just in how he teaches, but in also how he acts as an example in showing mercy to others.

And so when he says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy, that word merciful is elios.

It doesn't just mean I have a feeling of pity on them or I'm gonna let this person off the hook.

No.

It describes someone who is in real need and that you're doing something about it.

Sometimes it's seen as compassion.

In fact, some translations even translate it as compassion, and so they're very close.

In fact, Elios is the Greek version of the Septuagint's version of the Hebrew, which is Hesed.

So Hebrew is Hesed for merciful, or sometimes steadfast love.

For example, we see this in Hosea 6, verse 6.

Hosea 6:6

In fact, Jesus is going to quote this and mention this in his teachings, and he's gonna say, I desire mercy.

But here in the Hebrew, it's I desire steadfast love, Hesed, this loyal love, this covenant love, this love that goes beyond what is owed.

And so this is what Jesus is echoing when he says, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

In fact, this is how God describes himself and his own character in Exodus 34, verse 6, where he says, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

Exodus 34:6

Now turn back over to Matthew 5 and think about these beatitudes for a second.

You look at verse 6.

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

I want to be in right standing, not just before God, but before others.

I'm gonna pay what is owed.

But then verse 7, Jesus takes it another step further and he says, Blessed are the merciful, right?

So not only am I gonna pay back what is owed, but I'm going to go, and unlike the unforgiving servant, I'm going to go and help him pay my neighbor's debt.

What we're going to learn is that mercy is love that gives what the other person couldn't get.

That's what we're going to see this morning from Jesus and his teachings and his character.

There's a blessing here.

I'm going to give the people, I'm going to bless people with what they could not give themselves.

And that's mercy.

And so the flow of our lesson this morning is what does it mean to be merciful?

And then what does receiving mercy look like?

Let's look at some examples.

Turn over to Matthew chapter 20.

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 20.

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

We think of mercy here.

We see it in the blind men and Jesus healing these blind men.

Matthew 20.

They cry out for help.

They cry out for mercy.

Notice that.

Verse 29.

It says, And as they went out to Jericho, a crowd followed Jesus.

And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside.

And when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent.

But they cried out all the more, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

And stopping, Jesus called them and said, This is key.

What do you want me to do for you?

And they said to him, Lord, let our eyes be opened.

And Jesus in pity touched their eyes and immediately they covered, they recovered their sight and followed Jesus.

So two times they shout out, Lord, have mercy on us, have mercy on us, son of David.

Mercy is what they say.

You see, they recognize that Jesus has the authority and the power to do what no one else can.

Their only chance of seeing and being healed rests in the hands of Jesus.

Their hope in seeing is simply at the mercy of Jesus, and if He desires to heal them, to open their eyes.

These two men from the text that we can see, they haven't done anything wrong.

There's no sin that's being talked about here.

Jesus isn't saying, go and sin no more.

This mercy has nothing to do with that.

And that's sometimes how we think of mercy.

We think of it within the context of sin.

But instead, Jesus here in verse 32 responds with, What can I do for you?

What can I do for you?

That is a practical way we can apply mercy.

Blessed are the merciful.

This mercy is in response to injustice, the injustice that we see in a broken and fallen world.

When we hear the words of Jesus in this sermon, right?

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, blessed are the merciful, and we wonder, well, how do we practice that in our daily lives?

Verse 32 is the answer.

Matthew 20, verse 32.

Matthew 20:32

We hear the pains, we hear the cries of those in need, and we ask, What can I do for you?

We ask those in need, what can I do for you?

What is in my power that I can give to you that you can't give yourselves?

That is everyday mercy.

And this is how we serve God.

We show mercy to those who are in need because we know God shows mercy to us.

He is a merciful God.

Let's look at another example.

Turn over just a few chapters before in Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

You have the story of the blind man in Matthew 20.

Then Matthew 15, you have the story of this Canaanite woman, and the structure is very similar.

Matthew 15, verse 21.

Matthew 15:21

It says, And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

And behold, a Canaanite woman from the region came out and was crying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.

But he did not answer her a word.

And his disciples came and begged him, saying, Send her away, for she is crying out after us.

And he answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But she came and knelt before him, saying, Lord, help me.

And he answered, It is not right to take the children, the children's bread, and throw it to the dogs.

And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.

And then Jesus answered, O woman, great is your faith, let it be done for you as you desire.

And her daughter was healed instantly.

Same idea, except instead of a Jewish focus, there's a Gentile focus here.

But the same idea applies.

Both of them recognize Jesus' authority and they call out, Son of David, right?

Heir to the king, right?

Son of David, King, have mercy.

Mercy.

It's a form of help.

Because she begs there in verse 25, have mercy.

And then she says, Lord, help me.

Help me.

I want us to see that.

I want us to see mercy for what it is.

Yes, it's giving people what they don't deserve, but it's also giving people what they can't give themselves.

And that is a real distinction.

Because there's a lot in the world that is just broken, and there's a lot of people in the world that need help and they can't help themselves.

If you know that you can do something about it, you see someone in need, and you can fix it, and you can do some justice, you can give justice, you can do what is right by them.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

The Old Testament even talks about this.

Proverbs 14, Proverbs 14, verse 21.

Proverbs 14:21

This isn't a new concept.

You see the ESV and the New King James here, because I want you to see the mercy in these translations.

But the ESV says, Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner.

But blessed, kind of the same language of Jesus, is he who is generous to the poor.

Your translation might even say kind or gracious, but here in the New King James we see mercy.

But he who has mercy on the poor, bless.

Happy is he.

The person who shows mercy is happy, blessed.

Just as Jesus said in Matthew 5, verse 7, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

This is, of course, not just in how Jesus lived, but how he taught.

Matthew 9.

Turn up in Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Notice what Jesus does here.

He uses mercy as a teaching tool and uses it to actually change lives.

And this affects one of the apostles, one of the disciples.

Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Look at verses 9 through 13.

It says, As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth.

And he said to him, Follow me.

And he rose and followed him.

And as Jesus reclined at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

But when he heard it, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

And then he quotes Hosea 6.6 and says, Go and learn what this means, what the scriptures are telling you, what God has been telling you.

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

He's quoting Hosea 6.6 that we read earlier.

The steadfast love, this mercy.

He's saying, You should know how big of a deal mercy is, how it affects how we serve God.

One of the things that the Pharisees didn't understand or that they missed is they didn't understand who mercy was for.

And Jesus is reminding them that mercy is for the sick, for the lost, for those who need God that are searching.

Think about that for a second.

People need to come to Jesus, need to come to God.

We're not gonna help them.

We're not gonna help the lost find Christ or the sick ever experience the healing power of Christ.

If we can't show mercy to them, if we can't show mercy to the lost and the sick, to the sinners and the tax collectors.

We can tell them, look, come to church, come to worship, which is great.

But that's not where it should end.

Because if that's where it's ending, they don't see our mercy.

All they see is our self-righteousness.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees here, look, you can go to the temple and you can offer sacrifices all day, every day.

But if it comes at the cost of not practicing mercy or loyal love or steadfast love or compassion and kindness, then God would rather have you do that than offer sacrifices.

God is a God of mercy.

And because that is his character and who he is, it should flow out of us.

It should be who we are as his people who worship him and serve him in our everyday lives.

It's mercy.

In fact, that changed Matthew here, the tax collector's life, so that he goes and he follows God, not the sacrifices and the self-righteousness of the Pharisees.

And that is so true for us as we live out in the world today.

When studying this, I read this quote I thought was well said.

It says, Merciful action is the concrete expression of our loyalty to God, your loyal love.

What God wants is not mainly activity directed up toward Him, but loving kindness directed out toward other people.

So when we think of mercy, let's not just shrink it down to this idea of like, I'm gonna show them mercy by not punishing them, and I'm gonna pat myself on the back because I show mercy when it's nice and easy and it's convenient.

No.

Now don't get me wrong, those moments when we do show mercy and we decide not to hit back, those are real moments of forgiveness, and they're not to be taken lightly.

They're huge, they're life-changing, and they're not easy.

But it comes with action on our part as well.

Look at the example of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Turn over to Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

This parable is not typically seen as a parable about mercy, but I want you to pay attention to what the lawyer who's talking to Jesus says near the end of this passage.

Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Read verses 25 through 37.

It says, And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And he 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, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

And he said to him, You've answered correctly, do this, and you will live.

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

And Jesus replied, Let me tell you a story.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now, by chance, a priest was going down the road and he saw him, and he passed by on the other side.

So likewise, a Levite, right, a religious person here, a Jew esteemed, right?

When he came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side.

But a Samaritan who was hated by the Jews as he journeyed came to where he was, and he saw him, and he had compassion.

And he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and he sent him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

The next day he took out two dinari and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever you spend, I will repay you when I come back.

Which of these three, Jesus says, do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?

And he said, To the one who showed him mercy.

And Jesus said, What?

Go and do likewise.

So the lawyer here is questioning Jesus, like, who's my neighbor?

He's trying to, verse 29, he's trying to justify himself.

He wants some clarity on this.

I don't know if he wants clarity, if he's also trying to, you know, try to do the bare minimum here, but it's not a common practice when you look at the world, for the world to practice mercy.

Because to show mercy means I have to give up something.

I had to give up my pride, I had to give up power, time, attention, resources like this Samaritan did.

The world would say, actually, it's more blessed to go and walk on the other side, to keep those resources for yourself.

I mean, who knows?

If you stop to help the Samaritan up, you might be the one that's robbed next.

But the Samaritan doesn't do that.

He shows mercy, and he does so by giving him the care that this man couldn't give himself.

Look at what Jesus asked in verse 36 and 37.

Who proved to be the neighbor of these three?

And the lawyer says, the one who showed him mercy, the one who stopped, picked up this man, put him on his own animal, and brought him into his care.

That's mercy.

And the application for us is what Jesus says in verse 37, go and do likewise.

Go and do likewise.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

We know what being merciful looks like, but what does receiving mercy look like?

It isn't a promise that if you show mercy, people will be nice to you.

That's nice, but that's not that's not how the world works.

Now, it could be true in some respects, and in some instances.

However, Peter points out, not Peter, Jesus.

Jesus points out in Matthew 18 and his parable of the unforgiving servant that that often is not the case.

The people mess up and people are not going to be merciful back.

People fall short.

But the beauty is God never falls short.

He never does.

He is always merciful.

And so Jesus, what Jesus is getting at here when he says, You shall receive mercy is a promise.

A promise that God will be merciful to you in two ways.

In your eternal future, on the day of judgment, and in your everyday life.

I love Lamentations 3, 22 through 23.

That says the steadfast love, or is that steadfast love of the Lord never ceases?

His mercies, his mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

This is every day we are alive.

When we can't give ourselves mercy, God is there to extend mercy every day.

His steadfast love never ceases.

When our sin seems too great to bear, when it's it's too hard to shake, God's mercies are new every morning.

Because of God's mercies, we are not defined by our worst days or our worst decisions.

And so as we live in this life, and sin is sometimes a part of our everyday life, either by our choosing or others, it's important that we serve a merciful God.

Now it's also important to point out that this isn't a transaction where I'm merciful in hopes that God might be merciful to me.

And the more merciful I am, the more merciful God will be.

No.

We're merciful because God is merciful.

He is mercy.

It's a part of his character and who he is.

And that leads to the second way that we receive mercy.

That is through our eternal life on that judgment day, when God will give us mercy to those who are covered in his blood.

A mercy that never ends and will be for eternal life.

Jude 21.

A beautiful passage.

It says, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

And so the debt is paid, the sin washed away.

We have been shown mercy.

And every day we live and we walk and we follow Jesus, we are shown mercy.

I hope that when you read Jesus' words here in Matthew 5, verse 7, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy, you have a deeper understanding of what Jesus is saying and just a small line that is very impactful and can change lives, not just your life, but the life of others and help people to follow Jesus more.

Matthew 5:7

Just like Matthew the tax collector or the Good Samaritan or the Canaanite woman or the two blind men that went and followed Jesus.

If you're not a Christian, I want to take this time to urge you to accept God's mercies.

Accept his mercy.

Don't go and live your life thinking you're good or to continue in your sin, pushing his mercy away.

Because you cannot save yourself.

You need his mercy, and you will stand before him on judgment day.

But eternal life is for those who are with Jesus.

If that's what you want this morning, to be washed, to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, you can do that now, or we stand and we sing.