Blessed are those who are merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:7
We want to make Jesus and what he came to do more exclusive than God intended, I think. We like to think that His mercy is just reserved for those who have similar mindsets that we do. We want it to be the ultimate flex of, see, we got it right and you have been wrong all along.
Listen along to the episode here or on your favorite podcast app.
Before I go on let’s look at the Greek definitions of merciful and mercy.
merciful – eleémón – merciful, acting consistently with the revelation of God’s covenant.
mercy – eleeó – to show mercy as God defines it, i.e. as it accords with his truth (covenant) which expresses God’s covenant-loyalty-mercy (i.e. acting only on His terms)
Also, I want to point out that in the Hebrew mercy has a connection to the womb. It is a picture of protection as a mother protects her child in utero. That’s beautiful, isn’t it? The woman carrying a child is the only thing the baby can rely on. Woah. God’s mercy is our protection. And it is given when we don’t deserve it.
See, God knew we would need so much mercy. He knew, because he is sovereign, that the world was going to be a fallen place. Since the beginning he had a plan of redemption. As soon and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit sin became a force we would all have to deal with. He starts then speaking about the one who will come and the foreshadowing continues throughout the Old Testament. The ultimate act of mercy is shown when Jesus dies on the cross. He comes to earth, lives a perfect life, dies a death he did not deserve, rises from the grave, ascends to heaven, defeats death. By doing so the consequences we should face, death and eternal separation from God, we avoid. You enter into the world with this pass. The day you are born this mercy is available to you. This means that every sin you are destined to commit you are absolved from. If you claim it. I am not speaking of the hippie dippie manifestation type of claiming. This mercy cannot be attained by simply wishing for it. It comes to you when you accept it by putting your faith in Jesus. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.
God’s mercy does not mean you will have an easy life. This mercy doesn’t get you out of the consequences of the mistakes you make. If you get caught robbing a bank you will go to jail. But you won’t go to hell.
Jesus is telling us that since we have this gift of mercy, we need to be showing it to other people. Whether they deserve it or not. See? That’s what we got. Now we have to pay it forward.
References & Mentions
Recommended Bibles:
(if you purchase via these affiliate links, you will support Bible Talk!)
