“The Beatitudes” series: (post #5)

“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, N.K.J.V.)

The Greek noun our New Testaments translate as “mercy” is eleos. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the word as being:

the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it.

The Old Testament Hebrew’s primary word for “mercy” is checed. William Barclay, in his commentary on Matthew, says of this Hebrew word:

…It is an untranslatable word. It does not mean to sympathize with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble. (It) means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin until we can see things from his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings.

Putting the Vines and Barclay definitions together, we come up with a working application for mercy. First, mercy assumes need on the part of the mercy-receiver. Second, it assumes the mercy-giver has resources adequate to meet the need. Third, to ideally show mercy, the mercy-giver must place himself inside the skin of the mercy-receiver.

It’s been said that justice is getting what you deserve and mercy is not getting it. Speaking for myself, I’d call that an accurate description of mercy. You see, mercy lives on the same street as compassion and pity, and this is a street the Christian should know well because God expects that Christian to make a regular practice of bestowing mercy upon others. How big a deal is this to God? It’s big enough for James 2:13 to say the one who has shown no mercy will experience judgment “without mercy.” That is a very sobering thought.

Not only does God expect Christians to show mercy, He is even interested in the way we do it. According to Romans 12:8, He wants it to be done “with cheerfulness.” That sets the bar even higher, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to be expected to show mercy, but it’s something else entirely to be expected to do it cheerfully!

But what makes God think He has the right to demand such a lofty standard from Christians? Well, putting it simply, He has the right to demand it because He has cheerfully extended mercy to us. As Titus 3:5 says:

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Of course, it shouldn’t surprise us that God Himself would extend mercy. After all, Ephesians 2:4 says He is “rich in mercy.” Micah 7:18 says “He delights in mercy.” And Psalm 103:8,11 says: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (N.K.J.V.)

The good news, Christian, is that if you will meet God’s standard by cheerfully extending mercy to others, you will feel the benefit of that gesture as much as them. As Proverbs 11:17 says: “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh” (N.K.J.V.). Similarly, Proverbs 14:21 says: “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he” (N.K.J.V.). And then there is Psalm 18:25, which says: “With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful” (N.K.J.V.). That last reference goes right along with Christ’s words from the fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (N.K.J.V.).

So, Christian, do you want to be pleasing to God in your dealings with others? Do you want to do good for your own soul? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to obtain mercy from God? If your answer to each of these questions is, “Yes,” then cheerfully show mercy to others. Figuratively speaking, when you find yourself in a position of holding a hammer over the head of a person who has sinned, don’t make a nail out of that person’s head. Instead, remember all the past times when you yourself needed mercy, and look ahead to any future times when you might just need it again.