The Beatitudes – The Merciful

It has been said that repetition is the key to real learning. We need to be reminded of spiritual truths, even those that we know well (see 2 Pet. 1:12-13). Allow me, then, to remind you what true blessedness is. Blessedness is not having all your wishes fulfilled, expectations met, or dreams come true. True blessedness is found in resting in God, being at peace with him and experiencing his favour.
 
One of the wonderous ways in which we experience the Lord’s favour, is through his mercy. The Bible uses several related words to describe mercy. The first could be translated as compassion. It is used in passages like 2 Cor. 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort”. Here God’s mercy is displayed in his compassion for the suffering (as in the NIV). God is moved by the plight of the world and cares for those who are suffering, whether it is because of their own sin, the sins of others, or the fallenness of the world.

A different but related word is used in Matt. 9:36: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Here, Christ’s mercy is a deep feeling of affection, pity, or love. Jesus was deeply moved by the spiritual plight of the crowds who followed him.

In our next beatitude, however, Jesus uses yet another, even stronger word to describe mercy. Here mercy not only describes feeling, but action. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

What Jesus taught would have been considered “countercultural”, maybe even revolutionary. One Roman philosopher called mercy “the disease of the soul”. They valued justice, courage, discipline, and power. Mercy was seen as a sign of weakness. Many among the Jews held to similar views. They couldn’t wait for the reign of the Messiah to start so that they could avenge themselves on their enemies. But Jesus called for something quite different.

What does it mean to show mercy? The merciful not only feel compassion, they act accordingly. For example, in 1 John 3:18 we are told not only to love “in word or talk, but in deed and in truth”. In the preceding verse, we are warned that those who don’t show mercy have probably not received God’s mercy. We see similar admonitions in 1 John 4:20 and James 2:14-17. Mercy is a mark of true faith.

We don’t deny that unbelievers can be merciful. Of course they can, but their mercy focuses on the physical plight of man. What about the soul? Christian mercy seeks to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others wherever possible. That is what Christ did. He healed and preached. He fed their bodies as well as their souls.
Those who follow the merciful Christ, will show mercy to others as well.
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Because of Christ,
Pieter