What does Jesus think about mercy? Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto...

What does Jesus think about mercy?

Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you

would have them do unto you.”

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for

they shall receive mercy.”

In our first four Beatitudes we dealt with our inner

attitudes that we are to have.

HumilityRepentant over sins

MeekHungry and thirsty for

righteousness

Now in the last Beatitudes we move to looking at our

outer actions that can come about WHEN we have those

inner attitudes.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “The merciful have an irresistible

love for the downtrodden, the sick, the wronged, the

outcast, and those who are tortured with anxiety . . . . No

distress is too great, no sin too appalling for their pity.”

Mercy is when we DON’T give people what they

deserve.

It is a feeling AND an action

It was mercy in Abraham after he had been wronged

by his nephew Lot that caused him to go and secure

Lot’s deliverance.

It was mercy in Moses, after Miriam had rebelled against him and the Lord had given her leprosy, that made him

cry, “Oh God, heal her, I pray!”

It was mercy in David that twice caused him to spare

the life of Saul.

It was mercy in Joseph that caused him to spare the lives of his brothers.

Genesis 45:4 “Come close to me,” he said to them, wanting to love on

them.”

There are two areas of being merciful to others we will

look at:

1) Mercy toward those who have wronged us

“Do you show them mercy?”

“Will you?”

2) Mercy toward those who are needy.

1 John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and

sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

We see another great example of mercy in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan

(Luke 10:30-37):

1) He saw the distress.

2) He responded with a heart of compassion.

3) He responded externally with a practical effort to

relieve his distress.

4) He showed this mercy even though he was an

enemy.

So how can we be people of mercy?

Remember our source of mercy: “But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”

Eph. 2:4

Remember our ultimate example of mercy-Jesus.

We can only show mercy when we have the inner attitudes of the first four

Beatitudes AND we rely on the help of the Spirit.

The place to start with is our hearts

Today, pray and ask the Spirit to help you show

mercy toward someone who doesn’t deserve it because of what they have done to

you.

Pray and ask the Spirit to give you a mercy for those

in need around you.

Get ready for the Mercy of Jesus to spill out on you.

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