WEEKLY INTRODUCTION: The theme for the Beatitudes is the same as Jesus’ message throughout His ministry, namely: “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” and the King wants to reign in your heart and rule over our lives now. It is a spiritual kingdom in which we enter through the gate of REPENTANCE and walk its streets by FAITH. Each Beatitude identifies the quality of one who has entered the Kingdom, followed by a promise to those who possess this quality. Once we enter the Kingdom, or we might say, once the Kingdom enters us, we receive all its blessings.
The Fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Mt. 5:7).
Mercy and Grace are two words that occur throughout the Old and New Testaments. To be granted MERCY means that you do not receive the punishment you deserve, while GRACE, on the other hand, is receiving what you don’t deserve, which is freedom. Furthermore, those who have received MERCY from God will show MERCY to others, and those who show MERCY to others will receive MERCY from God as well as from others.
There are many instances in the New Testament where individuals and small groups of people cried out: “Jesus, have mercy on me/us.” Here is a short list:
- The two blind men (Mt. 9:27)
- The ten lepers (Lk. 17:13)
- The Canaanite Woman (Mt. 15:22)
- The Father of the Demoniac (Mt. 17:15)
- Blind Bartimaeus (Lk. 18:38)
Paul makes note of the fact that our God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4-6); and that he himself has been the recipient of God’s mercy:
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent offender, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief … (1 Timothy 1:3).
And then there is one of my favorite verses in the Bible:
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteousness things we have done, but because of His mercy (Titus 3:5).
It’s wonderful to be the recipient of God’s mercy. But then we must remember James’ words in his letter to the churches,
Judgment will be merciless to those who have shown no mercy (James 2:13).
And of course, we should remember Jesus’ parable of the “Unmerciful Servant,” the one who received mercy from the Master over a debt that he could never repay and yet withheld mercy from one who owed him a much smaller debt. Upon hearing this, the Master took the “unmerciful servant” and threw him into prison to be tortured (Matthew 18:21-35). Wow! This is harsh judgment upon those who have received mercy and yet withhold it from others.
And then we all remember Jesus’ parable of the “Good Samaritan” which Jesus told in answer to the question: “Who is my neighbor.” The Good Samaritan while traveling down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho tended to the man who had been robbed and beaten and left for dead. A Priest and a Levite both passed by, ignoring the beaten man, but the Samaritan stopped, bandaged his wounds, and put him on his own donkey and then took him to an inn in Jericho where he received all the care that he needed. And so, Jesus asked the question again, “Who is my neighbor,” and the answer came from the scholars of the Law, “the one who showed mercy” Jesus concluded the parable by saying “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:30-37).
For all those who know Christ as their Savior, we have this amazing promise from the Book of Hebrews during times of need:
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
The One who showed mercy on us when He died on the cross, is seated on Heaven’s throne interceding for us, extending mercy and grace to help us in time of need. That is an amazing promise from God’s Word, and a promise that we need to avail ourselves of.
May the Lord bless each one of you. And let’s remember the 5th Beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy!”
