“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7
Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount, revealed nine things that open heaven’s doors to pour out a blessing upon men. Many church people never think about the concept of mercy. To understand any part of His sermon here, one should first know what it means to be blessed.
The biblical concept of being blessed and receiving a blessing is this, getting divine favor from God. Divine favor is not happiness, but a visible signal that a person has favor with God. It’s something tangible, that God’s hand of protection or honor is upon a person, a country, or even an enterprise. It must be seen clearly, despite the opposition of people around you.
“Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And Yahweh (the Lord) blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.” Genesis 26:12-14.
Notice what the Philistines noticed; The unusual blessings upon Isaac and his farm, in the same place where the Philistines were also living. How could that happen? I’ll tell you how, God intentionally marked Isaac as having heavenly favor and protection.
Now to Mercy. What is mercy? Mercy in a word means to give relief. Anytime you can relieve someone’s suffering, pain or anguish, you are displaying mercy. Mercy is not an emotion; it is an action! You cannot claim to have mercy and have no proof of your mercy. Jesus gave a wonderful example in Luke 10:30-37.
“Jesus replied and said,
‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?
“And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him,
“Go and do the same.”
Look at the steps leading to the action of mercy. Notice that compassion is an emotion,
“he felt compassion”.
Mercy begins with compassion for others around you. Personally, I think compassion is a gift that sees others through God’s eyes. How few people have compassion for anyone, or understand what true compassion is. Compassion sees others in distress even while they are silent. Note here how Jesus responded to the silent cry of others.
“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36.
Your spirit can and should be trained to look at others in a new light. In Proverbs 14:13(a) it reads, “Even in laughter the heart may be in pain…” You can train yourself to see other people in their silent distress, or you can turn a blind eye intentionally. The world around us is demonstrating that. When justice is served, the righteous and the victims should be treated with compassion, but in many states now, that is simply not the case. People high and low walk completely without shame, showing almost no compassion.
Notice that the Good Samaritan was not a Jew. Constant conflict went on for centuries between the Samaritans and the Jews. The Samaritan looked beyond the established borders of race, creed, country, and status. Not so with the priest and Levite, although they were brothers by blood with the man who was robbed. Your religion and your denomination may be teaching you how to be callous, heartless, and cruel to other denominations, justifying it by some religious virtue.
Pay attention to those who display a lack of emotion to an individual or a group. The common denominator for a lack of compassion is some verbal excuse. “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13. Compassion should result in some action to relieve suffering whenever we can.
Matthew 5:41-42. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”
We become salt and light when we demonstrate our faith with action. God can teach you to be a river of blessing to people around you. If a man asked you to go a mile, you could give him what he asked for, but mercy sees a need to go two miles, because that is what he really needed. Mercy has eyes into other’s poverty of soul and mind. Matthew 14:14,
“When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”
Mercy means to relieve someone’s suffering and misery. You could treat their wounds like the Samaritan, you could pray for their healing like Jesus, and you can forgive someone of a fault against you.
If you have made a financial mistake, and now you are in misery and fearful anticipation because of it, God’s mercy towards you can deliver you from that mistake. Mercy does not point the finger to the cause of the suffering, but steps in and relieves the suffering without contempt. In the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 18:15, it says, “Never gift a gift with correction.” Mercy is complete mercy. It does not add more weight to the suffering while trying to relieve it.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” God is merciful to the compassionate.
You get what you sow, you reap what you planted, whatever you have done for the least, it shall be done unto you. “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; Yahweh (the Lord) will deliver him in a day of trouble.” Ps 41:1.
In Matthew 25:40 we read, “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” If you want to be blessed beyond measure that only heaven can provide, then move into the action of living a life of mercy.
Please partner financially with me today. Your support of me and this work will give you a perpetual sacrifice before the throne of God.
I am praying for you daily. Please pray for me and this ministry daily.
Shalom.
Pastor David Gonzalez
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