Blessed Are the Merciful, For They Will Be Shown Mercy
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV)
Someone once defined grace as getting favor you didn’t deserve while mercy is not getting judgment you do deserve. When you and I stand before God, the last thing we should ask for is justice. What we need is mercy! Why? Because we have all sinned. In Titus 3:5 (NKJV), the Bible 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.”
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” He was not suggesting that we obtain mercy by showing mercy. The condition upon which you and I obtain mercy is through the grace of the Lord Jesus. Mercy is not a quid pro quo. We should be merciful because we have obtained mercy. In 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV), the Bible says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Mercy is not achieved, it is received. We can show mercy because we have received mercy.
The principle in the fifth beatitude is one of reciprocity. Jesus is saying that when we are merciful, we will be shown mercy. People tend to reciprocate in kind to the way they were treated. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus put it like this, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:38 (NKJV) In Galatians 6:7 (NIV), Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” This is the law of the harvest – we reap whatever we sow. If we sow mercy, we will reap it in return.
The same is true of judgment. Jesus continued the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV) saying, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” James carries it even further when he writes, “… judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13 (NIV)
When you’re tempted to be judgmental, you have the opportunity to show mercy. Merciful people are happier people. In ministry, I’ve discovered I don’t have to preach to make people feel guilty. Most people struggle with the guilt and shame they carry for the mistakes they’ve made. I preach mercy because I need mercy myself. We should all be thankful that mercy triumphs over judgment! God can be merciful to us because He poured out His wrath against sin on the cross. Our judgment was executed when Jesus died in our place and we put our faith in Him as our Savior from sin! In grace, He offers us forgiveness of sin, and out of His great mercy, He no longer holds our sins against us! We are blessed, Jesus said, when we are merciful, and His mercies are shown new and fresh every morning! If you want to live a blessed life, be merciful.