The Good Life: A series through the Sermon on the Mount Good news for the merciful Matthew 5:7 Intro: The definition of mercy A Biblical definition 1 1) The ability to overlook people s shortcomings 2 2) Concrete actions of love and compassion 3 AP Working definition: The ability to overlook a person s shortcomings and act in a way that directly benefits them. Zechariah 7:9-10 (ESV) Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. Isaiah 1:11,17 (NIV) The multitude of your sacrifices what are they to me? says the Lord. I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Most of us probably resonate with this at some level. Who doesn t love mercy for their shortcomings? Our disconnect with mercy The disconnect that Jesus is exposing in this Beatitude We love mercy for our shortcomings But for the shortcomings of others We are indifferent We are condescending We are patronizing (another form of condescension) We like real mercy shown to us, but we do not show real mercy towards others. Why? 1 of 5
We have a different script This is our narrative. We live in a culture that consolidates power to the individual, sometimes at the expense of those who are less fortunate. It s grounded in the fall of man in the garden: We want to live outside the Kingdom This is our narrative. That s all we know. Matthew 5:7 is NOT what we want to hear We need a new narrative God s story of mercy can reshape the way we think and live It starts by focusing, not on our mercy (or lack thereof), but on God s great mercy Genesis 3:21 (ESV) AP And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Exodus 34:6 (ESV) The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness Mercy is God s character It s an outflow of his nature. Isaiah 30:18 (NASB) Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. Psalm 25:6-7 (ESV) Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord 2 Samuel 24:14 (ESV) Then David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man. Ezekiel 39:25 (ESV) Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. Nehemiah 9:31 (ESV) Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Joel 2:13 (ESV) Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 2 of 5
Jonah 4:2 (ESV) And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. The New Testament = God comes down In Jesus, we have the embodiment of God s nature and character (i.e. mercy) in full form. Hebrews 1:3 Far from being indifferent, Jesus was compassionate Yet, it was not intangible sympathy, but compassionate action Far from being condescending, Jesus condescended Philippians 2:6-8 (ESV) who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. > it turns out, God is so merciful towards the broken, that it moved him to do something What s going on here? Cause these Beatitudes seem to praise good conduct rather than identify a condition. And divorced from its context, that would be right. 4 But in light of the whole, it involves, as do the others, the basic posture of an individual who has encountered Jesus 5 Robert A. Guelich: The merciful today does not refer to those who practice deeds of kindness or who respond graciously to charitable causes. Rather, the merciful are those who reflect God s acceptance of the unworthy, the guilty, and the ones in the wrong, because the merciful themselves, conscious of their own unworthiness, guilt, and The difference mercy makes Fetyukovitch wrong, have experienced God s forgiving and restoring acceptance through the message of Jesus Christ. 6 But do you want to punish him fearfully...and at the same time to save him and regenerate his soul? If so, overwhelm him with your mercy You will see, you will hear how he will tremble and be horror-struck. 'How can I endure this mercy? How can I endure so much love? Am I worthy of it?' That's what he will exclaim 7 (The Brothers Karamazov) God s mercy softens the most unmerciful people 1 Timothy 1:12-16 (ESV) I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 3 of 5
Those who are softened by God s mercy tend to show others mercy Titus 3:1-8 (ESV) Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. Robert A. Guelich: Those who will receive mercy are those who now have experienced it and practice it in view of God s work through Jesus Christ 8 In a roundabout way, Jesus is saying If mercy isn t cultivated in you, you ve never tasted of it yourself. You ll never share with others what you don t have. If you forgive others, God will forgive you - Mathew 6:14-15 Matthew 18:32-34 (The parable of the Unforgiving Servant) Then his master summoned him and said to him, You wicked servant I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. Our ability to show mercy is tied to our identity and citizenship in the kingdom But why? Because the indifference and the condescension is not the world we want to live in. We just participate by default because that s the way things are. We are the victims of an endless cycle of hurt people hurting more people. But it doesn t have to be that way Jesus left the remnants of a counterculture that defies the world s standards of living, and spreads the aroma of mercy in its place. That aroma allures those who need mercy the most. Otherwise, we try to muster up mercy, but end up being patronizing or indifferent. Either way, we are being controlled by what another person can or can t do for us. That s a life of slavery and self-destruction. We need to experience God s mercy for ourselves Psalm 116:1-2 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. The Good Life of the Kingdom is the freedom to not be enslaved to the world s way of doing things. Because he inclined his ear to me 4 of 5
Works Cited 1 Guelich posits that there are two types of mercy in Scripture: The act of pardoning one in the wrong and kindness shown one in need His argument is that the former is the one in use in Matthew s Beatitude. The Sermon on the Mount: Foundations for Understanding. (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982) 104 2 R.T. France. The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT. (Grand Rapids, MIL Eerdmans, 2007) 168. 3 Scot McKnight. Sermon on the Mount. (SGBC; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013). 45. See also Kenneth E. Bailey. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008) 82 4 Robert A. Guelich. The Sermon on the Mount: Foundations for Understanding. (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982) 103-104 5 Ibid. 104 6 Robert A. Guelich: The merciful today does not refer to those who practice deeds of kindness or who respond graciously to charitable causes. Rather, the merciful are those who reflect God s acceptance of the unworthy, the guilty, and the ones in the wrong, because the merciful themselves, conscious of their own unworthiness, guilt, and wrong, have experienced God s forgiving and restoring acceptance through the message of Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount. 103-104 7 8 Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov. 848 Guelich. 105 5 of 5