Finding True Blessedness (Part 2) Series

I have entitled our message this morning, “Finding True Blessedness (Part 2).” As we get started, I should remind us that the words of Jesus seen in our passage are called “The Beatitudes,” and that the word “beatitude” comes from a Latin term meaning “blessedness.”(1) But the term “blessed” used by Jesus describes more than mere happiness. It is a type of joy; one that is “untouchable and self-contained,” and one that is “independent of all the chances and changes of life.”(2) So, as we encounter the term “blessed” in our passage, we will substitute it with the word “joyful” as it was likely intended.

Now, “The Beatitudes” are part of a larger discourse known as “The Sermon on the Mount,” and this title is based on Matthew 5:1-2, which says, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them.” The words of Jesus’ sermon are jam-packed with spiritual insight and need to be examined in great depth; and so, we are going to tackle His message – especially “The Beatitudes” – by doing a verse-by-verse exposition. In “Finding True Blessedness (Part 2),” we are going to be looking specifically at Matthew 5:7-12. So, let us go ahead and get started, beginning with verse 7.

Blessed Are the Merciful (v. 7)

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

“The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proof of a portrait, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and arrived with these angry words: ‘This picture does not do me justice!’ The photographer replied, ‘Sir, with a face like yours, you don’t need justice, you need mercy!’”(3) Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve.(4)

Jesus’ statement has nothing to do with karma, which is the Hindu belief in destiny or fate, following as an effect from cause. The mercy received by the merciful does not happen by chance or accident. It is a certainty; a spiritual principle established by the one true God. In James 2:13, the apostle said, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.” Later in “The Sermon on the Mount,” in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (cf. Matthew 18:35); and in Matthew 7:12, Jesus said, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,” which is known as “the golden rule.” So, if we want to receive mercy, we had better show mercy.

So, what exactly is mercy? Well, the Greek word here for mercy (eleemon) can be traced back to an original Hebrew word (chesedh), which “denotes a sympathy which is not given, as it were, from the outside, but which comes from a deliberate identification with the other person, until we see things as he sees them, and feel things as he feels them.”(5) It is a type of sympathy which denotes “experiencing things together with the other person, [and] literally going through what he is going through.”(6) You’ve heard it said, “Don’t judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes.”

But it is not just about understanding what someone else is going through. It also pertains to having known and received mercy oneself. Meaning, we cannot give away what have not received. John tells us, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We love Jesus, because of what He did for us first. Jesus gave His own life on the cross for our sins and extended grace and mercy, when we should have received condemnation and death. We read in 1 John 4:10-11, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [or atoning sacrifice] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

“Merciful people realize their own unworthiness and need for God’s pardon. Having known God’s grace and [forgiveness] in their own lives, they want to forgive and help others.”(7) One paraphrase of this verse might read as: “Joyful are those who can see through the eyes of others and feel with their feelings, for they will find that others do the same for them, and so does the Lord.”(8) A simpler paraphrase could read as, “Joyful are those who show mercy through forgiveness, kindness, and compassion, for they will receive mercy.”(9)

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (v. 8)

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“There is an old saying that goes like this: ‘It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.’ Many a man, worried for fear he would not be able to cross a mountain, has had to stop . . . miles before he crossed the foothills, because he had not taken time to clean out his shoes . . . Eager to avoid the big sins, your life may outwardly be one of extreme piety, but if there are hidden imperfections – little pebbles in your shoe – these will cause failures in your Christian life.”(10) Think about it, one tiny piece of dirt in a carburetor can keep the most powerful truck from climbing a mountain road. Purity is all-important in making the ascent.(11)