The Beauty of Mercy
Matthew 5:7
Secret #5: To get mercy, you must give mercy.
Mercy (Gk. eleos)=compassion; kindness or good will towards the miserable and afflicted that results in action.
Grace deals with sin and guilt but mercy deals with the pain and misery that comes from sin. Grace takes away the fault, mercy the misery. One extends pardon, the other extends relief.
Eph.2:4-7
What secret keeps us from giving mercy? We are hypocrites.
This shows up the most in at least 3 areas:
1. Forgiveness
2. Patience
3. Compassion
People of God pray…little boy was wanting mercy, wasn’t he?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us the secrets to a life of supreme happiness. That’s what the word blessed means. It’s different that the happiness the world seeks: this is not temporary, it’s not based on emotion, it’s not based on favorable circumstances. It’s state of being based on the favor of God.
And it’s offered to all who will follow Jesus. If your life is not marked by this supreme happiness, there’s something wrong. There are some secrets you must discover. The problem is: our secrets get in the way of us discovering these secrets.
MATTHEW 5:3-6 (ON SCREEN)
Do you see how these beatitudes build on one another? If you don’t learn the 1st secret, you can’t discover the 2nd secret. If you can’t get the 2nd secret you can’t discover the 3rd secret.
If you don’t confess you’re poor in spirit, you’ll never discover that brokenness brings healing. If you don’t discover how to get healed, instead of being gentle, you’ll break, bruise, and batter those in your life. If you don’t learn the secret of gentleness, you’ll become a self-centered, self-righteous individual and you won’t learn the secret of being deeply filled and satisfied by doing just what Jesus did: entering into the brokenness of the world, picking up the pieces of broken lives, and making things right.
And if you never discover the secret of yearning to make things right, you’ll never discover the 5th secret. Look at v.7 “THE MERCIFUL ARE BLESSED, FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY.” MATTHEW 5:7 HCSB
What’s this 5th secret Jesus is revealing for the life of supreme happiness? Here it is: SECRET #5: TO GET MERCY, YOU MUST GIVE MERCY.
Let’s talk a little bit about the word mercy. MERCY (GK. ELEOS)=COMPASSION; KINDNESS OR GOOD WILL TOWARDS THE MISERABLE AND AFFLICTED THAT RESULTS IN ACTION.
Mercy is different from grace.
GRACE DEALS WITH SIN AND GUILT BUT MERCY DEALS WITH THE PAIN AND MISERY THAT COMES FROM SIN. GRACE TAKES AWAY THE FAULT, MERCY THE MISERY. ONE EXTENDS PARDON, THE OTHER EXTENDS RELIEF.
Jesus taught a lot about mercy. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? A guy was robbed and beaten and left for dead. But this Samaritan dude saw him and had mercy on him and bandaged him up and took care of him.
Then there was the story Jesus told in Luke 18 where 2 guys went to the Temple to pray. One said, “God, I’m glad I’m not like this other guy. I live for you in every possible way.” The other guy prayed what? “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
Of course mercy is written about all through the letters of Paul. Eph.2:4-7 “BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE THAT HE HAD FOR US, 5 MADE US ALIVE WITH THE MESSIAH EVEN THOUGH WE WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES. YOU ARE SAVED BY GRACE! 6 TOGETHER WITH CHRIST JESUS HE ALSO RAISED US UP AND SEATED US IN THE HEAVENS, 7 SO THAT IN THE COMING AGES HE MIGHT DISPLAY THE IMMEASURABLE RICHES OF HIS GRACE THROUGH HIS KINDNESS TO US IN CHRIST JESUS.” EPHESIANS 2:4-7
God looked at our deplorable situation: blind, broken, separated, fearful, empty—and had mercy on us. He looked beyond my fault, and saw my need.
That’s the thing about mercy is: everyone wants it! The kid caught stealing candy wants it. The speeder pulled over by the police wants it. The husband who makes the wrong comment about his wife’s hairdo wants it. Guys, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?
Funny story about mercy
Where do you need mercy in your life? Where are you suffering? Where are you hurting? Where are you frustrated? Where are you bitter and angry? Where do you need mercy in your life?
How’s your marriage? How’s your family? How are your relationships with your in-laws or parents? How’s your job?
Everyone wants mercy. But Jesus let’s us in on a little secret: To get mercy you’ve got to give mercy.
Ah—that’s the rub; that’s the problem. We want mercy and lots of it; but we don’t want to give much mercy. Remember The Parable of the Unmerciful Debtor in Matthew 18:23-25? A servant owed his king $10M and since he couldn’t pay it back, was going to get thrown into prison. But he fell on his knees and begged for what? He begged for mercy. Everyone wants mercy. And the king had mercy on him. Then the guy went out and harassed a guy who owed him $100 bucks and had him thrown into prison. He showed NO mercy. He wanted mercy, but didn’t give mercy.
Here’s our dirty little secret that keeps us from discovering this secret of supreme happiness: we’re hypocrites. WHAT SECRET KEEPS US FROM GIVING MERCY? WE ARE HYPOCRITES.
Ouch! But think about what a hypocrite is. It means literally, “one who plays the part.” When we say we want mercy and mercy is important to us, but then we’re not willing to give and live mercy, that’s the perfect picture of a hypocrite.
You want others to step in and relieve your misery but you’re not willing to do with others.
THIS SHOWS UP THE MOST IN AT LEAST 3 AREAS:
1 FORGIVENESS
When we do something wrong, when we make a mistake, we want to be forgiven, don’t we? But when someone offends us, when someone hurts us, when someone abuses us, we don’t want to forgive. We want mercy, but we don’t want to give it.
2. PATIENCE
When someone is impatient with us, we don’t like that. We are hurt, we are offended, we are angry. We feel belittled and even humiliated. We want a little patience, right? But then when someone does something that irritates us, we don’t want patience. We respond with impatience. We want mercy, we just don’t want to give it.
3. COMPASSION
When we’re hurting, or when we’re struggling, or when we are discouraged, we want someone to touch our pain, don’t we? We don’t want them to judge us, we don’t want them to scoff at us, we don’t want them to ignore us. We want them to have mercy on us. But then how many times do we drive by someone broken down on the road, or walk by someone we know is hurting, or just plain ignore a loved one who is struggling? We want mercy, we just don’t want to give it.
Jesus says, “If you want mercy, then give mercy. Then your life will be supremely happy.
Story of someone who didn’t give mercy…
John and Mary Ellen Patterson had four children. Two of the children, John Jr. and Laura, were perfectly healthy. The other two children, Elizabeth and Will were born with a genetic disorder known as cystinosis, which often leads to loss of kidney function. At 16, Elizabeth suffered kidney failure and underwent a successful transplant from an anonymous, deceased donor. (Her father, John, had wanted to donate a kidney, but testing had ruled him out.)
A short time later, John died suddenly from a massive heart attack. John Jr., 15 at the time, felt a new responsibility take shape in his life. As he watched Will go through dialysis—and having seen the great struggle his sister went through—John thought to himself, If I can change this in any way possible, I will.
When John Jr. turned 18, his opportunity came. He was tested to see if he was a transplant match for his brother Will, and he was. John Jr. told his mother at the time, "I watched you take care of Elizabeth and Will my whole life, and I always wanted to do something, and now's my chance."
The surgery was a success. Will earned a 4.0 grade point average for his second semester, despite having to play catch-up the whole year. He spends his days engaged in care-free fun with his friends. "Let's call it what it is," Mary Ellen says of John Jr.'s decision. "It was a huge sacrifice that gave his brother his life back. And I think John's life will be better because of the gift he gave."
Leif Enger's Peace Like a River tells the story of Jeremiah Land, a janitor for the local school who has been known to perform miracles from time to time. He lives a relatively quiet life with his three children: 16-year-old Davy, 11-year-old Reuben, and 9-year-old Swede, a precocious little girl.
The novel takes a dark turn when Davy kills two teenage thugs who invade his family's home. It isn't long before the whole community turns on the Lands, especially the school superintendent—Jeremiah's boss—Chester Holgren. Mr. Holgren is a nasty man with a diseased face. Young Reuban, the story's narrator, describes Mr. Holgren as "a man whose face was a minefield of red boils." He adds: "I hated him, I'll admit, and would soon hate him more, but a person had to feel sorry about this face. I don't know if you've ever tried a dish called tomato pudding. It's cooked soft and is ever so red and lumpy."
Mr. Holgren does whatever he can to make Jeremiah's life miserable, eventually firing Jeremiah for false accusations of drunkenness. The firing takes place in the school cafeteria in front of all the children. Here's how Reuban describes the scene:
I left my milling classmates and headed for Dad, where he stood in rapt surprise facing Holgren. I hadn't in mind to say anything, and indeed I didn't; for as I approached Dad lifted his hand, sudden as a windshift, touched Holgren's face and pulled away. It was the oddest little slap you ever saw. Holgren quailed back a step, hunching defensively, but Dad turned and walked off. The superintendent stood with his fingers strangely awonder over his chin, cheeks, and forehead. Then I saw that his bedeviled complexion—that face set always at a rolling boil—had changed. I saw instead skin of a healthy tan, a hale blush spread over cheekbones that suddenly held definition; above his eyes the shine of constant seepage had vanished, and light lay at rest upon his brow.
Listen: There are easier things than witnessing a miracle of God. For his part, Mr. Holgren didn't know what to make of it; he looked horrified; the new peace in his hide didn't sink deep; he covered his face from view and slunk from the cafeteria.
I knew what had happened, though. I knew exactly what to make of it, and it made me mad enough to spit.
What business had Dad in healing that man?
