Throwing Yourself On The Mercy Of God

In Matthew there is a story of a woman who threw herself on the mercy of God

Matthew 15:21-22

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

Deut 4:31. For the Lord your God is a merciful God.

It is part of God’s innate nature.

Daniel 9:18. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

The meaning of mercy.

The principal Hebrew word for mercy speaks of an emotional response to the needs of others. It means to feel the pain of another so deeply that we’re compelled to do something about it. In fact, people in Bible times believed that the seat of emotions was found in the intestinal area. That’s why the King James Version uses the phrase, “bowels of mercy.” William Barclay defines mercy this way: “To get inside someone’s skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings; to move in and act on behalf of those who are hurting.”

Mercy can be defined as: “good will toward the afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them.”

This idea is captured in Matthew 14:14: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” The word “compassion” means that Jesus was so moved that His stomach churned, or literally, “his bowels yearned” for the crowd. Notice that this churning led Him to do something about it. He saw the need and then He went into action. Mercy in theory is absolutely meaningless. Mercy must move us. In addition, the emphasis in this beatitude is on those who are inclined to show mercy as a lifestyle, not those who are merciful on an occasional basis.

I like Chuck Swindoll’s definition: “Mercy is God’s ministry to the miserable.”

1 Chr 21:13. 13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

Neh 9:28. And many times you delivered them because of your wonderful mercy.

Ps 69:16. Hear me, O Lord, for Your loving kindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

Luke 1:78. Through the tender mercy of our God.

Eph 2:4. But God who is rich with mercy.

1 Peter 1:3. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

We are saved because God is merciful.

Titus 3:5 – 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.[a]

Interestingly a lot of people who approached Jesus when He walked the earth pleaded with Jesus for mercy.

Mt 20:30. Blind Bartimaeus –

30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

31 “Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them.

But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

33 “Lord,” they said, “we want to see!” 34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.

Mt 17:15. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

Mt 15:20. A gentile woman who lived there came to him pleading “Have mercy on me O Lord, son of David. For my daughter has a demon in her and is severely tormented.”

The Beatitudes

Matt 5:7

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy

Consistent principle throughout the new testament

Forgiveness comes to those who forgive

Judgement comes to those who judge

Mercy is given to those who are merciful

Aramaic – Chesedh – means the ability to get right inside the other persons skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind and feel things with his feelings

Same sense as Christ’s mercy to us – as this is what he did for us

By showing this kind of mercy we are becoming Jesus to people.