A Study in the Beatitudes: Exuding the Character of Christ (Part 5-merciful)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)
Merciful (eleēmōn) means compassionate. It comes from the Greek word eleeō, which means to compassionate (by word or deed, specially, by divine grace).
One day Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”.
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."
Jesus then illustrated His reply to Peter with this parable:
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him,
‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him,
‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
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
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
(Matthew 18:21-35)
The first servant was forgiven ten thousand talents. "Commentators list the modern value of 10,000 talents as anywhere between $12 million and $1 billion USD. The figure clearly represents an unpayable debt." (Guzik)
The second servant who was not forgiven, owed a hundred denarii. "100 denarii was roughly equal to 100 days’ wages. This was not an insignificant amount, but it was almost nothing compared to the debt forgiven by his master. It was actually 1/600,000 of the debt owed to the master by the first servant." (Guzik)
We are like the first servant.
We are born with a sinful nature and given to selfishness, self gratification, and sin. This is the reason all mankind has a staggering debt standing against them. God is perfectly holy and requires holiness from the people He created, and because we are sinful, His wrath resides on us. We can never do enough good works to remove His wrath and tear down the wall of separation, that our sin causes, between us and God.
God is like the king.
Out of compassion He forgives us. In fact, He loved us so much that He gave us His only Son who settled our debt once and for all. Jesus bore the wrath of God in our place, for our sin, even though He was blameless.
He wore the crown of thorns, He was beaten, He was mocked, He was crucified, He was forsaken and He was buried.
But, the grave could not contain Him! He rose up from the dead on the third day and sits at the right hand of God continually interceding on our behalf! Jesus is now our righteousness. He tore down the wall of separation between us and God.
Look at the mercy and compassion we receive when we place our faith in Jesus. Look at the forgiveness He extends to those who humbly ask.
Something very essential Jesus was teaching Peter, and is teaching us today, is to learn from the wicked servant; the one who was forgiven but did not forgive; the one who was shown compassion but did not show compassion to others.
The first servant had been forgiven so much! When faced with the same plea from his servant, he could have said, "Yes! I forgive you. What is it for me to forgive you so little compared to what I've been forgiven of by the king?"
Jesus ended the parable stating that God the Father is angered by unforgiveness.
Why?
Because God is perfectly just and He has demonstrated what is right. He has gifted us with His grace, forgiven us, and pours out new mercies on us every day.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Roman's 3:21-23)
Jesus is teaching us that a heart that has been transformed by God's mercy offers mercy to others.
The person that recognizes his/her need for forgiveness from God every day, gladly extends forgiveness to others, even when it's difficult.
When we recognize that without God's loving kindness toward us we would be hell-bound and destined to suffer for all eternity, we can be joyously free to live a life filled with forgiveness, mercy, and compassion.
Those who are merciful will receive mercy. As we receive mercy from God, we extend mercy and as we extend mercy, we receive mercy from God. Since the Lord's mercies are new every morning, we always have a fresh supply to share with others and the Holy Spirit equips us with strength and ability to love others with the compassion of Christ.
Thank God for His mercy!
Blessings,
Amy
