The first four beatitudes line up with the last four. The first four are inner attitudes and the last four are their outward manifestation. When we have poverty of spirit and we realise that we are nothing but beggars, we will be willing to give to another beggar – we will be merciful. When we mourn over our sin, we will seek to be pure in heart. When we are meek, we will seek to be peacemakers. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be willing to be persecuted for righteousness sake.
BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL
Mercy was a quality that was in short supply in the world of Jesus’ day. A Roman philosopher referred to mercy as “the disease of the soul.” The Romans glorified justice, courage, discipline and power. Mercy was regarded as a sign of weakness. When a child was born in the Roman world the father had the right of patria potestas. If he wanted the new-born to live, he held his thumb up. If he wanted the child to die, he held it down and the child was immediately drowned or exposed at the city gates. That was how the world was in Jesus’ day. Into the midst of this callousness Jesus declares that one of the characteristics of His kingdom was mercy. How is mercy expressed? First of all mercy is practically demonstrated. In James 2:14-17 we read, what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. John Wesley used to say that if we really felt for people in need, we ought to feel it in our pockets! There is a story that is told from Wesley’s life when he came up to a group of people who were sympathizing with a man who had just lost a horse. Wesley walked up to the loudest sympathizer and said, “I am sorry five pounds. How much are you sorry.” The best illustration of mercy is of course Jesus Christ. He is the most merciful man ever to have walked this earth. He would reach out to the sick and heal them. He would not shun immoral people but rather draw them into the circle of his love and put their feet on a different path. He would befriend despised tax-collectors and turn their lives upside down. He would take the lonely and make them feel loved. He would gather the children into his arms and love them. When Jesus dealt with sinners such as the woman caught in adultery there was always mercy. His mercy found practical expression. We have already seen how callous the Roman world was in the first century. How did Christ’s followers demonstrate mercy in such a society? A man called Aristides wrote a letter to the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD 125. This is how he described Christians, “They love one another, they never fail to help widows, they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the man who has nothing. If they see a stranger, they take him home and are happy as though he were a real brother.” Aristides was blown away by the mercy believers demonstrated. But of course mercy expresses itself in a second way. We are also to be moved by the spiritual plight of people so that we are prompted to share the gospel of God’s grace to us in Christ. In Ephesians 2:3-5 we read, all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. We have received mercy from God. How can we therefore fail to be moved by the plight of those who are still dead in sin? In Romans 10:1 Paul could say, brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. Paul’s concern for lost people motivated him to walk across the Roman Empire to share the good news of Christ. This is what merciful people do.
FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY
Of course, we must not think that by being merciful to others is the way to be saved. This is not what the bible teaches. The very best we do is like filthy rags before God. The glory of the gospel message is that God sets His merciful grace on sinners who acknowledge their sad condition. In 1 Timothy 1:13, Paul could testify, even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. We don’t show mercy so that God will smile on us one day. To be saved we must turn to Christ and believe that He has dealt with our sin at Calvary. What then does Jesus mean when he promises mercy to the merciful? There is a blessing that flows into the life of a merciful person in the here and now. What does Solomon say in Proverbs 11:17? A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. Again, in Proverbs 28:27 we are told, he who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. In Acts 20:35 Paul records a saying of Jesus that is not found in the gospels. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”