"The Heartbeat of the Beatitudes"

Episode 69

Title: “The Heartbeat of the Beatitudes”
Text: Matthew 5:7

Introduction:
What is mercy?
“Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm:” (Webster)
“Having or exercising mercy; compassionate; tender; disposed to pity offenders and to forgive their offenses; unwilling to punish for injuries; applied appropriately to the Supreme being.” (AV 1611) 

Here is a wonderful story of mercy:
“A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied.  "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son.” 
-Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah Press, 1984.

Saint John Chrysostom once said that “Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.”
“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” – Exodus 34:6
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”- Psalm 103:8
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”-Ephesians 2:4,5

Mercy comes from God. Here are some examples of God’s children who in return of God’s mercy showed others mercy:
- Joseph showed mercy to his brothers despite being betrayed by them and sold into slavery.
- David showed mercy to King Saul despite Saul’s unfair treatment of him and multiple attempts on his life.
- The Good Samaritan showed mercy to the man who had been beaten and left for dead on the side of the road.

Of all the Biblical examples of acts of Mercy, none can compare to the Lord Jesus himself. As His entire ministry was full of Compassion and Mercy.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” – Matthew 14:14

“And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.3 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?” – Matthew 2-:30-31

To better introduce mercy:
A. Our Condition
To truly grasp mercy, we must understand our need for it and how the lost condition of man separates us from God.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” – Romans 5:12
We do not obtain mercy through merit.  To truly grasp and understand the condition of man’s sinful condition is very sobering and also terrifying. The prophet Isaiah said that our self-righteousness is as “filthy rags”.  Tod escribe God’s Mercy, Paul says in Ephesians 4:2, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us…”. Mercy is not something that we earn. Mercy is God’s undeserved kindness and compassion despite our sinful condition.

B. Our Cultivation
When a person is saved, they are born again and new creature in Christ. We now have an internal struggle where the old man (the flesh) and the new man (the Spirit) are warring against the other.  “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” – Titus 1:15. 

One thing to note, is that when we hunger for Righteousness and desire the Holiness, we can become very irritated and angry at wickedness. “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” – James 1:20. The important thing here, is that we do not lose sight that the God that we serve is a merciful God. Not only, should we not forget our own need for Mercy, but we should never lose sight that God is not willing than any should perish, but that all should repent. This is not accepting sin. This is showing kindness and compassion to others. God cultivates us to show others mercy as He showed us. 

C. Our Command
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” – Luke 6:36. 
Mercy is an attribute of God, and as God’s children we are commanded to show others mercy. One thing to note though, this is not something that goes against our new nature in Christ. To be merciful and show compassion is our identity. Apart from Jesus, this is something that would be very foreign and strange to us. Just like the other beatitudes, Mercy is not something that we just do, it is one of the many evidences of faith in Chris and a heart that has been forever changed.
 
Outline:
Mercy has been labeled as the very heartbeat of the Beatitudes. Jesus commanded us to be Merciful as our Father in Heaven is Merciful. What does it mean to be merciful?

I. The Call to Perceive: Matthew 14:14
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14)
To perceive means to “become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand:” (Oxford)
Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion on them. Showing kindness and compassion starts with an awareness of those in need for it. How many people do we pass on a daily basis that are in need of mercy? We are called to notice. Jesus noticed Zacheus, the woman with the issue of blood, Mary Magdalene, Mathew the tax collector, and Peter.  
There is a very sad story of a woman in Italy who died in her home and was not discovered until 2 years later. The most heartbreaking part of that story was captured in an article written about it in the guardian, “The mystery of Marinella’s invisible life behind the closed gate of her cottage teaches us a terrible lesson. The real sadness is not that the others did not notice her death. It is that they did not realise Marinella Beretta was alive.”

Pray for the discernment and wisdom to notice. To notice those who: are hungry; poor; without hope; on the verge of giving up; terrified; unfairly treated; lonely;
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” – Matthew 9:36

II. The Call to Pity: Romans 12:15; Galatians 6:2
Pity – “the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others:”
Suffering with our neighbor can be called empathy. On the subject of Empathy, John Calvin says, “We must assume their identity, as it were, so as to be deeply touched by their suffering and moved by love to mourn with them.”

Jeremiah Burroughs further adds, “Mercy causes one to put himself into the same state, to be in bonds with those that are in bonds, and to weep with those that weep.”

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” – Romans 12:15
“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

III. The Call to Pardon: Ephesians 4:32
“Because God alone can fully heal our wounds and revive the dead, we need to acquire his heart if we are to forgive others. In view of this, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). 

“Should we say anything less? In this way, forgiveness is not an example of mere benevolence; it is an act of faith and hope. By extending forgiveness to others, we demonstrate our belief that Christ will return and mercifully set all things right.” - Castaldo, Chris. The Upside Down Kingdom: 
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:32

 

Thank you to Mike Barnette for the song “All Things New” and Dave Compton for the opening remarks.