20Something 11-9-05 (Scot Pankey)
The 5th Beatitude – Have Mercy on Me!
Here are the Beatitudes:
Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Fifth Beatitude is our focus for this week. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown 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.
What does Mercy mean to you?
Mercy is compassion on someone based on their need. It is not justice, for mercy extends compassion on others in spite of their deserving it. The Bible tells us that God’s people should extend mercy to others and then be able to receive mercy in turn.
How does a heart or person become Merciful?
If we look back on the past couple of weeks studies, we have seen the first three beatitudes in verses 3-5 describing the emptiness of the blessed person: verse 3: poverty-stricken in spirit, verse 4: grieving over the sin and misery of his condition, and verse 5: accepting the hardships and accusations of life in meekness without defensiveness.
This condition of blessed emptiness is followed in verse 6 by a hunger and thirst for the fullness of righteousness and then comes Mercy. So the answer to the above question is that mercy comes from a heart that has first felt its spiritual bankruptcy, and has come to grief over its sin, and has learned to wait meekly for the timing of the Lord, and to cry out in hunger for the work of God’s mercy to satisfy us with the righteousness we need.
The mercy that God blesses is in itself the blessing of God. The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. Therefore, if we want to become merciful people it is imperative that we cultivate a view of God and ourselves that helps us to say with all our heart that every joy and virtue and distress of our lives is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God.
Another illustration of mercy is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
And behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you read?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all you mind; and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered right; do this, and you will live.'
The man asked Jesus how a person should act who may expect to find mercy at the judgment day and inherit eternal life. And Jesus answers that the persons who will receive the mercy of eternal life are those who have loved God with all their hearts and their neighbor as themselves. In other words, "Blessed are those who are merciful now to their neighbor, for they shall receive the mercy of eternal life in the future."
The lawyer asks, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho (and so he was probably a Jew and thus hated by the Samaritans), and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
Which of the three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?' [The lawyer] said, 'The one who showed mercy on him.' And Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'
Mercy has four dimensions in this story.
First, it sees distress (verse 33: "A Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and he saw him").
Second, it responds internally with a heart of compassion or pity toward a person in distress (verse 33: "When he saw him he had compassion on him").
Third, it responds externally with a practical effort to relieve the distress (verse 33: "He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him...").
And the fourth dimension of mercy is that it happens even when the person in distress is by religion and race an enemy (verse 33: "But a Samaritan..."). A half-breed Jew with a warped religious tradition stops to help the Jew who hates him.
Share a time when you showed mercy toward others. Was it a friend or enemy?
Share a time when someone else showed mercy toward you.
How are ways that we can be a Good Samaritan to others?
Pray and dismiss.
Here are the Beatitudes:
Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Fifth Beatitude is our focus for this week. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown 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.
What does Mercy mean to you?
Mercy is compassion on someone based on their need. It is not justice, for mercy extends compassion on others in spite of their deserving it. The Bible tells us that God’s people should extend mercy to others and then be able to receive mercy in turn.
How does a heart or person become Merciful?
If we look back on the past couple of weeks studies, we have seen the first three beatitudes in verses 3-5 describing the emptiness of the blessed person: verse 3: poverty-stricken in spirit, verse 4: grieving over the sin and misery of his condition, and verse 5: accepting the hardships and accusations of life in meekness without defensiveness.
This condition of blessed emptiness is followed in verse 6 by a hunger and thirst for the fullness of righteousness and then comes Mercy. So the answer to the above question is that mercy comes from a heart that has first felt its spiritual bankruptcy, and has come to grief over its sin, and has learned to wait meekly for the timing of the Lord, and to cry out in hunger for the work of God’s mercy to satisfy us with the righteousness we need.
The mercy that God blesses is in itself the blessing of God. The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. Therefore, if we want to become merciful people it is imperative that we cultivate a view of God and ourselves that helps us to say with all our heart that every joy and virtue and distress of our lives is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God.
Another illustration of mercy is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
And behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you read?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all you mind; and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered right; do this, and you will live.'
The man asked Jesus how a person should act who may expect to find mercy at the judgment day and inherit eternal life. And Jesus answers that the persons who will receive the mercy of eternal life are those who have loved God with all their hearts and their neighbor as themselves. In other words, "Blessed are those who are merciful now to their neighbor, for they shall receive the mercy of eternal life in the future."
The lawyer asks, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho (and so he was probably a Jew and thus hated by the Samaritans), and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
Which of the three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?' [The lawyer] said, 'The one who showed mercy on him.' And Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'
Mercy has four dimensions in this story.
First, it sees distress (verse 33: "A Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and he saw him").
Second, it responds internally with a heart of compassion or pity toward a person in distress (verse 33: "When he saw him he had compassion on him").
Third, it responds externally with a practical effort to relieve the distress (verse 33: "He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him...").
And the fourth dimension of mercy is that it happens even when the person in distress is by religion and race an enemy (verse 33: "But a Samaritan..."). A half-breed Jew with a warped religious tradition stops to help the Jew who hates him.
Share a time when you showed mercy toward others. Was it a friend or enemy?
Share a time when someone else showed mercy toward you.
How are ways that we can be a Good Samaritan to others?
Pray and dismiss.
posted by Jen Austin at 5:35 AM
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