The Blessedness of Mercy

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Introduction:

The Mercy We All Need

Imagine you're driving to work, running late, and suddenly you see flashing lights in your rearview mirror. You were rushing/speeding to catch up, and now you're about to get a ticket and be even later. But instead of giving you a ticket, the police officer says, "I'll let you go with a warning this time—just slow down." How would you feel? Relieved? Grateful? This is mercy—not getting what you deserve.

We all receive mercy—from our parents, teachers, friends, or even strangers. But Jesus takes it further in Matthew 5:7. He says that showing mercy isn't just good; it's a mark of true kingdom life.

Today, we'll examine: The Beatitude Called Mercy

Matthew 5:7 NKJV

7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

I. The Beauty of Mercy

First, I want to talk about the beauty of mercy. Did you know that the quality of mercy is one of God's most beautiful characteristics? //

And when you are merciful, you are acting like God.

See Lamentations, chapter 3, verse 22.

Lamentations 3:22 KJV 1900

22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

—friend, think about this—…the reason

we are not consumed… (there is a reason…)

“because his compassions never come to an end / fails not.” … (Lamentations 3:22).

Every morning you can wake up and thank God for his mercies.

Have you ever considered that for you to stop living this day, God doesn't have to take your life—all He has to do is stop giving it?

Each day is a gift from God. “His compassions…are new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:22–23).

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” (Lamentations 3:22).

Do you know how God calculates His riches? Not in silver or gold, …

Ephesians 2:4 NKJV

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

And so, my dear friend, when you are merciful, you are like God.

To act without mercy, to be ruthless, heavy-handed, indifferent is not to be like God.

The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 1:

Ephesians 5:1 NKJV

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

Be imitators of God// How can we do this?

Jesus gave an explanation of what it means to be imitator of God. (Be merciful)

Gospel of Luke 10:25

There was a lawyer/"expert of the law" who came—and he said:

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What must I do to be saved?"

- Jesus said, "You know the law. What does the law say?"—this man was a lawyer…

"Well," he said, "the law says you must love God with all your being, and you must love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus said to him:

"You answered correctly. Do this and you will live."

(Luke 10:25–28)

Well, this man—he was not only a good lawyer, but he was a bad lawyer.

I mean, he got the answer right, but he didn't know the Lord. And Jesus knew he wasn't saved.

See, he was looking for a loophole in the law.

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus,

"Who is my neighbor?"

Friends, there are people who, if they ask him/her how to be saved, answer immediately. But when they die, they will hear something terrible from the Lord Jesus Himself.

Matthew 25:41 "41 — Then the King will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

There are people who know the "plan of salvation"—they've heard it many times, they've even participated in the Lord's Supper.

But I'll tell you something: no one is saved by the "plan of salvation"; you are saved by the Man of salvation.

Have you ever thought about this? When Herod wanted to know where Jesus Christ was going to be born, he went and asked the scribes, "Where is the Messiah to be born?" "Ah," they said, "go straight to Bethlehem. That's where He will be born." But not one of them went there to bow the knee before Him. They knew, and yet they missed the opportunity. (Matthew 2:1–3)

Here was a man, this lawyer—he had everything straight, but he wasn't a born again person; and then he says,

"But now, wait a minute. Who is my neighbor?" // (Luke 10:29)

In other words: "I don't want to love anyone I don't need to love. I don't want to show mercy to anyone I don't need to show mercy to."

I mean, as far as he was concerned, God wasn't really around to be seeing. He didn't have to worry about God. But his neighbor—that was something he did have to worry about.

And Jesus told him that story of the Good Samaritan?

Jesus said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers." (Luke 10:30)

Now, if you know anything about the topography of the Holy Land, you know that Jerusalem is situated on a hill; Jericho is down there, in the Dead Sea.

Here's a man. He's going from Jerusalem to Jericho.

And Jesus said that on that road, he "fell among robbers." (Luke 10:30)

and the Bible says they beat him, stripped him, robbed him, and left him for dead. (Luke 10:30)

And then, Jesus told this lawyer who wanted to know who his neighbor was... Jesus said to him, "By chance a priest was coming down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." (Luke 10:31)

Now, you know, priests were the religious people of that day. They were the teachers and performed all the rituals and sacrifices. They represent ritualism.

Oh, there are so many churches today that are so full of ritualism. They stand. They sit. They kneel. They pray. They sing. They do this. They do that. But they are lost. This priest represents ritualism, and he simply passed by on the other side.

Then,” Jesus said, “another man, this time a Levite, passed by. He saw him and passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:32)

Now, what does the Levite represent? Well, they were keepers of the law. So, if the priest represented the ritual, he represented the rules.

You know, the law can condemn us, and the law can describe us; but the law cannot redeem us.

Perhaps this Levite said, “Look at you! Boy, you’re in trouble! What were you doing down here, anyway?

This isn’t a safe place to travel alone. You never should have come here! You’re getting exactly what you deserve!” And he moved on.

And that's what the law does, dear friend. All the rules of the Old Testament—they can describe us; they can condemn us, but they don't save us.

"And then," Jesus said, "a third man appeared." (Luke 10:33) Who was he? A Samaritan.

Do you know who the Samaritans were? They were a mixed race. They were the ones left behind after the captivity.

They intermarried with the pagan and Gentile people around them. And the Jews despised them.

Jesus said, "A certain Samaritan." (Luke 10:33) I know who He had in mind: He had in mind Himself—because Jesus was despised, rejected, hated by men.

And this man, this hated, this despised one—he is coming, and Jesus said, "He saw the man. He saw him where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. He came to him." He bandaged the man's wounds. And,” Jesus said, “he poured out oil and wine.” (Luke 10:33–34)

Do you know what oil represents in the Bible, symbolically? This is a parable. All of this is highly symbolic. What does the oil represent? The Holy Spirit. Comfort. He is the Comforter. And He is there with the oil and the balm, the healing oil.

So, he poured out wine. (Luke 10:34) What does the wine represent? The blood of Jesus Christ. It was the wine to cleanse, the oil to comfort, representing the precious, I believe, blood of Jesus, representing the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And then, the Bible says that the Good Samaritan took this man “and set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn” (Luke 10:34).

Now, when the Good Samaritan initially encountered this man, the Good Samaritan was mounted and the man was on the ground.

But after the Good Samaritan found him, the man was on a horse, and the Samaritan was walking.

What a picture of substitution! Jesus takes my place, and I take His.

He “set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn” (Luke 10:34). And he said, “Take care of him. Here is some money. And whatever it costs, when I come back, I will pay you” (Luke 10:35).

What a picture of salvation! I am so grateful that Jesus came to where I was. I am so grateful that He had compassion on me. I am so grateful that He brought me to His house of mercy. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ paid the price.

And in that same chapter, in verse 36, Jesus asked that lawyer a question. He said, “Which of these showed mercy?”—“Which of these showed mercy?” (Luke 10:36)

My dear friend, listen, Jesus Christ showed mercy to each of us. Not sentimentalism. Jesus Christ showed compassion—compassion in action. And, oh, how we need to learn the message of mercy—not from the indifference of the priest and the Levite, not from the wickedness of those who beat the man, but from the involvement that life demands.

You walk out these doors and you will discover that there are three classes of people.

You go to this city—I don't know where you live, my dear friend, but in your city—I want to tell you that there are three classes of people, and they are right there in that tenth chapter of Luke. Let me tell you what they are.

They are the "beaters," the "passers-by," and the "helpers." That's what the world is made of. The beaters—those people who steal, kill, and destroy.

Every pedophile is one of them.

Every drug dealer and drug peddler, as far as I'm concerned, is one of them.

abortionist is one of them. These are the beaters.

I'm telling you, we have people today who have been hurt and abused.

Some are domestically wounded. SomeThey are psychologically wounded.

Little children who have been abused and mistreated, some of them sexually abused.

Some are economically wounded. They are victims of slum owners and unfair economic practices.

Some are spiritually wounded. They have been trapped in cults, false doctrines, and liberalism. When they join these movements, they become twice-born children of hell.

I'm telling you, the bruised, the abused, and the beaten are everywhere around us. There are the batterers.

There are the passers-by, and, God help us, they have their names in the church membership hall, they know all the rituals and the rules of the law.

And then there are the helpers/rescuers.

You are one of the three, my dear friend.

Either you are like those thieves, who said, "What's yours is mine, and I'll take it";

or you are like the priest and the Levite, who said, "What's mine is mine, and I'll keep it";

Or will you be like the Good Samaritan, who says, “What’s mine is mine, but you can have it if you need it. And I’m here to share, and I’m here to serve; and I’m here to minister.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

II. The Difficulty of Mercy

Why is Mercy Difficult?

Let’s be honest—mercy isn’t our default. We prefer:

To get revenge (revenge is satisfying in the moment).

We want to “get even” (“They hurt me, so they don’t deserve my kindness”).

Comfort (helping people in trouble is inconvenient).

Biblical Example: Jonah didn’t want to show mercy to Nineveh (Jonah 4:2). He preferred to see them judged rather than forgiven. Sound familiar?

Illustration: Social media trains us to shame, not to show mercy. An old tweet from a celebrity resurfaces, and instead of allowing growth, we demand its deletion. But what if God treated us this way?

Challenge:

Who have you been withholding mercy from? An ex? A critical parent? A friend who has disappeared…?

What would it look like to take a step toward forgiveness or help today?

III How Mercy Transforms Us

Jesus doesn't just command mercy—He promises a reward: "They will receive mercy."

This isn't a "bargain" ("I will be merciful, so God owes me"); it's a spiritual principle.

Reflect God's heart

Luke 6:36

Luke 6:36 NKJV

36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Break cycles of hurt (Romans 12:21

Romans 12:21 NKJV

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Store up grace for our own failures (James 2:13

James 2:13 NKJV

13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Illustration: Have you ever noticed how holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die? Mercy isn't just for them—it also frees us.

Application:

Practically: Text someone you've been avoiding with a kind word.

Internally: Pray: "God, soften my heart toward those who have hurt me."

(Let's stand up.)

Closing:

The Mercy That Rescued Us

The greatest act of mercy in history was Jesus on the cross—taking the punishment we deserved. If He could forgive us, how can we deny mercy to others?

Final Thought:

Mercy is not weakness; it is the most powerful force in the universe.

It heals relationships, restores souls, and releases God's blessing into our lives.

Matthew 5:7 NKJV

7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

Prayer:

"Father, make us people of mercy.

Help us to love as You have loved us, to forgive as You have forgiven us, and to live in the freedom of Your grace. Amen."