Those Who have Mercy

Intro

, Matthew 18:21-35

Recap:

Beatitudes...Blessed are those…what does “blessed.” Mean?

Different than #Blessed

Blessed are those…what does “blessed.” Mean?

Instead, blessed in their attitude and outlook on life due to the presence of God in their life.

Not “given things.” Instead, “happiness,” implying peace Those who do these things aren’t necessarily blessed in their circumstance, they’re blessed in their attitude and outlook on life.

Blessed are the poor in spirit; Intellectual Realization

Blessed are those who mourn; Emotional Response (mourn their sin)

Blessed are the Meek; Attitudes and Actions

Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness; Desires (nothing else satisfies)

RESPONSE

Blessed are the merciful; Response

Those who show mercy (v. 7)

Mercy Defined

Mercy Experienced

Mercy Given and Reflected

Mercy Defined

“forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is without one’s power to punish or harm”

“forgiveness shown toward someone to whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm”

different than just forgiveness; narrowly defines who you can show mercy to.

I can’t show mercy to Dak…I can to my kids.

Different than grace; grace = giving what you don’t deserve

It’s grace when I

It’s grace when I give my kids something they haven’t earned; which, is everything! free-loaders

mercy = withholding that which we DO deserve.

Sometimes they break a rule, etc., and they’ve earned punishment. Sometimes they get it, other times I show them mercy, withholding it from them even though they fully deserve it.

Blessed are the merciful…like everything else we are commanded to

Basic distinction; let’s look at Scripture to see it defined.

Two sides of this coin; first, let’s look at some people that received mercy from Jesus later in the book of Matthew.

God is called “merciful”

Matthew 5:7 ESV

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Matthew 9:27 ESV

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

Matthew 15:22 ESV

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Matthew 17:15 ESV

15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.

1st part of mercy; Mercy is a compassion and active kindness towards those who are suffering.

Next, want to look at the other side of mercy, on a more personal level.

How to handle when a fellow Christian sins against you

, Peter has questions

Rabbinic tradition said 3 times; give Peter effort, he doubled it and added one to be safe .

But Jesus did what he did a lot; took the man-made rule and blew it up.

70x7, or 77; either way, the point remains the same, Jesus is saying, “don’t even keep track.”

God is passionate about mercy.

, Love keeps no record of wrong

Two sides of this “mercy” coin, this is one side: constant forgiveness marked by unconditional love of those in your life.

We think of OT God has this spiteful being that smites people who disagree with him.

This is 100% countercultural isn’t it?

God is

GODLY mercy = an unconditional and consistent compassion for those in need and forgiveness to those who wrong you.

Mercy Experienced

Jesus then continues in with a parable to make his point.

Matthew 18:23–34 ESV

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 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. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 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.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

Matthew 18:23–24 ESV

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

1 talent=20 years wages

around $10 Billion today

Cowboys; $5.5 Billion, Chiefs, $2.3 Billion, Washington Nationals, $1.8 Billion, have $400 Million leftover, enough to buy some terrible teams like the Raiders.

How do you even get into that much debt??

How do you even get into that much debt?

Jesus used hyperbole to make a point; he literally thought of the highest number he could;

Cowboys; $5.5 Billion, Chiefs, $2.3 Billion, Washington Nationals, $1.8 Billion, have $400 Million leftover, enough to buy some terrible teams like the Raiders.

Myrias, where we get “myriad,” meant 10,000, and was the highest number that the Greek language had a word for.

So this was a HUGE debt.

Look how the king responds. ()

Matthew 18:25–27 ESV

25 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. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

Couple things to point out here;

the king’s initial reaction was JUST

the king’s mercy was unprecedented

It’s here that I hope you can identify with this servant.

Jesus compares our sin to a debt so great we could never pay it back.

payment plan wouldn’t have worked.

It’s forgiven, even though the servant did nothing but ask for mercy.

This is a picture of our salvation.

Sin can NEVER be paid back. Can never earn right standing

It’s only by repenting and asking for forgiveness we can have the debt cancelled.

Mercy is EXPERIENCED by all who would receive it.

Imagine you’re the servant who was just forgiven…no really, imagine.

not just winning the lottery, it’s getting a stay of execution.

How would that change you?

Let’s see how this servant than responds to the mercy he’s experienced.

I’ll tell you now, this is where I hope you no longer look like the man in this story.

Mercy Given

Matthew 18:28–30 ESV

28 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.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

100 denarri=100 days wages

Somewhere around $15,000 today

not nothing

Look at how he reacts (v. 28-30)

Again, justified initial reaction; was LEGALLY allowed to do what he did.

BUT…what he did makes NO SENSE when you know what he’s experienced.

He’d been forgiven BILLIONS…but would not forgive thousands.

Matthew 18:31–35 ESV

31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18:31–35 ESV

31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18:30–34 ESV

30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

The master finds out…and is understandably upset.

He asks the servant a question, and it’s one I think should echo in our own hearts today as well.

“Shouldn’t you have mercy on others, as I had mercy on you?”

This is the point of this story.

Those that EXPERIENCE mercy should become those that GIVE mercy.

It should overflow out of us.

Reflection

This concept of an inward change showing up outwardly is talked about all throughout Scripture.

Trees and fruit

Abundance of the heart the mouth speaks

faith without works is dead

Matthew 25:31–46 ESV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

So this theme running through Scripture is that even if you look the part of a follower of God on the outside, if it isn’t reflected in your actions, you probably are not a true believer.

Here, and in the parable Jesus told, mercy being withheld was clear evidence that a relationship with God did not exist.

And Jesus doesn’t shy away from reminding us of the destiny that awaits those that are apart from God.

Look at v. 35 again...

Just like the unmerciful servant in the parable, if we are to stand before God one day having rejected the mercy he freely offers us, we are faced with trying to pay him back on our own.

Of course there’s no way we can repay God, just as this servant could never repay his master. So we instead are cast out of the presence of God and into a real place called hell.

This is not what God wants for us.

He offers mercy to all who would have it.

But what he makes clear is this; if you know the father, and have had your sins forgiven, experienced mercy, then you should be showing mercy to those around you.

There are those among us who come to church, sing worship to God, but

We are to reflect the mercy shown to us by the Father to the world around us.

If you know the father, and have had your sins forgiven, experienced mercy, then you should be showing mercy to those around you.

The reason this is evidence of the Spirit of God living inside of you is because that is the ONLY way this happens. You can’t show godly mercy on your own.

Think of it like the Sun and the moon. The moon cannot produce light. No matter how hard it tries. But, it shines brightly when reflecting the light of the Sun. It can never be a source of light itself. It can only reflect it from the source.

You cannot do this on your own. You don’t have a source of mercy and goodness to pull from except that which God works through you.

We should reflect the mercy of God that has been given to us to all of those around us.

Application

When you have EXPERIENCED mercy, you are expected to GIVE mercy freely to those around you.

This should be the natural overflow.

Think of it like a cup of coffee; if someone bumps into you, and you spill, why did you spill coffee?

Because someone bumped you? No, because that’s what was in your cup.

IT’S NOT THE BUMPS THAT CAUSE YOU TO LASH OUT, IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE. MERCY should spill out of us when we are wronged.

Two spheres I think this happens in.

In your relationships

spouse

Is your marriage marked by mercy? Or do you seek to win? Get even?

children

Do you show mercy to your children? Or do you turn around them

church

friends

In the world

poor

addicted

homeless

Conclusion

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

If you belong to Jesus, you have experienced GREAT mercy

More than you could ever show to someone else, no matter how much they’ve wronged you.

Does your life look like it?

If you have never asked for forgivness, given your life to Christ; know that he offers you mercy.

He doesn’t want to give you what you deserve, death.

He offers you life everlasting. You don’t have to try to pay back a debt you never could. Just cry out and you will receive mercy.

Experiencing mercy should change us.

the way we treat each other

The way we view the world

the way we worship our God