Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you, and I hope that it's well read and treasured in your hearts.
And turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 7.
Matthew chapter 5 verse 7.
For the past month we've been considering together, as we learn from Jesus' teaching in what's most often called the Sermon on the Mount,
what citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven look like.
The overarching question before us has been, what characterizes those who follow the King of the Kingdom?
Matthew chapter 4 verse 17.
Matthew is presented to us the very beginning of Jesus' ministry and records for us.
From that time, Jesus began to preach.
And he summarizes his preaching.
Jesus saying, repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
And then we see at the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 a crowd gathering together.
And Jesus, seeing the crowds, goes up onto a mountain.
And he sits down and his disciples gather around him.
And then Matthew records in verse 2,
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying.
So we've considered, and I've asserted to you, that his primary audience are these disciples.
And certainly there are others in his hearing.
And we'll see much later in the sermon, he gives some very stark warning to those in his hearing.
And I think it's right to understand that he's talking to those who are already citizens, those who were his disciples of this Kingdom.
He's saying, this is what you will look like.
Jesus declares that the citizens of his Kingdom are blessed or flourishing, we've talked a bit about.
We have looked at the first four of these declarations of blessedness and seen that followers of Jesus Christ will be, verse 3,
Those who recognize their spiritual poverty.
Those who see that they have nothing to offer God apart from the wealth that is found in Christ.
We've seen that those who mourn of their sinful state and the sinful state of the world around them,
Who look at the world and see how very sin sick it is, are declared blessed.
We have seen that those who are meek when wronged, people who don't seek retribution in their own cases, are blessed.
And we've seen that those who have a deep longing to be found righteous and to persist in righteousness,
Are declared by Jesus to be blessed.
These people are declared blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
They shall be comforted.
They shall inherit the earth.
And they shall be satisfied.
So join me now in considering the next of Jesus' declarations of blessedness in Matthew 5, verse 7.
Before I read this short verse, let me remind you, beloved,
And this is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.
We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
Matthew 5, verse 7.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
So what does it mean to be merciful?
Let's begin answering that question by stating that God is merciful.
God's mercy is his goodness, particularly where people are miserable or distressed.
Let me show you some examples.
David says in 2 Samuel 24, 14,
When Paul speaks of the fact that God comforts us in affliction in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3,
He calls God the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
The Greek word translated in today's text, merciful,
Is the same used in the Septuagint,
That ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament that I spent way too much time explaining to you last week.
The Septuagint uses the Greek word for the Hebrew word most common in describing God's character.
The word used most often in the Hebrew language, speaking of God's character,
Is this word the same that we find in our text today in the Greek language.
It's often translated as mercy, love, loving kindness, or steadfast love.
In most places you read in the Old Testament, you see those English words or phrases,
This is that same Hebrew word translated into Greek that we find in our text today.
In all of these cases, however,
The idea passes beyond affection to compassion in action.
It's expressed love.
This loving kindness is not a feeling God has, but a way that he works.
God's mercy is expressed, and it is expressed in helping those who are in need.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a recipient, praise the Lord, of God's mercy.
He has been merciful to you.
He is merciful and has expressed mercy to you.
Apart from Christ, we find ourselves in an absolutely miserable state.
We are separated from God and without any hope in this world.
But because of God's loving kindness, because he is merciful, he has saved us in Christ.
Our salvation is this great expression of God's merciful character.
On your bulletin today, the Thomas Watson quote,
Which I do, by the way, not as a proof to anything that I say, but to connect you to our history.
We have a family that extends back through centuries.
And I think it's helpful for us to see that we're not the only ones thinking in this way.
Thomas Watson wrote,
God is more willing to pardon than to punish.
Mercy does more multiply in him than sin in us.
Praise the Lord.
Mercy is his nature.
So God is merciful as we're considering what it means for us to be merciful.
We need to also consider that Jesus Christ is merciful.
Jesus is the great expression of God's mercy toward us.
And he sets for us an example of being merciful.
In Matthew chapter 9 and verse 27,
Two blind men cry out to Jesus saying,
Have mercy on us, son of David.
And we can read on that Jesus heals their blindness.
John MacArthur, our contemporary pastor, in his commentary on this text, wrote,
Jesus Christ was the most merciful human being who ever lived.
He reached out to heal the sick, restore the crippled, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and even life to the dead.
He found prostitutes, tax collectors, the debauched and the drunken, and drew them into a circle of love and forgiveness.
Jesus wept with the sorrowing and gave compassion to the lonely.
He took little children into his arms and blessed them.
He was merciful to everyone.
He was mercy incarnate.
God's very character made flesh that we might view him and learn from him how it is that we are also meant to be merciful.
Beloved praise be to God that we, who were once the destitute and the outcast,
we who were in great need, miserable and distressed,
have been shown mercy in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter expresses this very sentiment in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3,
where he writes,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
And Paul tells us in Titus chapter 3 verse 5,
that Jesus saved us,
not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
So we have as our great example for what it means to be merciful,
this God-man who came and not only served in the temporal,
but served in the eternal,
laying down his very life for the sake of ours.
This is the very impetus.
This is the foundation on which we build lives of mercy,
that God in Christ was merciful to us.
It is the reason that we turn and are merciful to others.
But we are not naturally merciful.
This is not a thing that comes of our own doing.
Before Paul's statement of that incredible truth in Titus 3.5,
that we are saved according to Christ's own mercy,
he writes in Titus 3 verse 3,
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient,
led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,
passing our days, listen to the opposite of mercy,
in malice and envy,
hated by others and hating one another.
This is the natural state of man.
This is where we find ourselves apart from Christ,
apart from the renewing work of God,
we are not merciful.
This is true today,
and it was most certainly true in Jesus' day.
Both Roman and Jewish culture,
mercy was equated,
it was seen to be the same as weakness.
The two walked hand in hand together.
To give you just a brief example from Roman culture,
when a baby was born into a family,
the father could decide whether or not the baby would live.
Would give the baby a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
And in many cases,
if the baby didn't meet the father's standard,
the baby would be immediately drowned.
This was natural and normal in Roman culture.
Anybody in our country that wants to praise Rome,
the Rome of yesteryear,
oh, shake your heads at them.
Slaves were put to death at the whim of the master.
Wives could be put to death at the whim of the husband.
The culture was not merciful.
To be merciful was to be weak.
And Jewish culture,
despite all of their commands given in the Old Testament,
also expressed lots of unmerciful attitude.
Look quickly later in Matthew 5,
verse 43 and following,
where Jesus says,
verse 43,
you have heard that it was said,
so this would be a common saying of the day,
you have heard that it was said,
you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
So here's the common teaching of the day.
Be unmerciful.
What is Jesus' response to this teaching?
He says,
with the authority that Christ could bring to bear,
but I say to you,
love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, right?
Be merciful so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.
For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good
and sends rain on the just and the unjust, right?
Be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful.
Prove yourself to be sons by expressing his character.
And he goes on,
verses 46 and 47,
for if you love those who love you,
what reward do you have?
How easy is it to love those who love us?
Do not even tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers,
what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
It's of no benefit to you,
but rather be merciful.
Also, Matthew chapter 23 and verse 23.
Jesus says,
these are often called the woes.
He speaks woes to the Pharisees,
which are quite the opposite of these declarations of blessedness.
He says,
woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites,
for you tithe mint and dill and cumin.
They were down to the tithe
and these very,
very tiny things,
these very particular things,
which Jesus commends them for,
but then says,
and you have neglected the weightier matters of the law,
justice and mercy and faithfulness.
These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.
So,
the one of the ruling classes,
religious Jews of the day,
Jesus says to them,
woe to you,
you hypocrites,
you care about stuff,
so tiny.
He says later in chapter 23,
that you strain out the gnat
and you swallow the camel.
You're neglecting the weighty matters of the law.
There's another account that makes a similar point in Luke chapter 10.
Let me invite you to turn there with me.
You can mark Matthew chapter 5.
Let me invite you to turn there with me.
This is likely a story familiar to you.
Luke chapter 10,
beginning in verse 25.
Jesus is making this very point.
This teaching would have just been astonishing to them
because remember,
this is a people who are not naturally merciful.
This is what they're talking about right now.
The culture of the day.
Not naturally merciful.
Beginning in verse 25.
And behold,
a lawyer stood up to put him to the test,
saying,
Teacher,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said to him,
what is written in the law?
How do you read it?
And he answered,
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.
And Jesus said to him,
you have answered correctly.
Do this,
and you will live.
Right?
So it's the right answer.
One of the themes of the Sermon on the Mount
is whole person righteousness.
So not merely the exterior of rightness,
but the interior as well.
And this man needed this to be addressed,
this lawyer.
So verse 29,
but he,
desiring to justify himself,
right?
Not a man who's poor in spirit,
said to Jesus,
and who is my neighbor?
Jesus replied,
you don't ask Jesus questions like this.
Jesus replied,
a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and he fell among robbers,
this was a dangerous road to travel,
who stripped him,
and beat him,
and departed,
leaving him half dead.
Now in the eyes of the religious elite,
this would have made him dirty,
unclean,
right?
They couldn't practice mercy,
because they didn't want to defile themselves
with the blood of this man.
So verse 31,
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,
now understand,
to Jesus' Jewish audience,
found here in Luke chapter 10,
the Samaritans were not a liked people,
right?
There's a lot of misunderstanding,
miscommunication.
Look up what a Samaritan is,
and you get all kinds of answers.
But most likely,
Samaritans were people that had intermarried
during the Assyrian captivity,
and were transplanted back into the Samaritan town.
So Jews perceived them as kind of half-breeds.
When Israel was resettled,
the second temple,
the Samaritans wanted to help in the building of it,
and they denied them the ability to,
and so they had built their own temple,
and had their own form of worship.
So there's a lot of butting heads between the two.
So you need to see that this Samaritan
is expressing that his neighbor
is this Jewish man
that's been beaten and left
on the side of the road.
So verse 33,
But a Samaritan,
as he journeyed,
came to where he was,
and when he saw him,
he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine disinfectant.
Then he set him on his own animal
and brought him to an inn
and took care of him.
And the next day,
he took out two denarii,
two days' wages,
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 these three do you think
proved to be a neighbor
to the man who fell among the robbers?
And he said,
the lawyer said,
the one who showed him mercy.
And Jesus said to him,
You go and do likewise.
So in very practical ways,
express this attitude of mercifulness.
Go and be merciful.
If you're to love the Lord your God,
as the lawyer said,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself,
this will get expressed.
We are not naturally merciful,
but we are called to be merciful.
Those who have been made new
in Jesus Christ will be.
This will be the evidencing
that we've been made new in Christ.
We will be merciful.
Those who have received mercy
will express mercy.
And beloved,
we do not do this perfectly.
But we should desire to do it perfectly.
We should be seeing the outworking
of these first four beatitudes.
That we recognize we're poor in spirit.
We're broken over our sin
and the sin of the world.
We find ourselves meek,
submitting ourselves to the will of the Father.
Not seeking retribution
for our own rights to be defended.
We're hungering
and we're thirsting for righteousness.
And this begins to work itself out
in things like mercy.
Now, God has in his character
incommunicable and communicable attributes.
That is to say,
incommunicable attributes
are characteristics
that we as human beings
cannot emulate.
Praise God, that's true, right?
That he's God and we're not.
He's the creator.
He created all things
and we're the created.
Some examples of this
would be God's independence.
You may remember from a while ago,
God's aseity.
That he plugs into nothing,
but everything plugs into him.
He's self-existent.
We're not.
We're dependent upon
this creator God
who has made us
and sustains us.
God is also unchangeable.
It's one of his attributes.
It's unchangeableness,
if you'll allow,
or immutability.
God does not change,
but praise the Lord,
we do,
and hopefully,
we're changing for the better.
But the communicable attributes
are things,
characteristics of God
that we can,
by grace,
and should emulate.
and merciful,
loving,
kind,
is one
of those attributes
that,
by the power that God
works within us,
we can emulate.
Not with perfection,
not the way he expresses it,
but we can be pressing
and working
in that direction.
We can serve
as image bearers
in the way
that we're merciful
to others.
Beloved,
we show ourselves
to be citizens
of the kingdom of heaven
by being merciful,
by showing
that we follow
the king
of this kingdom,
by feeding the hungry,
caring for the orphan
and the widow,
by comforting
the bereaved,
by loving the lonely
and rejected,
by forgiving
the offender,
by showing
compassion
to the destitute.
I am glad
to be part
of a church
that as I think
about what it means
to be merciful,
I can trace
acts of mercy
even in this week.
Even mercy
expressed toward me.
Paul writes
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 1
verse 3 and 4,
Blessed be the God
and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies
and God
of all comfort.
I read that to you
previously.
But verse 4
goes on to say,
Who comforts us
in all our affliction
so that we
may be able
to comfort those
who are in any
affliction
with the comfort
with which we
ourselves
are comforted
by God.
You see,
God comforts,
God is merciful
toward us
in our affliction
so that
we can be
comforters,
be merciful
to others
in their
affliction,
in the same
way.
So we're meant
to be merciful,
right?
By God's grace,
those of us
who have been
made new
in Christ
are meant
to live
this way.
Jesus told
a parable
as a warning
to those
who are not
merciful.
And I want you
to also turn
there with me.
So turn to
Matthew chapter
18
and verse
23.
The uninspired
subtitle you'll
probably see in
your copy of
God's word
will be
the unmerciful
servant.
It's a very
apt title
for this
parable.
Matthew
chapter 18
beginning in
verse 23
and following.
Jesus said
the kingdom
of heaven
may be
compared to
a king
who wished
to settle
accounts
with the
servants.
So you see
very careful
what he's
saying here,
right?
He's saying
this is what
the kingdom
of heaven
is like.
This is
how it
operates.
As those
who are
either in
that kingdom
or those
who are not
but may be
looking into
it and
desiring to
be part
of it,
we should
really listen
to what's
being said
here by
our Lord
and Savior.
Verse 24,
when he
began to
settle,
one was
brought to
him who
owed him
10,000
talents.
Now,
this is a
staggering
sum of
money.
You'll see
people,
they'll try
to say
this would
be like
millions
and millions
of dollars
today,
but it's
not really
an amount
you could
put a
figure on.
A talent
was the
largest
unit in
that modern
in the day
of currency,
the largest
unit,
and 10,000
was the
highest figure
used in
ancient
accounting.
So he's
using the
two very
highest numbers
he possibly
could use
in this case
to say this
was an
astounding
debt.
This was a
debt that
was not
going to
be repaid.
Verse 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.
So the
servant fell
on his
knees,
imploring
him,
have patience
with me
and I will
pay you
everything.
And out
of pity
for him,
the master
of that
servant
released him
and forgave
him the
debt.
What an
astounding
thing.
This
unpay
able
debt.
He deserved
to be
sold and
to be
punished
until he
could pay
the debt.
And this
servant says
there's not
a chance
I'll pay
it back.
Have
mercy
on me.
And he's
forgiven
the debt.
Verse 28
But when the
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.
Now,
this is
comparatively
a hundred
denarii,
comparatively
a fraction
of what he
owed his
master.
It's a
fraction.
A denarius
being the
common silver
coin of the
day,
was equivalent
to about a
day's wage
for a
laborer.
Kind of the
typical blue
collar wage
of the day.
So I think
it's important
for us to
note that
this is still
a great
sum.
This is
three months
wages.
I think
about three
months wages.
Man,
that's a
debt.
That's a
debt owed.
Right?
But it's
relatively
insignificant.
It's
relatively
insignificant.
Verse 29.
So his
fellow servant
fell down
and pleaded
with him,
have patience
with me
and I
will pay
you.
He refused
and went
and put him
in prison
until he
should pay
the debt.
When his
fellow servant
saw what
had taken
place,
they were
greatly
distressed
and they
went and
reported to
their master
all that
had taken
place.
Then his
master summoned
him and
said to
him,
you wicked
servant,
I forgave
you all
that debt
because you
pleaded with
me and
should not
you have
had mercy
on your
fellow servant
as I
had mercy
on you.
And in
anger,
his master
delivered him
to the
jailers until
he should
pay all
his debt.
So also
my heavenly
father will
do to
every one
of you
if you
do not
forgive
your brother
from your
heart.
So here
we see
a man
who has
received
astounding
mercy,
this offer
of forgiveness
of his debt,
but he
doesn't turn
and offer
the same.
Jesus is
saying this
is what the
kingdom of
heaven could
be compared
to.
We,
owing
an astounding
unpayable
infinite
debt
to God
have seen
by faith
that debt
canceled
and the
infinite
righteousness
of Christ
credited
to us
and so
we ought
to then
turn and
offer
the same
kind of
forgiveness
to others.
Right?
Little
infinitesimal
debts now
owed us.
We ought to
be turning
around to
others
and offering
them an
astounding
amount
of mercy.
Beloved,
it is wrong
for the church
not to be
part of
mercy ministries
because we
pay our
taxes.
It is wrong
for us to
feel embittered
towards those
who take
advantage
of social
welfare.
We ought
to go
to them,
right?
Hearts
recognizing
that we
have been
forgiven,
that we
have taken
advantage
and offer
great
mercy.
to these
people.
This is
the way
we're
meant to
live as
citizens of
the kingdom
of heaven.
And so
why does
Jesus
declare
blessed
these
people,
these
merciful
people?
And our
text says,
for they
shall
receive
mercy.
Those
who have
received
mercy will
be merciful
and
therefore
will
receive
mercy.
It's a
great big
mercy loop.
In
Matthew
chapter
25,
verse 31
and following,
Jesus
speaks of
the final
judgment
and the
basis for
his
judgment,
as we
will see,
is mercy
shown to
others.
So join me
there.
I know
there's a lot
of text
today.
Matthew
chapter 25.
Now hear me
carefully as we
read this.
We are not
saying that
because we're
merciful, we
earn God's
favor.
We've been
shown mercy
and so we're
merciful, right?
We're found
in him.
We're
citizens of
the kingdom
and this
is the
evidence,
right?
This is the
evidence that
we've received
the mercy
of God
and will
fully and
finally receive
the mercy
of God.
So do not
get that wrong.
No one is
saying that
we're saved
by our
works here.
Listen to what
Jesus says,
verse 31
and following.
When the
Son of Man
comes in
his glory
and all
the angels
with him,
then he will
sit on his
glorious throne.
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
and he will
place the sheep
on his right
but the goats
on his left.
So there's going
to be this final
judgment.
There's going
to be a
separation
and we want
to be counted
among the
sheep.
Those who are
placed in the
place of honor
at the right
of the glorious
throne.
Verse 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.
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.
I was naked
and you clothed
me.
I was sick
and you visited
me.
I was in
prison and
you came to
me.
All things,
all things
that we can
do.
Verse 37
Then the
righteous will
answer him
saying,
Lord,
when did we
see you hungry
and feed you
or thirsty
and give you
drink?
And when
do we see
you a stranger
and welcome
you or naked
and clothe
you?
And when
do we see
you sick
or in
prison and
visit you?
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.
I pray
that you
count yourself
and that
others who
are examining
your life
count you
among these
blessed
sheep.
That we
can say of
ourselves and
that people
who are
around us
looking at
our lives
or inviting
into our
lives can
say,
Merciful,
yes,
merciful,
you are
merciful.
As God's
been merciful
to you,
you are
merciful.
this
working
is the
evidence
of your
salvation,
that you
belong to
the kingdom
of heaven.
I pray
that you
are not
counted
amongst
the goats.
Verse 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.
For I
was hungry
and you
gave me
no food.
I was
thirsty
and you
gave me
no drink.
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.
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?
Then you
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.
And these
will go
away
into
eternal
punishment,
but the
righteous
into
eternal
life.
There's
a weighty
thing to
consider
here,
to really
ask
ourselves,
and again,
those around
us,
those who
are following
the way
of Christ,
those who
are citizens
of the
kingdom,
am I
merciful?
Does this
characterize
my life?
Some of
you may
know about
the mercy
of God,
but have
yet to
experience
the mercy
of God,
have yet
to turn
to Christ
by faith.
And we
have a
beautiful
promise in
closing in
James 2,
verse 13.
James writes,
for judgment
is without
mercy to
one who
has shown
no mercy.
Hear that
again.
For judgment
is without
mercy to
one who
has shown
no mercy.
Mercy,
triumphs
over judgment.
So Jesus
says,
blessed are
the merciful,
for they
shall receive
mercy.
Let's pray
together.