Something happened.
Something happened in room 301 of the Kenosha County Courthouse.
This was a few weeks ago, and I was there in support of someone.
But because of the lack of space in the courtroom, I was waiting out in the hall.
And so, we got in there right around 9 a.m., and there was this mob of people,
about 125, 150 people that had to make an appearance before the magistrate that day.
And as I observed these people waiting to go into the courtroom,
I noticed that they were pretty quiet.
There was a degree of anxiety.
Maybe a little fear.
People not knowing what awaited them as they had to take their stand before the judge.
And at one point, the bailiff says,
All right, everybody come in.
And so, all 125, 150 people kind of moseyed in,
and no room for supporters, so I had to stay out in the hall.
Door closed.
But over the course of time, what would happen is people would start to trickle out.
People who had come before the judge.
And something happened.
They were coming out different than when they went in.
They had encountered mercy.
They were coming out relieved, happy, and giddy, most at least.
They received mercy.
Eventually, I was able to take a seat in the courtroom.
I want to know what was going on.
And what I would witness is the magistrate would call a person by name.
That person would walk up and stand in a very, like a pulpit,
kind of thing like this in front of the judge.
The judge would then ask them to state their name.
They would state their name.
And then the judge would go on to say publicly for all to hear what this person's violation was
in the corresponding penalty, which was most often a fine.
And then, the magistrate would ask the accused a very particular question.
What do you plea?
Over and over and over again.
Accused up, name, violation, penalty, what do you plea?
And more often than not, depending how the accused answered that question,
what do you plea, would determine if they would receive mercy.
What do you plea?
For those who had admitted their guilt,
the magistrate found a way to reduce the penalty every time.
For those who resisted and contested without warrant,
and there was one particular creature who did,
there was no mercy.
Everyone in the room is a violator.
We've all violated God's law.
We all stand accused.
And on that day before the great white throne,
and it is coming,
when we are standing face to face with our judge,
the judge of all,
the question I want to ask you this morning is,
what are you going to plea?
What are you going to plea?
Matthew 5, 7, Jesus says this,
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
Do you want to find mercy on that day?
Do you want to stand before the throne of God,
before the judge of all,
without fearing condemnation,
but anticipating mercy?
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
As you read that in Matthew 5, 7,
you may be asking yourself a question like this,
wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
What is Jesus saying here?
Because this doesn't sound quite right.
Is Jesus saying that to receive mercy on that day,
I must show mercy on this day?
For me to receive mercy then,
I've got to be showing mercy now?
Is that what He's saying?
Because that's starting to move in a direction
of kind of a salvation by works.
I earn God's mercy by showing mercy.
Is that what He's saying?
Because it kind of sounds like it, doesn't it?
Well, He's not saying that.
Our salvation is by grace alone.
Our works of mercy certainly do not earn our salvation.
They may evidence our salvation,
but they don't earn it.
So what's going on in this fifth beatitude?
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
Well, here's what I want to help you see this morning.
Those who are promised God's mercy
in the future
have already received God's mercy now.
For those who are going to receive God's mercy then,
they've already received God's mercy now.
And the way I want to help you see that
from this passage
is by asking and answering three questions.
The first question is,
what is mercy?
We'll answer that.
We're going to go to another spot in our Bibles
to answer that.
We're going to look at a parable.
And then we're going to ask the question,
who are the merciful then of Matthew 5-7?
Who are they?
And then, by way of closing,
we're going to ask this question.
What awaits the merciful?
What awaits?
So, those who are promised God's mercy then
are the ones who experience God's mercy now.
So let's ask this question,
what is mercy?
Well, this past week,
I read some brilliant minds
on this passage.
And I read some brilliant minds
on the relationship between mercy and justice.
Justice is the exacting
of a punishment
for a wrong done.
That's what justice is.
What mercy is,
is mercy is the relenting
of punishment.
It's not giving you what you deserve.
And so,
we can't think of mercy
as existing in a vacuum.
Mercy exists because justice exists.
And God is a God of justice.
I read other minds
on the relationship
between mercy and grace.
Mercy and grace
both flow from the fountainhead
of God's love.
God's mercy and God's grace
represents God's loving response
to sin and its people
and its consequences.
Martin Lloyd-Jones said,
grace is especially associated
with men and women
in their sins.
Mercy is especially associated
with men and women
in the misery
resulting from their sin.
John MacArthur talks about
grace dealing with sin itself
and mercy attending
to the problems
that stem from sin.
Mercy deals with symptoms.
Grace deals with cause.
Mercy offers relief
for punishment of sin.
Grace offers pardon for sin.
These are all good things.
But perhaps
an even better way
to answer the question
what is mercy
is to listen to one of our Lord's parables
concerning mercy.
Do you remember the parable
of the good Samaritan?
Maybe better yet,
the merciful Samaritan?
Jesus used this parable
to teach about mercy,
the kind of mercy
pleasing to God.
So if you want to follow along,
I'm going to turn your Bibles
to Luke chapter 10.
I'm just going to summarize.
I'm going to walk through it
because I want you to see
something pretty.
I want you to see mercy.
As you're turning there,
I just want to remind you
that a parable
was a teaching tool.
It teaches,
it's a vivid picture
to teach a point.
And Jesus is using this
very vivid story
to teach a point.
Well, if you're there
in Luke chapter 10,
there's a prideful lawyer
that tests Jesus.
Now, I'm not saying
that all lawyers are prideful,
but a particular lawyer,
a prideful lawyer,
tests Jesus with the question,
how do I inherit eternal life?
Jesus replies,
well, how do you read the law?
Lawyer,
love God with everything you got
and love your neighbor
as yourself.
Jesus says,
well, you're on target.
You do that
and you will live.
But the lawyer isn't done
testing the Savior
and he asks a question
like this,
and who then is my neighbor?
And Jesus takes that question
and runs with it.
And so Jesus is going to
use this parable now
to help us understand mercy,
how to love your neighbor.
So Jesus starts this parable
talking about a Jew
who is on his way
from Jerusalem to Jericho
on a road that was notoriously
used by bandits.
And this particular Jew
got robbed, beat up,
and left for dead.
And as it turns out,
according to this parable,
a Jewish priest
who was supposedly
very schooled
in the law of God,
a Jewish priest
comes along on the road,
sees his countrymen
lying there in distress,
and what does he do?
He walks on by.
And then there's another
Jewish official that comes,
this time a Levite,
another kind of Jewish leader
in the community.
And that Levite
comes upon the same man,
sees him in his distress,
and what does he do?
He passes on the other side.
And so these two religious people
don't give a rip.
Maybe they had a prayer meeting
to get to.
Maybe they had a Bible study.
Then Jesus goes on.
A Samaritan comes by.
Now what you need to know
about Samaritans
is that Jews saw Samaritans
as ethnic half-breeds
who were in a perpetual state
of impurity.
And so,
if Jews needed to travel
from north to south,
they would not go through Samaria.
They would go around Samaria.
That's what kind of sets up
the John 4,
Jesus with a Samaritan woman
at the well,
which is so amazing.
So this particular Samaritan
comes upon this Jew
and sees the Jew.
And unlike the priest
and unlike the Levite,
the Samaritan has compassion
on this man who's been beat up.
This man in distress.
And so the Samaritan stops.
He binds up this man's wounds.
Applies all sorts of healing ointments.
Somehow lifts him up on his beast.
Brings him to an inn.
And takes care of him.
And if that weren't enough,
he spends two denarii.
Which is like $300 to $400
our day.
Spends that money.
Gives it to the innkeeper
and basically says,
hey, use this money
to help this guy out.
If you run over it,
put it on my tab.
Because I am coming back.
And I want to know
how he's doing.
So this is,
Jesus tells this parable
to this lawyer.
And Jesus then looks at the lawyer
and says,
well, you tell me
who proved to be the neighbor.
The priest,
the Levite,
or the Samaritan.
And the lawyer says,
the one who showed
mercy.
That Jew didn't deserve
any of the Samaritan's kindness,
but he showed it.
Jesus says,
you go and do likewise.
What does it mean
to be merciful?
What is mercy?
Mercy?
Well,
mercy
is to see someone in need
and help them.
Mercy is compassion in action.
Mercy is Christ-like compassion
and action.
It doesn't ignore justice.
It recognizes justice,
but is merciful in the face of it.
Mercy is showing kindness
and help to people
suffering from the fallout of sin.
When you hear mercy,
think compassion in action.
And to be merciful
in a Christ-like fashion
is to be burdened
for those people
who are in distress.
We see that in the Good Samaritan.
He saw this man
and had compassion on him.
He was moved by it.
He had space in his heart
for this person
who was suffering.
And then the Samaritan
was inconvenienced.
He stopped.
We don't know what his deal was.
Was he on a business trip?
Probably.
But he was interrupted.
He took the time.
Mercy allows for interruptions
of plans.
And then this Samaritan
bore the cost.
He dropped quite a bit of jingle
to help this guy out.
He paid out of his own pocket.
This Samaritan was personally involved
with this stranger
he just found on a road.
He was personally committed.
He jumped right in.
I mean, he was going to come back.
And so when we ask the question
what is mercy
and we look at the parable
of the Good Samaritan
we see that mercy flows
along lines that
go beyond people's appearance
go beyond people's backgrounds
go.
Mercy is unconditional
in its application
to people in need.
Now what I find most intriguing
about the parable
of the Good Samaritan
is when you start to compare
the Good Samaritan
to Jesus.
The one who taught the parable.
We see in Jesus
this burden
this compassion
Matthew 9
Jesus looked upon them
the harassed and helpless
like sheep without a shepherd
and had compassion upon them.
He had space in His heart
for those who were suffering
the fallout of sin.
Jesus was inconvenienced.
He left His place in Heaven
to show us mercy.
He didn't walk around us.
He came and He knelt down.
Think about it this way.
The second person of the Trinity
condescended
and took on human flesh.
He became Emmanuel
to meet us in our distress.
He bore the cost.
Jesus paid it all.
He paid the bill
for our sins
out of His pocket.
He paid for our lives
your life
my life
with His life
and He paid with the currency of blood.
He paid it all.
He bore the cost.
He's personally involved.
What we learn from our Bibles
is that
not only does Jesus save us
but then He sticks with us.
What He starts
He finishes.
He will sanctify us completely.
Surely He will do it.
He is faithful.
He's personally involved.
It doesn't get much more personal
than when God in the flesh
dies in your place
for your sin.
It's that personal.
So when we ask the question
what is mercy
you know what we need to do?
We need to ask the question
no, no, no, no.
What is...
it's compassion and action.
We get it.
But it's really
who is mercy?
Jesus is mercy incarnate.
Jesus is compassion and action.
The Good Samaritan
was Jesus in disguise.
When we think about mercy
we think of Jesus.
He was compassionate.
He was inconvenienced.
He bore the cost.
He's personally involved.
He's committed to us
all the way through.
So what is mercy?
Mercy?
It's compassion and action.
Who is mercy?
Jesus.
And so for us
who are to be the merciful
we are to be Jesus-like.
Blessed are the merciful.
So who is mercy?
What is mercy?
Compassion and action
and we see it clearly
in the person of Jesus.
Let's move to the second question.
Who are the merciful
of Matthew 5-7?
So we've stepped out
of Matthew 5
the Beatitudes
to look at mercy
in Luke 10.
Now we're back
in Matthew 5-7.
Blessed are the merciful.
Who are the merciful?
Now over the last month
I have sought
to help you see
that the Beatitudes
are not some kind of
random gathering
of Jesus' sayings
with no particular order.
but in fact
Jesus very intentionally
arranged them.
There was purpose
in the order.
They build off one another.
So if that is true
they build off one another.
The Beatitudes
inform who the merciful are.
There's more to be said
of the merciful
than just those
who show mercy.
The merciful
are also
the poor in spirit.
They've declared
spiritual bankruptcy
but they've experienced
God's mercy
in their distress.
God bailed them out.
They didn't deserve that.
The merciful
are those
who mourn their sin.
They have been
so distressed
over their sin
that they can cry out
for mercy
just like that
that tax collector
in the parable
in Luke 18.
Have mercy on me
a sinner.
That tax collector
wouldn't even lift
his eyes to heaven.
And God
is merciful
to those in distress.
They find their comfort
mercy in Christ.
The merciful
are also
those who are meek
who are humble.
Out of God's mercy
God shows
the meek
who they really are
in the grand scheme
of things.
They're not the center
of all things.
God is.
And so the meek
are fully aware
and gladly yield
to God
his rightful place.
And God
in his mercy
deeds them
a parcel
on the new earth.
Blessed
are the meek
for they will
inherit the earth.
The merciful
are those
who hunger
and thirst
for righteousness.
To do God's will.
To be Christ-like.
Does it
make any sense?
I hope it does
that when
the spiritually bankrupt
are given
the kingdom
and then when
those who mourn
are comforted
when the meek
recognize
who they are
that their affections
that their desires
start to
now move along
with what God's
desires are?
They start to
hunger and thirst
for the things
of Christ?
Does it make sense
then
that those
who've been changed
by God's mercy
will now
want to show mercy?
That's what we see
going on here.
The merciful
are those
who have already
received God's mercy.
That's what we see
from the Beatitudes.
They have already
experienced God's mercy.
They've already
experienced God's blessing.
The merciful
are citizens
of the kingdom.
The merciful
are Christians
who have received
mercy themselves.
And so,
who are the merciful?
Well,
if we're understanding
the progression
of the Beatitudes,
right,
the merciful
are those
who have already
been shown
God's mercy.
They're citizens
of the kingdom.
They've received
God's mercy
in abundance.
But they're also
people who
show mercy.
Having received
God's mercy
in Christ,
the merciful
hunger and thirst
to show
Christ-like mercy.
Here's another way
to think about it.
Back to the Good Samaritan.
If Jesus is the
ultimate Good Samaritan,
if Jesus is
mercy incarnate,
if He showed
us mercy,
we are to be
Christ-like
in showing mercy
to others.
It just makes
logical sense.
We're made right
with God.
He shows us mercy.
And now,
we show mercy
to others.
We love our neighbors
as ourselves.
We're to be
good Samaritans
Samaritans
to those
around us
in distress.
And I don't know
where your mind
goes to
those in distress.
Maybe you think
of homeless people.
Maybe you think
people who
come here
and are seeking
some kind of help.
You don't have to
go there.
It's true.
But start thinking
just in terms of
who's in distress
from the fallout
of sin
under your own roof.
Your spouse?
Your children?
Children,
start in your home
and work out.
Look for the lonely.
Look for the isolated.
Look for the overwhelmed.
The frail.
Those who are experiencing
the hardship
of sin
in their life.
Whether it's
their own decisions
or other people's decisions
or systemic sin
or the fallout
of living under
a world
that is
burdened
and groaning
because of sin.
If we are to be merciful
like Christ
then there's going to be
some things
that will be true of us.
We're going to be
burdened for those
in distress ourselves.
And so our hearts
will be
compassionate
to others in need.
So,
are you making
space
in your heart
for people
in need?
Is there
space
in your heart
for that?
Are you willing
to go there?
Are you willing
to open yourself
to that?
But not only
is there need
for a space
in your heart
to be burdened,
there's got to be
space in your schedule.
You're going
to be inconvenienced
on a daily basis.
To show mercy
takes time.
It's not going
to mesh well
with your
present daily
arrangement
usually.
I mean,
think about it this way.
Jesus was on his way
to Jerusalem
and he had to go
through Jericho
and this is at the end
of his days.
And he's walking
up to Jericho,
two blind men
start calling out
to him,
Jesus,
son of David,
have mercy on me.
They say it again,
Jesus,
son of David,
have mercy on me.
And Jesus'
disciples are like,
shh,
we're on an itinerary
here, buddy.
Got to get to Jericho.
Sorry,
no time.
Jesus hears them
and he says to them,
what can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
That can wait.
You're asking for mercy?
I give mercy.
How can I help you?
Jesus restores their sight.
It wasn't on the agenda though.
So for us to be Christ-like
in our mercy,
we're going to be burdened,
we're going to be inconvenienced,
we're going to bear cost.
It's going to show up
in our budget,
both personal
and church budget.
It shows up.
Money will be involved
in helping those people
in need.
We've got to make space
for mercy.
Many of you right now
may be asking the question,
well,
how does that work?
How much do I give?
How do we do that?
What do I do
when someone comes up
and asks me for five bucks?
What do I do?
I'll come back to that
in a second.
But we're at a bare cost.
It's going to show up
in our budgets.
We've got to make space for that.
Like Christ,
we're going to be
personally involved with people.
There's just no substitute.
When we come across
people in need,
there is no substitute
for personal relationship
with them.
None.
No substitute.
To pony up next to them,
to say,
hey,
how can I help you?
I might not have
all the answers,
but I can walk with you
through it.
You've got to make space
for that.
We see it in Jesus.
Having received God's mercy,
we now show mercy.
We are burdened
to inconvenience.
We bear costs.
We're personally involved
because it's like
the Good Samaritan.
Because it's like Christ.
The merciful are those
who have already received
God's mercy
and are seeking to show
God's mercy to others.
Now,
if you are not burdened
for those who are suffering
the fallout of sin,
if you're not willing
to be inconvenienced,
if you're unmerciful
with your money,
if you're unwilling
to get personally involved,
the question you need
to answer this morning
is this.
Have you received
God's mercy in Christ?
Do you know what He's done
for you?
Have you experienced
His kindness
in His mercy?
He came for you.
These words of Jesus
pose a real challenge
to us,
don't they?
They really get at
the self-righteous too.
All citizens
of the kingdom of heaven
show mercy.
Do you know why?
Because all the citizens
of the kingdom of heaven
have received mercy.
The kingdom of heaven
is a kingdom of mercy.
And the king of heaven
himself
is mercy incarnate.
Now,
I want you to imagine
in your mind
a line.
We're going to call it
the mercy spectrum.
And on one end
of the line
is the word
merciful.
And on the other end
of the line
is
merciless.
Where do you fall?
Think in terms of
burden,
compassion.
Think in terms of
inconvenience.
Think in terms of
bearing the cost.
Think in terms of
being personally involved.
Where do you fall
on the spectrum?
Where do you want
to move?
Where do you fall
on the mercy spectrum?
We've all got
ground to take.
Now,
you may be asking
yourself another question.
Where do I start?
Start in your house.
Start in your home.
Start with your kids.
Start with your spouse.
Look for opportunities
to show mercy to them.
To meet them.
To help them.
To show kindness
to them.
Not to bring the lumber.
Not to put them
in their place.
You probably already
know that.
How do you show mercy?
Where do you start?
Start with those people
immediately around you.
That's where you start.
They will be experiencing
some kind of stress,
distress from sin.
Now,
maybe you need
helping,
help thinking about
how to show mercy.
So,
back to the question of,
all right,
I'm over at,
you know,
common grounds.
Some person comes up to me
and asks for five bucks.
What do I do?
Well,
there's a couple things
I want to help you with.
If you go online,
if you Google the words
helping without hurting,
it's going to bring you
to a video series.
It is outstanding.
So,
helping without hurting,
it's put out by
the Chalmers Center.
It's based out of St. Louis.
And,
those six videos
will give you
a very helpful introduction
to wise mercy.
how to respond
in those kind of moments
where you feel
put on the spot.
So,
go there.
Another option is
this book,
Same People
When Helping Hurts.
This is another
outstanding resource.
I've got three copies
of this
and I'd be glad
to hand them out
to anybody
who would like one
at the end of the service.
So,
you want help
in showing mercy?
People have gone before us
and have done
some very careful thinking
about it.
Who are the merciful?
Those who have been shown
God's mercy
and who are seeking
to show
God's mercy.
Compassion and action.
I want to close
with this question.
What awaits
the merciful?
What awaits
the merciful?
In Matthew 5-7
we read,
Blessed are the merciful
for they shall receive
mercy.
Brothers and sisters,
God has already
shown His mercy
to you in Christ.
You didn't get
what you deserved.
He paid it all.
And He continues
to show His mercy
to you
and He will show
His mercy to you
on that particular day,
that great and final
day of judgment.
We will all
stand before
the judgment seat
of Christ.
But you have
nothing to fear.
For your judge
is also
mercy
incarnate.
The one who sits
upon the throne
has already been
burdened for you.
The one who sits
upon the throne
He's already
been inconvenienced
for you.
The one who sits
upon the throne
already bore
the cost for you.
The one who sits
upon the throne
has been personally
involved with you
from the beginning.
He's the one
who sits upon
the throne.
Mercy incarnate
sits upon the throne.
Jesus sits
upon the throne.
And so if He
were to ask you
on that day,
what do you
plead?
If you were
to ask me,
Michael,
what do you
plead?
There's only one
word that will
come to your mind.
And only one
word will come
off your lips
and it will be
with a whisper.
Jesus.
Jesus,
you are my
only plea.
You are my
only plea.
the only hope
I have before
this throne
is you.
What awaits
the merciful?
More mercy.
What awaits
the merciful?
Mercy incarnate.
We fear not.
If you were
to ask,
what do you
plea?
And we say,
Jesus,
He says,
enter the joy
of your
master.
What awaits
the mercy?
The merciful?
Mercy.
Those who are
promised God's
mercy in the
future have
already received
God's mercy
in the present.
And so,
we show mercy
to all
because Jesus
is mercy
incarnate.
Let's pray.
God in heaven,
we are in
constant need
of mercy.
mercy.
And we want
to be merciful.
God,
would you do
the work in
us?
Would you
make us
merciful?
Thank you
for the promise
which lies ahead
that we have
a merciful judge
waiting for us.
God,
we rest in
that,
knowing that
we bear
His righteousness.
In Jesus'
name,
amen.
Amen.