Scripture Study

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

STOTT In the second half of the beatitudes (the last four) we turn more from our attitude to God to an attitude toward our fellow human beings. The “merciful” show mercy to men. In the last three beatitudes the “peacemakers” seek to reconcile men to each other; those who are “persecuted” are persecuted by men. The sincerity denoted by being “pure in heart” also concerns our attitude and relation to our fellow man.

“Mercy” is our compassion for people in need. Bible scholar Richard Lenski distinguishes “mercy” from “grace”: “The noun eleos (mercy)…always deals with what we see of pain, misery and distress, these are results of sin; and charis (grace) always deals with the sin and guilt itself. The one extends relief, the other pardon; the one cures, heals helps, the other cleanses and reinstates.”

Jesus does not specify the categories of people He has in mind to whom His disciples are to show mercy. There was no need for Jesus to elaborate. Our god is a merciful God and shows mercy continuously; the citizens of His kingdom must show mercy too.

The natural world is unmerciful – and often the church, in its worldliness, has been as well. The world prefers to insulate itself against the pains and calamities of men, resulting in sensational revenge and lukewarm forgiveness. But, those who show mercy find it as stated in the fifth beatitude. The same truth is echoed in the Lord’s Prayer – “if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you.” This is not because we can earn mercy by showing mercy or forgiveness by forgiving. It is because we cannot receive the mercy and forgiveness of God unless we repent – and we cannot claim to have repented of our sins if we are unmerciful towards the sins of others. Nothing moves us to forgive like the wondering knowledge that we have been forgiven. Nothing proves more clearly that we have been forgiven than our own readiness to forgive. To forgive and to be forgiven, to show mercy and to receive mercy – these belong together as Jesus illustrated in His parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35).

This beatitude could be interpreted as “the meek” who are also “the merciful.” For to be meek is to acknowledge to others that we are sinners; to be merciful is to have compassion on others, for they are sinners, too.

LLOYD-JONES This statement, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,” is a step forward in the description of the Christian man, because there is a change in the type and kind of description. We have been looking at the Christian in terms of his need, of his awareness of his need. Now we are more concerned with his disposition, which results from everything that has developed in the previous Beatitudes. In each of the earlier passages we see the results which follow when a man has truly seen himself – especially when he has seen himself in his relationship to God. Here are some further consequences which must be manifested when one is truly a Christian. In the Beatitudes there is a definite progression in thought – a logical sequence. This verse is an especially sharp and logical connection with “those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

In the Beatitudes Christ is depicting and delineating the Christian man and the Christian character. In them we are held face-to-face with ourselves, showing us not only what we are, but also what we are in God’s pattern for the Christian man. A true Christian never objects to being humbled. This Beatitude also reminds us of a primary truth of the Christian position – the primary emphasis of the Christian gospel is placed on being, rather than doing. The emphasis is on what we are rather on what we do. A Christian is something before he does anything. We must be a Christian before we can act as a Christian. Before Jesus talks about actions, He describes character and disposition. That is essentially the NT teaching. Being is more important than doing. We are Christians and our actions are the outcome of our character.

We are not intended to control our Christianity; our Christianity is meant to control us. As Paul writes in Galatians 2:20: “I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” He is in control, not I. The Christian faith is not something on the surface of a man’s life; it is something that is happening in the very center of his personality. Our entire life is an expression and a proclamation of what we really are.

When Christ tells us to be merciful in this beatitude, He does not mean that we should be easygoing.” Many people seem to think that being merciful means to

be easygoing, not to see things, or pretend we have not. This is dangerous in a time when we are living in an age which does not believe in law or discipline, and in some respects does not believe in justice or righteousness. The idea is that man should be absolutely free-minded, that he has the right to do whatever he likes. Many people think that the merciful person should overlook transgressions and law-breaking. However, the natural disposition must never be the basis of our interpretation of the beatitudes.

We must remember that the adjective “merciful” is applied specially and specifically to God Himself. Whatever we decide is the meaning of “merciful”, it is also true of God. God is merciful, but God is just. God is merciful; but God is righteous. Whatever our interpretation of merciful, it must include its application to God. If we only think of mercy at the expense of truth and law, it is not true mercy.

The terms “grace” and “mercy” are sometimes used interchangeably, which is a mistake. In most of his Epistles, Paul starts the introduction with “grace to you and peace from God” (1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon). In his Pastoral Epistles to Timothy and Titus, he says “grace and mercy to you and peace from God” – thus implying a distinction between grace and mercy. One definition of the two words might be: “Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated with men in their misery.” While grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks especially at the miserable consequences of sin. Mercy is a sense of pity plus a desire to relieve suffering; mercy is pity plus action. The great NT illustration of being merciful is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The supreme example of mercy and being merciful is that of God’s sending His only Son into this world, because He saw our pitiable state and the suffering. So the Son came and dealt with our actions – bringing the necessity for the doctrine of atonement. There is no contradiction between justice and mercy, or mercy and truth. The grace that is there in regard to sin in general now becomes mercy in particular as God looks at the consequences of sin.

The second part of this Beatitude is troublesome to many. Their interpretation is that they will only receive mercy if they extend mercy – that mercy is conditional. They reference two other passages – The Lord’s Prayer (“Forgive us our

trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us…”) and the parable of the debtors in Matthew 18. The fallacy of considering mercy and forgiveness as conditional is a legalistic interpretation -- that is the thought of the natural world. If that is the interpretation of this Beatitude, it cancels the whole doctrine of grace.

As stated previously, the beatitudes are written in a logical order – each one is dependent on the previous ones. Having seen and experienced all that has been identified in the earlier beatitudes, our attitude towards other people must be completely changed. We see with Christian eyes those who are slaves to sin. We see them not as people we dislike and avoid, but as those to be pitied. We see them as we once were – controlled by sin – and we now differentiate between the sinner and the sin. Because our attitude has been changed, we see that anyone who is in a state of sin is to be pitied and deserves mercy. Biblical examples of those who showed mercy were Christ on the cross when He said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), and Stephen who said as he was being stoned: “Lay not this sin to their charge….They do not know what they are doing, Lord” (Acts 7:60). Jesus and Stephen saw their tormentors, their persecutors, as slaves to sin and pitied them; therefore, they could show them mercy.

If you are merciful, you receive mercy. You already have mercy, but you will have it every time you sin – because when you realize what you have done, you will come back to God and say “Have mercy on me, O God.” If you recognize sin within yourself and, in repentance, go to God, and while praying realize you are not forgiving someone else – you will have no confidence in your prayers. If you are not forgiving others, you can ask God for forgiveness – but you will have no confidence that your prayer will be answered. The one condition of forgiveness is repentance. Repentance means that we realize that it is only the grace and mercy of God which forgives. Because of our relationship with God and His grace and mercy toward us, we must of necessity be merciful to others.

The grace of God is such, that when it comes into our hearts with forgiveness, it makes us merciful. Because we have already obtained mercy, we are merciful. As we go through life we fall into sin. The moment we do so, we need this mercy –

and we get it. The grace of God makes us merciful. If we are not merciful, we have never understood the grace and the mercy of God.

DOB It has been noted by some Hebrew scholars that in all the gracious and merciful dealings of God with man, He has shown the value He attaches to the attribute of mercy by choosing to be called by His great and incommunicable name “Jehovah.” Exodus 34:5b-6 reads, in some versions, when the Lord descended in a cloud, and “proclaimed the name of the Lord.” He passed before Moses and proclaimed, “Jehovah, Jehovah, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Yet, in any process of justice, He styles Himself “Eloah,” or “Elohim” – a name importing power or might. The name “Eloah” is unlike the name Jehovah -- which is appropriated to God only, as the self-existent, the eternal, the unchangeable. “Eloah” is given sometimes to angels, sometimes to magistrates, and sometimes even to false gods. The name Jehovah was more sacred and of higher importance than that of Elohim. Therefore, the Jewish scholars have proposed that God chose in His gentler addresses to employ the name Jehovah – so that He might declare His special regard for mercy over judgment. It should be noted that when Christ was on the cross, He exclaimed, not “Jehovah, Jehovah,” but “Eloi, Eloi” (Aramaic) – “My God, My God!” (Mark 15:34), or the Hebrew name “Eli, Eli…” (Matthew 27:46). In His lowest self-abasement, He deemed it right, not to address the Father by his titles of love and endearment, but to call upon Him in language to remind us that the Judge of the world was then exacting the full payment for the penalty of sin -- His own well-beloved Son, as a willing sacrifice for the sins of men.

Yet, as dark as it was at that hour, the morning came when God revealed His mercy to the world when Christ was raised for our justification – then it was declared how mercy toward the outcast could be exercised in perfect consistency with a holiness which cannot look upon iniquity. Then it was declared how God can be just, yet the justifier to those who believe in Jesus Christ. When Christ was delivered for our offenses and then was raised for our justification, it was declared that God has set aside Christ to be our atonement through faith in His blood. In Psalm 85:10 it is written: “mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

Therefore, it is in perfect harmony with his character that Christ proclaims: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Blessed are they who pity all, who bear all, who do to all in love – for they shall obtain mercy. This calls attention, not to a natural quality, but to a heavenly grace. There is a propensity to pity which has nothing to do with the spirit belonging to the mercy of the gospel. Pity has no necessary connection with true religion. Natural pity can be fondly indulgent to some and cruel to others – but it is apparent that it does not spring from proper motives, it is not directed to proper ends, and it is not governed by any regard to the divine law.

The character of the mercy in the beatitude is a gracious disposition, which has respect to the will of God, and to the grace of the gospel. It is learned by looking at the cross and to the mercy of God toward sinners through Christ. This blessed disposition is connected with humility and faith and all the graces of the Christian character. It implies a willingness to forego personal ease, interest or gratification – with a view to make others comfortable and happy. It induces a person – because of his love of God and from hope in His mercy – to love and show compassion to all. He should earnestly pray on behalf of those he cannot personally reach or help.

Those who show this pity, this compassion, shall obtain mercy. They shall obtain that which we all need regardless of this and every other Christian grace – for all are sinners and stand in the need of mercy. Blessed are the penitent, believing sinners -- who show by their merciful disposition that they have embraced the promises of the everlasting covenant – for God will have mercy on them according to their conduct toward others. They shall be pardoned, supported, comforted through life and in death; afterwards, they will enjoy in all its fullness, the mercy of Christ unto eternal life. On the other hand, “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:13).

The administrators of law in human courts are not permitted to show mercy; because no way has been devised to guard the honor and dignity of the law and extend mercy toward the guilty party, without sweeping away the foundations of the social structure. God, though has shown how he can condemn sin and still be compassionate to the sinner. The Scripture shows that everyone has sinned and

stands guilty before God, but we are assured in the same Scriptures that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more; so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21).

In the history of redemption, mercy overcomes justice; God finds glory and joy in pardoning those who might have been justly condemned by the courts. He has freely forgiven your debt to show His love that you might learn to have compassion on others as He has had compassion on you. You must learn to appreciate the mercy which has been exercised toward you by God before you can learn to walk in love towards all others in all circumstances at all times. The only true principle of love to man is the constant and restraining influence of the love of Christ.

You may have shown mercy and weep over a friend’s tale of woe; you may have shown forgiveness to someone who has offended you – both of which may have commended you before your fellow man. But, have you shown mercy in your daily life? In your conversations with family and friends, do you make allowance for their failings and infirmities? Do you rise habitually superior to those bad moods, those obstinate tempers, those contradictory dispositions which you encounter? Do you have the deep and tender concern for those in your care which must be felt by anyone who is exposed to the misery and dangers of sin that surrounds all of us? Do you pray for those you cannot personally help? This is the type of mercy which is found in this beatitude.

Gospel mercy is centered on God and on the character of Christ. It is a mercy which has respect to the authority of God and the grace of the gospel – and it includes the whole family of man. As you become acquainted with this lesson of heavenly wisdom, you will show that you will have your heart enlarged with love to pity all, to help bear the burdens of others, and to do good to all.

It is your sacred duty, living in the daily exercise of gospel mercy, to do good to all those around you. One leading principle will guide you in showing the mercy in this beatitude – the love of Christ encouraging you to devote every endeavor to His service. By letting this principle reign in your heart, you will be enabled to walk as children of God. If you learn to be merciful to others – even as God has

been merciful to you – you will reap the blessedness set forth in this beatitude, both here and in the hereafter.

ABC The adjective “merciful” is found again in Hebrews 2:17 only – where Christ is termed “a merciful and faithful high priest. Yet the verb, “to obtain mercy,” is quite common in the NT. The merciful are the people who banish all feelings of revenge and ill will from their hearts and who seek to cultivate an attitude of love and sympathy toward all mankind – especially toward the disfranchised and dispossessed. To Jesus this is a divinely beneficial emotion which must be harnessed to practical and redemptive actions. Jesus entered the haunts of wretchedness and woe to grapple with the evil and alleviate the sufferings of those who are their victims.

CHB Our salvation is made dependent upon our showing mercy to every creature that can feel. Every kind of cruel amusement, or cruel punishment, as well as every wanton act of cruelty is strictly forbidden. It should be remembered that cruel speeches no less than cruel acts are forbidden by this beatitude. Words can lacerate more deeply than stripes.

By the ancient Greeks and Romans the emotion of pity was generally regarded as a fault or a weakness. The Stoics were in practice humane men, but they regarded pity in the abstract as a vice. They said: “The wise man succors, but does not pity.”

PCCNT(Clarke) Among the Jews the word “mercy” signified two things: the pardon of injuries; and almsgiving. Jesus undoubtedly takes it in its fullest scope here. This virtue is none other than a lively emotion of the heart, which is touched by the discovery of any person’s misery -- such emotion is outwardly manifested and effects a response suited to its nature. Mercy is not purchased except at the price of mercy itself – and even this price is a gift of the mercy of God.

DOB(C) Mercy is a virtue which is the prevailing spirit of the gospel and –distinguishing it from all other forms of religion – it constitutes its most direct and powerful appeal to the human heart.

Mercy is in complete harmony with justice, if not identical with that attribute. There is no conflict between mercy and absolute right. There may be instances

when the human mind will be perplexed and the human heart distressed by an apparent discrepancy – pity drawing one way and a strong sense of duty urging the other. These qualities – mercy and justice – may become so entwined in conventional form to cause confusion, it may cause a seeming conflict. Essentially, absolutely, they are at one – and become antagonistic only when various portions part with something of its true character. We may be assured that unmerciful justice is unjust, and unjust mercy is unmerciful. They are both attributes of “infinite righteousness” and both have regard to intrinsic good.

Mercy considers not merely temporary and isolated relief, but the general welfare; so does justice. For instance, the father who never corrects his child -- who never interposes any constraint or chastisement for fear of hurting her feelings -- may be soft-hearted, but he is not a merciful parent. In our dealings with others, the gush of impulse – generous and kind as it appears to be – may carry us, not only beyond justice, but beyond the sphere of true mercy. Mercy is not a blind passion, but the operation of a profound comprehensive charity.

There are some forms of “mercy” which show the spontaneity of a spongy sentimentalism, a lukewarm shower. Obliterating the lines of guilt and sinfulness and seeing only the “interesting” side of sin, a person may substitute their drizzling pathos for the probing faithfulness of true philanthropy. True mercy is considerate and comprehensive. It pays regard to general and essential good. Its compassion is not a weak and morbid ooze, but springs from the heart of a firm and intelligent virtue.

Yet, too often justice is not that everlasting right whose foundations – as in the nature of God Himself – are rooted in infinite love, but a sentiment whose motive is retaliation. That return of injury for injury regarding only one selfish claim, overlooks others -- and is, therefore, unjust.

In the parable in Matthew 18:22-35 in which the king forgave the debt of the humble suppliant, there was an exhibition of mercy consistent with justice. However, it was not justice when that debtor demanded payment of another who owed him money – even though the money was owed him. The world might see this as justice, because the money was his due; but it was not justice. There were other claims besides his monetary one. There was the claim of his fellow-servant’s need. There was the claim of that appeal for “patience.” And there was

the claim of mercy – for only the mercy extended to him allowed him the freedom to make his demand. True Justice has regard not merely to selfish ends and to literal right, but to the good of others – and the great law of love. Unmerciful justice is unjust.

In the social state, law is not always identical with justice. The true idea of justice is not represented by what is called justice when its spirit is simply vindictive or an expression of power. Absolute justice has regard to all good and respects both the claims of an isolated case as well as the rights of humanity – blending the results in perfect harmony with mercy.

The quality of mercy characterized in this beatitude is firm and tender, strong and pliable, just and humane. Mercy may seem more attractive than other virtues, but it is in alliance with all of them. In itself it is the spirit of pity, endurance, and charity. It is a spirit better felt than described. It is compassion for men’s “outward ills” – both individual and social afflictions. Yet, it does not consist merely in compassion for the outward ills of others, but includes a consideration for their inward dispositions – their moral and spiritual needs. Mercy seeks for the soul of goodness, even in things evil. It recognizes the common humanity under all the disguises of sin.

This spirit of mercy is the spirit of charitable consideration -- of forgiveness, endurance, and profound compassion. It is the quality of a great and strong character. Persons of high virtue are always merciful; they can afford to pity and forgive. Others – in their cruelty and harshness -- confess their narrowness, their weakness, and their fear.

In everyday life, it is often in our power to show mercy -- in conversation by checking hasty judgment and turning back the arrows of scandal; in our influence upon opinion by stating circumstances and pleading possibilities; in our own daily conduct by exercising lenity and pity, being ready to overlook and prompt to pardon. We are called upon continually to show mercy.

The reward to the merciful is that they shall obtain mercy. This exemplifies the operation of a reciprocal law between man and man – the principal that like produces like. A charitable man will likely be met with charity, a kind man with kindness, a vindictive man with a reaction of the same spirit. So it is that the merciful obtain mercy. The spirit diffuses around them affecting the hearts of

others with a similar disposition. One never knows when he might be in need of the same mercy which he shows. We live in a system of inter-dependence, where one part finds its completion in another, where each gives and takes.

The quality of mercy is prominent in the gospel as a precept as well as a moral force. It is an effective precept, but it furnishes a living illustration of the all-embracing, long-suffering, forgiving, self-sacrificing of charity. Jesus gave examples of mercy throughout the gospels – the Good Samaritan, the guilty woman, the weeping penitent, the Prodigal Son – which show mercy streaming out of His personality. He has displayed the possibilities of love, and converted teaching into history.

EBW The Greek verb “to show mercy” is eleeo, and the noun is eleos. Originally these words expressed only the emotion that was aroused by contact with a person who was suffering. By NT times, however, the concept incorporated compassionate response. A person who felt for and with a sufferer would be moved to help. This concept of mercy – as a concern for the afflicted that prompts giving help – is prominent in both the Gospels and the Epistles.

As in this beatitude, the Gospels often have Jesus encouraging others to have mercy. He calls the merciful blessed and tells His followers, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Mercy is a quality that God expects in us -- for those who live close to the Lord are to reflect His character.

In both Testaments, mercy is compassion expressed to meet human need. The focus in both is on God’s mercy to human beings. Those who know Jesus have received mercy and continue to experience God’s mercy. In our time of need we follow the example of those men and women of the Gospels who came to Jesus, acknowledged Him as Lord, and cried out to Him for mercy.

Because in mercy God has brought us to life in Jesus, we too can show mercy to those around us – providing in our own compassion a witness to the loving mercy of God.

MSB James 2:13 tells us that “…judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” A person who shows no mercy and compassion for people in need demonstrates that he has never responded to the great mercy of God, and as an unredeemed person will receive

only strict, unrelieved judgment in eternal hell. The person whose life is characterized by mercy is ready for the Day of Judgment and will escape all the charges that strict justice might bring against him – because by showing mercy to others, he gives genuine evidence of having received God’s mercy.

M-MT(1) This beatitude is so misunderstood in our day because it makes our obtaining mercy seem conditional on our being merciful. This is not the condition on which we obtain mercy – “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The reverse is true – we should be merciful because we have already obtained mercy.

ICB Only those who practice mercy can expect to receive it from God at the judgment.

HEB-GRSB The Greek word for “merciful” is eleemon, which means “actively compassionate” or “merciful.” The Greek word used for “mercy” is eleos. This means “mercy, compassionate, merciful; benevolently merciful, involving thought and action.”

WYCLIFFE Those who put pity into action can expect similar mercy both from men and God.

VINE’S The Greek word, eleemon, means “merciful. It does not mean simply possessed of pity, but actively compassionate. It is used of Christ and of those who are like God.

In the same family of words is eleos, which means “mercy.” It is the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it.

PCNT(Wesley) The merciful are the tender-hearted – those who love all men as themselves. They shall obtain mercy. Whatever mercy we desire from God, we should show the same for others. God will repay us a thousand fold, the love we show to any for His sake.

PCNT(Henry) The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them.

B-MT(1) This is a statement of a principle which runs throughout the NT. The NT is insistent that to be forgiven we must be forgiving. James said: “for judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy” (James 2:13). Likewise, forgiveness/mercy is shown in Matthew 18:35 and in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12, 14-15). It is the consistent teaching of the NT that only the merciful, the forgiving shall receive mercy and forgiveness.

Yet, there is more to this beatitude than that. The Greek word for “merciful” is eleemon. However, the Greek of the NT goes back to an original Hebrew and Aramaic. The Hebrew word for “mercy” is chesedh – and it is an untranslatable word. It does not mean only to sympathize with a person in the usual sense of the word; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble. Chesedh, “mercy,” means the ability to get right inside other people until we can see things with their eyes, think things with their minds and feel things with their feelings.

It is much more than an emotional wave of pity – it demands a deliberate effort of the mind and of the will. It denotes a sympathy which is not given from outside, but which comes from a deliberate identification with other people until we can see things as they see them and feel things as they feel them. This is “sympathy” in the literal sense. “Sympathy” comes from two Greek words – syn, which means “together with”; and paschein, which means “to experience” or “to suffer.” “Sympathy” means “experiencing things together with other people” – literally going through what they are going through. This is precisely what many people do not even try to do. Most people, when they are sorry for someone, experience from the outside rather than making the effort to get inside the other person’s mind and heart.

If we made this deliberate attempt to achieve identification with the other person, it would make a great difference.

1. It would save us from being kind in the wrong way. There is one outstanding example of insensitive and mistaken kindness in the NT. In the story of Jesus’ visit to the house of Martha and Mary at Bethany, the cross was only a few days ahead. Jesus only wanted a short time to rest and to relax – to lay down the terrible tension of living. Because Martha loved Jesus as an honored guest, she bustled about to provide the best meal that she could. All Jesus wanted was quiet. Mary understood that

Jesus wished only for peace. So often when we wish to be kind, the kindness must be given in our way – and the other people must put up with it. Our kindness would be more greatly appreciated if we would only make the effort to get inside other people.

2. It would make forgiveness and tolerance so much easier. There is a principle in life which we often forget – there is always a reason why people think and act as they do. If we knew that reason, it would be so much easier to understand and to sympathize and to forgive. If, in our opinion, a person is mistaken in their thoughts or actions, that person may have come through experiences and have a heritage which has shaped that way of thinking. If someone is irritable and discourteous, that person may be worried or in pain. If someone treats us badly, it may be because there is some mistaken idea in that person’s mind. There is a French proverb that says “to know all is to forgive all” – but we will never know all until we make the attempt to get inside the other person’s mind and heart.

3. Finally, is not that what God did in Jesus Christ? In Jesus, in the most literal sense, God got inside the skin of humans. He became a man -- he saw things with human eyes; felt things with human feelings; thought things with human minds. God knows what life is like, because God came right inside life.

God came to us -- not as the remote detached, isolated, majestic God; He came to us as a man. The supreme instance of “mercy,” chesedh, is the coming of God in Jesus Christ.

It is only those who show this mercy who will receive it. This is true on the human side, for in other people we see the reflection of ourselves. If we are detached and show no interest in them, they will be detached and will show no interest in us. If they see that we care, their hearts will respond in caring. It is supremely true on the divine side, for those who show this mercy have become nothing less than like God.

The translation of the fifth beatitude might read:

“The bliss of those who get right inside other people, until they can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts, feel with their feelings, for those who

do that will find others do the same for them, and will know that that is what God in Jesus Christ has done!”

OTHER REFERENCES:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Shakespeare THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Act 4 Scene 1 pp 8-9)

Original Text Modern Text

“The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomesThe thronèd monarch better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majestyWherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,But mercy is above this sceptered sway.It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.It is an attribute to God himself.And earthly power doth then show likest God’sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, though justice be thy plea, Consider this – That in the course of justice None of us should see salvation. We do Pray for mercy, And that same prayer doth Teach us all to render the deeds of mercy….”

“No one shows mercy because he has to. It just happens, the way gentle rain drops on the ground. Mercy is a double blessing. It blesses the one who gives it and the one who receives it. It’s strongest in the strongest people. It looks better in a king than his own crown looks on him. The king’s scepter represents his earthly power, the symbol of majesty, the focus of royal authority. But mercy is higher than the scepter. It’s enthroned in the hearts of kings, a quality of God himself. Kingly power seems most like God’s power when the king mixes mercy with justice. So although justice is your plea, Jew, consider this –Justice won’t save our souls. We pray for mercy, and this same prayer teaches us to show mercy to others as well…. ”