Matthew 5:7
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
When Jesus was addressing the crowd while delivering the "Sermon on the Mount," He was talking to a group of people who were under the subjugation of the Roman empire. In the passage quoted above, Jesus interjected the importance of mercy, what I define loosely as compassion in action. Mercy is shown when someone is deserving of punishment but the punishment is withheld. Mercy is also preforming compassionate acts for those who may not be like you or for those you don't even think deserve compassion, but you offer acts of compassion anyway.
Those guys there - yea, those guys, the Romans we were talking about - they were not known for compassion or demonstrating mercy. They were known for military might and constant conquest. They had laws to promote order and encourage "Roman-ness." They were known for building roads and aqueducts and brutally enforcing their laws to secure their empire . . . but, mercy? Not so much.
In the midst of this political predicament Jesus was introducing ideas of a Kingdom without borders, one that could never be overthrown and whose rules were founded in love. He offered this with grace received by faith and to anyone who would believe. The Jews struggled with the non-Jewishness of it all and others struggled with aspects of equality and citizenship, not as a birthright or something purchased, but citizenship as a gift based solely on belief and subsequent acceptance. While addressing the citizenship issues of His kingdom, Jesus instructs His followers to exhibit mercy and to do so with an expectation of Him doing the same. Jesus is telling His followers to act and look like Him in their dealings with others.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-13; "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ".
Paul is saying Christians need to "measure up" to who Jesus is and that that is how we determine maturity. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that God is rich in mercy because of His love for us.
Peter says in 1 Peter 2:10; "who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." So, our very citizenship in the Kingdom of God is because of His love demonstrated with mercy. The greatest act of mercy is that even though we are all deserving of death because of our sin, Jesus instead offers life. Paul puts it like this in Romans 6:23; "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The book of Hebrews gives us more insight into the mercy of Jesus. Hebrews 2:17 tells us; "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Jesus showed us mercy from the cross when He died for us. He understands us because He became one of us . . . what a thought!
Hebrews 4:16 tells us that when we pray, we are entering into the presence of God and His mercy is offered to us. It says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So there is no doubt about it, Jesus keeps His promise and we have received His mercy if we are His. Now, the question to us is: do we offer mercy to others?
We live in a world that promotes callousness. People become that way out of self-preservation and a desire not to appear weak. Was Jesus weak? Is Jesus weak? What would happen if instead of being callous like others, we treated others with mercy, putting our compassion in action. What's the worst that could happen? Is showing mercy too much for Jesus to ask?