So here we are, five weeks into our Fall sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount, and it has been simply wonderful. It’s been a great encouragement to me in my own heart and life to study this portion of Matthew’s gospel. And I’m glad to have heard so much from all of you how you’ve found it to be such an encouragement as well. But there’s a double edge to this isn’t there? As wonderful as this has been, it has also been quite a searching text to work through. We might have begun this series with the attitude of ‘Well, of course I’ll enjoy working through the Sermon on the Mount. It’s the most famous sermon in history, why would I not want to spend significant time in it?’ But then we get into it and find that it hits very close to home. It penetrates our defenses, breaks through the walls we’ve built up, demands much of us, and pushes us to grow and mature, sometimes in ways that we find exceptionally uncomfortable. This is the double edge to the teaching of Jesus, that will indeed continue on today as we now come to Matthew 5:7.
But we need to begin with two reminders.
First, we defined the word Beatitude when we began, but I’ve not mentioned this since so it’s worth reminding ourselves of it again here today. This first section of the Sermon on the Mount has historically been called the Beatitudes. The reason comes from the word itself. The word Beatitude comes from the Latin word beati which means blessed.[1] This is where we get the phrase the beatific vision, which describes the moment we’ll see the very face of God, which is the ultimate blessing. Going back even further the Greek word used here for blessed is the word makarios, which means blessed or happy. In total there are 8 Beatitudes. They all begin with this blessing formula, “Blessed are…”, “Blessed are…” and so on. This language isn’t original to Jesus, it’s an echo of the language found in the OT, like Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Or Psalm 32, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven…” These OT passages, along with many others, describe what it truly means to be blessed. So, Jesus uses this blessing formula to teach His followers the meaning of true blessing, what true happiness looks like, and what the road to true flourishing in life truly is. That’s the first reminder, what the word beatitude means.
Second, in order to understand these beatitudes, we need to remember how the beatitudes aren’t stand alone truths, or mere wise sayings. There’s an intentional order to them. So we must go back to the first beatitude and follow through to where we are today to understand the flow and progression of the whole. See the ordering thus far.[2] First, the beatitudes begin by pointing out our lost condition. From seeing this we deeply feel our lack and need as sinners, realizing our spiritual deadness and poverty. Then second, being awakened to our sin leads to us mourning and grieving over our sin and lostness. Third, this leads us to give up justifying or excusing our sin, it leads to a lowliness, a humility, as the strut has been knocked out of us by God as He makes us meek. Fourth, all this together reveals our great spiritual emptiness, and so naturally we then begin hungering and thirsting to be filled.[3] Filled with righteousness. Specifically a hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ, to be covered by Christ, to grow in Christ, and to walk in the ways of Christ.
Now, those first four beatitudes lead to where we’ve arrived today. Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
So after we’ve acknowledged our sin, after we’ve grieved over it, after we’ve humbly entered into the Kingdom of God by coming to Christ, after we’ve been covered in His righteousness, and after we’ve begun to pursue righteousness … one of the first things the Christian becomes is merciful, merciful. This means a defining characteristic to be found in each and every Christian is mercy.
But what does this mean? And what exactly does this merciful heart and pursuit look like? Let’s take a deep dive into this. See first…
Mercy Defined
Mercy is one of those words Christians use often that isn’t defined as well as it could be. There are two ways we could define mercy. From God’s perspective, mercy is an act whereby He does not give us what we deserve, a withholding of the wrath due to us for our sin. This is God’s mercy. When we turn to see mercy from our perspective we something similar yet different. I say our mercy must be different than God’s because we are not God and we ought not place ourselves in the position of judge over anyone else, as God is. Yet I say our mercy similar to God’s because part of being merciful to another is a true withholding of what they deserve. Think of someone who cuts us off in traffic. They deserve our anger, but in mercy we could withhold that from them. Think of a child who disobeys their parents. Instead of punishing them for disobedience the parents curb the punishment out of mercy to the child. Or think of a husband who forgets his anniversary or does something else incredibly foolish. The wife has every right to be angry and upset, but they could show mercy and withhold from giving him the cold shoulder he deserves.
So the mercy we give to others is a true withholding of what one might deserve, but it’s also more. It’s seeing another in misery and being moved to act in a way that relieves such misery.[4] In all of these ways put together we could say, the mercy in v7 is a “holy compassion of soul, where one is moved to pity and to go to the relief of another in misery.”[5] It is a generous attitude that’s willing to hear another out and see things from their point of view, rather than jumping to hasty conclusions.[6] It is a willingness to let go of offense and extend forgiveness and grace and patience. John Calvin summed it up well in his commentary on Matthew saying those who are merciful are those “…who are not only prepared to endure their own afflictions, but to take a share in the afflictions of others, to assist the wretched, to willingly take part with those who are in distress, to clothe themselves, as it were, with the same affections, that they may be more readily disposed to render them assistance.”[7]
Evidently Jesus thinks mercy is a big deal, because mercy shows up all over the place in His teaching. Most notably in two parables: the parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Unmerciful Servant. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, remember there was a man on a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho who was ambushed, robbed, beaten, and left for dead. A priest walked by, saw the man in need, and kept on going. Then a Levite walked by, saw the man in need, and also kept on going. One might have expected help to come from these two, being that they were holy men, but no, they just minded their own business. The twist comes when a Samaritan walks by, a half breed, an outcast, and its this person who has compassion on the man, and sees to all his needs and more. Jesus then asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” One answered and said to him, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:36-37).
And then in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant. There was a king who desired to settle all his accounts, and so he began doing so. He called in a man who owed him 10,000 talents, which was near 20 years worth of wages, certainly a debt he could not pay. Jesus says, “…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.” The irony comes next when this forgiven man goes out, finds someone who owes him money, and a small amount of money at that, finds him, seizes him, chokes him, asks for the money back, and when the poor man begs for mercy this other man who was just forgiven unmercifully throws this guy in prison until he can pay back the debt. The king found out about this injustice, called the man back into his presence and said, “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” (Matthew 18:32-35).
What’s the bottom line here? Those who follow Jesus are to be characterized by mercy. In both these parables Jesus commands the way of mercy to us. Or we could explain all of this by asking and answering another question: why so much emphasis on mercy? Answer: because of Exodus 34! In this OT scene of wonder, Moses is hid in the rock and God Himself passes by him and proclaims, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Why such an emphasis on mercy in Jesus’ teaching? Because of all that is in God, the first thing Moses hears that the LORD is, is merciful. And so too must His people be.
But lest we misunderstand what we’re being called to here, further distinctions are needed. The kind of mercy in v7 is not just a feeling. The feeling of mercy is good, don’t mishear me. It’s a great thing when you see someone in need and feel deeply for them, and at the gut level truly desire to see their misery relieved. That is a good and great thing! But it must go further. Truly being merciful is to feel deeply and to act accordingly. So real mercy is an inward feeling followed by an outward action. It stirs our hearts and moves our hands.[8]
Also, the kind of mercy in v7 is not a personality trait. We mentioned this a few weeks ago with meekness in v5, now we must cover the same here in v7. Many might interpret an easy-going, kind, helpful, cheery, empathetic temperament as the posture of mercy in this fifth beatitude. And, as wonderful as this is, as wonderful as some of you are, having this helpful and kind personality and temperament is not what Jesus is speaking of here. Not at all. The mercy in v7 is one of the results of the Holy Spirit taking up residence within you, not the result of human makeup or constitution.
This is mercy defined. Now see…
Mercy Rewarded
Notice how v7 ends, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Ask yourself, why do the merciful receive mercy? It’s clear. The merciful receive mercy because they show mercy to others. That seems to be clear. But doesn’t that raise some questions for you? Is this a kind of salvation by works? As if, the way to earn favor with God and be saved by God is to show mercy to others? Some say so, and say anyone who says different is avoiding the plain meaning of the passage. I disagree. I do not think this teaches we are saved by our merciful works. Why do I think this? One massive reason.[9] If it were true that only the merciful were saved and we were judged only on those terms, no one would be saved because we’re all sinners, and sinners by nature are not merciful people. It's shocking some people believe this to be true. If it were true there would be no grace, no mercy, no forgiveness, no redemption, none at all.
What then does this reward of mercy to the merciful mean? I think it means this, and I think this is the most important point in the sermon, so stay with me. The mercy in v7 is one of the results of experiencing the mercy of God in the gospel of Christ. The mercy in v7 is a gospel response! Do you see this? When one receives the mercy of God in the gospel, they extend that same mercy to others. That’s why the reward it what it is, and the merciful alone will receive mercy, because they have seen and embraced the mercy of God in Christ, and have been so changed by it that they now give that mercy to all others. Think about it. No one who has been redeemed by Christ is ever in a position to say of someone else, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ or ‘How could they ever do such a wicked thing?’[10] No, the Christian cries out “O wretched man I am, who will save me from this body of death?” and they praise God for the gospel mercies they have received in Christ the Son, in His work on their behalf, and they go on in life, living in light of that fact. So when they see another sinning the Christian doesn’t say ‘How could he or she do such a thing?’ they say, ‘That would be me but for the grace of God. And I am so struck by His mercy that I now desire to be merciful to all those around me.’ That’s the Christian, and that’s the one who’ll receive mercy on the final day.
Turn it around though, and it’s shocking. What does v7 mean for the merciless?[11] What does it mean for the one who denies mercy to others, even if they claim to be a Christian? Well, it either means they have so hardened their heart against the Lord that serious repentance is needed, or it means that they’ve never known the Lord at all. On the final day, those who refuse to show mercy will the opposite of v7, “Cursed are you who are unmerciful, for you will not receive the mercy of God.”[12]
See now our last heading…
Conclusion: Mercy’s Test
All of this really comes down to one question, are you merciful, or are you merciless? Your answer reveals your spiritual condition. Your answer reveals whether or not you truly understand the grace and mercy of God towards us in Christ. What a searching test for us! “Blessed are the merciful…” This whole sermon is a plea for mercy. A plea for you to see and savor the mercy of God shown to us in the gospel, and a plea for you to embrace the way of mercy in your own life too.
Is that what others experience from you? Do sinners experience your forgiveness? Do sufferers experience your compassion? This is no small matter Church. Mercy, according to Jesus, is a weightier matter in the Law (Matt. 23:23).
Do you desire to be blessed, and happy, and flourish spiritually? Than cloth yourself with mercy. For in Christ, God is merciful to us, let us then, be merciful with one another.
[1] R. C. Sproul, Matthew, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 54.
[2] A.W. Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1969), 25.
[3] Many thanks to Isaac Kent for this insight.
[4] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon of the Mount, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1981), 1:99.
[5] Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, 30.
[6] R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 168.
[7] Calvin’s Commentaries, Matthew 5, accessed via Accordance Bible software, 9/5/24.
[8] Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, 30.
[9] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon of the Mount, 101–102.
[10] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew 1-13, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 122.
[11] Donald Alfred Hagner, Matthew 1-13, Volume 33A, ed. Bruce M. Metzger, David Allen Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, Revised ed. edition (Zondervan Academic, 2018), 94.
[12] Sproul, Matthew, 66.
