Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

As we go through the Beatitudes we need to remind ourselves that all of these phrases build on each other. They are not meant to be taken as individual phrases, but as a whole. When Jesus taught these, He knew what He was doing. He taught so that we might understand the Christian life better. Remember, Jesus is showing us the way to sublime happiness. Don’t forget, this is about what God is doing in us not what we are doing to ourselves.

The fifth Beatitude shows us that we been given mercy. God has given us something we do not deserve. He had pity on us. What did we deserve? We deserved punishment for our sin but He gave us mercy in punishing His Son instead of us. God showed us mercy when we did not deserve it.

When we look at all that God has done for us through Jesus, we begin to have a new point of view on life. We are no longer living for ourselves but for God. We now have a new way to respond when someone sins against us. We now have the ability to think like Christ. How did Jesus show mercy to sinners? How will you show mercy to them?
Being merciful doesn’t mean to be easygoing or to let sin go by. Being merciful is showing forgiveness and loving someone even when they do not do what is right. Jesus continually told people the truth about their sin and gave them mercy. Mercy is not weakness. It is power. We are not letting people off the hook for their sin, but are pointing them to Jesus.

When you have experienced mercy you show mercy. Read Matthew 18:21-35. This parable shows us what happens to our hearts when we really do not understand how much mercy and grace God has shown us. We begin to be hard and unmerciful to those who sin against us. Jesus says there is happiness in showing the mercy we have been shown.