Matthew 5:7
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.—Matthew 6:12 Wade Austin Jesus’ words speak plainly; to obtain the mercy of God or of man we must be merciful to our fellow man. Numerous Old and New Testament Scriptures reinforce this important principle. The psalmist foreshadowed Jesus’ words when he wrote, “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright” (Psalm 18:25). Jesus taught this important principle in his parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35). Likewise, the apostle James reinforced this concept when he wrote, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13). Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary lists charity, clemency, grace and lenity as synonyms of mercy. The dictionary distinguishes mercy from its synonyms by suggesting “mercy is compassion that forbears punishment even though justice may demand it.” This definition introduces compassion and justice as two important concepts inherent to mercy. Webster’s defines compassion as “a sympathetic understanding of another’s distress with a desire to alleviate their distress.” Justice is defined as “the administration of what is just by the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” Patiently reflecting upon these definitions and combining their essential concepts into a single comprehensive definition, we conclude, “mercy is a sympathetic understanding of another’s distress with a desire to alleviate their distress that forbears punishment even though justice might rightly administer punishment.” The Greek and Hebrew words that are translated “mercy” support this comprehensive definition. The Hebrew word for mercy (checed) according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, “refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But checed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law.” Adam Clarke commented that the word, “among the Jews, signified two things: the pardon of injuries, and almsgiving.” The Greek word eleeo (Strong’s #1653 and used in Matthew 5:7) is almost always used to translate checed in the New Testament and its meaning is consistent. In short, “forgive those who trespass against us” (cf. Matthew 6:12,14). Shakespeare revealed a remarkable appreciation of mercy when he most elegantly wrote:
These words of Shakespeare were included in the November/December 2001 issue of The Herald at the conclusion of the article about Joseph, “Submission Under Injustice.” The title of the article summarizes the spirit of Joseph; the yielding of his just rights to both forgive and administer kindness to his brethren. Like Shakespeare, many wise and learned men have appreciated the blessed quality of mercy through the ages. Yet few seem to have comprehended the breadth and the depth of God’s loving kindness and mercy. Fewer still desire to consecrate their lives to God in the hope of living and reigning with Christ to bless all the families of the earth. A faithful life of consecration seeks to emulate the character of God as revealed in his word. Both Old and New Testament Scriptures testify to the abounding mercy of God and encourage God’s children to be merciful as he is merciful. To emulate God’s mercy requires an inward spiritual transformation and not simply an intellectual understanding of mercy. This transformation can only happen by faith in God whereby one is declared to be of the seed of Abraham and to whom was promised, “in thee shall all nations be blessed” (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:8). Such faith and love in God prompts us to desire complete obedience to him. In the beatitudes we recognize attributes of Jesus and of God and we seek to do these things. Each of the beatitudes, if practiced, contributes to our spiritual transformation. While each of the qualities Jesus encourages us to emulate in his sermon can stand alone, the blessedness of mercy does benefit from development of the others, and perhaps they grow through the practice of mercy. As an example, the root word from which the Hebrew word checed is derived means “to stoop down or to bend in kindness.” Stooping down would imply humility and meekness of spirit. The compassion embodied in mercy could imply an element of sorrow and mourning for the plight of another, and certainly “hungering and thirsting after righteousness” implies a longing to be like our loving and merciful heavenly father.
The apostle Paul writes: “The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment” (1 Corinthians 2:14,15 NIV) So it is that wise and learned men may indeed know and appreciate God’s principles, but they will not accept them and do them unless they are transformed by God’s spirit of holiness. While compassion and forgiveness characterize mercy they may be but inward unseen feelings that do not bless and cannot therefore be fully blessed without outward acts of benevolence. An act of mercy among the Hebrews included “almsgiving” and thus inherently involved a giving of oneself or of one’s possessions to comfort another in need. The letter of the Law required daily sacrifices be given to God, but the spirit of the Law required its keepers “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8). Doing Justly “To do justly” does not mean to demand justice of others without thought for their well- being. What a blessedness are those opportunities we may have to administer justice tempered with mercy, for on such occasions we truly have occasion to reflect the wondrous merciful character of God. But what does it mean? It simply means what it says: Do justly! Perform just deeds. We should never take advantage of another, never be unfair, but do that which is right. When we are wronged, to do justly requires that we speak to the one that has wronged us and inform them privately, and seek to resolve the issue peacefully (Matthew 18:15-17). In such cases we must be careful to remove the beam that is in our own eye, else we will not see clearly enough to do justly. We may have the right to require justice of another, but because of our need for mercy, Jesus instructs us to be merciful if we would obtain mercy. No one should be able to question the integrity of our fairness and justice whether in big things or in little things. The little things, the ones where we are tempted to say, “Oh, this won’t matter,” are extremely important because if we are slack in little things, then we will be slack in larger things. Often times when we think of being unjust, it is in actual actions or in connection with material things such as money or property. But it is just as important to do justly in our opinions of others. In our mental processes, we must be merciful and learn to give others the benefit of the doubt. If they have behaved inappropriately, then doing justly, doing the right thing, might require us to speak to them with gentle correction, but also with love and mercy. Loving Mercy Next, the prophet Micah tells us we are to love mercy. Mercy is a beautiful concept. We should be grateful that our heavenly Father asks so little of us in reality, yet it constantly conflicts with our human nature. It takes practice to have a ready merciful spirit. Practice is akin to the counsel of Solomon: “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, [and] tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee” (Proverbs 6:20-22). Consciously seeking to be merciful, loving mercy, is like binding it about our neck. We have a merciful heavenly Father. We must strive to be like him. In the kingdom we are to have a position as sympathetic and merciful high priests. Before we are blessed with that privilege we have much to learn about mercy. Walking Humbly With God If we demand justice of others with no thought of mercy, then it is possible that we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. We too proudly declare our righteousness and the failing of another. We walk proudly with God and not humbly. The apostle Paul counsels Timothy: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). One of the most merciful things we can do for a troubled soul is to instruct with the word of God. Paul exhorts us to instruct others in a peaceful, patient and gentle manner. The word of God that we preach will do a sanctifying work for those who acknowledge God’s leading and thus recover them from the adversary. When we preach the word of God out of “strife or vainglory” (Philippians 2:3), then we obstruct the message and its sanctifying power by our own behavior. Such behavior on our part is often judgmental and not merciful; it is the result of not walking humbly with God. Paul encouraged the Ephesians to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” (Ephesians 4:1,2). Brother Russell eloquently expressed the sentiments of these verses when he wrote: “We show our appreciation of God’s mercy toward us by schooling ourselves in his character and becoming more and more merciful and generous toward all the Household of Faith. And if merciful toward the brethren, naturally we would be generous also toward all men. In other words, as we remember and appreciate our own weaknesses and blemishes, it will make us sympathetic with the brethren and with all mankind. And mercy, generosity, and sympathy, are qualities God delights in. Such as cultivate these graces of the Spirit will be pleasing in the Lord’s sight, and they will thereby be fitted and prepared to have a share with Jesus in his Throne of Glory; for that great Messianic Kingdom will be established for the very purpose of showing mercy unto thousands of mankind who will return to Divine favor and blessing.”—Reprints, p. 5135 and 359. Let Mercy Crown Our Days Let us proclaim the loving character of God in our daily words and deeds. Thus we will be transformed into the glory we behold by reflecting the glorious character of God. Paul proclaimed, “We Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18, TLB). Let us not be like Israel under the law who were blinded by the veil of the law to see the glory of God. They fearfully held to the justice, judgments, and ceremonial details of the law covenant and were blinded to the simple commandment of God, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good” (Deuteronomy 10:12, 13). Thanks be to God for his grace and mercy to us, and for his blessed assurance that if mercy does indeed crown our days as we humbly walk with him, he will grant unto us a “crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). |