Rev. Sang Ho Bae's expository study on the Beatitudes this time is about the meaning of the blessedness of the merciful.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy (Matt. 5:7).
Here, “to be merciful” is not merely an emotional sympathy. It means that the compassion that arises in the heart flows out into actual action—love that reaches out a hand and takes steps toward others. Mercy does not stop at feeling; it is a heart that moves.
The Beatitudes Jesus spoke show what kind of heart the people of the kingdom of heaven have. That is why the Lord emphasizes the state of the heart before actions. In the end, what one becomes is more important than what one does. The good deeds of a true Christian are not something forced but fruit that naturally flows out of a reborn nature. Just as a sunflower turns its head toward the sun not by force but by nature, mercy becomes a new nature for the one who is born again by the Holy Spirit.
One of God’s attributes is mercy. Psalm 103:8 says:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The reason we have received salvation is also because of God’s mercy. God did not leave humanity heading toward destruction because of sin but sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins. The cross is the place where God’s mercy is revealed most clearly.
When we look at the laws of the Old Testament, God’s mercy is woven throughout the social laws. The provisions that protect servants, the poor, orphans and widows, and foreigners all reflect God’s heart. The ministry of Jesus also flowed out of mercy. Seeing the hungry crowd, the Lord said, “I have compassion on the crowd” (Matt. 15:32), and fed them. He healed the sick, the demon-possessed, and the disabled because of mercy. He raised the son of the widow of Nain because “He had compassion on her” (Luke 7:13). Jesus also had compassion on souls and taught them the gospel of the kingdom. Seeing them as “sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34), He had compassion on them. All of Jesus’ ministry began from mercy.
Just as mercy is the heart of the Lord, mercy is also in the heart of the reborn Christian. Among the people of the kingdom of heaven, there is no one with a heart of stone. Believers are moved toward the socially weak, and they feel compassion when they see souls who do not believe in Jesus. Augustine said:
You weep when you see a body from which the soul has departed; how can you not weep when you see a soul from which God has departed?
Evangelism flows out of a heart that has compassion on souls.
The godliness that God desires from us is a heart that shows mercy. ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress’ (James 1:27). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite saw the man who had fallen but passed by on the other side. They may have tried to avoid the defilement of touching a bleeding man on the grounds of keeping religious rituals, but Jesus teaches that mercy takes precedence over sacrifice. Religious piety without mercy is worthless. The reason the Pharisees were rebuked is that they abandoned ‘justice, mercy, and faithfulness’ (Matthew 23:23)
In Matthew 12, the Pharisees criticized the disciples for plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath. They claimed that the disciples were doing a harvesting act on a day when no work should be done. But Jesus referred to the incident when David, in hunger, ate the bread of the Presence that only priests could eat, and He said that mercy comes before regulations. Mercy surpasses the law. Just as a higher law overrides a lower law, mercy stands above all regulations.
The core teaching of Scripture is love for God and love for neighbor. James 2:8 says that the commandment of love is the royal law, and Mark 12:31 declares that there is no commandment greater than loving one’s neighbor. Romans 13:8 says, “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law,” and Mark 12:33 testifies that love is better than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. The best life in God’s sight is a life of love and mercy, and the worst life is one lived in hatred, jealousy, and cold-heartedness. Mercy is the most important spirit that permeates the whole of Scripture.
The Lord declares that those who show mercy will themselves receive mercy. This promise includes not only God’s care experienced in this present life but also the ultimate mercy that will be granted in the age to come. Those who practice mercy encounter God’s help and protection along life’s journey. Furthermore, as Scripture says, “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). They will receive God’s mercy even before the Lord’s judgment seat on the final day. Thus, the blessing given to the merciful is one that embraces both the present and the future.
Jesus reminds me today that mercy is not just something I feel; it is something I choose to live out. Mercy shows up when I forgive, when I help without expecting anything back, and when I stop judging and start loving. It begins in my heart before it ever appears in my actions.
I am reminded of the many times God has been merciful to me—patient, forgiving, and kind even when I fall short. His mercy did not stop at words; it was shown clearly through Jesus on the cross. Because I have received such mercy, I am invited to extend the same grace to others.
I am asking myself. Who has shown me mercy recently, and how did it affect me? Is there someone I find hard to forgive or understand right now? What is one small way I can show mercy today—through words, actions, or forgiveness?
