Matthew 5:7, the good life belongs to those who show mercy, because they will be shown mercy. The famous parable of the guy who’s debt was forgiven, but he doesn’t forgive a debt owed him. The conclusion of that is the guy who holds the debt said, shouldn’t you have shown mercy to your fellow, just as I showed mercy to you. Mercy here, actually has a very specific nuance, forgiving a debt, it’s forgiving someone who’s wronged you or owes you, that’s the specific meaning of mercy in the gospel of Matthew. Wrong has been done, we have to find a way to forgive, there is no future for the human race without forgiveness, there will be no way forward for us on individual or corporate levels without the practice of forgiveness.
The Greek word for mercy is “elos” and the Hebrew word “khesed,” which means love, generosity and loyalty, is Jesus talking merely about forgiveness or is he loading this Greek word with this Hebrew meaning of khesed. In the gospel of Matthew, this word appears quite a bit, elos, with the ideas of khesed, there are many stories of people who are in really desperate situations. The Canaanite woman who’s daughter is sick, have mercy on me. We think have mercy on me means, I did something wrong, please forgive me. This is like, hey listen Jesus, you don’t know me and you don’t owe me, could you show me this kindness by restoring my daughter’s body. That’s what people are asking, over and above, what their saying is, treat me like you would a family member.
Within our social relationships, within the biblical imagination, there’s people that we are already connected to and we have a duty and obligation to them, but also treat me like you would a family member, like you’re going above and beyond. We do right by our neighbors, that’s righteousness and in Jesus’ mind, having that kind of love towards another is actually the ultimate goal and purpose of being a human image of God, love God and love your neighbor. But the elos, this Greek word is rendering the Hebrew word khesed, it’s about that familial bond. While mercy connotes the idea of loyalty in a relationship, Matthew was persuaded that while Jesus and his followers in their acts of mercy and loving kindness were demonstrating their loyalty to God, that there were weightier matters of justice and mercy and faith that were neglected by Matthew and Jesus’ opponents, the Pharisees.
Throughout the gospel of Matthew, this word mercy and it’s connected words imply that merciful action is the concrete expression of our loyalty to God and what God demands is not so much activity directed to God, but loving kindness directed towards other people. The good life belongs to those who embody love, the ones who treat people like really close family with outrageous generosity and their love. Now Israel never deserved that, but God was always faithful to give that, God’s loyal love punctuates their whole story. There’s actually just one story, God’s loyal love goes on forever, that’s the story and Israel’s life and in fact, all of our lives punctuate that truth.
Still others are bound by love for this world, Luke 17:26-27, Jesus compares the last days to the days of Noah, people going about normal life completely unaware of the coming judgment. None of those activities are sinful on their own, eating, working, building families, these are gifts, but when everyday life numbs us to eternity, we can drift toward destruction while thinking everything is fine. One of the most dangerous lies, we’re just living our life, hell is not overcrowded with extreme obvious rebels, it’s filled with ordinary people who ignored extraordinary grace. People who kept postponing serious thoughts about God, until it was too late to change their destination, Jesus warned that many will be shocked. Luke 13:6-9, familiarity with Christian culture does not save, growing up in church doesn’t save, posting verses online doesn’t save, playing worship music doesn’t save, only repentance and faith in King Jesus’ faith that leads to a change direction does.
Scripture is clear that sin matters, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the key word there is practice, continuing without repentance, without turning to King Jesus. The root problem is not the behavior itself, the root problem is choosing sin over King Jesus when confronted with truth, it’s loving darkness rather than light, it’s protecting habits instead of running to the one whose blood can forgive and transform, that’s why good works can never save. Isaiah 64:6, our best efforts cannot erase guilt or create new hearts and standing before God and saying let me in, because I tried hard and lived decently is still trusting yourself. Heaven only opens to those hidden in Jesus, John 14:6, but imagine a doctor telling you there is one cure for your disease, you wouldn’t accuse him of being cruel, you would thank him for telling the truth, the cross is that cure.
If there had been another way, Jesus would not have gone to the cross, he drank the cup of judgment, because there was no alternative, but rejecting that sacrifice is not just disbelief, it’s rejection of mercy itself. When conviction hits our heart, that moment is not judgment, it is mercy. Many people think feeling uncomfortable, exposed or uneasy means, God is angry with them, but in reality, conviction is proof that God is still reaching for you, it is light pressing in, not to destroy you, but to rescue you. Jesus made it clear that the real issue is not struggling with sin, the issue is what you do when light exposes that struggle. There is a difference between grieving over failure and planning it without remorse. When someone is fighting, confessing, asking for help and longing to change, that is evidence the light is already at work, but when a person excuses sin, mocks holiness, silences conviction and reshapes truth to feel comfortable, that is when the heart is moving toward darkness.
The Greek word for mercy is “elos” and the Hebrew word “khesed,” which means love, generosity and loyalty, is Jesus talking merely about forgiveness or is he loading this Greek word with this Hebrew meaning of khesed. In the gospel of Matthew, this word appears quite a bit, elos, with the ideas of khesed, there are many stories of people who are in really desperate situations. The Canaanite woman who’s daughter is sick, have mercy on me. We think have mercy on me means, I did something wrong, please forgive me. This is like, hey listen Jesus, you don’t know me and you don’t owe me, could you show me this kindness by restoring my daughter’s body. That’s what people are asking, over and above, what their saying is, treat me like you would a family member.
Within our social relationships, within the biblical imagination, there’s people that we are already connected to and we have a duty and obligation to them, but also treat me like you would a family member, like you’re going above and beyond. We do right by our neighbors, that’s righteousness and in Jesus’ mind, having that kind of love towards another is actually the ultimate goal and purpose of being a human image of God, love God and love your neighbor. But the elos, this Greek word is rendering the Hebrew word khesed, it’s about that familial bond. While mercy connotes the idea of loyalty in a relationship, Matthew was persuaded that while Jesus and his followers in their acts of mercy and loving kindness were demonstrating their loyalty to God, that there were weightier matters of justice and mercy and faith that were neglected by Matthew and Jesus’ opponents, the Pharisees.
Throughout the gospel of Matthew, this word mercy and it’s connected words imply that merciful action is the concrete expression of our loyalty to God and what God demands is not so much activity directed to God, but loving kindness directed towards other people. The good life belongs to those who embody love, the ones who treat people like really close family with outrageous generosity and their love. Now Israel never deserved that, but God was always faithful to give that, God’s loyal love punctuates their whole story. There’s actually just one story, God’s loyal love goes on forever, that’s the story and Israel’s life and in fact, all of our lives punctuate that truth.
Still others are bound by love for this world, Luke 17:26-27, Jesus compares the last days to the days of Noah, people going about normal life completely unaware of the coming judgment. None of those activities are sinful on their own, eating, working, building families, these are gifts, but when everyday life numbs us to eternity, we can drift toward destruction while thinking everything is fine. One of the most dangerous lies, we’re just living our life, hell is not overcrowded with extreme obvious rebels, it’s filled with ordinary people who ignored extraordinary grace. People who kept postponing serious thoughts about God, until it was too late to change their destination, Jesus warned that many will be shocked. Luke 13:6-9, familiarity with Christian culture does not save, growing up in church doesn’t save, posting verses online doesn’t save, playing worship music doesn’t save, only repentance and faith in King Jesus’ faith that leads to a change direction does.
Scripture is clear that sin matters, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the key word there is practice, continuing without repentance, without turning to King Jesus. The root problem is not the behavior itself, the root problem is choosing sin over King Jesus when confronted with truth, it’s loving darkness rather than light, it’s protecting habits instead of running to the one whose blood can forgive and transform, that’s why good works can never save. Isaiah 64:6, our best efforts cannot erase guilt or create new hearts and standing before God and saying let me in, because I tried hard and lived decently is still trusting yourself. Heaven only opens to those hidden in Jesus, John 14:6, but imagine a doctor telling you there is one cure for your disease, you wouldn’t accuse him of being cruel, you would thank him for telling the truth, the cross is that cure.
If there had been another way, Jesus would not have gone to the cross, he drank the cup of judgment, because there was no alternative, but rejecting that sacrifice is not just disbelief, it’s rejection of mercy itself. When conviction hits our heart, that moment is not judgment, it is mercy. Many people think feeling uncomfortable, exposed or uneasy means, God is angry with them, but in reality, conviction is proof that God is still reaching for you, it is light pressing in, not to destroy you, but to rescue you. Jesus made it clear that the real issue is not struggling with sin, the issue is what you do when light exposes that struggle. There is a difference between grieving over failure and planning it without remorse. When someone is fighting, confessing, asking for help and longing to change, that is evidence the light is already at work, but when a person excuses sin, mocks holiness, silences conviction and reshapes truth to feel comfortable, that is when the heart is moving toward darkness.