Verse 7
A merciful person forgives the guilty and has compassion on the needy and the suffering. A meek person acknowledges to others that he or she is sinful, but a merciful person has compassion on others because they are sinful. [Note: John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 48.] Notice that Jesus did not specify a situation or situations in which the merciful person displays mercy because he or she is characteristically merciful. The promise applies in many different situations.
The blessing of the merciful is that they will receive mercy from God. Jesus did not mean that people can earn God’s mercy for salvation by being merciful to others. God will deal mercifully with people who have dealt mercifully with their fellowmen (cf. Matthew 6:12-15; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7; Matthew 18:33-34). There are many Old Testament texts that speak of Messiah dealing mercifully with the merciful (e.g., Isaiah 49:10; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 60:10; Zechariah 10:6).
Be the first to react on this!
