Be Merciful

July 25th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

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

Whereas the beatitudes from vv. 3-6 speak of the Christian’s vertical posture before God, vv. 8-12 speak of the Christian’s horizontal posture toward his fellow man. Christians have a different standard for how they treat others in comparison to non-Christians. Mercy, for instance, is typically for the weak, illustrated in the Karate Kid movie when the sensei told his students, “No mercy!” Needing no command to be merciful from Christ, however, Jesus merely reminds His people that one of God’s assessments of His children is whether they have a heart of mercy, mercy being synonymous with forgiveness. Those who are merciful have blessings multiplied on their lives in the here and now, and they will receive eternal mercy in eternity.

Reminders of mercy are priceless for all who are struggling with or are caught in a web of bitterness. Countless examples exist where bitterness creeps into relationships. There are lies told about brothers, misunderstandings between people, betrayals of trust, jealousy, etc.—all of which cause hard feelings, and in some instances cause God-fearing people to never speak to one another again. This is where the exhortation to show mercy—to forgive—can be so convicting.

A merciful person is one who helps those who cannot help themselves, being attentive to those in despair. Stott says, “From this we make the important distinction between mercy and grace. Grace is shown to the undeserving; mercy is compassion to the miserable. Thus the synonym for mercy is compassion. Mercy, however, is not simply feeling compassion. Mercy exists when something is done to alleviate distress.” This is well illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Of the three men Jesus put forth—a Levite, a priest, and a hated Samaritan —Jesus revealed that the blessed one was the Samaritan who showed mercy (Luke 10:36-37). From this, it is evident that mercy is not simply a feeling, it is an action. Anyone can feel compassion, but it is the merciful who act.

But mercy also entails forgiveness, for since the reward for the merciful is that “they shall receive mercy,” it is evident that it entails forgiveness. After all, what greater mercy is there than being forgiven for our sins? This is illustrated in the OT story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). After being sold into slavery in Egypt by his own brothers, by the grace of God Joseph ascended to second in command in Egypt. Twenty-two years later his brothers came to Egypt looking for food during a particularly devastating famine, oblivious to the fact that Joseph was alive and well, ruling in Egypt. Yet when Joseph was given an opportunity to show mercy to his brothers, he did, having long since forgiven them of their sins toward him! In fact, he was convinced that what they did with evil intent, God had decreed for His own sovereign purposes (Gen. 50:20).

As in all the beatitudes, the pronoun “they” is emphatic. Who receives mercy? The merciful; no one who is unmerciful shall receive mercy. James 2:13 says as much, for judgment without mercy will be shown to the unmerciful. Later in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:14-15).

Of course God’s grace does not come to those who simply show mercy. Many show mercy who are not Christians, but Christians show mercy because they are Christians. Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Christ, and it is unto good works (Eph. 2:8-10)—in that order. Mercy is therefore the evidence of salvation, not the means of it.

One of the tests of mercy is forgiveness, for those who refuse to forgive have clearly not understood the forgiveness they have in Christ (cf. Matt. 18:21-35). Hughes says, “The warning is not for those who find that bitterness and hatred recur even though they have forgiven the offender. The fact that you have forgiven and continue to forgive is a sign of grace, despite the ambivalences and imperfections of your forgiveness. The warning is for those who have no desire to forgive. Their souls are in danger. There may also be some who find forgiveness difficult because they have been recently offended and are still in such emotional shock that they cannot properly respond. The warning is not for these. The overall lesson is, if we are Christians, we can forgive and will forgive, however imperfectly it may be.”

Food for Thought
One of my heroes is the late Corrie ten Boom. Though she was not Jewish, her Christian faith caused her to have great mercy toward the persecuted Jews during WWII. She and her family built a hiding place in their home, a tiny room to hide Jews fleeing the S.S. Sadly, she, her sister Betsie, and their father were all arrested by the Gestapo and put in various concentration camps. Her father died quickly, but Corrie and Betsie endured many cruelties and indignities for almost a year in the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Betsie would eventually die there, but Corrie, on a clerical error, was released and lived to tell their story. In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie tells of a postwar encounter she had with one of the guards at Ravensbruck after she spoke of forgiveness in a church in Munich. She says, “It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there—the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. ‘How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,’ he said. ‘To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!’ His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.”