Mercy beyond Belief (Part 1 of 3)

We need mercy everyday because we sin everyday. And God is merciful. In Rom. 9:15 He says "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy"; Eph. 2:4 tells us He is rich in mercy. Matt. 9:9-13 reveals a controversy brought on by serious Pharisees about mercy; who should you hang with if you are a follower of Jesus? Should you befriend those with bad reputations? After Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, those who saw or heard of it must have had tons of questions for Him – just like the kind we have: How much sin will God actually forgive? Who is too hopeless; outside the boundary lines of God’s forgiveness? Would God be willing to forgive my sin? God’s mercy is beyond belief – it is controversial, uncommon, and life-changing. And Jesus expects His followers to be merciful too.

Jesus is the One who holds back what our sins deserve due to His kindness, and with regard to following the Merciful One, let us consider Mercy’s madness, mission and mandate.

Mercy’s Madness: Seen in Jesus’ call of Matthew, which was initiated by God. Mercy chooses the humanly hopeless. God’s mercy is uncommon in a world that shows no mercy. Jesus, walking along, sees Matthew sitting in the tax booth. As a tax-collector he was viewed as a liar, cheater, thief and traitor by his own people. To Jews Matthew failed epically; considered unacceptable on several counts. Politically he conspired with the Romans to collect taxes they imposed. In those days you were taxed for everything, there was a ground tax on grain and fruit; an income tax; a poll tax, a duty tax on imported and exported goods; taxes for using roads and crossing bridges; for entering towns and harbors; even pack animals were taxed. Capernaum was located at major crossroads, so Matthew most likely got very wealthy from collecting all types of taxes. On top of all that he charged more than the going rate. Religiously he was considered unclean. Jewish law barred tax collectors from all synagogue service as well as from witnessing in a court of law. Socially religious people called those who failed to keep every picky detail of the law as ‘the people of the land’. The orthodox could not go on a trip, do business with, give or receive anything from them, have them as guests or be guests in their homes. Matthew was one of these. Jesus did many controversial things and what He does next may be among the most controversial. Jesus say to Matthew, “Follow Me”. Matthew arose and went; wanting what was withheld from him in that day – mercy and forgiveness. He jumped at the chance. Left everything (job, position, income) and followed; at great material sacrifice.

Mercy’s Mission: Seen in Matthew’s Dinner which was inspired by God. Mercy helps the humanly helpless. God’s mercy is controversial to people who do not understand. Jesus reclined at table in Matthew’s house and many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with them. Jesus was eating food with people Jews deemed “unworthy” of contact with the general population. When the Pharisees saw this (what were they doing spying?) they complained (grumbled Lk. 5:30) to Jesus’ men: “Why does your teacher eat with Tax Collectors and Sinners?” To them Jesus failed morally – they thought He liked and agreed with their sin. The contrast is not hard to see: the merciless are fixated on faults of others; the merciful are aware of their ongoing need for forgiveness. The paralyzed man’s friends brought him to Jesus; Matthew brings Jesus to his friends. Sharing our faith in Christ is to be done in daily life. Evangelize in the places where we spend most of our time. Telling the spiritually helpless the message of Rom. 5:6 “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Mercy’s Mandate: Word got back to Jesus, and He had something to say about what God requires. Mercy has a mindset of godly compassion which is life-changing. God’s mercy is life-changing to those who receive it. Those who (think they) are well don’t need a doctor, those who (admit they) are sick do. Rome saw mercy as weakness, one philosopher called it the “disease of the soul”. To the contrary, mercy is life-giving medicine for the soul’s disease. John MacArthur says Mercy eliminates the pain; grace cures the disease. Today we can go to a doctor, or visit a hospital when we are ill, but in those days doctors went to patients. They made house calls. Jesus is saying He is the doctor of the soul, and that, if He is going to help the spiritually sick He needs to go where they are. So He tells them, “Go and learn”, a phrase commonly used by rabbis to correct those who did not know what they should have known. It was a stinging rebuke; a way of saying “you should know this!” They could rattle off huge portions of the Law and argue the finer points of theology, but were ignorant of the real meaning behind it; not in step with God’s program. They had make-up work to do. He pointed them to the prophet Hosea who spoke of God’s judgment on people who pretended to be followers but weren’t interested in finding out and following God’s agenda. Hosea 6:6 I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Note: a common theme in Hosea is mercy: Hos. 1:6-8; 2:1; 2:19-20; 2:23; 4:1; 6:6; 10:12; 14:1-9). For I ‘came not to call the (self) righteous, but sinners (to repentance). Those humble enough to admit their need. Jesus is basically saying: Learn a heart attitude and lifestyle of compassionate concern for others, that they might know the truth and be set free. The gospel tells us God is holy; we are dead in sin and objects of God’s wrath; sin has consequences; we’re in debt to God; and we have no way of paying our debt. We need mercy. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sins so that God might be merciful to sinners. At the cross Christ’s blood was shed, God’s justice was satisfied and mercy made available.

God’s mercy is beyond belief – it is controversial, uncommon, life-changing. Mercy is Madness: crazy to those who do not understand or have not experienced it. Mercy is counter-intuitive; not what outsiders expect; kind and compassionate when harshness or criticism is expected. Mercy doesn’t pour it on; doesn’t dog pile. Mercy has a Mission: not haphazard; it acts on purpose. Taking calculated risks for the sake of sinners. John 17:3 that they may know You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Mercy has a Mandate: Go and learn, stinging rebuke to those who should know better, Jesus’ words GO AND LEARN are marching orders. There are no easy answers; we won’t get it in one sermon. We want it now, like the 30-day free trial of a miracle product that requires no diet, exercise or any lifestyle change whatsoever. Life just doesn’t work that way. Real, lasting change takes time and focused effort. It is going to take time to become like the One who was willing to identify with those the self-righteous condemned, showing mercy so others might hear His message of mercy. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Old habits die hard but God’s grace is sufficient. He is patient, compassionate and merciful.

Next we'll address two common issues that can get in the way of us becoming merciful. Stay tuned.