Scripture: Matthew 5:7; Matthew 5:38-42; Hebrews 4:14-16
Read Matthew 5:7
In our 5th
Beatitude today, Jesus is once again calling believers to live, act, and care
for others in a whole new way. The world
may proclaim the need for mercy, but it is seldom a Godly form that they are
promoting. Mercy should never be self-centered, or limited in scope, or even held
back from some as a punishment. And it
isn’t that we are to only talk about mercy and justice – we are to live it as
God would have us live. In Micah 6:8,
we read that the Lord has shown us what goodness involves, and that He
“requires” that we “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God”. This has nothing to do with how we might
interpret the call to mercy and justice, and it definitely isn’t a legalistic
approach to living out God’s call, but rather in a way that reflects how God
defines it and bestows it.
It would seem that the call
has little to do with our thinking about it, or discussing it, or even
encouraging others to do it. The real
issue in Micah, as it is throughout scripture, is that it isn’t even that we do
it ourselves, but more importantly, it’s in the way that we do it – that
we are to love being just and merciful to the extreme toward others, in
the same way that God has been for each one of us (John 13:34-35)
For the Lord, He is looking
to us to proclaim His presence in this world by living in a way that others
will get a glimpse of what He is all about.
In Hosea 6:6, we are told “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” The Lord wants us to understand that this is
what He wants for our life, and to recognize that this is His precious gift to
all who seek Him. Do we live this life
as though our relationship with the Lord is far more important to us than the
one we have with other people? We are to
begin with God, and then let that guide us into a life with
others.
Read Matthew 5:38-42
As Jesus opens up this
totally new concept of mercy for the people gathered on the hillside that day,
He is taking a step that completely rewrites the intent of Jewish law regarding
wrongdoing. The interpretation of law
had always been based in a retribution type of
approach to justice. Both Leviticus24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21 require that whatever injury you may
have committed against another person, the same must be done to you. If you caused a wound to their hand, you would receive the
same wound to the same hand. If you caused the loss of an eye, the same eye on your head would be taken from you. And the list goes on.
The world’s justice and mercy
is all about retribution, while God’s is about compassion and deferred judgment
until the day when Jesus will sit upon His Judgment Seat for that perfect, factual,
and final decision. God is telling us
that retaliation isn’t mercy, but simply a way to expand and continue
the pain and injury that comes from worldly aggression. Now I will admit, that I still have a long
way to go before I am able to live in this way, but it has to be a goal that we
all should claim and strive to gain.
And the rest of this passage,
when it speaks of not resisting evil and harm, is really about the conflict
that exists between the kingdom of earth and the kingdom of God. They stand in direct contrast to each other –
the one seeing conflict as something to use against those who seek to do us
harm, while the other calls us to resist from following the example that others
set before us, and to look to divine guidance as our solution to the world’s
condition.
It appears that God wants us
to be a holy example to the people of earth, even if it allows them to hurt us
and take advantage of us. Do we have a
human right to safety and preservation?
Certainly! But in Luke 6:36-38,
Jesus tells us “37 “Do not judge, and you will not be
judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you
will be forgiven. 38 Give,
and it will be given to you.” It isn’t about letting the laws and ways of
earth limit us in how we respond to their evil, but to raise our level of mercy
and justice to a much higher and more loving form that reflects our faith and
desire to live and care in the way of Jesus.
Live in a Godly way – not because it will be easier, because it won’t be,
but because it is better, and that when we do, it will serve to honor Christ.
Do the laws of our nation
allow us to stand strong against evildoers, and to push back when they push us
toward desperation? They do! We can still make our homes and property safe
for our families, but we should never take on the mantle of aggression and
conflict when life’s situations turn sour.
It is definitely something worthwhile to work on, isn’t it!
Read Hebrews 4:14-16
So what is this reference to
Jesus being our “high priest” all about?
For Israel, a priest was to be an intercessory between Jehovah God and
the people. He wasn’t a teacher, he wasn’t
a preacher, he never did counseling or offered any other support service to the
people, and in general, their responsibilities were to be limited to care of
the sanctuary, the ark, the alter, the curtain that separated the open areas
from that which was known as the Holy of Holies, and anything else that was
related to the care of these objects, such as accepting and administering the
offering of sacrifices. They were always
to be descendants of Aaron and the Tribe of Levi, and had no responsibility or
employment other than that which occurred in the Tabernacle, or later, in the
Temple.
And the high
priest? He would be chosen for a
specified time, to be the one who would be allowed to venture past the curtain
to come into Jehovah’s presence to pray for the people and the nation, to make
any sacrificial offering on behalf of the nation, and to make any other
necessary petitions directly to Almighty God.
During his tenure of service, he would be the only one who could carry
out these responsibilities.
The writer of Hebrews tells
us that now Jesus has become our true and only “High Priest”. He, too, has been chosen to serve on our
behalf for a specified time – and it extends from the day He was born among us,
until the day He returns to take us safely home with Him.
As for the curtain, at the
moment of His death on the cross, the curtain was torn from top to bottom,
allowing all of the faithful to have direct access to the presence, the power, the
majesty, the hope and grace and mercy of God. (Matthew 27:50-52)
The sacrifice that the people
had to make for each and every sin, regardless of how often they occurred, was
a constant task, for sin never stopped.
But now, the only necessary sacrifice has been made and
consecrated at Calvary, and forgiveness is readily available to all who repent
of their sin. (Ephesians 1:7)
And as far as prayer is
concerned, in John 17:6-26, we read that Jesus is praying for not just
all believers collectively, but specifically for you, me, and each and every
one of the faithful, continuously, that we might be one through Him.
Jesus was tempted, He was
hated, He was maligned, He accepted weakness on our behalf, He has experienced
all of the struggles that we do every day. (2 Corinthians 13:3-4) And yet, He never sinned by returning hate
for hate, lie for lie, pain for pain, condemnation for condemnation. And He did it all for one reason – hear v. 14
once again, 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need.
And when we use the
opportunities that God gives us, to share the hope and gift of Jesus with
others, the mercy and grace of Almighty God will fill all who even come close
to it, and it will never run dry within us.
And the people of earth will never see this incredible gift of God
coming, and will have to take a second look to even believe it! Surprise them with true mercy today!
