Excite
Passage: Matthew 5:7
Mercy is so important to Jesus, because of God’s mercy he does not give us what we deserve but gave us a way to him through Jesus. Mercy, compassion and forgiveness are all connected, and Jesus calls us to live these out as his disciples.
Read Matthew 23:23-24, as you think about the Pharisees why do you think they had forgotten about mercy?
Read Matthew 18:21-35, thinking about the unmerciful servant what had he not understood about mercy?
Read Matthew 20:29-34, note the compassion of Jesus in contrast to the crowds attitude toward the men.
Engage and Extend
The word used for ‘Mercy’ carries several meanings:
merciful, compassionate, and pitiful
As Jesus looked out on the crowd on the mount he saw people who needed mercy.
Matthew 20:29-3. The two men who knew they needed Jesus and believed Jesus was the Lord and could heal them. They would not be put off by the crowd but shouted louder, determined to meet Jesus, and experience his mercy.
The crowd ignored the needs of these men.
Jesus stopped, called them, asked them what they wanted.
Jesus had compassion on them, and did something he healed them.
As we live in the life changing power of a repentant life as part of the kingdom of heaven, what as a church and individuals can we learn from this episode?
Matthew 18:21-35. We need to grasp the magnitude of the mercy God has shown us, that because of his compassion we can be forgiven, by having faith in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross of us.
As we grasp this we should be so impacted, so thankful that mercy filters into every aspect of our lives. Seeing the needs out there and bringing the good news of Jesus’ mercy.
Discuss these statements:
If people don’t see us being merciful how can we introduce them to the mercy of Jesus.
If we are not merciful how can we expect God to show us mercy.
Matthew 23:23-24. Jesus desires mercy not rules.
Why is it easier for us to follow rules and ignore mercy?
Use Micah 6:8 as a challenge to us about how we live our lives.
Trinity Deeper 