What Does Mercy Got To Do With It?

Within the last couple of years, I have discovered a thread that runs throughout Scripture. It is the thread of mercy. It is ironic because my wife and I used to joke that mercy is not a spiritual gift in either of our families. Now that may sound judgmental, but we were indicting ourselves every bit as much as our families. Mercy does not come easy to us. When someone wrongs us, we want justice. If someone maliciously talks about us, we want to be vindicated by God in public for all to see. If someone cuts us off in traffic, we hope the policeman is sitting right around the corner and takes action. If someone hurts our feelings, we hope the law of sowing and reaping kicks in right then and there. I have to admit mercy is not my first reaction most of the time. That is what my wife and I mean by mercy not being our spiritual gift.

So, imagine with me that we are studying the “Parable of the Tenants,” in Mark 12. Jesus told the Pharisees a parable about a vineyard owner. The owner rented out his vineyard to some tenant farmers. Everything went well until it came time for the tenant farmers to give the owner his portion of the harvest, but they refused. Over and over, the owner sent his servants to collect “the rent,” and each time the tenant farmers refused to pay. They injured some of the servants and killed others. The owner finally sends his son, thinking that surely his renters will respect him enough to pay, but they did not. The tenant farmers killed him too. In his commentary on Luke, Dr. Kurivilla commented on this pericope and said that the tenant farmers were not “fruitful.” Now bear with me, I am going to come back to this. 

If you look in the margin of your Bible, there is a good chance it will refer you to Isaiah 5. The reason is the vineyard Jesus described sounded very similar to the vineyard in Isaiah 5. This is important because Isaiah 5 tells us who the players are in Jesus’ parable: The vineyard is Israel, the vine is the Children of Israel, and the owner of the vineyard is God. This helps us to understand that the owner’s servants were the Old Testament prophets, the Son of the owner is Jesus, and the tenant farmers were the rulers of Israel (of which the Pharisees were part). This explains how the Pharisees knew the parable was about them (Luke 12:12).

Now, let’s go back to the point that Dr. Kurivilla made about the tenant farmers: They were unfruitful. In other words, the Pharisees were unfruitful. When I put the dots together, I wondered, “What was it that the Pharisees were supposed to do that made them unfruitful?” After thinking about it for a while, I remembered the story in Matthew 9. This is where Jesus called Matthew the “Tax Collector” to be one of His disciples, and He ate a meal in Matthew's house. Let me interrupt this story to tell those who may not know that the Jews hated tax collectors. They considered them to be traitors. Tax collectors made their fellow Jews pay taxes, and often, they made them pay more than the Jews were required—so they could pocket the extra. That made them not only traitors, but dishonest traitors. This is why we pick up the story with the Pharisees giving Jesus’ disciples a hard time because they were eating with “tax collectors and sinners.” When Jesus heard the Pharisees, he said this, “Go and learn what this saying means: I want mercy and not sacrifice.” (Jesus was quoting Hosea 6:6.) Jesus told the Pharisees the same thing in Matthew 12, so I think it is safe to say that the Pharisees were unfruitful because they were not merciful to their countrymen. 

It was at this point that I realized extending mercy is not optional. It doesn’t depend on whether it is a “spiritual gift”—because if we, as Christians, do not do show mercy--we will be kindred spirits with the Pharisees. What a scary thought!

This begs the question: What does mercy look like? We will begin answering that question in the next post. 

We Are All Reflections

I used to love looking in these funny mirrors as a kid. One would make me look tall and skinny, and the other would make me look short and plump. I knew I was looking at my own reflection, but it didn't really resemble me. One responsibility we have, as Christians, is to properly represent Jesus Christ to our friends, families, and neighbors. But, whenever arrogant, mean, or self-righteous Christians try to represent Christ, they present the same quality reflection as these mirrors. When I think of this topic, my mind goes to the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” (Matthew 18). If you are not familiar with that story, a servant owed his master millions of dollars--more money than he could ever pay back in a lifetime. Remarkably, the master forgave this massive debt, and it is here where the irony begins! As soon as the forgiven servant left his master’s presence, he found a fellow servant who owed him MUCH less than he owed his master, but he refused to forgive his fellow servant and had him thrown in debtors’ prison. This ironic behavior is what makes me think that sometimes we, Christians, are our own worst enemies.

Let me put it like this, I am a human being that was born broken. I knew how to “swear like a sailor” by the time I was eight years old. I could also “spin a yarn” (aka lie) if I knew it would keep me out of trouble. I was so selfish by the time I was a teenager, my mother gave me her own personal car as a high school graduation present, and instead of thanking her profusely for her sacrifice, I was disappointed because it wasn’t a newer sportier car. Even as an adult, I find it impossible to keep a New Year’s resolution, let alone live a sin-free life. So, when a pastor came and told me that I was a “sinner,” my conscience knew it was true, and I placed my trust in Jesus Christ and asked him to forgive my sins.

The Bible teaches that God not only forgave me, but He gave me His righteousness. In other words, I am just like the servant in our story who was forgiven of more than he could ever EVEN HOPE to pay back.  Should I be as shortsighted as he? When the master heard what he had done, he called the unforgiving servant back into his presence and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”    

I believe it is a Christian’s duty to pass on God’s mercy to others. But, when people see Christians who look down their noses at others; who chew out servers in restaurants; who knowingly break the rules and then get upset because “grace” isn’t extended, it is no wonder they think, “If that is Christianity, I do not want anything to do with it!”

Fellow Christians, perfection is not an option for us, but dealing kindly and selflessly with others is. It is not only an option. It is our mission! And, if you are reading this and have never trusted Christ, do not let a poor reflection stop you from getting to know the "Real Thing!" You will never be disappointed if you do.