Matthew 5:1-12 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:1-12 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:1-12 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 18:23-25 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

10,000 bags of gold, talents, denarii is equivalent to 10,000 days of wages. Herod’s wages were 900 talents per year. The entire tax collection in Galilee would have only been 200 talents per year. Today’s equivalent would have been well over a million dollars of debt. The story focuses not on the King, but how the servant reacts to this wonderful news.

Matthew 18:26-28 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

Matthew 18:29-31 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

The forgiven servant had missed the entire point of what had just happened in his life. His new beginning in life had been clearly given to him through the forgiveness of his master, firmly rooted in grace, not justice. Instead, the servant chose to operate in the rules of his old way, one based upon justice and not grace.

Matthew 18:32-35 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

God can repeal his forgiveness, if we fail to forgive others. The same God who separated our sins can also rejoin us again with that sin if we fail to forgive. Jesus is showing us a new Kingdom, one that is built on mercy.

Matthew 12:7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. Matthew 9:12-13 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Retaliation comes natural, not the ability to show mercy. God envisioned a place for us that is rooted in and described by mercy, not by politics, not by power, not by status, not by money, not by strength, but mercy being the hallmark of this Kingdom.

Matthew 23:23-24 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

The core of the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ is not rooted in fairness, but rather it is firmly rooted in mercy. People who show mercy know that if you can’t learn to love imperfect people, then you will find yourself being lonely for the rest of your life. Mercy reminds us that our sins are forgiven when we forgive those who sin against us…Luke 11.