Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Having discussed mercy in the Old Testament, I am now going to move forward into the New Testament. A number of people are mentioned in the New Testament as crying out for mercy and for receiving it. The blind men cried out "Thou son of David, have mercy on us" seeking to receive their sight. The woman of Canaan travelled from the coast to ask Jesus to have mercy on her by healing her demon possessed daughter. Jesus was aked by the man in Matthew 17 to have mercy on his son and heal him because he was a lunatick and often fell into fire and water. Mercy was what the ten lepers cried out for and all ten received from Jesus, even though only one would return to give Him thanks. It was a great mercy from the Lord that Elizabeth was able to conceive and bear John the Baptist beyond the age of child bearing. It was a mercy to Epaphroditus that he should be healed from being sick close to death, and Paul called that a mercy on himself also because of the sorrow that he would have felt over the loss of such a good friend and brother in the Lord. And when Paul did lose his friend Onesiphorus to death, Paul prayed for mercy both to be shown towards the Onesiohorus's household in his abscence and for Onesiphorus himself to find mercy of the Lord "in that day".
But the greatest mercy shown by God in the New Testament is the sending of His own Son and our salvation in Him. Zacharias proclaimed "That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham," and "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us," in prophesy of Christ, Whom John was going to prepare the way for. Mary sang that the Lord has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy upon hearing that she would become the mother of the Son of God and Savior. It was in Christ's mission to heal our fallen humanity that He announced that He desired mercy because He had come to call sinners to repentence. Paul writes to Titus that it wasn't by works of righteousness that we have done but according to His mercy that He saved us "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" in reference to our baptism wherein we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. This doesn't exempt us from doing good works, which Paul writes elsewhere that "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works", but only that God has saved us from destruction purely out of His love for mankind and not out of some debt that is owed to us. Peter writes that we had obtained mercy by being called from darkness to light and becoming the people of God. Paul writes that he had received mercy because his previous blaspheming was done ignorantly in unbelief and so that "first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting".
In repsonse to the great mercy that we have been shown by God, we are required to show that same mercy to those around us. We are called to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful and that "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy". In the parable in Matthew 18, the master tells the ungrateful servant that he should also have had compassion ("mercy" in greek) on his fellowservant as the master had shown to him. Christ also used the parable of the good samaritan as an illustration of how we are to be merciful towards each other, regardless of social status or how we may feel towards each other. James writes that the one who shows no mercy shall be judged with no mercy, but mercy rejoices against judgement. We are told by Paul that when we show mercy that we are to do it with cheerfulness. But once again, the requirement to show mercy doesn't negate or replace our need to seek the lord in regular prayer, fasting, alsmgiving, church attendance, and any other religious observances that we have. When Christ reprimanded the pharisees, it wasn't for their keeping of the law and their observances, but for neglecting "the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" where He says "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone".
Knowing that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let me therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that I may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
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