A common theme between the Old Testament and the New Testament is called the “Great Hallel.” This Hebrew word Hallel means “praise” and refers to a group of psalms regularly recited during Jewish celebrations such as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. These holidays celebrate the time the people spent wandering in the desert on their way to the Promised Land.
The refrain of the “Great Hallel” can be found in Psalm 136, where we read again and again that God’s “mercy endures forever.” Jesus likely sang the Great Hallel as he and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper just before his crucifixion.
Mercy is compassion that withholds punishment even when justice demands it. In the judicial system, granting pardon—another word for mercy—requires the will of the grantor, who doesn’t have to give a reason for granting it.
Mercy and grace are similar but not the same. In short, grace is getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Photo by Miriam G on Unsplash
Mercy plays a prominent role in many of Jesus’ teachings. In Matthew, Jesus tells the story of the “unmerciful servant” who has his debt canceled altogether but refuses to cancel the much smaller debt of another servant.
In that same gospel, Jesus asks his disciples, and us, to grasp the depth and purpose of the phrase:
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus lives out what it means to be merciful by healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, and pardoning those who persecuted and killed him, especially in his work on the cross.
The Hebrew word for mercy also translates into love. Even when we stray, God loves us and yearns for us to repent so He can extend mercy.
God’s mercy shows us who he truly is and tells us something about who we are as well: the fact that we needed to be shown mercy, that we didn’t deserve his favor, and that we deserved his righteous anger. Our need for God’s mercy points to our ill-deserving and undeserving state. We should be under his righteous wrath, as should all of humanity, save for “the tender mercy of our God” as we see it on the cross.
Our God is not simply sovereign and a God of uncompromising justice, as worthy of our celebration as that is. He is the mercy-filled God who invites us to set our eyes on his mercy and see into his very heart.
Mercy matters: It matters because we need his forgiveness. But mercy also matters because it is what can join us all together despite our differences.
Who can you show mercy to today? Who can you, in mercy, pray for?