The Merciful Messiah

Christ’s healing of the paralytic and his acceptance of tax collectors highlighted his mission of mercy on behalf of sinners.

When Jesus pronounced the paralytic man’s sins forgiven, he offended his critics. Who could forgive sins except God? But the Son of God alienated the scribes and Pharisees further by fellowshipping with tax collectors and other “sinners” – (Mark 2:1-17).

When his opponents saw Jesus eating with tax collectors, they insinuated that he was also a notorious sinner. They could not comprehend that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” – (Luke 19:10).

[Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash]

Jesus stressed mercy in his words, and he demonstrated what mercy is by his actions, especially his faithful obedience unto death on the Cross. Forgiveness and reconciliation are fundamental to the good news announced by the Messiah of Israel. Our redemption is based on Christ’s self-sacrificial death, and therefore, mercy to others is not optional for the citizens of the Kingdom of God:

• “Unto him that loves us and cleansed us from our sins by his blood” – (Revelation 1:5).

• “Be you therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odour of a sweet smell” – (Ephesians 5:1-2. Compare Colossians 3:12).

• “Have this orientation in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, <…> WHO POURED OUT HIS LIFE, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being in form as a man, he humbled himself, becoming OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH, indeed, death on a cross” – (Philippians 2:5-8. Note the verbal allusions to Isaiah 53:10-12).

If we forgive those who sin against us, including our enemies, God will forgive us. If we do not, “neither will our Father forgive our trespasses.” We will be judged according to how we judge others, and retaliation has no place among the followers of the Crucified Messiah – (Matthew 6:15, 7:2).

• “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” – (Matthew 5:7).

• “For judgment is without mercy to him that has not performed mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” – (James 2:13).

Jesus summons us to follow his example by pursuing reconciliation with others rather than hatred and vengeance. Performing acts of kindness is how we become like God and reflect His nature. Since we have received only kindness and forgiveness from the Judge of the whole Earth, we are obligated to shower others with mercy and to forgive them freely. Judgment and vengeance belong only to God:

• “You have heard that it was said, YOU WILL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy. Yet I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, will be complete, as your heavenly Father is complete” – (Matthew 5:43-48. Compare Leviticus 19:18).

• “Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God. For it is written, VENGEANCE BELONGS TO ME. I WILL REPAY, says the Lord. BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM. IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM TO DRINK, FOR IN DOING SO, YOU  WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE UPON HIS HEAD. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” – (Romans 12:18-21. Note the allusions to Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 32:35, Proverbs 29:21-22).

Jesus demonstrated mercy by sharing a meal with tax collectors and “sinners.” A tax collector handled coins from pagan and Jewish sources and did commerce with men from all walks of life. Physical contact with Gentiles meant the tax collector was ritually unclean. Patriotic Jews viewed them as collaborators with Rome. Tax collectors were despised in Jewish society - (Mark 2:13-17, Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32).

The actions of Jesus were doubly scandalous since he associated with men who were both religiously and politically unacceptable. Yet the Messiah of Israel chose mercy and compassion over strict adherence to the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees.

MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE

Christ’s response to his critics highlights his mission of redemption, mercy and restoration:

• “Go and learn what this means, I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!” – (Matthew 9:13. Note the citation of Hosea 6:6-7. Compare Micah 6:6-8).

Acts of mercy are superior even to the rituals required by the Mosaic Law, let alone the traditions of men and the expectations of society. Jesus expressed the same idea in his uncompromising denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees:

• “Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. It was necessary to do those, but those not to dismiss these others” - (Matthew 23:23).

Jesus did not reject the rituals required by the Mosaic Law but clarified his priorities and the mission of the Messiah. Acts of mercy in response to human needs take priority. Christ came to restore sinners to a right relationship with God and men, not to exclude them from the covenant community. Our sins may exclude us from God’s kingdom in the end, but that is not the desire or the intention of Jesus or his Father.

By calling sinners to repent and turn from their sins, rather than rejecting them because human society and religious traditions find them unacceptable, Jesus fulfilled his role as the ‘Servant of the Lord’ sent to restore Israel and bring salvation to the nations:

• “Is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to lift the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel? I will also give you for a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth” - (Isaiah 49:6).

• “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” – (Luke 24:46-47).

Jesus came to restore men to all that God originally intended. And in Capernaum, the Servant of the Lord demonstrated what mercy means by forgiving and healing the paralytic man, summoning a tax collector to be his disciple, and by welcoming men into his fellowship who had been rejected as ritually unclean by the religious establishment.

And so, Jesus gave us a concrete example of what it means to have “mercy rather than sacrifice.” We reflect the nature of God and Jesus Christ when we show mercy to others, including our enemies. Did not our Savior do the same?

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the link here and here). Text printed with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Servant's Path - (Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of unlimited political power and chose the way of the Servant and the Cross - Matthew 4:8-11)

• King and Servant - (Jesus is the King from the House of David and the Servant of the Lord who endures death to save his people)

• The Cross of Calvary - (It was only when he died that the Roman centurion in charge of the execution recognized that Jesus was the Son of God)

• El Mesías Misericordioso - (La curación de Cristo del paralítico y su aceptación de los recaudadores de impuestos resaltaron su misión de misericordia en favor de los pecadores)