The Father is Merciful

TEXT: Luke 6:36-42
36Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful examples of fatherhood in the Scriptures is that of Jacob, aka Israel. Jacob was the father of twelve sons. He was not a perfect father… he loved Joseph more than he loved his other sons. Jacob’s favoritism led the other sons to hate Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and they faked his death and lied to their father, Jacob. They told him that Joseph had been killed by a fierce animal.

The LORD God took care of Joseph while he was in Egypt. Joseph eventually won the trust of Pharaoh and when 7 years of famine followed 7 years of plenty, Joseph was put in charge of the food supply. When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to get food Joseph seemed to have every right to get even with his brothers. But his father bid him not to. Rather, his father had told him, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”

Jacob was not a perfect father, but he was a merciful father. And he was not a perfectly merciful father. Even though he taught his children to be merciful it must be true that he fell short and failed at this too. But as a father who knew the Heavenly Father, He did not wish for his sons to be overcome with evil, but rather that they overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21).

Jesus taught His disciples to “be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” To be merciful means to “judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” It is just as Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” That’s what mercy is.

We are not a merciful sort. Mercy is even contrary to who are. By nature we don’t like mercy… rather, we love justice; we love what’s fair.

The unmerciful are blind. The unmerciful are proud and arrogant who seek to be above their teacher. The unmerciful are nit-pickers who complain and belly-ache about faults of their neighbor, never mind they have plenty of faults on their own. The unmerciful are hypocrites. In other words, they are actors and pretenders; they put on a show. They live as if they have no sin when the truth is that they have sin in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

Today when you confessed that you were a poor miserable sinner, you confessed that you were unmerciful. You confessed that your lack of mercy exudes from you because you are by nature sinful and unclean. By nature you do not want to feed your enemy when he is hungry. “Let him starve… that’s they way he treated me.” By nature you want to take vengeance into your own hands rather than waiting on the Lord, “I’ll show him.”

Suppose the Heavenly Father were to treat you this way? Suppose the Father were to take vengeance upon you for every time you used His name in vain, or every time you skipped Sunday service because you had more fun things to do, or for when you were stingy and withheld your offerings, or when you encouraged your children to chase after the things of this world rather than to set their mind on things above, and the list could go on? Suppose the Father would deal with you according to His justice? According to what was fair and right. And since He has told you that the wages of sin is death, you know what would be just and right. You would have to die.

But The Father doesn’t deal with you this way. Rather He deals with His own Son Jesus Christ this way because of you. The Father charges Jesus with your crime of being merciless. God the Father sent God the Son to be less than God… to be the chief of sinners, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Father takes the logs out of your own eyes and fashions together a cross and allows His Son to be crucified upon it. God’s mercy is for you who cry with blind beggars, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.”

The mercy of God is overflowing and ever flowing and is given to you in good measure, pressed down, shake together, running over, and will be put into your lap. His mercy comes not so much in what is seen but what is heard. He declares to you in the Absolution, “I forgive you all your sins.” That’s mercy. He declares to you in Baptism, “Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.” That’s mercy. He declares to you in His Holy Supper, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Yes. Now, that’s mercy.

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.