The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mercy as compassion that is shown to an offender. It is kind or forgiving treatment that is given to someone who is in a very bad or desperate situation. There are several instances in the New Testament where beggars and people with infirmities ask Jesus for mercy. In Luke 17:13, ten lepers call out to Jesus wanting to be healed saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Then in Luke 18:38, a blind beggar asks Jesus to help, crying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Both accounts illustrate desperate situations. In those days, leprosy was an incurable disease. Lepers were outcasts among society and forced to live in leper colonies. The blind beggar crying out to Jesus for mercy was also in a desperate situation as he obviously did not have anyone to look after him. He had been sitting alongside the road to Jericho begging for either money or food to survive. These people asking for mercy had nowhere else to turn, so when they realized Jesus was nearby, they leapt at the opportunity that they might be healed- something no one else could do for them!
The lepers and the beggar all received mercy from Jesus. He healed all of them. He gave all of them what they so badly desired. Jesus didn’t need to do anything for them, but mercy isn’t something anyone needs to give. According to the definition, it is compassion shown to an offender… and each one of us are offenders because we are sinners. We don’t deserve anything but God can deal with us through Christ Jesus because He has mercy on us and loves us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” And because Christ died for us, we will be given the opportunity of having eternal life. Not just eternal life, but eternal life that will have no more death, mourning, crying or pain, (Revelation 21:4). Just like the lepers and the beggar, we also must get to the point in our lives where we realize we have nowhere else to go in this world, and that only Christ Jesus can save us from this night of sin and sorrow. The world has nothing lasting to offer us. We are indeed in a desperate situation until we realize we have someone to turn to who can help and who will help, because He has mercy on us
