Jesus Reveals the Laws of Supreme Blessing, Part 5

TEXT: Matthew 5:1-12

The fifth law of supreme blessing is: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." The Greek word translated as mercy means to help one who is afflicted or seeking aid. One lexicon says mercy is "active compassion." Adam Clarke notes that, "among the Jews, mercy signified two things: the pardon of injuries [the forgiveness of sins] and almsgiving." Thus, a merciful person is one who is quick to forgive those who have wronged him and is quick to offer aid to those in need.