SHOWING MERCY WHEN OTHERS DON’T In Christ – Part 4 5/22/2025 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love..." John 15:9-10 (ESV) Abiding in Christ means showing mercy even when the world demands judgment. Jesus’ example teaches us to extend grace where others won’t. • Mercy – Greek: eleos (ἔλεος) – compassion shown to someone who is guilty or in need. • Love – Greek: agapē (ἀγάπη) – sacrificial, unmerited love. • Abide – Greek: menō (μένω) – to remain connected, to persist in love and compassion. I. Jesus Shows Mercy to the Guilty The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:1–11 • Agapē love is not permissiveness; Jesus tells her, "Go and sin no more." Jesus didn’t excuse sin, but He extended mercy before judgment. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 ESV Mercy is not deserved; it is given from love. II. Jesus Shows Mercy to the Outcast While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Luke 5:12–16 (ESV) Mercy crosses boundaries of comfort and reputation. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36–50 ESV • Love (Agapē) saw her value not her past. III. We Are Called to Mercy Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 ESV Showing mercy aligns us with God’s heart. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13 ESV Mercy is not weakness—it’s victory over harshness. Put on then, as God's chosen ones... compassionate hearts, kindness... Colossians 3:12 ESV • Mercy (Eleos) isn’t a feeling—it’s a fruit of being in Christ. In a world that cancels, criticizes, and judges quickly—be a voice and vessel of mercy. Talk About It: 1. Who is someone you need to forgive or show mercy to? 2. What stops you from being merciful? 3. How does Jesus’ mercy toward you impact the way you treat others? 4. What specific step can you take this week to extend mercy?