Jesus - Mercy

Friday: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

After Jesus is tested in the wilderness, he goes on to start his ministry.

One of the first things he does is read this passage in public: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

His "mission statement" is to show God's favor and mercy:

Healing people from sickness

Feeding people  

Teaching people how God actually sees right and wrong, and how they can respond to it

As I read through the gospels, I see this balance in the way Jesus approaches being merciful. He interacts with all kinds of people, helps them when needed, and is always trying to teach to respond to God. As I discussed in an earlier post about mercy, Jesus takes the initiative.

He continues on with this until he heads up to Jerusalem, where he will eventually be killed.

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God, thank you for taking the initiative with me, and reaching out to me.