“The Cost of Mercy” (by Pastor Jason Coker)

John 10:14-15
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep”

It’s Holy Week, and Easter weekend and we find ourselves caught in the midst of remembering the incredibly beautiful and horrific events surrounding Christ and his crucifixion. An innocent man falsely accused, beaten with fists, whipped and scourged, publicly mocked and shamefully nailed to an upright wooden beam propped up on the side of a road. Faced with these images of self sacrifice there is no getting around this inescapable conclusion: God is merciful beyond comprehension.

The Jews long expected to be liberated and vindicated by their God. They anxiously awaited the coming messiah, foretold in the writings of their greatest prophets. Collectively these prophesies came to represent the great tradition of Jewish end-times hope, a powerful incentive to resist their enemies and diligently practice pure temple worship. Generation after generation of Jews cried out to God to fulfill these prophesies and bring freedom from their oppressors, appealing to God directly from passages like Isaiah chapter 2:1-5, or Joel Chapter 3:16:

“The LORD will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the sky will tremble.

But the LORD will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.” (v16)

Even today, as we read these powerful promises of victory and vindication its no wonder Israel was expecting a fierce conqueror who would destroy her enemies. But the Jews forgot about their own sin. God had to deal not only with the sins of “the nations” He had to reckon with the guilt of His own people as well:

Judah will be inhabited forever
and Jerusalem through all generations.

Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned,
I will pardon.” (Joel 3:20-21)

God must find a way to pardon his people, so much to Israel’s surprise He did not send a military conqueror. Instead, he sent a “good shepherd.” God chose to deal with sin by incurring the great cost of sin entirely upon Himself. In His great mercy he laid down his own life to pardon their bloodguilt, and thereby opened the door for all who rely on his terrible sacrifice to become the people of God and escape the coming day of Judgment. The cost of sin is painful and terrible, and God has paid it; He is merciful beyond comprehension.

Reaching Out in Mercy
Who do you shepherd? Are you a father or a mother? Or are you a manager or supervisor, or even an older brother or sister? Do you have friends who listen to you and follow? How can you serve these people on a regular basis? Take some time today to list the people God has called you to, and brainstorm some ways you can become a servant in their lives.