It is easy to interpret “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” legalistically. To look at as a way to obtain mercy from God we must be merciful to others. God’s mercy essentially becomes contingent on our own mercy. To understand why this doesn’t line up in this verse we must first understand what mercy is and how it differs from grace. Often times we use the two synonymously. There is a distinction between the two. Grace is a loving response when love is undeserved. Mercy differs just slightly from that. Mercy is a loving response prompted by the misery and the helplessness of the one whom the love is to be given. Jesus calls his people to be compassionate and gentle, especially to those who are in a miserable and helpless state. Think of the parable of the Good Samaritan here. So if we are merciful, we shall receive mercy. The inverse is also true. If we are not merciful we shall not receive mercy. The truth behind that is that the one who is not merciful is so unaware of his own state that he does not see the need for mercy personally in this life. The beauty of the Beatitudes is the way they stack upon each other. The person who is merciful towards others sees himself as needing mercy because he first says that he is spiritually bankrupt, then he grieves over it, and then he hunger and thirsts for righteousness. That leads to a place of seeing our own need for mercy and so we act merciful towards others. 

Jesus then moves on to the value he has for the heart. He says “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”. Jesus puts a special blessing on the heart. He values our hearts above our intellect and skill. Biblically, the heart is the center of a person. Jesus desires our hearts to be pure because God is holy. In order to see his holiness we first must pursue purity in our life. Purity of heart is not just conformity to rules. It is not an exterior thing, but an interior thing. DA Carson gives a great list of questions that gets us to think about whether are we seeking purity. Here’s the list:

What do you think about when your mind slips into neutral? How much sympathy do you have for deception, no matter how skillful? For shady humor, no matter how funny? To what do you pay consistent allegiance? What do you want more than anything else? What and whom do you love? To what extent are your actions and words accurate reflections of what is in your heart? To what extent are your actions and words constitute a coverup for what is in your heart? 

It is a hard saying because it is difficult and awkward to ask ourselves these questions.