Mercy is a characteristic of true believers.

怜悯是真信徒的特征。

Like the other beatitudes, Matthew 5:7 contains a twofold message: to enter the   kingdom you must seek mercy. Once there, you must show mercy to others.

同其他几福一样，马太福音5：7包含一个双重信息：要进入神的国你必须寻求怜悯。同时，你必须怜悯他人。

The thought of showing mercy  probably surprised Christ's audience because both the Jews and the Romans   tended to be merciless. The Romans exalted justice, courage, discipline, and   power. To them mercy 

was a sign of weakness. For example, if a Roman father wanted his newborn child to live, he simply held his thumb up; if he wanted  it to die, 

he held his thumb down.

怜悯他人的想法可能会令当时基督的听众惊奇，因为犹太人和罗马人都偏于冷酷无情。罗马人崇尚公正、勇气、纪律和能力。对他们而言，怜悯是软弱的标记。例如，如果一个罗马父亲想让他的新生婴儿存活，他只要竖起他的大姆指；如果他不想要这孩子，想要他死，他就姆指朝下。

Jesus repeatedly rebuked the   Jewish religious leaders for their egotistical, self-righteous, and   condemning attitudes. They were in tolerant of anyone who failed to live by   their traditions. They even withheld financial support from their own needy   parents (Matt. 15:3-9).

耶稣反复责备犹太宗教领袖的傲慢自负、自以为义，以及对他人定罪的倾向。这些宗教领袖无法容忍那些没能按照传统生活的人。他们甚至不资助自己有缺乏的父母（太15：3-9）。

Like the people of Jesus'   time, many people today also lack mercy. Some are outright cruel and unkind,   but most are so consumed with their quest for self-gratification that they   simply neglect others.

象耶稣时代的人一样，今天许多人也缺乏怜悯。有些人是全然残酷而无情，但多数人忙于追求自我满足，以至无瑕顾及他人。

Christians, on the other hand,   should be characterized by mercy. In fact, James used mercy to illustrate   true faith: "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith,   but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is   without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go   in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is   necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no   works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:14- 17). He also said mercy is   characteristic of godly wisdom: "The wisdom from above is first pure,   then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits,   unwavering, without hypocrisy" (3:17).

从另一方面讲，基督徒应该以怜悯仁慈为特征。事实上，雅各用怜悯来例证说明真的信心：“我的弟兄们，若有人说自己有真信心，却没有行为，有什么益处呢？这信心能救他吗？若是弟兄或姐妹，赤身露体，以缺了日用的饮食；你们中间有人对他们说：‘平平安安地去吧！愿你们穿得暖，吃得饱’，却不给他们身体所需用的，这有什么益处呢？这样，信心若没有行为就是死的”（雅2：14-17）。他还说怜悯是属神智慧的特征：“唯独从上头来的智慧，先是清洁，后是和平，温良柔顺，满有怜悯，多结善果，不有偏见，没有假冒”（3：17）。

As one who has received mercy   from God, let mercy be the hallmark of your life.

作为一个已从神接受怜悯的人，让怜悯成为你生命的标志吧！

•         Thank God for   His great mercy.

•         Ask Him to   give you opportunities to show mercy to others today.

•         为神伟大的怜悯感谢神。

•         求神今日赐你机会可向他人显出怜悯。

Read Luke 10:25-37.

阅读路加福音10：25-37.

•         Who   questioned Jesus and what was his motive?

•         What   characteristics of mercy were demonstrated by the Samaritan traveler?

•         What   challenge did Jesus give His hearer? Are you willing to meet that challenge?

•         谁向耶稣发问，他的动机是什么？

•         撒玛利亚人演示了怜悯的哪些特点？

•         耶稣给了听众什么样的挑战？你愿意迎接这挑战吗？