King of the Poor: Merciful God

Sunday we continue our series on Jesus, King of the Poor. God sent His Son to the poor, the lowly of society. Why? This past week we considered that He does this because He’s righteous and hates oppression. King David’s reaction to Nathan’s story is mild compared to God’s statement of judgment toward those who oppress! 

This Sunday we'll consider another reason God sent Jesus to the lowly; He's merciful! As Jesus walked the streets of the towns in Israel, the sick, the lame, the lepers, and the like called out to him, "Have mercy on us." The reason? They knew God is merciful and shows compassion on those who ask!

Few stories in the Scriptures illustrate this better than Jonah. You remember the story: God sent Jonah to the Assyrians to warn them of his coming judgment. Jonah runs, unwilling to warn them, so God uses a relationship with a sea-creature to change his mind. He fulfills his calling, and the Assyrians do the unthinkable, they repent. Jonah's upset and God confronts him. Jonah says something that reveals why he ran from God. He says, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster" (Jonah 4:2).

There it is—God is merciful. God sends Jesus because he is merciful! He sends him to the poor, the lowly, because he's merciful. Join us Sunday and let's consider the mercy of God!