What does “Blessed are the merciful" mean?

Jesus said in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” A great example of showing mercy to someone is found in the story of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37. In this account, two Jewish religious leaders passed by an injured man and did nothing to help him, even though he was a Jew. Then a Samaritan man came along and attended to the injured Jew and took him to a place to be cared for until he was better. This Samaritan went out of his way, spent his time and resources to help a man who, most likely, under different circumstances, would have shown ill will toward him because Jews hated Samaritans. The Samaritan didn’t judge him, but instead showed him mercy. James wrote about this in his epistle. James 2:13 says, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who shows no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” The ultimate display of mercy is Jesus taking our sin and giving to us salvation. When we show mercy as Jesus did, we mimic Him in one of the greatest ways. Just as Jesus showed us love through His mercy, so do we show love, for Jesus and for others, as we show mercy. Mercy does not remove justice or truth, but it does make a way for grace, love, and compassion. These are the things that draw people to our Savior and the things that cause Jesus to be even more merciful to us.