The New Testament fully reveals the beauty and richness of mercy in human relationships, that is, of mercy shown by one human being to another. Jesus Christ shows it in His lifestyle, miracles and teaching. In Him – Mercy Incarnate – Christian Mercy finds the most perfect model, in which all boundaries are crossed, and within which Jesus includes every man, even the enemy. This mercy is based on the truth revealed; it takes for granted the requirement whereby justice is not negated but fulfilled (even at the expense of suffering and death), and then exceeds it when giving man mercy. Christ in his teaching reveals that the source and motive for human mercy lies in the mercy of the Triune God. Mercy understood in this way constitutes the very essence of Christian life in human relationships. Mercy, which is a disinterested gift of love for other people, builds and develops Christian life, makes people like “the Father rich in mercy”, allows the mercy of God Himself to flow into the world and is the only one of man’s riches which has eternal value.
