Eleeo is mercy in New Testament Greek.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7
This mercy, this eleeo, was new for the Greeks and Romans.
They understood giving alms.
But they understood power more.
This was also a new idea for the Pharisees.
They understood righteousness.
But they understood optics even more.
It is not the Golden Rule.
Not, I’ll be merciful to you, so you’ll be merciful to me.
That’s self-serving, not eleeo.
It’s not simply feeling sad for someone.
Or wishing you could help.
That’s empty.
It is taking action.
It is identifying with the suffering.
It is accompanying them through it.
It is offered with understanding and acceptance.
It is what Christ did for us.
That’s why we receive mercy.
That’s why we show eleeo.