Art Katz emphasizes the profound cost of showing mercy, paralleling it with the immense sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He questions whether mercy can truly be considered as such if it does not come at a personal cost to the giver. Katz explains that the understanding of God's mercy through Christ's suffering is essential for both Gentiles and Jews, as it leads to a deeper recognition of true mercy in times of distress. He highlights that the revelation of mercy is not merely a sentimental act but a divine expression that transcends human emotions. Ultimately, this mercy, rooted in the cross, will culminate in the deliverance of Israel during their time of trouble.

It cost God much to pour out and reveal His mercy, namely, the death of His Son in the most excruciating agony. What will it cost us to show the same? Is mercy still mercy if it comes without cost? Religious politeness we can perform. If mercy does not come at cost to the person giving it, then how will those who receive it recognize it as mercy? Most of us have not fully understood the enormity of God’s work at the cross. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” it was almost as if He was saying, “By virtue of My death by obedience unto suffering at the cross, a release will set in motion a knowledge of Myself that will eventuate in Israel’s final and ultimate deliverance. I will be raising up a predominantly Gentile people who will receive My mercy through My death, and who will then be able to extend it to unsaved Jews. It will be the final consummation of what was initially established at the cross, and when that breaks on the consciousness of Jews in their distress-in the soon-coming time of Jacob’s Trouble-the revelation of this mercy will draw them to the ultimate revelation of the cross, and that indeed is the ultimate mercy.” They will recognize that what is being expressed towards them is not some sentimental or human temperamental thing peculiar to the personality of the one who is taking them in, but they will find a consistent mercy shown to them wherever they are in their flight through the nations. Something was released in that initial sacrifice that makes this sacrifice possible, but this time through Gentile believers.