GOD desires MERCY and not SACRIFICE!
October
10 Bible Reading: Matthew Chapters 7-9
GOD desires MERCY and not SACRIFICE!
"Now
it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax
collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when
the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, 'Why does your Teacher eat
with tax collectors and sinners?' When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those
who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and
learn what this means: I desire mercy
and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners,
to repentance.’" (Matt. 9:10-13)
The
problem with the Pharisees living during the time of Jesus was that although
they followed the laws of Moses and the rituals religiously, their hearts were
hard and cold towards the real needs
of the underprivileged people. When they expressed dismay to Jesus for
fellowshipping with the downtrodden scum of their society, Jesus (quoting from
Hosea 6:6) challenged them to learn the meaning of Jehovah’s words, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice”. God
had already judged sacrifices without
mercy as worthless!
Although
God had instituted the sacrificial system from the earliest of times, He did
not want the outward sacrifice and rituals to become a substitute for inward
righteousness. God was not pleased with empty rituals that the Pharisees were
observing. They obeyed the letter of the law but lacked compassion and mercy
towards the less fortunate people, and they associated only with self-righteous people like themselves.
Jesus
Christ perfectly fulfilled God’s desire for mercy (and sacrifice) when He gave
His own life for redeeming all sinners and fulfilled God’s justice as well. The
Scripture tell us, “There is none
righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). So, Jesus came to call all sinners to
repentance, but in reality He could only work in those people who acknowledged
their own sins and repented before God. Jesus could not perform any acts of
mercy and grace towards those who were proud, self-righteous, and
unrepentant—like the Pharisees. The Pharisees were more concerned about outward
religious forms than about inward compassion. Jesus could not help those who thought that they were righteous and
needed no help!
As
we read the stories of the public ministry of Jesus, it is clear that He did
not minister only to crowds (8:1; 9:36), but He had time for individuals as
well. He had compassion on people shunned by the society, and He was
particularly concerned with needy individuals. In calling the tax-collector Matthew
to be his disciple (Matt. 9:9), Jesus demonstrated in real life that salvation
depended on the mercy of God and not on the merits or sacrifices of people. In
the similar fashion, we (as His followers) should be equally eager to present
the gospel of Christ to everyone, rich or poor, wise or foolish, mighty or weak,
irrespective of race, color or stature.
Today,
God wants to meet each of us at our point of need, offering forgiveness,
healing, and hope through eternal life. God freely gives us what we don’t
deserve. As we realize God’s grace in our lives, we should extend the same
grace to needy people around us. By extending out this grace in reaching out to
people in need, we can be the extension of our Lord Jesus in our world and
guide them to His healing touch as well. Remember, God desires mercy and not sacrifice!
