Mercy Not Sacrifice

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

MERCY NOT SACRIFICE

Matt 9:9-13

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." 

NIV

First, and foremost, we have the calling of the writer of this gospel. Who would have thought that a tax collector would end up writing the account of the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord? These tax collectors were not the most well like Jews as they were working for the Romans. Yet they had no false impression of their righteousness as the Pharisees did. Therefore, Jesus made that statement about not coming to call the righteous, but sinners. Jesus was not implying there were any righteous men living at that time or for that matter, at any time. Even Abraham, the father of many nations, was not righteous, but because he believed God, it was counted unto him as righteousness. This brings us to Jesus and that as he calls sinners to himself, and as we believe, we accept Him and we are in Him and He is in us and as He prayed that we would be one as He and the Father are One, and therefore He is our righteousness, and in Him we are righteous. Out of Him we are men capable and still failing to be perfect and have sin in us. Jesus also told those who were being critical of him because he was eating with sinners, that they should go learn the phrase, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. Jesus was quoting from Hosea, and they would have known that. On the surface, it would appear that Jesus did not want sacrifices, but that is not what he meant. The Jews of that time were all following the commands of God and offering sacrifices for sin. It was a bloody system, killing all sorts of animals, even the pouring of blood on the altar. Jesus would offer himself as a bloody sacrifice on the cross, a sight that was not easy to look upon. Jesus was saying that he prefers mercy, which would be an act of kindness, compassion, rather than an outward exterior practice of religion. Just as he called the Pharisees white-washed tombs, looking good on the outside, but dead on the inside. This should give us a clue as to how we should not just come to Jesus, humbly as a sinner in need of forgiveness, but to live our lives with mercy, compassion, and knowing we are nothing, but sinners saved by grace. We should not walk like the Pharisees, giving the appearance of being a “Good Christian” and being proud of our “Good deeds” before men, looking all righteous and stuff. Jesus is not pleased with our appearances before men, but with our heart toward God, and with that heart, we act as Jesus did, as we are being transformed into His likeness.