Matthew 9:9-13
Jesus Calls on Sinners
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."
Matthew 12:1-14
LORD of the Sabbath
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, ’you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Jesus sees Himself as a Doctor...He is a physical healer, but He offers the ones of us who suffer from sin, a healing from our sins...He is a Spiritual Healer...He is our Savior from our sins...
And there was another time when Jesus was accused of working on the Sabbath...At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath...His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them...When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”...Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?...He entered the house of God, and He and His companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests...Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?...I tell you that something greater than the temple is here...If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent...For the Son of Man is LORD of the Sabbath.”...
Jesus knew that God had told the Prophet Hosea, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."...And Jesus tells the Pharisees to read the Scriptures and to go learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’”...Then Jesus tells them: For I have come not to call the righteous—that is, I haven’t come to help people who think they are already righteous; I haven’t come to help those who don’t believe they need help—instead, I have come to call sinners into a relationship with God...Maybe for us, after centuries of reading the stories and teachings of Jesus, it sounds like a natural thing for Him to do...Shouldn't all Rabbis and Pastors help, teach, and spend time with sinners....That is what Jesus was sent to earth for, to help sinners and forgive them of their sins...But in Jesus’ time this was revolutionary....As you read about the different stories of Jesus with the Pharisees, we see this better...Through mercy and forgiveness He was defining His ministry and showing people how to live...He has shown all of us that we too need to know that our Father desires mercy, not sacrifices...The old sacrifices for our sins has been changed by Jesus...And we know that loving our neighbor is the one who shows him mercy...
Jesus taught much about mercy in all these verses and the same principle to all these verses applies: God desires mercy, not sacrifice...Why?...Because to Jesus, the mercy principle applies so often in life, that we everyday and at all times know what mercy is...Mercy always applies to all our neighbors...Nothing is more profound and helping to put harmony in the world than mercy...Let us pour out the balm of God's Mercy on everyone...
Pope Francis says these things about mercy: Small gestures of love, of tenderness, of care, make people feel that the LORD is with us...This is how the door of mercy opens...God has caressed us with His mercy...Let us bring God’s tender caress to others, to those who are in need...The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone forever, it is to pour out the balm of God’s mercy...With the weapons of love, God has defeated selfishness and death...His Son Jesus is the door of mercy wide open to all...To be merciful means to grow in a love that is courageous, generous and real...A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just...In a broken world, to communicate with mercy means to help create closeness between the children of God...The tenderness of God is present in the lives of all those who attend the sick and understand their needs, with eyes full of love...
Father, help me to go and learn and understand what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice...