Matthew 9:9-12
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.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Hosea 6:6 reads, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Why does God desire love and knowledge of Him instead of burnt offerings?
ReplyDeleteThe key to answering this question is found in the words of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Love for God was the number-one priority for the people of Israel. The whole Law, including the offerings and sacrifices, was to serve as an expression of this love for the Lord.
However, over time the Israelites began to worship other gods while continuing the ritual of the sacrifices. They “obeyed the Law,” yet they did not display love toward God, and they did not truly know Him. Hosea’s message was a response to Israel’s hypocrisy. God desired their love over external practices of piety. He longed for His people to long for Him rather than simply continue a religious tradition.
Scripture often notes that sacrifices to God are incomplete and even offensive without a changed heart that loves and knows the Lord. First Samuel 15:22 says, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (See also Isaiah 1:11-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 7:21-23.) The same is said of other religious rituals, such as circumcision (Romans 2:28-29).
With the coming of Jesus Christ, the Law was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). As a result, Christians have no command to obey the Jewish Old Testament laws. However, the principle of Hosea 6:6 is still relevant. Many religious people participate in Christian rituals, yet their hearts do not love God and seek to know Him. Those who practice empty ritual should heed Hosea’s words. God cares more about our heart’s love for Him than the things that we do in His name. We must not substitute religious traditions for a relationship with God. May we never be like those whom Jesus described: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6).
The previous article was from http://www.gotquestions.org/mercy-not-sacrifice.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol7/G6/nt.html says:
ReplyDeleteThird, Jesus declared His mission: "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." This statement was surprising to the Pharisees. Presently, they expected the Messiah, I suppose, to come and pick out the righteous, beginning with themselves, and lead them into the throne room to rule the earth with Him. Jesus had a more important work to do, however. By the Lord’s great mercy and grace, He came first to call sinners to Him, so that they may be imputed with His righteous. You see, at that time, there were none who were truly righteous. Some could be temporarily righteous, by performing the prescribed sacrifices of atonement for their sins. But as soon as they sinned again, they were no longer righteous. The problem with the Pharisees was that they did not know that they were not righteous. They were self-righteous, but not righteous in God’s eyes. Their self-righteousness was keeping them from the kingdom of heaven. How true are the Lord’s words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3).
My two cents:
ReplyDeleteOne of the great dangers to long-time church attenders is that we tend to forget in their hearts that we are sinners. The more we forget how much we desperately need Jesus, the less He has to do with us - the less He calls us.
Luckily, our church brings to attention that we are sinners - and that helps. But we can still intellectually admit that we are sinners, but still be pharisees in our hearts. When we live our day to day lives without the need for Jesus, we become self-reliant. If we realize the state in which we are in, we become desperate for Christ's power in our lives. It is only in that state that God can use us.
So, how do we gain that desperation we so desperately need?