MERCY NOT SACRIFICE
Analogically, what does the “mercy not sacrifice” concept tell us about our shibboleths. The biggie for the people around Jesus was the Sabbath. Whatever else you did or not get right, you better not be wrong on it. They would stone you! Also, one needs to consider with whom he fellowships! (sound familiar?) And, what are our shibboleths?! I think we have a similar list. But, I am inclined to think our lists are carnal.
Hos.6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
One might try the easy way out, and pull the old “that is the old covenant…”, but, Jesus messed that up by quoting Hosea, at least twice.
Mt.12:7
2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." … 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." 9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" 11He 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? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13Then 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. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Mt.9:13
9As 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. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
What is my point – simply that it is so easy to get caught up in the “letter of the law” and completely miss the “spirit of the law” (as we are want to put it). Did the OT forbid work on the Sabbath? Was that plain as daylight? Were the Pharisees quoting Bible? Had God said it, they believed it, and that settled it? Was it still in thar, yep?
But, they were as wrong as they could be, even though they were right! Can you get your head around that? Pray to God for insight! Don’t come back mentally with “Jesus is Lord of Sabbath; he could change the rules anytime he wanted…” Come on now. Go through the spiritual anguish it takes to apply this.
If we understood the IDMNS concept, we would have a different attitude about fellowship also. The P’s could not understand that either. They were ready to let blood flow. Thank God they did! God uses even our ignorant arrogance for our own good. My point? Understanding Mercy (who came running out when the veil was split!) we should join hands and turn on the Enemy, not one another.
This topic will be very difficult to banter about. It is not easily categorized, dissected, systematized, arranged, debated. It is more like Jesus’ comment in Jn.3 -- 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." … 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. …
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