Verse: Matthew 12:6-8
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.”
Devotion
In this short passage we see Jesus instructing/rebuking the Pharisees because they were mis-applying the commandment about observing the Sabbath. Jesus makes two important points that I think we can also learn from.
First, he says that he is Lord of the Sabbath. In this exchange with the Pharisees Jesus doesn’t discount the importance of the Sabbath commandment, but as with all the law he is showing that he is the fulfillment of it. The Sabbath points to Jesus who will offer all believers the ultimate “Sabbath rest.” A rest from sin and striving and shame. He invites you and I into that rest on a daily basis, to know what it means to live from a place of love and grace and in his power and strength. But he also invites us to enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath commandment. To observe one day a week for rest and delight. Both are important ways of us to experience and know Jesus.
Second, he quotes Hosea 6:6 when he tells them they really should know what this statement means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” In fact, in Matthew 9:13 he tells them to “go and learn what this means!” So what does it mean? The word translated “mercy” in this sentence comes from the Hebrew word hesed which means steadfast love. His point is, they were good at trying to perform for God and look the part of doing all the right things, but their hearts were not being changed. If they were, they would have responded with steadfast love and mercy and understood God’s grace in that moment.
We can do the same, can’t we? It is easy to slip into the thinking that when we try to live according to the Word of God in our lives, we are somehow better than the people around us who flaunt his Word. It’s easy to look down on them. But that just reveals that we need the Word of God (and his Spirit) to continue to change our hearts. We should do both: live a life of obedience to his Word, AND be overflowing with lovingkindness, grace, and love towards others, even those who are living away from God. It’s about resisting religious pride, and embracing God’s grace. Remembering that it is by grace that we were saved so it will be by grace that others will be saved.
Let’s pray for God to soften our hearts, to keep us humble, to give us love for others, and help us to resist religious pride!
Author: Christian Dunn
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