Matthew 9:12-13 -- On Mercy and Not Sacrifice

"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Matthew 9:12-13


It is interesting here that Christ asks his audience (including us, perhaps) to go and learn what these words mean. So, let's try.

The phrase is originally from the book of Hosea:

"O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me."

It seems like God is saying here that our goodness seems to be only on the surface, and that we're focusing on the wrong things. God wants us to prioritize spiritual things: mercy, love, and knowledge of God before physical things: sacrifice and suffering, physical ordinances. Not that those things are completely unimportant of course, but when we prioritize those things over the spiritual things, or drop out the spiritual part altogether, then we're trusting in something that isn't going to save us.

As an example, we could go to church every week for the rest of our lives, but that attendance isn't going to save us. The point of church attendance is to lead us to spiritual experiences, to join with others in spiritual discussion, to learn of God, learn to love others, to renew our commitments to him, etc... not just to go through the motions of attending. Going to church matters. It is important, but it shouldn't be the focus, because the whole idea of it is to enable those other spiritual experiences.

So it is with sacrifice and with so many things that God asks us to do. When God asks for the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, he isn't just asking us to suffer... he's pointing us to the spiritual side of things, asking us to repent and to learn. Today, let's focus on learning mercy and love and on gaining knowledge about God, rather than focusing on how much we can physically endure for him or offer him monetarily (Matthew 23:23). Let's work on putting the spiritual over the physical and learn to feel his spirit. As we do, it will guide us on the way and help us understand the spiritual and physical aspects of worship and the gospel.