Matthew 9:1-17; Mark 2:1-22; Luke 5:17-39;
Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11
Matthew tells us that on at least two separate occasions, Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to the Pharisees: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” The first time is in Matthew 9:13, where Jesus is responding to the Pharisees’ questioning of Jesus’ association with tax collectors and sinners when dining in Matthew’s (Levi’s) house. The second time is in Matthew 12:7, where Jesus answers the Pharisees’ criticism of the disciples’ plucking of a few heads of grain on the Sabbath. Maybe we should pay attention…
The gist of Hosea 6:6 is that God is far more interested in relationship than in ritual, much more concerned with how we treat one another than with “religious” observance. Given that Jesus is quoting the prophet Hosea, who lived more than 700 years earlier, it is clear that this is not a new idea, springing up out of nowhere with Jesus. Nor is Jesus picking up some obscure thought unique to Hosea. We see similar sentiments elsewhere in the Old Testament, like in I Samuel 15:22, Proverbs 21:3, and Micah 6:6-8. Yet the Pharisees — focused on rules, regulations, and their own self-righteousness — seem to miss the higher calling of love and mercy.
Does Jesus then mean that ritual is of no value or that the Sabbath is to be ignored? Not at all; He would have to dispense with whole swaths of the Old Testament to mean that — the same Old Testament that He consistently affirms. Rather, He puts ritual and Sabbath in proper perspective, showing us that people are more important than rules and that love is the overriding principle to follow.
So what about us? How might we need to hear Hosea 6:6 in our own lives? How might we be like the Pharisees, ostensibly concerned with things of God, but failing to love either Him or our neighbor?
I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.
See also:
- January 29 (2021) / Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26
- January 30 (2021) / Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32
- January 31 (2021) / Matt. 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39
- February 1 (2021) / Matt. 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11
One more thing…
I find it ironic that the Pharisees find fault with the disciples for plucking a bit of grain on the Sabbath and with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath while they themselves are spending a tremendous amount of energy on the Sabbath doing the dirty work of that very fault-finding.