Unacceptable sacrifices

Unacceptable sacrifices

‘…Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: “I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices…’ (Matt. 9:13, NLT).

Sacrifices represent religious and human efforts to please God. There are people who don’t miss any church service but have hearts devoid of mercy. Some people can fast regularly but they don’t understand what mercy is. Some people hold different religious positions but mercy is far from them. God placed being merciful above religious efforts. When a man loses the virtue of mercy, his sacrifices become unacceptable to God.

Matthew had just gladly accepted Jesus’ invitation to become His disciple. That night Matthew invited Jesus and the disciples to his house, along with other tax collectors and ‘disreputable’ characters. The Pharisees were highly displeased about this. So they asked the disciples why their teacher was eating with crooks and riff-raff. On hearing this Jesus said, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

He added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ ” The Pharisees had deep knowledge of the Scriptures. In fact, one couldn’t become one if he hadn’t spent hours daily to memorize the Scriptures. But despite that knowledge, they were unmerciful, legalistic and inhumane. In their strict adherence to the law, they have lost the very essence of God’s commandments which is love (See also Matthew 12:7).

The Pharisees were angry that Jesus was mingling with sinners. In fact, in their self-righteousness, they brought a woman to Jesus so that He would consent to their verdict – to stone her to death! If Jesus had said ‘yes’, they would have zealously killed her. How callous! The same Pharisees were always angry each time Jesus healed a person because He healed them on a Sabbath day. Observing the Sabbath rule makes them feel better than when someone got free from the bondage of years of sickness!

There are many ‘Pharisees’ today around us who hold tight to religious doctrines but have zero compassion. They don’t want to put up with any inconvenience. They don’t care if anyone is affected by their actions as long as such actions benefit them. Their service unto God is more of an obligation than of the heart. Men look at faces but God is attracted to a merciful heart. May we be willing to be merciful. In Jesus name!

Today’s Corporate Prayer: O Lord, help me to do away with selfishness and wickedness. In Jesus name!

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BIBLE IN A YEAR: Numbers 13 – 15.