Bible Materials

Matthew 12:1-21

by Paul Choi   06/28/2015   Matthew 12:1~21

Message


I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice

Matthew 12:1-21

Key Verse:12:7  “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

  Matthew 11 and 12 tells us about Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. In today’s passage, Jesus defends his disciples who were accused by the Pharisees. In Jesus’ words we learn what God’s heart really is and Christ Jesus’ character as God’s chosen servant. Let us pray that God may give us deep understanding about Jesus’ words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

  The story starts when Jesus went through the grainfields with his disciples on the Sabbath. We don’t know whether it was a wheat field or a barley field, but it was a great temptation to the hungry disciples. At that time they did not eat their meals properly because they were following Jesus and supporting his ministry. To their eyes the grains in the field looked like Kellogg’s cereal. They went into the field and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! Even without milk, they enjoyed their cereal. But they were soon caught not by the owner of the fields, but by the Pharisees, the religious leaders. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (2) According to Moses’ law, people are allowed to pick heads of grain from their neighbor’s field. Deuteronomy 23:25 says “If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.” In modern terms, when we visit an apple orchard, we can pick apples and eat as many as we want, but we are not allowed to put them in our bags and bring them home.

 The reason why the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples was not because they attacked their neighbor’s field, but because they violated the Sabbath law. The Pharisees saw the disciples’ actions of picking grains as reaping or harvesting. They thought that by reaping the grains the disciples violated the Sabbath law. Exodus 34:21says, “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.” The Sabbath law is extremely detailed, complicated, and strict. Reaping was one of the thirty nine kinds of work forbidden on the Sabbath under the prevailing Halakah. These days some Orthodox Jews are not even allowed to turn on a light switch or flush the toilet on the Sabbath.

How did Jesus defend his disciples and how did he teach the Pharisees about the Sabbath? Jesus chose two similar incidents to defend his disciples; first, David and the consecrated bread. Look at verses 3,4. “He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread-which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.” This incident is recorded in 1Samuel 21:1-6.  David went to Nob, south of Jerusalem, where the tabernacle, the house of God, was at that time. He went to the priest Ahimelek and asked him for bread. Ahimelek gave David the bread of Presence which should have been eaten only by priests. Still the Jews accepted Ahimelek and David’s behavior even though they did things forbidden by the law. The act of Jesus’ disciples was not directly related to the incident of David, but Jesus acknowledged his disciples as godly men like Ahimelek and David. Here, Jesus taught that the priest Ahimelek gave the forbidden bread to David out of his love, which is the spirit of Moses’ law. God gave the law to his people out of his love. The spirit of the law is love, not punishment. The Bible says that love is the fulfillment of the law (Ro 13:10). When we love, we fulfill the law. Ahimelek fulfilled the law by practicing his compassion on David. David fed his hungry companions out of his compassion. Both did things forbidden by the law out of their love. They did good things on the Sabbath out of their love. Jesus said in verse 12 that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

 In Mark 2:27 Jesus taught the Pharisees about the real meaning and purpose of the law of the Sabbath. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God commanded his people to keep the Sabbath holy, not to burden them with many strict rules, but to bless them by providing spiritual, mental, and physical rest on the Sabbath. The word “Sabbath” means ‘rest’. God wants his people to have rest on the Sabbath.  Put aside all the things of the world and worship God on Sunday. True rest comes from a right relationship with God. This is the reason why we worship God on Sunday.

Jesus quoted one more example in order to defend his disciple’s innocence. In verse 5 Jesus said, “Or haven’t you read in the law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?” The priests were required to do some work for worship in the temple on the Sabbath, such as changing the consecrated bread (Lev 24:8) and offering the doubled burnt offering. (Num 28:9,10)  Still they were guiltless. They did what is right with God. It is lawful for us to do good for God on Sunday. For instance, some church members picked up their friends to attend the worship service. Yet they were guiltless because they did right things before God. Others ordered Lee’s chicken to feed their church family. They were guiltless because they did good things for God’s people. Still, others went outside with high school students after the church service and played bowling with them. They too were guiltless because they did something good to build up Koinonia through sports.  

In verse 6 Jesus taught the Pharisees who he really is. “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.” In the old NIV Jesus said, “I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.” To the Jews the temple is the center of life. The temple is where God dwells. When King Solomon finished building the temple and dedicated it God, the Lord God was very pleased and said, “I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” (2 Chr 7:16)

Thus, the temple is the symbol of God’s presence. Jesus said here is one greater than the temple. The word ‘one’ indicates Jesus himself. Jesus is greater than the temple. This means that Jesus is the Lord of the temple and that he is the Almighty God. Even though he appeared as man like one of us, he is God himself. (Php 2:6) He is God who was in the beginning. (Jn 1:1-3)  He is worthy to be worshipped, praised, and honored by all men on this earth. The size and beauty of the temple was magnificent and spectacular. But Jesus is the Lord of the temple. Without Jesus the temple building is nothing but a gorgeous ancient museum for tourists.

The temple is consisted of two main sections: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. In the Holy Place there is the lampstand, which represents the presence of God, and the table with its consecrated bread, which symbolizes the word of God.( 2Chr 4:19-20, Heb 9:2). In the Most Holy Place there is a golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contains the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. (Heb 9:3-5) When we look at the structure and contents in the temple, we learn the character of God. Our God is holy. He is gracious and merciful. He is faithful and patient. God said, “My heart will always be there.” There is the heart of God in the temple.

What is the heart of God? Let us read verse 7. “If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.” Jesus quoted this from Hosea 6:6. According to Isaiah 29:13, the Israelites worshiped God with their lips and their hearts were far away from God. The Lord God was not pleased with the Israelite’s meaningless sacrifice. God said in Isaiah 1:13, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me… I cannot bear your worthless assemblies….” God wanted his people to worship him with their hearts, not with their lips. God desired their hearts when they worshiped him.

What is the heart of God? The heart of God is mercy, not sacrifice. Our God is a merciful God and a loving God. Psalm 145:8,9 says, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” The Lord desires mercy because he is the merciful God. When Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”, he wanted the Pharisees’ repentance. The Pharisees were self-righteous people. They memorized the five books of Moses and fasted twice a week. They condemned sinners who did not obey Moses’ law. They did not accept Jesus’ disciples who went into the grainfields and ate some grains on the Sabbath. Even though they believed that they were the most devout and religious people who had kept God’s law, they did not know the heart of God, which is mercy. They had no mercy of God in their heart.

We also often make the same mistakes like the Pharisees by condemning others without knowing the heart of God. I also made the same mistake in serving God and helping others. Based on our own understanding and self-righteousness we judge others without compassion. No matter how wonderful and persuasive our advice may be, without compassion we only hurt others and break relationships. Without love our words may become sounding gongs or in the worst case they become sharpened double-edged swords. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see his hungry disciples with the eyes of mercy.

David was merciful towards his people, even towards his enemies. While he was in exile, he was humiliated and cursed by Shimei. (2 Sa 16:5-14) Shimei, a senseless man, pelted David with stones and showered him with dirt. David’s general asked David to cut off the head of Shimei.  But David forbade him to do so because he was a merciful king. He feared God and he did not kill Shimei even though he was greatly humiliated before his soldiers. David showed his mercy on Shimei because he had received God’s mercy. David’s situation was like a bruised reed and a smoldering wick after he had committed the sin of adultery. He was an adulterer and murderer. He lost integrity and loyalty as God’s chosen king. He should have been punished and dethroned as the penalty of his sin. But God had mercy on him. God forgave his sins and restored his kingship. David deeply appreciated the mercy of God and shared it with others throughout his life time.

We are not much different from David as recipients of God’s mercy. We have sinned against God and failed in keeping our loyalty and integrity as God’s people. As the penalty of our sins we should be punished. But we are acquitted by God’s mercy. God punished his Son Jesus in our place and forgave all our sins and wrongdoings. We are saved by God’s mercy. When Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” he also meant, “I want you to practice God’s mercy on your brothers and sisters because I completed the perfect sacrifice for you.”  Let us practice God’s mercy on our brothers and sisters, especially on those who sinned against us and those who made mistakes. Forgive them as God forgave us. Bless them instead of judging them.  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Mt 5:7) James 2:13 says that mercy triumphs over judgment.

Look at verse 8. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus said that he is the Lord of creation and the true object of our worship and devotion. Here the Son of Man indicates Jesus himself and it is the title of the Promised Messiah. Jesus is the creator and author of the Sabbath. He deserves to be worshiped, praised, and honored on Sunday. During our worship service in our praise, our prayer, and our messages Jesus is the focal point. He is the Lord of our worship service. Praise the name of Jesus. Amen!

Because of time limit, let me shorten the remaining part of the Bible passage. In verses 9-13 Jesus was again accused when he healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath. According to the Jewish tradition, unless it was life-threatening, one was not allowed to heal the sick on the Sabbath. Yet the Jews rescued their sheep on the Sabbath when they fell into pits and cried out ‘Mme…Mme…”. Jesus said, “How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (11,12) It is needless to say that a person is far more valuable than an animal. Here Jesus taught them to practice God’s mercy and to do good on the Sabbath.

Before Jesus healed the man, he tested his faith. Jesus said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” (13) It was not easy for the man to stretch out his shriveled hand, which he was ashamed of. But when he stretched out his hand by faith, a miracle happened. His shriveled hand was completely healed just as sound as the other. (13) Jesus will heal our sickness and our shameful sins when we stretch them out to him by faith. Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you!” (9:22)

In verses 15-21 Jesus taught his people that he himself is God’s chosen servant who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus quoted Isaiah 42:1-4 and taught us what kind of character Christ has as God’s chosen servant. He is the one in whom God is pleased. He is filled with the Holy Spirit. He proclaims justice to the nations. (18) But he is gentle and humble. No one will hear his voice in streets. (19) Above all, he is the merciful God. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory (20). In his name the nations will put their hope. (21) This is the character of the Messiah. These are the things we should do as God’s chosen people today. 

Last Friday we were shocked when the US Supreme Court allowed the same sex marriage. People began to worry about the absence of morality in America. Even people in other countries said that the future of America is dark. But I believe that our God is a merciful God. He answers our prayer and shows his mercy on this country. As long as we do not give up but pray for America to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, God will fulfill his will in this country. We have hope for America because there are many people of God who pray for this country. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Amen. Let us read verse 21. “In his name the nations will put their hope.” Lord Jesus, have mercy on this country America. We put our hope in this country and never give up because of your name Jesus. Amen! God Bless America!


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