Lessons from the Gospels 9 – What is the lesson here?

We who read the scriptures to learn more about God and Christ, their plan, will and promises, can still miss or gloss over important lessons, or even miss them entirely if we are not diligent in mining the Word for all we can learn.

In Matthew 12, we find what I have always considered to be a lesson about the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:1-2 [NLT] 1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, "Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath."

Once again, the Pharisees focused on their strict interpretation of how to keep the Sabbath. And once again, Jesus showed them that they did not really understand God.

Matthew 12:3-6, 8 [NLT] 3 Jesus said to them, "Haven't you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven't you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! ... 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!"

It strikes me now that the lesson of Matthew 12:1-8 isn’t just about the Sabbath. It is not just about Who it is who decides what is right and wrong behavior for the Sabbath day.  It is also about God’s love and mercy. And, perhaps, the lesson is really meant to be more about God’s love and mercy than the Sabbath.

Sabbath-breaking had landed the people of Israel in captivity more than once. That is why the Pharisees were so strict. It is why they added additional laws around it – putting their own traditions on par with the law of God.

Jesus showed the Pharisees not only that the Sabbath was not meant to be a burden, but, more importantly, that nothing God gives us is meant to be a burden. In showing them this, He was pointing them and us to the greater point of all the law and scripture.

Therefore, I believe that verse 7 outlines Jesus’ key point for them and for us. Matthew 12:1 7 [NKJV] 7 "But if you had known what [this] means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

That God is more concerned with mercy for we frail humans is evidenced in the story of David and his men eating the showbread/sacred loaves when they were starving, something forbidden for non-priests.

And this is not the only time that Jesus had to school the leaders of that love and mercy are more important than their own interpretation of what it meant to keep the law.

Time and again, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He ran up against the Pharisees thinking He didn’t keep the law correctly. In fact, it appears in the very next verses of Matthew 12.

Matthew 12:9-14 [NKJV] 9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift [it] out? 12 "Of how much more value than is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched [it] out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

In this segment, Jesus not only advocates for mercy toward suffering humans, but also mercy toward suffering animals. God cares about the sparrows that falls. [Luke 12:6]

God does expect us to make sacrifices. We must sacrifice our own will, our time, our money, our praise and so forth in the service of Him and of preaching the gospel. But He is much more focused on mercy than money. Much more focused on mercy than sacrifice.

Perhaps 1 Corinthians 13 comes to your mind now. I think it perfectly aligns for us. Love, the driver of mercy, is more important than speaking in tongues, giving away all our goods or sacrificing even our own bodies.

The Psalms are filled with praise for the enduring mercy of our Heavenly Father.

Psalm 107:1 [NKJV] 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for [He is] good! For His mercy [endures] forever.

[See also Psalm 106:1; 118:1-4, 29; all of Psalm 136]

So, it is little wonder that David understood that God would be more concerned with his starving men than with saving the shewbread for the priests, and they could only eat the old shewbread after it had been replaced by the new showbread. If you don’t know the mercy of God, you might be afraid of getting struck by lightening for doing something like that.

But David knew God’s mercy and he fully trusted in it.

Matthew 12:1 7 [NKJV] 7 "But if you had known what [this] means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

What about us, sweet sisters? Do we truly know, understand, accept and lean on God’s mercy? Or do we shackle ourselves to fear because we are unsure of its depth and breadth?

Praise God for His mercy and count on it every day. You can trust in it always. And, because of that, we, too, should extend it generously to others.

I am very glad that mercy is of the utmost importance to our loving Father. Without it, I would have no hope. I seek to be like Him, in all things, including extending mercy to others. But it begins with accepting God’s mercy and experiencing it for ourselves.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the chat or at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org