Monday, October 1, 2012

THE PRIMACY OF COMPASSION


As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus quotes from the prophet Hosea:  “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Hosea 6:6

To begin with, God is not diminishing the importance of sacrifice, for anyone who has sacrificed, God has sacrificed more.  He chose to love a sinful world.  He chose to give up His only Son to suffer and die for the whole world.  God knows sacrifice.  And He expects His followers to love and sacrifice in their serving. 

The true essence of sacrifice is not the issue here.  The issue is the motive, the heart, the inner person, because that’s where the real sacrifice is made, before outward action is taken.  “Self” is sacrificed in order to give “life” to others.  The problem with the Pharisees is that they were not sacrificing “self”.  Their motives were all about looking good, their reputation, doing all the “religious” things, and patting themselves on the back for all their external actions from empty hearts – empty of God’s sacrificial love.  And Jesus says it doesn’t count.  It’s worthless in God’s eyes. 

What then does God really want from us?  Jesus is saying at least two things to us in these verses.  One, God wants your life and my life to be changed from the inside out by His mercy, compassion, and sacrificial love.  True transformation doesn’t happen by going through external religious rituals, regardless of how noble they appear.  God blesses the person whose heart has been transformed by His mercy and love because that person will have a loving heart toward God.  And a right heart toward God produces right actions for God’s glory.

Secondly, it takes a compassionate heart, more than religious activity to bring people to Jesus.  God is more concerned about changing a person’s heart and life through love and compassion than with a lot of religious activity.  Certainly we must take action to go and love and introduce others to Christ, but the prerequisite is mercy.  Therefore take the initiative from a merciful heart to express compassion and mercy to those who haven’t yet become followers of Jesus.  Don’t put on a “religious” front for them.  Just love them and introduce them to Jesus’ love for them.  When you do, that’s when you know you really have a merciful heart.  Mercy is not stagnant. Mercy by its nature reaches out to bring God’s merciful Good News to others.  Become immersed in God’s mercy and be a messenger of God’s mercy to others.

1 comment:

  1. This message has made me think more about what mercy really is. It is more than just caring...it's about love and forgiving too. Perhaps I need to ask myself if I have a true merciful heart, do I care, forgive and love the way God loves me? Or do I choose to selectively care, forgive and love? Do I forget that my merciful heart has a purpose and that is to choose to lead others to Christ, or do I serve my own purpose in trying to avoid confrontation or rejection by eliminating that choice? Father God I pray that the choices I make will always bring glory to you because of your mercy, forgiveness, and sacrificial love that you have given me. Forgive me Father when I allow myself to be influenced by the world and help me to remain vigilant in awareness of your will for my life. I ask all of this in your precious son's name Jesus...your will be done...in your time. Amen

    ReplyDelete