Today's Scripture
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: 1 Kings 12 -13; Matthew 9:1 -17
Mercy – Matthew 9:9-13
9 As Jesus continued on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. He said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. 10 As Jesus sat down to eat in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples at the table.
11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard it, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice.[b] I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
What does this passage mean to me/us?
When the Pharisees raise questions about Jesus eating with sinners, they are showing their lack of knowledge in God.
That is when Jesus says, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.” What Jesus means, if you truly worship God and understand God’s will you would have been here with me. His words ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’ comes from Hosea 6:6, where it says, “ I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God instead of entirely burned offerings.”
The word from Hosea tells us that our worship should be a spiritual experience, where we learn God’s love and embodies God’s mercy. No matter how much we go through the religious act of worship, if we don’t learn who God is, our worship fails. In the same token, it doesn’t mean that we should abandon worship and focus on serving. Serving without worship also proves that our ‘knowledge in God’ is lacking, like the Pharisees.
There is a balance of Worship and Service. It is a hard balance to manage, but it is a necessary balance for us to practice every day.
Prayer
Lord, we want to know you more so we can share your mercy with this world every day and more. In the name of Jesus, we pray, AMEN.
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