I desire Mercy and not Sacrifice

My Lord quoted Hosea 6:6

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

When He said as written in Matthew 9:13, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. He was addressing the religious who were judging him for healing on the Sabbath and for eating with tax collectors and “sinners”.

Now what I am about to say only covers part of the meaning. This is, as usual, deeper than what is on the surface.

They were trusting in their habits of (religion) of burnt offerings to save them. In their puffed up minds setting them apart from other people who are sinners judging them and seeing them as less than.

When He told them this scripture, by this scripture He was telling them who He was and that He wanted their acknowledgment of God. Not religious routines that keep them separated from Him. Because they did not know Him.

Do you see now? Understand, you must truly believe, then you will truly seek. When you seek with all of your heart, then you will find. When you find the truth then your heart will break because you now understand how much God loves you and did for you. Then you will mourn, repent and accept Him as your Lord and savior. Then you will find the treasure of your life and would be willing to sell everything you one to buy that field. Because then you will know Him and He will know you.

Then the bad tree becomes good. Then by nature the bad fruit becomes good, while he makes you new with God in the thrown of your heart. Then you will do works of heaven and resist temptation. For it is proof that He is in you. Light and darkness cannot share the same space. You will either serve one or the other. Where your love is, that is where your heart is.

Then you will forsake everything of this world just to be with Him. Because you will truly fall in love with Him and not just give lip service. Then He becomes your life, and you become His vessel to serve ALL people in the world. For you are not a saint, you are a sinner and a servant, you are not Holy, the one who lives in you makes you Holy and right before the Lord.

You are crafted into Israel, a spiritual Jew from which God brought salvation first to the Jew who initially rejected it, in order to fulfill the law and scripture. That he could then bring it to all people. Which was foreshadowed in the teachings about Isaac, his wife and the brothers, Jacob and Esau. You receive the first borns birth right. I will write more on this if it is my Father’s will.

Remember from where you come from brothers and sisters. Do not become haughty and high minded as one with pride. For we did not save ourselves. Only Christ, He said go out and make disciples of all nations!! He did not ask you to go out and preach to them how bad they are least you forget that even in thought you still do occasionally sin if not in action or word and deed.

Question: in all the New Testament teachings when did Jesus tell the people about their sins? Rebuke in order to save them? Besides the religious? Or did he teach them about heaven and mercy? About himself and the Father? The heart of the law.

I will write more later about this.

Love to the family, your brother in Christ

It was honestly a brilliant balance of rebukes absolutely but also dynamically mixed with heaven and mercy in a way his listeners would best respond to his call on a case by case basis. Jesus was a perfect model and brilliant teacher. There is a reason the Pharisees envied Him and wanted him dead. They envied Jesus because the way Jesus taught actually had authority and it was visibly working. People were responding to Jesus’ call to repent . There was no religious formula like the Pharisees followed but how he rebuked or taught depended upon the audience he was trying to bring the message to. Brilliant balance to say the least.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.””
‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.””
‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬


He didn’t condemn but he still expects them to leave their sinful life behind. After the act of mercy there is an expectation that the sinner will respond to Jesus command. Jesus is very gentle when he calls the sinner to repent, but alas he did even call the woman at the well to repent but did so in such a way that was so loving . He knew she was a promiscuous woman from the beginning and it was His way of calling her to repent of her sin.

if they didn’t repent though he was not ashamed or bashful of presenting woes very directly

“Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭20‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

.
● Hos 6:6 . . For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God
rather than burnt offerings.

In other words; not even God-given liturgy can make up for a hard heart.

For example Isa 1:10-20 where the people were observing all the holy days,
all the rituals, and praying up a storm. But God rejected all of it, even
though He required it, because the people themselves were toxic.

Here's the same principle:

● John 4:19-24 . . Sir, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you
Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.

. . . Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . a time is
coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

The woman was correct that Jerusalem was the God-given center of worship.
But more than Temple rituals, God requires whole-hearted compliance with His
instructions and a heart filled with the milk of human kindness.

Here again:

● Matt 5:24-25 . . If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar,
and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and present your offering.

In other words: when a man and his wife quarrel with the kids on Sunday
morning, and get into a food fight with each other on the way to church:
maybe they should abstain from worship services for a while till courtesy
becomes the norm in that home.
_

What I love about Jesus is the exact image of the children gathering around him and he says we are to be like them. These children didn't concern themeselves if they were following the religious tradition they didn't concern themselves of how well they knew the scriptures they simply enjoyed being with him.

Even today in this age everyone is so focused on their correct doctrine on how well versed they are in the scriptures but doctrine will not save you, your knowledge of the scriptures that everyone sets themselves up above other believers with will not bring you into his fold.


When you know him and I mean when you really know him you fall madly in love with him just for who he is, his personality his traits his nature your heart melts for him it is like a hot knife that pierces your heart and makes you bleed love for him turning even a hardened heart into a tender one your eyes soften and tear up for him it is not something that can be eknown aside from those who truly know him.

You no longer care how right you are or how well you hold doctrine your knowledge of scripture doesn't matter anymore you just see him and your heart desperately cries out with deep longing for him it is even torture at times because you want him so desperately.