I Desire Mercy not Sacrifice

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

 

1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!"

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the Lord

because he has been so good to me.

1 "Come, let us return to the Lord! He has torn us in pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. 2 In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. 3 Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring."

4 "O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?" asks the Lord. "For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. 5 I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces. I have slaughtered you with my words, threatening you with death. My judgment will strike you as surely as day follows night. 6 I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices. I want you to know God; that’s more important than burnt offerings.

Matthew 9:9-13,18-26

1. HANDOUT; INTRODUCTION TO MATTHEW:
1. As we discussed last December, this year we are following through the life of Jesus
1. We started off with his birth and early life, then following the various church festivals of the Christian Church and the OT we have looked at his death, resurrection, and ascension and then the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church.
2. We have been largely using scriptures that are listed in what is called the Revised Common Lectionary. The scriptures have been chosen by groups of theologians from various denominations over a long period of time, and are used in many Churches in a 3 year cycle, year A, B & C.
1. We are currently in year A, and as is mentioned in the handout, this year the life of Jesus is followed through largely in the book of Matthew.
3. It would be good if you could read through the book of Matthew in the next few weeks.
2. AT THIS POINT IN MATTHEW:
1. We have learned of Jesus birth. We have then heard some of the basic teachings of Jesus and the Kingdom of God given in the Sermon on the Mount.
1. Jesus has shown clearly that he is preaching a righteousness the exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
2. He had taught them to pray, and to live their life based on his words
3. In ch 8. we see how he healed many people and talked about discipleship and the need for full commitment, making the kingdom first priority in life.
4. In the end of ch. 8 and the first section of ch. 9 Matthew shows the authority and power Jesus had, including the power and authority to heal and forgive sin.
5. This leads us right into our reading for today… Matthew 9:9-13,18-26

Matthew 9:9-13,18-26 New Living Translation

9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. ¹¹ The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples.

12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do." ¹³ Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."

v. 18-26 Jesus Heals in Response to Faith

18 As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt down before him. "My daughter has just died," he said, "but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand upon her."

19 As Jesus and the disciples were going to the official’s home, ²⁰ a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, ²¹ for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed."

22 Jesus turned around and said to her, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed at that moment.

23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he noticed the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music. ²⁴ He said, "Go away, for the girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him. ²⁵ When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! ²⁶ The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.

 

3. Start by reading a somewhat adapted version of this story
1. Then focus on uncovering and learning some key lessons for us and our lives today
4. PRAYER

1. THE STORY (ADAPTED VERSION)

One day a man named Matthew -- a tax collector, a high ranking employee of the IRS, a man despised by the people because he cheated them to make his livelihood -- was sitting by the collection house. The prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee came by and said to him, "Matthew--let's do lunch. I'll have my girl call your girl and we'll set something up--sasy around two-ish?"

Matthew was thrilled--a free meal with a visiting celebrity, this was too good to be true! so he anxiously awaited his secretary's announcement that Jesus was calling from his donkey-phone. In short order arrangements were made--a restaurant at the esplanade--no fast-food fare for this twosome. Matthew times his drive so that he would arrive exactly at 2 pm--he didn't want to appear to be too excited, or then Jesus would see right through him and have the upper hand.

As always, Matthew was dressed for success. His wing-tipped sandals were spit shined. His beige colored toga was neatly tailored and pressed--and was secured by a fashionably tied rope across his midsection. Of course it was the latest power-color! As Matthew parked his JMW (Jerusalem motor works), he smugly congratulated himself on his good fortune.

He would show the people--the common, ordinary smucks whom he cheated day in and day out—that nice guys finish last! Only the strong survive--only the rich and famous and the young, upwardly mobile--get asked to lunch by big shots like Jesus. As he strode across the parking lot, Matthew fantasised what lunch would be like--just the 2 of them, he and Jesus. They'd begin with drinks. Maybe he'd skip the booze and settle for a glass of sparkling well water with a twist of lime.

Then would come the appetizer--he'd follow Jesus' lead when ordering--he wouldn't want to appear too conspicuous as if to take advantage of the occasion and generosity of his host. No doubt their conversation would begin with the usual social amenities--but would soon turn to Matthew's favourite subject--business! The corporate lifestyle! Probably Jesus had heard something of his business moxie and had come to pick his brain regarding the latest tax shelter.

He understood that Jesus' chief investment strategist--a guy named Judas--was not known for his careful, well-though out investments. One of his latest schemes--gone by the wayside--was a religious theme park--complete with a hotel and conference centre. There was even mention of a talk show and line of cosmetics; can you imagine!

Anyway, upon entering the restaurant, Matthew was greeted by a cheerful hostess. She asked for his reservation--to which he replied was in the name of "Godson"--Jesus Godson. "Ah, yes," she'd answered. "Now everyone has arrived." Matthew was escorted through the main restaurant towards what appeared to be a private dining room. Even before arriving at the door, he could hear the sound of loud, boisterous laughter and joyful conversation inside the room. Surely he must be in the wrong place--surely Jesus wouldn't have invited him to a party without telling him that it was a party they were attending?

I am a busy man, Matthew thought. I have no time for such nonsense, and I was so counting on having Jesus all to myself and for everyone to see me, Matthew, with Jesus. That would really give them something to talk about. Maybe then they'd see me in a different light. Hob-nobbing with the religious elite! I'm not really a bad person; so I do inflate the taxes a little bit and pocket the extra -- but Rome puts so much pressure on me! One year I do extra good, turn some heavy duty revenue. The next year I find Caesar has doubled my quota. A man's gotta make a living somehow.

Curiosity won out, and Matthew obediently followed the hostess through the heavy wooden door of the dining room. No way was he prepared for what he saw. There was Jesus, a smiling, radiant Jesus, sitting at the head of a huge banquet table. All around him, beside him, behind him, were Matthew's fellow tax collectors, and there were prostitutes, ex-convicts, and known felons who were only one step ahead of the law. There were sick people--disgustingly sick people suffering from dreaded illness like leprosy, tuberculosis, syphilis, AIDS. There were street people--dirty, stinking, homeless wanderers--he wondered how they even got past the front door, much less why they were here in the company of one such as Jesus.

It was as if someone had taken a garbage can full of society's trash and dumped it right here at Matthew's feet--and it suddenly dawned on him, shining through his disgust and distaste at what he was witnessing, that he, Matthew, in some crazy, insane way, actually fit right in with the guest list.

Then Jesus' eyes met his. His compassionate gaze pierced Matthew's heart, for Jesus had touched his very soul. The room was dead silent. Everybody knew instinctively what Matthew was thinking--"How can you lower yourself to eat and have fellowship with these people? They are below you, they are the world's rejects--they are scum, and you are hurting your cause, casting a stain on the image of the church!"

Still looking at Matthew, Jesus answered the unspoken question saying, "Matthew, my brother, Matthew, it's not the healthy people who need the doctor, but the sick. Now you listen and learn the meaning of this verse: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. For I didn't come into this world to call the good folks, but to save the sinners. Follow me, Matthew, and I will make you whole."

…Now you run along and figure out what this means in your own life: I want mercy, not sacrifice!

(This story written by ministers of Christ Lutheran Church, Norcross GA. )

1. MERCY NOT SACRIFICE:

1. WHAT DO YOU THINK are THE KEY VERSE or verses IN OUR PASSAGE TODAY?

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

2. To understand IT BETTER LET’S AGAIN TAKE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PASSAGE:

Matthew 9:9-13,18-26

1. Read it through yourself, this time
2. Start off by looking at who the characters are in the two sections, 9-13, 18-26

9 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.

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?"

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

 

v18 While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

22 Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24 he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.

3. LIST THEM:
1. Jesus and Matthew:
1. It is interesting that Matthew is called to discipleship by Jesus
2. There was really nothing good about him - by becoming a publican, he had betrayed his Jewish brothers and sisters by collecting taxes for the Romans. He was seen and understood by the "separated ones" as a sinner and unworthy of grace. Yet Jesus dines in his house and calls him.
4. WHO ELSE DID YOU FIND?
1. Jesus, Matthew, disciples, tax collectors, "sinners," Pharisees, ruler, daughter, woman bleeding, flute players, noisy crowd
2. If you look further on, vv. 27-34 who do you find?
1. 2 blind men, and a dumb man who was demon possessed
3. Group them:
1.  
1. those in the action, and
2. bystanders, observers
2.  
1. Dishonest traitors, despised, rejected, sick, dead = "Sinners," the unclean
2. Upright, religious, respected, accepted, religious leaders, = "righteous," the clean
3.  
1. Those who turned to Jesus, came to him in faith and hope = people of faith
2. Those who criticised, who rejected Jesus = faithless
5. In verses 10 & 11 we have the mention of "many tax collectors and "sinners" eating with Jesus and his disciples.
1. Who were the tax collectors?
1. Jews working for the occupying Romans. Ripped people off, abused their power, greatly despised.
2. Bible Knowledge Commentary;

The Jews hated tax collectors, for they collected money to support the Romans, and tax collectors often took in more than necessary and pocketed the difference.

6. What about the "sinners."
1. These were the "common folk who did not share all the scruples of the Pharisees. …almost certainly it groups together those who broke Pharisaic …rules of conduct—harlots, tax-collectors, and other disreputable people."
3. So why has Matthew grouped these incidents together?
1. Both the Pharisees and the leader at the temple were people who followed the OT law to the "T" and made a big deal out of avoiding anything or anyone who was "unclean" under the law.
1. What were some things that could make a person unclean, and not able to worship in the temple, or eat with or otherwise associate with the people of Israel?
1. Sickness, bleeding, touching a dead body, or eating with dishonest and sinful people.
2. So what is the point the Pharisees are making to Jesus?
1. You are being contaminated, being made unclean yourself by eating with these unclean rejects of society.
2. And in touching the woman who was bleeding, and the dead girl he was doing the same thing.
3. Jairus, her father, was probably a synogogue official (as the New Living translation includes, and many scholars believe)
1. He would determine who was allowed in the synagogue. He would have been one of the ones who determined that the woman who was bleeding was 'unclean,' and therefore to be excluded from worship.
1. He in a sense excluded her from being blessed by God, from approaching and worshipping God, from being part of God’s people.
2. In this setting, it is ironic then that he asks Jesus to touch his daughter. WHY?
1. His daughter is dead. To touch a dead body would make Jesus unclean.
2. He is asking Jesus to make himself unclean.
3. As Jesus journeys to her the woman reaches out and touches his garment. She seeks to touch the blessing of God.
1. Jesus calls her 'daughter'. The same Greek word used by Jairus in reference to his daughter. Clearly Jesus accepts and loves her.
2. Jairus would have been with Jesus when this happened. He hears Jesus give the same status to this woman whom he has rejected for 12 years as his own privileged daughter.
3. They are both daughters of the kingdom.
4. Jairus now knows he can never again call unclean what God has called clean. He can never again reject those who Jesus accepts.
5. I wonder what new shape his role at the synagogue took on after this encounter.
4. So Matthew has grouped these incidents together to reinforce the point Jesus made in verse 11-12

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

1. Who has Jesus come to minister to? Who has he not come to minister to?
2. Who have been blessed and served by Jesus – been made whole, made clean, forgiven, healed, given sight, given voice, raised to new life?
1. Why and how have they been blessed in these ways?
1. Through FAITH!
2. Through seeing their need, and seeing Jesus as the solution, and going to him for help
3. Who have not been blessed and made whole?
1. The Pharisees, and those in the crowd who just watched
1. Why were they not blessed?
2. Because they had no faith, just the opposite in fact!
3. Jesus was addressing them when he said (v.12-13) "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
2. Expositors, p.225.

These verses again connect Jesus’ healing ministry with his "healing" of sinners. The sick need a doctor (v.12), and Jesus healed them; likewise the sinful need mercy, forgiveness, restoration, and Jesus healed them (v.13). The Pharisees were not so healthy as they thought; more important they did not understand the purpose of Jesus’ mission. Expecting a Messiah who would crush the sinful and support the righteous, they had little place for one who accepted and transformed the sinner and dismissed the "righteous" as hypocrites. …There is no suggestion here that he went to the sinners because they gladly received him; rather, he went to them because they were sinners, just as a doctor goes to the sick because they are sick.

4. Jesus was showing that he came to save sinners, those who acknowledge their need of his help
1. He was also making starkly plain that he cannot help those who refuse to admit their need of him
5. Michael Green writes about this verse;

The crowd round the woman did not believe, and they received nothing. The professional mourners round the girl did not believe, and they were ejected. The Pharisees did not believe (v.34) and… they too received nothing. It is possible to jostle Jesus in the crowd and still remain utterly unchanged. It is possible to see miracle after miracle and ascribe them to the devil’s activity. It is not the case, as people sometimes say, that ‘If only I’d been there I would have believed.’ No, there were plenty of people there who did not believe although unimpeachable evidence was spread repeatedly before their eyes. The human heart is capable of profound resistance and deep self-deception. It is only when you trust that you find salvation. The faith may be a last resort, it may be superstitious, it may be theologically deficient. But if it is placed in Jesus, it binds the sinner and the Saviour together. And that is what he came to bring about.

5. GRACE AND MERCY:
1. So we see clearly that Jesus came to save those who saw they had a need of him, and not those who claimed to be upright and good of themselves.
1. Those who lived a legalistic, self-righteous life, and who looked down upon and rejected the lost, the sick, the needy, the sinful, were themselves rejected, lost, sick, needy and sinful, but couldn’t see it, and so failed to come to the Saviour and receive his salvation.
2. Jesus says to them, and to everyone(v.12)

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

6. Jesus is quoting from Hosea 6:6
1. (a very important scripture for the Israelites when they were in exile with no temple and no possiblility of sacrifice.)
2. The word translated mercy is 'hesed' a very rich word.
1. In the RSV it is usually translated as 'steadfast love". According to the New Bible Dictionary, it "denotes devotion to a covenant, and so, of God, his covenant-love.. . .This steady persistent refusal of God to wash his hands of wayward Israel is the essential meaning of the Hebrew word."
3. Expositors Commentary says;

The Hebrew word for "mercy" (hesed) is close in meaning to "covenant love," which, according to Hosea, is more important than "sacrifice." Through Hosea, God said that the apostates of Hosea’s day, though continuing the formal ritual of temple worship, had lost its center. As applied to the Pharisees by Jesus, therefore, the Hosea quotation was not simply telling them that they should be more sympathetic to outcasts and less concerned about ceremonial purity, but that they were aligned with the apostates of ancient Israel in that they too preserved the shell while losing the heart of the matter, as exemplified by their attitude to tax collectors and sinners.

4. Clearly we must not make the same mistake.
1. We must make sure we are learning more and more from Jesus, the way of mercy
2. We need to care for the lost and the rejected, the hurting of our society, and not allow our Christianity to be a shell of what Jesus showed it should be.
3. We need to actively merciful just as he was.
4. It would be a good idea to take some time at home or in your small group to list some of the people in our society that need help, but tend to be rejected
1. And then pray for opportunities to help them
2. Consider something that you or your group, or our congregation might be able to do to help

 



2. Ministry in the interruptions

1. So often we claim we don’t have time to be TO BE MERCIFUL AND HELP OTHERS
1. Henri Nouwen wrote about the second part of this reading (v. 18-26)
2. He said (I'm paraphrasing) that ministry is what happens in the interruptions. In this passage we see several examples of the types of things that can happen through interruptions.
1. Matthew at work, interrupted by Jesus.
2. Jesus teaching, interrupted by Jairus.
3. Jesus going to Jairus' home, interrupted by the woman.
4. You and I would probably go home very frustrated by this day of interruptions!
1. "I couldn't get a THING done today!", we would explode to our spouse.
3. Let us pray that God would open our eyes, ears, hands and hearts to such interruptions in which he provides us opportunities to give mercy and love to those who so desperately need it!

   

APPLICATION:

1. OUR CALLING AS DISCIPLES, AS THE CHURCH
1. At the end of this Gospel of Matthew, we read of Jesus commission to the Church. We know it well.
2. Remember that he says, "Go you into ALL the world and make disciples"
1. We aren’t to pick and choose just the people we like
2. We are to take his message to the sinful, to those who need the great spiritual doctor. The good news about the one who died for the sinful, who makes the unclean, clean.
1. The one who rescues and makes whole, who gives value and hope to the despondent and hopeless
2. The one who takes the humble and meek, and exalts them and gives them all things, as Jesus just taught in the beatitudes.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek etc.
2. In TODAY’S passage we clearly see WHO Jesus is and what he has come to do!
1. His message and his mission are clearly spelled out in deeds and words
1. A mission according to D.A. Carson, that

"was characterised by grace, a pursuit of the lost, of sinners."

2. This is the Jesus who called us as lost sinful people to be with him, to dine with him
1. The Jesus who accepted us when we were unacceptable
2. Who came to us when we were lost, and rejected, worthless and empty
3. This is the Jesus who calls us to hear him, put our faith in him and follow and learn from him
1. To learn to have mercy rather than being tied up in outward religion
2. To follow and do as he did, means we are to go to others, encourage them by showing acceptance and love
3. To go to the "unrighteous" the sinners, the lost and rejected around us
4. To dine with them, talk with them, and tell them our story and what Christianity and Christ has done for our life
4. This is the heart of Jesus’ mission and his message, the heart of what he told Matthew as a new disciple to go and learn
1. not just a set of doctrines and religious observances and outwardly acceptable behaviours.
5. It is reaching out to all those we come in contact with as we go about our daily lives, especially the lost, those we and society so easily reject and avoid
1. It is being prepared to be inconvenienced, to go out of our way, to take risks of rejection in order to reach out in mercy and love to those who need it
1. It was largely because of their living out this principle that the early church reached out so widely, and grew so quickly – and it is vital for the church to do the same today
6. Let us then do what the religious people of Jesus’ day failed to do;

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

PRAYER

References:

Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

D.A. Carson, Matthew, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, Frank Gaebelein, General Editor., 1984, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 224.

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