ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” ~Matthew 9:13 and 12:7
Mercy. I’m trying to read through the Bible in a year with my church. I’ve started a dozen times and never actually finished. Probably won’t this year either, but I like how my pastor says it: it’s more about the Bible getting through us than us getting through the Bible.
The Gospel of Matthew was the first book of the Bible I ever read, now twenty years ago. I’ve read it over and over since then and yet this line stood out to me this time, especially when I read it twice in a week.
Mercy, not sacrifice. I’ve always read this at surface level: in the Old Testament, before Jesus, God’s people were required to offer a sacrifice in the form of a lamb. The people made that into a legalistic ritual, so God made it clear that He would rather have a merciful and compassionate people than one bent on following the rules for rules sake. Then Jesus came and we’re living in an age of grace. We are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices when we gather for worship. Jesus was the Sacrificial Lamb.
So, mercy, not sacrifice. We don’t bring lambs and pigeons to church on Sundays anymore. Got it, right?
God has lead me through a fire, metaphorically speaking of course, in the last year. I’ve been quiet on here because life got intense. Sometimes getting work done is not about the number of hours in a day but rather the amount of brain cells it requires to keep up. I needed my down time to stare into space and recharge, not keep up with this blog.
Sacrifice. As I’ve pondered that word in the last few weeks, God showed me exactly what He means by that in my life. He wants mercy more than sacrifice. I found myself in a bad situation and I thought I needed to sacrifice myself for the sake of my family, because I had made a promise. Even when my mental health was at its worst and I could barely get through a day, I still thought I was doing what God wanted by giving myself as a sacrifice. And then a wise woman asked me to search the Scriptures to see what I could find about my own worth in God’s eyes. In doing so, I realized that God truly does desire mercy above all else. Christ is the One who sacrifices. We may follow Him in that example at times, but sacrifice is NOT listed as a mark of spiritual maturity anywhere.
What is a sign of spiritual maturity then? Galatians 5:22-23 contains a list of entirely different virtues to strive for: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Or, John 13:35 says that people will know we are Christ’s disciples by our love for each other. Where’s sacrifice? Sacrifice may be a part of that, but the goal is faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
God desires a life of mercy for His people. We’re the ones that turn that into rules, thinking we’re doing what’s best. We fill our days with too much, look to the wrong things, and create rules to make that seem okay. Isn’t that what the Pharisees did? I am more pharisee than I care to see in myself.
Mercy starts with ourselves. Mercy begins when we ask God for help to let go of our rules, but it has to start with ourselves. It’s not about simply not bringing a sacrifice to church, rather it’s about giving ourselves room to breathe. Only then can we love and worship like God intends: with mercy and grace.