When Jesus and the Pharisees clashed, one of the reasons was their legalism, or the practice of keeping regulations as an end in itself.
Matthew 12:1-7 NASBS say:
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. [2] But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” [3] But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, [4] how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? [5] Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? [6] But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. [7] But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
This statement made by Jesus (I desire compassion, and not sacrifice) was revolutionary at the time He made it. But He wasn’t making it from himself, but using the Book of Hosea as reference.
Hosea 6:6 reveals clearly what God desires: “For I desire kindness rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
The sacrifices mentioned here were the Israelite religious sacrifices. God is saying here that He desired more than a legalistic, ritualistic return to old worship. Even if these sacrifices were effective, they would only serve as substitutes for a personal knowledge of God and a true relationship with Him.
What He truly desired was for people to base everything on this relationship with Him. People weren’t supposed to base their lives in empty rituals, but in the communion with the living God, who gives and speaks.
Knowing Him requires having personal encounters with Him and living in trust and obedience to Him. It’s a way of life that involves constant communion with God’s Spirit.
Genuine worship, not empty rituals, allows God’s relationship with His people to be felt and experienced.
All that we do to excuse ourselves rather than submitting to a relationship distinguished by intimacy and integrity would be considered sacrifices in our eyes rather than getting to know God.
These rituals and sacrifices to God sometimes become our effort to earn His attention.
Our works gradually become a substitute for intimacy with God. The reality is that we are frequently uninterested in God. We want to do this worship thing at church and then move on with our lives.
Our sacrifices can include prayer, worship, church attendance, volunteer work for the church, and so on.
What needs to be done in intimate fellowship with God ends up being done for God. We do the “sacrifice” for God to justify ourselves instead of doing in close fellowship with Him to please Him. Instead of doing with Him, we do for Him, and it eventually becomes an exercise done without Him.
All of these things we do for Him are critical in following Him authentically. But the problem is that in our self-justifying effort, we might get so consumed with working for the Lord that our personal relationship with Him becomes secondary.
Good is looking for worshippers that will worship Him in Spirit and true. He is looking for those that won’t worship him with their lips and have their hearts distant from Him. He is looking for those who truly desired intimacy with Him.
As opposed to self-justifying legalistic and judgemental people, Jesus is looking for those who will overflow with compassion from the private place of intimacy.
Matthew 9:13 NASBS
But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Amen!
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