Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Matthew 9:13
Who was Jesus addressing with this statement to "go and learn"? The Pharisees! They had criticized Him for eating with the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that we don't go to the doctor unless we are sick. Then Jesus tells them to go back and study Hosea 6:6 and figure out what the prophet was saying.
I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that the Pharisees were quite a prickly bunch who were not TRULY concerned about the people they were supposed to serve. The Pharisees seem to only be able to provide arrogant criticism and haughty attitudes. Oh and watch them get bowed up if you try to correct them. I also believe that Jesus got a chuckle out of annoying the Pharisees.
What does the passage Jesus quoted mean? "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices." What does that mean? Well, let's take a look at this and see.
Sacrifice - a physical act which can be completed without much thought and can become just another ritual which has lost all meaning. We can sacrifice out time by doing activities at church, we can sacrifice our money by giving it to the church, any physical act we can generate without much thought can be a sacrifice.
Love - is an action that comes from within us. It is a conscious decision. When we CHOOSE to love the "unlovable" we are reminding ourselves that some probably unlovable to some, and we remind ourselves that Jesus loves us so much that He died for us. Love is an internal decision that is expressed outwardly. Love cannot be done by ritual, as sacrifice can.
When we learn the difference, we will begin to have a greater appreciation for Jesus' love for us.
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