I DESIRE MERCY
Matthew 12:1-21
Key Verse: 12:7
"If you had known what these words mean, `I desire
mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the
innocent."
What is mercy? The dictionary tells us that mercy is “Compassionate
treatment, especially of those under one's power and a disposition to be
kind and forgiving…” Today’s passage exemplifies what it means to be
merciful. In today’s passage Jesus shows his mercy to his hungry disciples
and a man with a shriveled hand. Our Lord Jesus is the God of mercy. He
does not want us to criticize or condemn others out of our legalistic attitude
and self-righteousness. He wants us to know his mercy and practice his
mercy to others. Let us learn from Jesus today.
First, Jesus defends his hungry disciples (1-8). Look at verse 1. "At that
time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were
hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them." One of the
characteristics of Jesus' disciples was that they were always hungry. What
was worse, because so many people were coming and going, they did not
even have a chance to eat. (Mk 6:31) Therefore, whenever the opportune
time came for the disciples to eat, they ate as much as they could. One
Sabbath they were on their way to the synagogue. (9,10a) Suddenly the
disciples' stomachs began to growl one by one. The disciples felt like
fainting and something has to be done about their hungry stomachs.
Fortunately they were passing through the grainfields. The grain looked
delicious and very inviting. The hungry disciples were not fully aware of
what they were doing, but soon they found themselves picking some heads
of grain with their two hands from left to right, winnowing the husks by
rubbing the grains between the palms of their hands, throwing them into
their mouths all at once. To the hungry disciples, the grains must have been
as tasty as yummy cereals like Kellogg's 100% whole grain wheat that is
rich in fiber with just the right amount of sweetness.
Look at verse 2. "When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
'Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.'" While the
disciples were still enjoying their meals, the Pharisees appeared. They had
no business to be in the grainfields on the Sabbath. But in their evil intent to
find the reason to accuse Jesus and his disciples, the Pharisees ambushed
them in the middle of the grainfields on the Sabbath. When they saw what
the disciples were doing, they said to themselves, "Aha!" They popped out
of their hiding place in the middle of the grainfields and, pointing their fingers
toward the disciples, they accused Jesus’ disciples of being breakers of the
Sabbath law.
Deuteronomy 23:25 says, “If you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you
may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his
standing grain.” It was lawful for the disciples to pick some heads of grain
with their hands in other’s grainfields. But the problem was that they did so
on the Sabbath. To the Pharisees’ eyes, the disciples were breaking the
Sabbath law by working on the Sabbath. By picking heads of grain, they
reaped; by rubbing the grain, they threshed; by flinging away the husks,
they winnowed. The Pharisees’ way of interpreting the Sabbath law was too
legalistic. In fact, the Pharisees themselves were breaking the Sabbath law
by ambushing Jesus and his disciples, spying on what they were doing and
popping out of the grainfields.The disciples were speechless at the
Pharisees’ sharp criticism. They could not open their mouths to defend
themselves because their mouths were full. In fact, they did not know what
to say. They felt helpless and guilty like a driver who was caught by a police
for speeding. They felt condemned with a heavy fine to pay.
What did Jesus do for his helpless disciples? Look at verses 3-6. "He
answered, 'Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions
were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate
the consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the
priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the
temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater
than the temple is here.'" Jesus defended his disciples by quoting the
precedent shown by King David and the exceptional privilege of the priests
in the temple. One time David was running for his life from King Saul. On
the way, he was hungry and visited the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech
had no food but consecrated bread from the altar that only the priest could
eat. At that time, as a priest it was unlawful to give consecrated bread to
David. But Ahimelech violated the law and satisfied the hungry stomach of
David, and for his safety he gave David Goliath's sword. In this way
Ahimelech showed mercy to David. (1Sa 21:1-6) God did not condemn
David as a lawbreaker. God understood that David was hungry and needed
food to eat. God raised him up as the greatest king in Israel’s history and
commended David as a man after God’s own heart. (Ac 13:22) With this
story Jesus well defended his disciples before the Pharisees. Jesus also
elevated them as modern-day Davids through whom God would establish
the kingdom of the new Israel. After hearing Jesus’ defense, the disciples
must have felt relieved that they were no longer condemned criminals.
Whew! Now they were full of hope and vision that in Jesus they would grow
to be modern-day King Davids and spiritual generals.
In verses 3,5 Jesus asked a rhetorical question to the Pharisees,
saying, “Have you never read…?” What a strange question to ask the
experts of the law! By asking this question, Jesus pointed out how the
Pharisees failed to understand the true meaning of the Bible. The Pharisees
read the Bible but missed its real point. The Bible is not just a book of laws:
it is not a collection of many do’s and don’ts. Rather, it reveals to us God’s
great mercy toward sinners. God’s mercy is the forgiveness of our sins
through his Son Jesus. God’s mercy is his one-sided hope and vision for us
to grow as his chosen servants—a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in verse 7, “If you had known what these
words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned
the innocent."
It is easy for us to become like the Pharisees after studying the Bible. It
is easy for us to become self-righteous and legalistic, saying, “What are you
doing? You are wrong.” It is easy for us to apply what we learned in the Bible
to others with an ever-increasing checklist. We use different measures on
ourselves and others. About ourselves, we ask God to show his great and
unconditional mercy, saying, “O Lord, have mercy on me!” But about others,
we say, “No mercy for you!” We become like unmerciful servants in Matthew
18. Instead, we must remember God's abundant mercy toward each of us. In
spite of all our sins, God ACCEPTED us just as we are. We are to accept one
another just as we are. God UNDERSTANDS us but still LOVES US NO
MATTER WHAT. We must repent our critical and judgmental attitude toward
others, knowing that criticizing others has a boomerang effect; if you throw a
boomerang, it will fly right back to you. Instead, we must learn how to
UNDERSTAND, embrace others with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
LOVE THEM NO MATTHER WHAT. God sees us with HOPE for us, just as
Jesus saw his young disciples with the hope and vision of God. We must see
young students with HOPE of God in spite of their faults, weaknesses, and
idiosyncrasies, and uphold them as modern-day King Davids and spiritual
leaders of God’s work and history.
Yesterday Missionary Joshua Bang moved his belongings from
Kenosha, Wisconsin to Columbus, OH. He could not do this alone. God
showed his great mercy by many people of God. Dr. John Jeong and Dr.
Andrew Kim went together with him to Chicago by Megabus. From Chicago,
three men went to Kenosha together with them. When he arrived in Columbus,
Jeff Gathergood and his friends, Michael McWhorter and Doug Foster came to
unload everything into his new apartment at Buckeye Village. May God bless
all those who showed God’s mercy to Missionary Joshua Bang and his family.
Let us practice this kind of God’s mercy to one another so that we may please
our Lord Jesus Christ and show ourselves as his people.
Second, Jesus helps a man with a shriveled hand (9-14). Look at verses
9,10a. "Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man
with a shriveled hand was there." Let's think for a moment about a man with a
shriveled hand. Hands are the symbol of hard work. God gave us two hands
so that we might work hard with two hands. Effective work requires the
coordination of two hands. With only one hand you cannot clap. With one hand,
you cannot cut steak. With two hands a person can play the piano or the string
base beautifully. Children use their ten fingers to learn how to add or subtract.
Three plus four equals seven. But this man could not count to more than five
with his fingers. I know one person who does not have a right arm. But he
does not live on welfare checks. Rain or shine, he goes to work, waving his left
arm like a soldier. Whenever I saw him, I was encouraged. Later I met him and
asked what happened to his arm. He testified that all his family members
suffered from cancer and died but God took away only his right arm and saved
his life. At first he was bitter toward God. Later he accepted God’s love and
decided to glorify God in his physical condition. Now he works for a toy store.
He invented a tool with which he could assemble all kinds of toys with one
hand. He lost his arm due to cancer but he did not lose his spirit. On the other
hand, there are many who have good human conditions with two hands but
whose spirits are shriveled.
Look at 10b. "Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, 'Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'" The Pharisees’ concept of the Sabbath was
that it should be the day of physical rest. Therefore, nobody should engage in
physical labor or work. It seems that many modern Christians are the disciples
of the Pharisees because they agree with the Pharisees’ way of keeping the
Sabbath. They don’t want to do anything. Some of them refuse to go to church
on Sunday, saying, “I must have complete rest at home.” But this was not the
concept of the Sabbath Jesus taught us. Look at verse 8. "For the Son of Man
is Lord of the Sabbath." The Sabbath is not a day of just physical rest. The
Sabbath is the day when we sinners can come to God through his Son Jesus
and find God's mercy. It is the day we restore our love relationship with God by
listening to the word of God. It is the day we honor Jesus as the Savior and
Lord of our lives.
The Sabbath is also the day we can practice God's mercy to others by
doing good. In spite of his shriveled hand, the man came to the synagogue to
worship God. In spite of his physical handicap, he was a man who was created
in the image of God. He was a precious child of God. But the Pharisees
wanted to use this man with a shriveled hand as bait in accusing Jesus. Jesus
was sorry that their hearts were so calloused, merciless and evil. Look at verse
11. "He said to them, 'If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the
Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is
a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.'”
Suppose that a Pharisee had a sheep named Curly. If Curly falls into a pit on
the Sabbath and was drowning, what would he do? Would he say to Curly,
"Curly, I am so sorry. You know it is the Sabbath. I want to lift you out of the pit
but I can't. It is unlawful for me to lift you up. The law forbids it. Sorry!" or "O
Curly, hold out your hand to me and I will pull you out right away!"? Of course,
he would take hold of Curly and pull it out right away. Even a Pharisee would
not hesitate to rescue his cute sheep, Curly, on the Sabbath, because Curly is
valuable. How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!
The Sabbath is also the day we do good to others in the name of Jesus.
It is the day we should value taking care of one needy person in the name of
Jesus more than our personal comfort. Then you may ask, “When can I have
complete rest?” We can have complete and eternal rest in the kingdom of God.
(Hebrews 4:9) Until then, we must work hard for the glory of God and for the
salvation of many valuable souls.
Look at verse 13. “Then he said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' So
he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other."
Jesus could have just met him alone after the Sabbath to heal him, for he was
not an emergency case. But out of his messianic mercy, Jesus was ready to
risk his life in order to take care of this man with the shriveled hand. It was not
easy for this man with the shriveled hand to obey Jesus. But by faith he
obeyed Jesus' command and stretched out his shriveled hand. Then it was
completely restored, just as sound as the other. Now this man can build his life
with two hands and live happily for the glory of God.
Jesus’ healing this man with a shriveled hand was obvious to all.
Sometimes we see on TV faith-healing services. Often they claim that
miraculous healings were occurred during the services. Once several medical
doctors attended one of these services in order to verify these claims. They
heard that someone’s headache was healed and someone’s rheumatism was
healed and so on. There was no miraculous healing that was obvious to all
and that could be documented by medical doctors. Many who came to be
healed went home, not being healed. It was an organic healing, that is, a
shriveled hand becoming a normal hand with healthy five fingers. It was an
unmistakable, documented, objective work of God. Thus Jesus revealed
himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, that is, God himself. What was the
Pharisees’ response? We may think that after seeing such a wondrous
miracle, people would fall down before Jesus and surrender themselves to his
mercy. That is not what happened. Verse 14 says, "But the Pharisees went out
and plotted how they might kill Jesus." They did not repent. Rather, they
hardened their hearts.
Third, God's chosen servant (15-21). In this part, Jesus explains more in detail
how God's chosen servant should take care of the flock of God's sheep.
Verses 18-21 say, "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in
whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the
nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out till
he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope." Through
tender care, a bruised reed can be healed and become strong again and a
smoldering wick can be fanned into flame. Often we are like a bruised reed or
a smoldering wick. We meet people around us who are like a bruised reed or a
smoldering wick. If we are like the Pharisees, we will break them or snuff them
out completely. Rather we must be like Jesus. Jesus said of himself, “I am
gentle and humble in heart.” (11:29) We must grow to be gentle and humble.
We must be gentle and humble to people around us, beginning with our family
members and church members and even to strangers. When Jesus did not
break a bruised reed, all people like bruised reeds found hope in Jesus. When
Jesus did not snuff out a smoldering wick, all people like smoldering wicks
found hope in Jesus. In Jesus’ name all nations can find victory, hope and
salvation.
Christians are those who are in Christ. Christians are followers and
students of Christ Jesus. Christians are not disciples of the Pharisees.
Therefore, we should not criticize or condemn anybody until they feel utterly
hopeless or worthless. Instead, like Jesus, we must grow to be gentle, humble,
merciful and compassionate toward others. We must be as merciful as Jesus.
Let us learn from Jesus how to serve people of this generation and one
another with his mercy and hope.