While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
It was a tradition among the Jewish people to honor a friend by hosting a feast in his honor. Jesus had shown Matthew, the traitor, the tax-collector, the man who had exploited his own people for profit, compassion. Jesus had restored Matthew's dignity, and Matthew desired to honor Jesus. The problem was that because of Matthew's standing in the community (he had been thrown out of the temple and disallowed at any Jewish function) he had no proper friends to invite to the feast. Matthew's friends consisted of other tax-collectors, thieves, prostitutes, and other pariah.
I'm sure that Matthew must have explained this dilemma to Jesus because his intent was to honor Jesus and he knew that in the greater community, it would not be honoring for Jesus to socialize with such a group. But Jesus came to Matthew's feast anyway.
Sure enough, the religious elite -the guardians of public morality -noticed and immediately began to criticize. When they asked, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" it was a rhetorical question as they has already reached their own conclusions. In their thinking, Jesus had chosen the rabble because he himself was of the same ilk.
This causes me to think about all of the times Christians have brought out the verses about "shunning the very appearance of evil," and "not being a stumbling block to weaker brothers." Once again Jesus goes to the motives of the heart. It is not our place to look at other Believers and judge their motives. Only God is in a position to judge hearts. Because Jesus knew this to be true, He was not concerned about His reputation. He simply did what was right and let people think whatever they wanted to think.
When Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' He forbids judgmental condemnation among His followers. Sacrifice represents the law. The Old Covenant was a sacrificial system. Jesus represents God's heart. The key here is the motivations of the heart. When our motives are selfish and self-serving, we need to consider that others are watching and be careful not to be a stumbling block to weaker brothers. When our motives are to obey Father and do His will, forget what others think -Mercy is better than sacrifice, and grace trumps law.
amen!
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