Daily Word Of God
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus was walking on he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
Now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- Jesus told the Pharisees that He came to call sinners, not the upright as they are already “God fearing” people. He wants mercy not sacrifice.
- Although a sacrifice had always been a fitting offering to God as He is almighty and all Loving, mercy is preferred because it is a virtue that comes from relating to others with compassion and love.
- In all our dealings with others, Jesus expects that we show mercy and compassion to them as He has constantly been showing us these values. Not to show such values is to take Jesus for granted.