I desire mercy not sacrafice

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Albany

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Matthew 9:13 “… I desire mercy not sacrafice …”

Hi all I have been reflecting on these words of Jesus as I was reading some of Matthew’s Gospel today and can’t stop thinking about it.

What do you think Jesus meant by this???

(Personal opinions wanted 🙂 no need to quote scriptures)

All the best,

Albany
xxx
 
It was in the context of them thinking they could do all the rituals and follow the rules without having the right condition of heart. Missing the point so to speak. In other words, hyperbole, not actually saying God didn’t want sacrifice. He wanted GOOD sacrifices.
 
Albany said:
Matthew 9:13 “… I desire mercy not sacrafice …”
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To me, it means God wants our charity toward one another a lot more than He wants ritual religious practice. That is, feeding the hungry is going to get you to heaven a lot faster than saying the LoTH. I understand it this way because Jesus, I think, when He said “sacrifice” was referring to ritual sacrifice in the Temple.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go to Mass or pray, for in this way we acquire the Holy Spirit through Whom the gift of mercy and the impulse toward charity come. But if we do that as only duty, it becomes ritual instead of desire for oneness with God.

It means love one another.
 
Albany said:
Matthew 9:13 “… I desire mercy not sacrafice …”

Hi all I have been reflecting on these words of Jesus as I was reading some of Matthew’s Gospel today and can’t stop thinking about it.

What do you think Jesus meant by this???

(Personal opinions wanted 🙂 no need to quote scriptures)

All the best,

Albany
xxx
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Context, context, context (you can’t go there without quoting Scripture…sorry)

The entire context of the phrase you cited:

[BIBLEDRB]Matt 9:9-13[/BIBLEDRB]

As somebody else said, He was quoting from Hosea:
[BIBLEDRB]Hosea 6:4-7[/BIBLEDRB]

Compare this to Matthew 5:23-24

[BIBLEDRB]Matt 5:23-24[/BIBLEDRB]

That Matt 5 encompasses the heart of it. If you make all the religious gestures in the world yet have a hard heart, it means nothing.

In this specific instance, since He was speaking to the Pharisees after they criticized him for associating with tax collectors and sinners, it is plain that He was responding to their criticism about His association with those that they don’t approve of.

It would be, for example, similar to a situation where you went to a bar with a bad reputation. Others would look at you and be scandalized (assuming that you were as horrible a person as those who frequent that establishment). While, in fact, your purpose in going there was to be a shining light in a very dark place.

I don’t actually see the “social justice” connection to this that you made in your subsequent post. I see it more as a call to bring the Light of the Gospel to people whom society regards as being unsavory, specifically, and, generally, to love and be reconciled with all of your neighbors.
 
markomalley said:
I don’t actually see the “social justice” connection to this that you made in your subsequent post. I see it more as a call to bring the Light of the Gospel to people whom society regards as being unsavory, specifically, and, generally, to love and be reconciled with all of your neighbors.
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Context, context, context
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We don’t read excerpts from the Gospels to understand, but read and understand through the body of teaching. The Gospels are rife with examples and teachings about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, forgiving one another, making the last first, respecting the poor widow’s mite, rescuing the beaten stranger on the road, not walking by the poor man at your door on the way to give alms.

Jesus does say to spread His gospel. But this isn’t His Great Commandment.
 
Julia_Mae said:
We don’t read excerpts from the Gospels to understand, but read and understand through the body of teaching. The Gospels are rife with examples and teachings about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, forgiving one another, making the last first, respecting the poor widow’s mite, rescuing the beaten stranger on the road, not walking by the poor man at your door on the way to give alms.

Jesus does say to spread His gospel. But this isn’t His Great Commandment.
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Yes, there are plenty of citations to support the corporal works of mercy. The one cited in the OP just is not one of them.
 
Julia_Mae said:
In your opinion.
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My opinion?

From the CCC:

CCC 589 Jesus gave scandal above all when he identified his merciful conduct toward sinners with God’s own attitude toward them.(367) He went so far as to hint that by sharing the table of sinners he was admitting them to the messianic banquet.(368) But it was most especially by forgiving sins that Jesus placed the religious authorities of Israel on the horns of a dilemma. Were they not entitled to demand in consternation, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”(369) By forgiving sins Jesus either is blaspheming as a man who made himself God’s equal, or is speaking the truth and his person really does make present and reveal God’s name.(370)

367 Mt 9,13 Os 6,6
368 Lc 15,1-2,22,
369 Mc 2,7 370 Jn 5,18 Jn 10,33 Jn 17,6.

CCC 2100 Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit…”(17) The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.(18) Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”(19) The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation.(20) By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.

16 St. Augustine, De civ Dei 10, 6 PL 41, 283.
17 Ps 51,17
18 Am 5,21-25 Is 1,10-20
19 Mt 9,13 Mt 12,7 Os 6,6
20 He 9,13-14

Those two CCC passages are fairly clear on the subject. I could also go and quote some out of the Early Church Fathers that would agree with the CCC.

My opinion?
 
markomalley said:
My opinion?
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Yup. You know, there’s a whole thread on who interprets the Magisterium when we all read the same thing and come to different conclusions.

YOU BELIEVE that they have said something that supports your view of the matter. I BELIEVE it supports mine.

The real difference between us is: It’s okay with me if you have a different opinion.
 
Another interesting comparison is the entire book of Leviticus. *Only the Guilt Offering and Sin Offering were mandatory. *The others were voluntary and pleasing to God. *Verses where the NIV Protestant Bible interprets obedience and mercy in preference to sacrifice are: (1 Sam 15:22, Isa 1:11, Hos 6:6, Mic 6:6, Mt 9:13) *They also throw in (Heb 10:10-14) “Through Christ’s sacrifice we are free to ofer our prayers without need of prior ritual.”
 
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