Genesis 35:1 - 36:43
Matthew 12: 1 - 21
Psalm 15: 1- 5
Proverbs 3:21 - 26
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This is a tool to help you read through the Bible in a year. Each day there is a reading from The Old Testament, The New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. There is also a place to add comments on what you've read. Just click on the date and you will see any comments posted. Click the scripture verses to read the passage.
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Matthew 12:7
ReplyDeleteJesus told the Pharisees, "If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent."
This verse is so heavy. The Pharisees are trying to condemn Jesus' disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath, which wasn't even a part of the law. It was a "fence law" that they made because people would walk through the fields and rub against the wheat to make the grain fall to the ground and harvest a crop. The religious leaders made a rule to stop people from doing that on the Sabbath because it was considered working.
Jesus disciples stepped on the scene and in their freedom they started picking grain and eating it. The Pharisees were so judgmental that they couldn't stand this. So Jesus says ""If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." He also used this same statement when the Pharisees were discrediting him for hanging out with the tax collectors.
Jesus was trying to let them know that God was not really impressed with their "managing" of the law. God wants their hearts to become engaged, which would mean that they would have to show mercy towards those who don't have a heart for the law. The problem was that the Pharisees had a heart for the law because they were professionals at enforcing it. That's all they really knew how to do.
I used to care more about church than about God and God revealed this to me about 5 years ago. It really hurt. I spent a lot of time journaling my prayers and falling in love with God all over again. The human heart is so prone to externally acknowledge God, while internally avoiding him. I think that was the Pharisees biggest problem. They were so spiritually repressed from years of battling traditions that it was almost impossible for them to re-engage their hearts for God and people. It's still going on today, even after Jesus set us free.