Embodying Christ's Compassion: Mercy Over Sacrifice
Summary
### Summary
Good morning, everyone. Today, we delve into Matthew 12, focusing on the compassion of Christ and how it manifests as mercy when it alleviates suffering. This theme has been particularly resonant for me recently, and I felt compelled to share it with you. Compassion is a recurring theme in the scriptures, and it’s something that Jesus exemplified throughout His ministry. For instance, during our prayer time, we saw compassion in action as we prayed for Betty and Lynn Smith. This compassion is the heart of the Lord, and it’s something we should strive to embody in our lives.
We begin by examining the opposition Jesus faced, particularly from the religious leaders of His time. These leaders, often respected and zealous, knew the scriptures well but missed the heart of God’s message. They opposed Jesus’ authority, mercy, and grace, which is evident in Matthew 12. This opposition wasn’t just from the Pharisees but also from Jesus’ own disciples at times. It’s a sobering reminder of how easily we can lose sight of compassion and become obstacles in the growth of others.
Reading the news, especially about the tragic events like the missionaries in Haiti, makes me yearn for the Lord’s return to bring perfect justice. As believers, we have the hope of forgiveness and adoption into God’s family, as stated in Ephesians 1. However, we must also examine our lives to see where we might be opposing the message of Christ, whether in our families, ministries, or personal relationships. Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me," and this can easily apply to us if we are not careful.
The Sabbath is a significant theme in today’s scripture. It was a day of rest and worship, but the religious leaders had turned it into a burden with numerous laws and restrictions. Jesus challenged these interpretations, emphasizing that mercy should be above sacrifice. He cited examples like David eating the bread of presence, which was technically unlawful but was an act of mercy. Jesus declared that something greater than the temple was here, referring to Himself, and emphasized that He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
In Matthew 12:9-14, we see Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, demonstrating that human need supersedes the law. The Pharisees, instead of showing compassion, plotted to kill Him. This lack of mercy and compassion is a stark contrast to Jesus’ actions and teachings. Jesus’ miracles spoke for themselves, and He fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah 42, which described a humble servant who would bring justice to the nations.
Jesus’ authority and divinity are further emphasized in His reference to the Son of Man from Daniel 7. This title, which Jesus used frequently, signifies His dominion and everlasting kingdom. Despite the opposition, Jesus continued to heal and minister to the people, fulfilling His mission with compassion and mercy.
As we reflect on these scriptures, let’s examine our own lives. Are there areas where we have moved out of mercy and compassion and are opposing the message of Christ? Let’s choose mercy in all aspects of our lives and relationships. God desires mercy, not sacrifice, and it’s through His mercy that we are given new hearts and spirits, as promised in Ezekiel 36.
### Key Takeaways
1. Compassion as the Heart of Christ: Compassion is central to the ministry of Jesus. It’s not just an emotion but an action that alleviates suffering, transforming into mercy. This compassion should be evident in our lives as we interact with others, reflecting the heart of Christ. When we step out of compassion, we risk becoming obstacles in the spiritual growth of others. [53:59]
2. Opposition to Jesus’ Message: The religious leaders of Jesus’ time, despite their knowledge and zeal, often opposed His message. This opposition wasn’t limited to the Pharisees but also included Jesus’ own disciples at times. It’s a reminder that we must guard our hearts against becoming calloused and losing sight of mercy and compassion. [56:58]
3. The True Purpose of the Sabbath: The Sabbath was intended as a day of rest and worship, but the religious leaders had turned it into a burden with numerous laws. Jesus emphasized that mercy should be above sacrifice, challenging the legalistic interpretations of the Sabbath. He demonstrated this by healing on the Sabbath, showing that human need supersedes the law. [01:09:17]
4. Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath: Jesus declared that He is greater than the temple and the Lord of the Sabbath, emphasizing His authority and divinity. This was a significant statement, as the temple represented the presence of God to the Jews. Jesus’ miracles and teachings fulfilled the prophecies, affirming His identity as the Son of Man with an everlasting kingdom. [01:14:22]
5. Choosing Mercy Over Sacrifice: Jesus’ actions and teachings consistently highlighted the importance of mercy over sacrifice. The Pharisees’ lack of compassion and their plot to kill Jesus after witnessing His miracles is a stark contrast to the mercy Jesus embodied. We are called to examine our lives and ensure that we are choosing mercy in all our interactions, reflecting the heart of God. [01:21:15]
### Youtube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[53:59] - Compassion of Christ
[56:58] - Opposition to Jesus
[01:09:17] - True Purpose of the Sabbath
[01:14:22] - Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath
[01:21:15] - Choosing Mercy Over Sacrifice
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Matthew 12:1-14 - Jesus and the Sabbath
2. Ephesians 1:5-7 - Adoption into God's Family
3. Ezekiel 36:25-27 - New Hearts and Spirits
#### Observation Questions
1. What actions did Jesus' disciples take that the Pharisees considered unlawful on the Sabbath? (Matthew 12:1-2)
2. How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees' accusations about His disciples' actions on the Sabbath? (Matthew 12:3-8)
3. What miracle did Jesus perform on the Sabbath, and what was the Pharisees' reaction? (Matthew 12:9-14)
4. According to Ephesians 1:5-7, what are the benefits of being adopted into God's family?
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why did Jesus use the example of David eating the bread of presence to respond to the Pharisees? What point was He making about the Sabbath? (Matthew 12:3-4)
2. How does Jesus' declaration that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" challenge the Pharisees' understanding of the law? (Matthew 12:8)
3. In what ways does the prophecy from Isaiah 42, quoted in Matthew 12:18-21, describe Jesus' mission and character?
4. How does the promise of new hearts and spirits in Ezekiel 36:25-27 relate to the theme of mercy over sacrifice?
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you may have prioritized rules or traditions over showing compassion and mercy. How can you change your approach in similar situations in the future? [56:58]
2. Jesus emphasized that human need supersedes the law. How can you apply this principle in your daily interactions, especially when faced with rigid rules or expectations? [01:02:06]
3. The Pharisees' lack of compassion led them to plot against Jesus. How can you ensure that your actions and attitudes are aligned with Christ's compassion and mercy, rather than opposition? [01:17:56]
4. Jesus' miracles and teachings fulfilled prophecies and demonstrated His authority. How can you acknowledge and submit to Jesus' authority in areas of your life where you might be resisting? [01:14:22]
5. The sermon mentioned the importance of examining our lives to see where we might be opposing the message of Christ. Identify one area in your life where you might be doing this and discuss practical steps to align with Christ's message. [01:26:25]
6. Ephesians 1:5-7 speaks of the hope and forgiveness we have as adopted children of God. How can this assurance of being part of God's family influence your interactions with others, especially those who are suffering or in need?
7. Ezekiel 36:25-27 promises new hearts and spirits. What specific actions can you take this week to cultivate a heart of flesh, sensitive to God's leading and compassionate towards others? [01:32:51]
May this guide help you delve deeper into the themes of compassion, mercy, and the authority of Christ, encouraging you to reflect these qualities in your daily life.
Devotional
Day 1: Compassion as the Heart of Christ
Compassion is central to the ministry of Jesus. It’s not just an emotion but an action that alleviates suffering, transforming into mercy. This compassion should be evident in our lives as we interact with others, reflecting the heart of Christ. When we step out of compassion, we risk becoming obstacles in the spiritual growth of others. Jesus’ compassion was evident in His healing, teaching, and even in His prayers for others. He showed us that true compassion involves stepping into the suffering of others and offering relief, just as He did for Betty and Lynn Smith during our prayer time.
In Matthew 12, Jesus’ compassion is contrasted with the lack of it from the religious leaders. They were more concerned with legalistic adherence to the law than with the well-being of people. Jesus, however, demonstrated that compassion and mercy should always take precedence. This is a powerful reminder for us to embody the same compassion in our daily lives, ensuring that our actions reflect the heart of Christ. [53:59]
Matthew 9:36 (ESV): "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
Reflection: Think of someone in your life who is suffering. How can you show them the compassion of Christ today in a tangible way?
Day 2: Opposition to Jesus’ Message
The religious leaders of Jesus’ time, despite their knowledge and zeal, often opposed His message. This opposition wasn’t limited to the Pharisees but also included Jesus’ own disciples at times. It’s a reminder that we must guard our hearts against becoming calloused and losing sight of mercy and compassion. The Pharisees knew the scriptures well but missed the heart of God’s message, which is a sobering reminder for us to not let our knowledge overshadow our compassion.
Jesus faced opposition because His message of mercy and grace challenged the established norms and threatened the authority of the religious leaders. This opposition is a call for us to examine our own lives and see where we might be resisting the message of Christ. Are there areas in our lives where we are more focused on rules and traditions than on the heart of God’s message? Let’s strive to align our hearts with His, ensuring that we are not obstacles in the spiritual growth of others. [56:58]
Matthew 23:23 (ESV): "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."
Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you are more focused on rules and traditions than on showing mercy and compassion? How can you realign your heart with the heart of God today?
Day 3: The True Purpose of the Sabbath
The Sabbath was intended as a day of rest and worship, but the religious leaders had turned it into a burden with numerous laws. Jesus emphasized that mercy should be above sacrifice, challenging the legalistic interpretations of the Sabbath. He demonstrated this by healing on the Sabbath, showing that human need supersedes the law. The Sabbath was meant to be a gift, a time for rest and connection with God, but it had become a source of oppression due to the added restrictions.
Jesus’ actions on the Sabbath were a powerful statement about the true purpose of the day. By healing a man with a withered hand, He showed that acts of mercy and compassion are in perfect alignment with the spirit of the Sabbath. This challenges us to rethink how we observe our own times of rest and worship. Are we using these times to draw closer to God and to show mercy to others, or have we allowed legalism to overshadow the true purpose? [01:09:17]
Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV): "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Reflection: How do you observe your times of rest and worship? Are there ways you can incorporate acts of mercy and compassion into these times?
Day 4: Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus declared that He is greater than the temple and the Lord of the Sabbath, emphasizing His authority and divinity. This was a significant statement, as the temple represented the presence of God to the Jews. Jesus’ miracles and teachings fulfilled the prophecies, affirming His identity as the Son of Man with an everlasting kingdom. By claiming lordship over the Sabbath, Jesus was asserting His divine authority and challenging the established religious norms.
This declaration is a powerful reminder of Jesus’ authority and divinity. It calls us to recognize Him as the ultimate authority in our lives, above all traditions and laws. Jesus’ lordship over the Sabbath also emphasizes the importance of mercy and compassion in our observance of religious practices. As we reflect on this, let’s ensure that our worship and rest are centered on Him, recognizing His authority and embodying His compassion. [01:14:22]
Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV): "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."
Reflection: How do you recognize Jesus’ authority in your daily life? Are there areas where you need to submit more fully to His lordship?
Day 5: Choosing Mercy Over Sacrifice
Jesus’ actions and teachings consistently highlighted the importance of mercy over sacrifice. The Pharisees’ lack of compassion and their plot to kill Jesus after witnessing His miracles is a stark contrast to the mercy Jesus embodied. We are called to examine our lives and ensure that we are choosing mercy in all our interactions, reflecting the heart of God. Jesus’ emphasis on mercy over sacrifice challenges us to prioritize compassion and kindness in our daily lives.
This call to choose mercy over sacrifice is a reminder that our religious practices should never overshadow the importance of showing love and compassion to others. Jesus’ life and ministry were marked by acts of mercy, and He calls us to follow His example. As we reflect on this, let’s commit to embodying His mercy in all our relationships and interactions, ensuring that our actions reflect the heart of God. [01:21:15]
Hosea 6:6 (ESV): "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you have prioritized religious practices over showing mercy and compassion? How can you choose mercy in your interactions today?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Reading the news especially in these last few weeks, um, I don't know if you saw like the missionaries in Haiti that were murdered, just young 23 year old, um, and my heart straight away jumps to man I want the Lord to come back just make this right it's perfect justice and as born again believers if we put our faith in Christ he's forgiven us our sins because we've all accrued a massive debt of sin at the moment we put our faith in Christ he's faithful and just and he forgives us our sins it's amazing the best thing it's my hope and desire for every person here that you've received that bible says we're adopted into his family and it's something that he's very excited about the Lord is for us to be part of his family in Ephesians 1 it says that it's according to his good will and pleasure that that's the case." [01:26:25]
2. "You sort of wonder, at what point did their hearts get so calloused that they would lose that mercy or lose that compassion and actually oppose the message of Christ? How did that happen? And how easily can that actually happen to us? I mean, it happened to me last week. If we don't keep a close eye on our heart, how easily can we move from doing works of Christ, like that psalm that we just read out, into just being... compassionless, and quite easily doing the work of the enemy in that state, being an obstacle in the growth of other brothers and sisters in their faith?" [56:58]
3. "So the reason for the Sabbath was for man to rest. And in another gospel, it says in the Gospel of Mark, it says the Sabbath was made for who? Man. Not man for the Sabbath." [01:01:13]
4. "So Jesus is saying that the serving of the temple superseded the requirements of the law but then he goes on to make this huge statement which is that one in verse 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here who's he talking about yeah Jesus himself so that's a big statement because you have to understand the gravity of it from a Jewish perspective the temple was the presence of God they were okay if the temp if the temple was okay the God was with them it was his dwelling place and it was obviously sacred and it's actually it was everything to the Jews and here Jesus is saying that something greater than the temple is here." [01:09:17]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Remember this God desires mercy not sacrifice this has been good for me and I hope this has been good for you sometimes it's good just to have a good internal look as to how are we walking out our Christian walk and all aspects of our lives and our relationships let's choose mercy amen." [01:26:25]
2. "Compassion when it acts out to alleviate suffering it's actually mercy and that's what we're looking at today actually just in that prayer time that we had then um I could see compassion on Betty we're praying for Lynn Smith and she said she was in the car this morning with the news of Betty and she just started just crying and that's the heart of the Lord we're seeing scripture all the time you know that Jesus looked upon people with compassion in fact it brought up something in me that challenged me so much that I called a brother who sitting here today and I actually apologized because I stepped out of compassion last week." [53:59]
3. "So Jesus is saying that the serving of the temple superseded the requirements of the law but then he goes on to make this huge statement which is that one in verse 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here who's he talking about yeah Jesus himself so that's a big statement because you have to understand the gravity of it from a Jewish perspective the temple was the presence of God they were okay if the temp if the temple was okay the God was with them it was his dwelling place and it was obviously sacred and it's actually it was everything to the Jews and here Jesus is saying that something greater than the temple is here." [01:09:17]
4. "So what Jesus is actually doing here is he's he's demonstrating exactly what that last bit of scripture he was teaching on so now he has an opportunity to actually demonstrate it in front of them that he'd heal a man with a shriveled hand right in front of them on the sabbath because he's saying the sabbath is here for man his needs supersede those in fact if you consider that by Jesus doing that he even allowed that man a type of rest that he wouldn't have had if he wasn't healed if he left him in that state so that man that man that had the shriveled hand is now able to rest in the Lord." [01:19:30]
5. "So Jesus is pulling out probably one of the best example well of course he knows what he's doing he pulls out this perfect example of an event where um it was on a sabbath and this priest amalek was looked over the regulations of the law to give david uh and his followers um this bread so to explain a little bit of it because it may be a little confusing there david wasn't a priest and so he had no right to take that bread from the temple it was that was consecrated bread made holy just for the priests but amalek was happy to do it and he was able to do it and he was able to do it and break with um his uh his priestly customs and and overlook it uh and give him the bread and he just basically set down one of the many laws which was they had to um just before the sabbath they had to restrain from uh uh sexual union it was one of the clean laws and that's what that whole bit in there about um keeping yourself from women but he overlooked all the other ones the point was that he correctly understood that the human need that david's need and his companions the hunger was actually above that of the requirements of the law does that make sense he's seeing it as more important and jesus here is approving of it he's saying amalek actually made the right decision that was the correct thing to do the correct interpretation of the law and he did it with the right heart." [01:07:40]
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