Day 102 "The sweet taste of mercy can be drowned by the bitterness of the law."

Day 103

Matthew 12:1-8 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even on the Sabbath."

A few years ago, my late wife and I were blessed with an opportunity to visit Israel for the first time, and if you are ever given the opportunity, I would highly recommend it; every believer will, I believe, benefit from the experience. One of the greatest challenges for me, however, was the staunch reverence and strict adherence to the law by the Jewish people, and secondly, their lack of tolerance for non-Jews. To see the things of Jesus viewed upon as utterly meaningless (other than for profit) literally can break your heart.

One evening shortly after our arrival was the beginning of the Sabbath, which means that from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday there can be no physical labor performed by the Jewish people. Therefore, many of them make it a practice to go to the local motels on Friday afternoons and stay there until the completion of Sabbath. This way, all of their meals are prepared and the temptation to do any chores is completely removed. In order to accommodate them, among many other things, the multistory motels set their elevators to stop on every floor, negating the need to push the buttons, which would be considered working. In the restaurants tables are not bussed, the food is laid out on the buffet ahead of time, and no one serves or waits on them. Being a visitor and not understanding the culture, many of us were scolded (some rather rudely) for being so foolish as to push the elevator buttons; after all, we were breaking the Sabbath.

Suddenly, I understood this passage. Without disrespecting God's chosen people, let me just say that the rudeness of the people did far more to drive me away from desiring to be like them than would have a kind word explaining the reason for their beliefs. I think one of the things Jesus is trying to say to the Jews in this passage is that people are more important than law, especially when the strict adherence to the law prevents you from recognizing the one who came to fulfill it! We can get so caught up in the legalism that we forget the law was made to protect the people, not destroy or maim them! Anytime adherence to law outweighs mercy for God's people, we are in trouble, and I dare say we have strayed far away from the heart of our Savior. After all, Jesus did not shed His blood to justify the law, but rather to fulfill it, and by His life and death He showed us the ultimate truth–God loves people, not rules! I'm not advocating sin, so don't get led astray, but rather a lifestyle filled with mercy, grace, and love. After all, if it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.

Daily Prayer: Father, please help me not to get caught up in legalism, but rather to abound in mercy, grace, and love that I might please You and win all the more for Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

"The sweet taste of mercy can be drowned by the bitterness of the law."

Pastor Gene Burroughs