This passage almost seems reminiscent of passages like Isaiah 1:13-15, where 
God through his prophet speaks of how the ancient feasts and such were an 
abomination to him, not the observances in and of themselves, but because of 
the iniquity of the people, the disposition of their hearts when they 
approached God in worship.  This is similar to the context of Matthew 9:13, 
where the Pharisees criticized Jesus for socializing with sinners.  They 
knew and kept the Law and observed all the purity laws, but to the point of 
doing harm to their neighbor.  Their hearts did not have a proper 
disposition.  All they could do was judge and condemn, but offered no 
solution or remedy.  Jesus came offering such a solution...love.  In a way, 
it his offer of mercy to us, the same mercy he offered to sinners and tax 
collectors 2000 years ago, that though the Pharisees might cut them off, 
they don't have to be cut off from God and his love.

Unlike the common interpretation, Jesus didn't socialize with bad elements 
and approve of their actions.  He didn't approve of prostitution even though 
he socialized with known prostitutes, as if by being around them he somehow 
gave his consent to their actions.  His message never compromised, the 
message of repentance in response to the good news.  What he did do, 
however, was go out to them on their own territory, like the father going 
out to meet his son in the prodigal son story.  Jesus, by socializing with 
such, was giving an enacted parable to the Pharisees.  He used the same 
"mercy, not sacrifice" response to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:7,
when they 
criticized him and his disciples for plucking grain in the fields on the 
sabbath.  His response,  yet again, in Matthew 23:23, crystallizes his 
thinking, where he tells them they have ignored the more important things of 
the Law: justice, mercy, and faith, and that while they did good things like 
tithing, they should have complemented it with a proper disposition in their 
hearts.  They rightly abhorred sin and iniquity, but they consumed 
themselves in the minute details of purity laws, they cut off those in 
society who need reconciliation.  They offered no hope to these separated 
and forsaken ones, no answers or solutions..."I am what I am, and you are 
what you are, but you will never be what I am nor will I ever be what you 
are, so we have nothing to do with each other."  What Jesus was telling 
them, was that when it comes between mercy and sacrifice, between 
reconciliation and puritanical separation, God prefers mercy and 
reconciliation.

Peace!

Phillip


"Vendor Neutral"  wrote in message 
news:crm8vj$4ld$1{at}nikalinux.nikaconsulting.net...
>
>
> I'm seeking deeper insight into Matt 9:13
>
> "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
> For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  NIV
>
> I'm mostly interested in the meaning of the quoted statement.  I take
> it to mean that what our Lord seeks is for us to show mercy [towards
> one another] rather than seek atonement through animal sacrifice,
> which I believe was still the practice of that time.  Ie, reflecting
> the statement elswhere that love mitigates a multitude of sin (a
> paraphrase; can't find the verse).
>
> The commentary in my NIV, however, seems to say that here Christ is
> extending His own mercy to us; that this statement is a call to
> salvation.  I can see part of that, particularly the second sentence
> in conjunction with Matt 9:12 ("On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is
> not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick....").  But this
> doesn't seem to capture the meaning of 'I desire mercy, not
> sacrifice'
>
> In Christ,
> Richard
>
> (((   Read http://srcbs.org for details about this group BEFORE you 
> st.   ))) 

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