Mercy not Sacrifice

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (June 8, 2008)

Rev. Steven D. Spencer – Pastor Messiah Lutheran Church, Salem, OR

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

           And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If you open up a Sunday paper you will very likely see a section called Help Wanted or the Employment section. Today in our text we see the Lord calling Matthew into a new career path. If that were an ad, it might read something like this: "Son of God seeking disciples. Among those who follow, twelve who are chosen will accompany Him for three years of intensive training and study. Eleven of them will then be sent into the world to make disciples of all nations; and they will suffer great hardship, even death, along the way. Pay: the treasures of heaven, earthly reward, and a changed life. There’s no need to apply: He will select. Don't call Him; He'll call you."

In our text, the Son of God has a choice between two very different groups of employees. On the one hand, there's Matthew of the tax collectors-a government employee who sends the bills and counts the coins. In his spare time, Matthew hangs around with other tax collectors and notorious "sinners," a sordid bunch that doesn't even pretend they're trying to earn God's favor and work their way into heaven. In contrast, the Pharisees are a group of serious, strict men who have spent years in study of the Scriptures. They’re constantly talking the talk and walking the walk of self proclaimed righteousness trying to gain God's favor with their lives. If Jesus selects a Pharisee, He has a man who’s already disciplined and schooled.

Nevertheless, the qualifications for discipleship are clear to anyone who reads the Old Testament and hears its message by faith: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Ps. 34:18). Or, as we say in the liturgy from time to time, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17). Or, as Jesus proclaims in the Gospel lesson today, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (Matt. 9:13). Yes, the Word of the Lord makes the choice clear indeed.

     The Lord picks Matthew; and not only does He pick Matthew, but He does the unthinkable and eats a meal with Matthew and his "sinful" friends. The Pharisees are appalled, and outraged: If this is the Savior, how could He do such a thing? You see, this is part of the thought process of the Pharisees and some well-meaning Christians who are also filled with works righteousness.

I believe we often overlook the obvious when we are reading Scripture. The Pharisees see and comprehend how incredibly awesome the teaching of Jesus is. Time and again they comment on the authority with which He teaches. The miracles Jesus does, the Old Testament Passages He quotes, make Jesus a noble and well-respected teacher. Never once does a Pharisee question Jesus having the title Rabbi. But we see in our passage today where the heart of the problem truly lay. The Pharisees want Jesus to be on their team. Being a team player means playing by all the rules the other players play by. When Jesus refuses to be on their team, and play by their rules, they decide to treat Him as the enemy. 

The Pharisees have another problem, a doctrinal one.  They think that they can earn God's favor by doing His will. Therefore, God loves those who do His will more than those who don't. Or, to put it another way: Those who keep God's laws are a lot more saved than those who don't even try. (The Pharisees are experts in keeping the Law; in fact, they've added to it. The Lord commands His people to rest on the Sabbath; the Pharisees will tell you how many steps you can take before you are no longer resting.)

Naturally, if you are choosing a worker for a incredible religious job a devout Pharisee is a better choice than a tax collector of dubious character.

Regardless, Jesus picks Matthew; and the Pharisees' reaction follows their chain of thought. For one thing, they despise Matthew; but then again, they already did. Matthew was a tax collector - a publican - a sinner. His office was in Capernaum, which was the hub for trade of the Far East. Caravans would pass through the city on the way to the coast. Each caravan was taxed; Matthew was in a sense a custom's officer.  No one in Matthews's day liked paying taxes; do you? A tax collector made his living by collecting the taxes due then a surtax for ones own living. Some of the tax collectors beat and abused those they collected taxes from. They did this without fear for the Roman government protected them. These men were seen as the worst of all sinners, leaching off of society. This is not the type of person you would tend to hire to run your business, yet Jesus did. Jesus isn't playing by their rules.

The Pharisees despise Jesus. They are puffed up in their own righteousness. It's not so much the snub-that He didn't pick one of them. No, the problem-as they see it-is that He's working against them. They've worked out their own plan of salvation, and their plan is that they will offer their good works to God as a pleasing sacrifice to gain His favor. But if Jesus eats with sinners instead of them, He's not a savior who agrees with their plan. He has mercy on those whom they despise, and He's offering aid and comfort to the enemy. He's a threat because He undermines their entire confession of faith. How can He do such a thing?

Jesus explains to the Pharisees: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." Imagine a doctor who declares that he seeks to practice only on people in perfect health: "Here! Come into my office! Lie back and let me run a few tests and maybe perform surgery. You're perfectly healthy, and I'm going to cure you!" It's a ludicrous idea, isn't it? Healthy people don't have to be cured: They're already free from disease.

But not so hard to believe is a situation we witness too often: One who is sick refuses to admit his illness. Rather than see a doctor who can help, he maintains, "I do not need a doctor, because I am not sick! Doctors aren't for healthy people, and I am perfectly healthy." It's silly, but some won't admit they are sick, even when it is clear to all that they may be gravely ill. And here's an important point: No matter how much positive thinking they put into it-no matter how fervently they believe that they are not ill, they still are. Wishing doesn't make it so.

So, we have the illustration of the doctor. Doctors don't help healthy people who don't need them. Doctors can't help people who won't admit they are sick. Doctors can help those who confess that they need medical attention.

And so we have the Savior. He has come to save sinners-people who are terminally ill with sin. He is not going to die for holy, sinless, righteous people. For one thing, there aren't any other holy sinless people only He. For another, sinless people wouldn't need Him to die to take away their sins.

Jesus is going to die for sinners: He is going to the cross to die for the sins of the world. But while He dies for all, not all will be saved. Why? Because of the sin that the Pharisees represent: Many will say, "Well and good that Jesus died for sinners: They need it. But I'm not sinful, at least not so much that He needs to die to set me straight with God. I'm not that sick, so I don't need such desperate measures to heal me." But wishing so doesn't make it so. Many insist that they are not sick with sin; and many maintain that they are good because they maintain a positive attitude. But one cannot wish away sin anymore than one can wish away pleurisy; one needs to be healed of the disease. Or simply they got it all figured out, including their own Gods.

Jesus says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," quoting what His Father said through Hosea centuries before. Many will seek to get to heaven by offering a sacrifice of good works, good thoughts, good words, because they believe they aren't so sinful: "Look Lord-look see what I've done! I've done good things! Therefore I'm not sinful! Therefore I don't need anyone to save me! Your Son didn't have to die for me! I'm making it on my own!" You see that's what your saying when you don't acknowledge how truly sinful you are.  Your saying works are my sacrifices. I've done what's necessary.

But the Lord doesn't desire sacrifices; in fact, they offend Him. When someone declares to God, "I'm good enough to make it on my own," he is declaring, "You sacrificed Your Son for no good reason, because I can save myself!" This robs the Son of His glory and offends the Father greatly.

What does the Lord desire? He desires to have mercy. It is why He sacrificed His Son, judging Him on the cross in our place. He has given His Son the punishment that we deserve so that He can give us what we don't deserve: Grace. For the sake of Jesus, God the Father declares: "Your works do not save you-they cannot. My Son has saved you. He has lived for you and He has died for you; and I have raised Him from the dead to give you life. I will not save you because of your efforts; but I will have mercy upon you and forgive you for My Son's sake." This is what He means when He declares, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice"-"I desire to have mercy on you for the sake of Jesus, because your works and sacrifices won't get the job done."

All of this is why Jesus calls Matthew, not one of the Pharisees. The Pharisees don't want Him and His mercy, even though they dearly need Him. As long as they trust in their own sacrificial efforts, they have no need for the Sacrifice.

This understanding of mercy is so important especially to us today. As we are gathered here this morning by the work of the Lord;, we sang, in the Kyrie "Lord, have mercy." This, my dear friends, is an important confession of faith. By this verse of the liturgy, we confess that we are not here to impress God by our works and sacrifices; we are here because we cannot save ourselves. Therefore, we confess that we are here so that the Lord may have mercy upon us-to save us solely by His work and His grace. Rejoice in this as well: As we sing, "Lord have mercy," it is not that we are trying to persuade Him, to talk Him into it. We are agreeing with Him, that this is what He comes to do; He is here not to measure our sacrifices, but to have mercy upon us.

And because He has had mercy upon us, you can be certain of this: That all your sins are forgiven because of the work He has done. For our Lord is slow to anger and His mercy endures forever. – In Jesus name, Amen!    

(The peace of God which, surpasses all comprehension keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus - Amen)