Mercy Replaces Judgement

1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3 He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven't you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one [a] greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' [b] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Matthew 12:1-8


Jesus had come, not to judge, but to show mercy on the lost world. He had come to heal and to forgive and finally to pay the ultimate price which would take God’s judgment for sin upon Himself in order that all who believed in Him could somehow live in the midst of His grace and be forgiven and free for the rest of eternity! I heard a story the other day of a business executive who boarded a private plane with a potential vendor on a journey to this company’s headquarters where hopefully a business deal would take place. Halfway through the trip, the business executives were taking God’s name in vain and serving drinks on the plane not knowing that the potential customer was a committed Christian. The customer upon hearing and seeing the brokenness of these lost men ordered the plane to be turned around as he was not interested in doing business with them because of their actions. As I heard this story my heart broke because this man did not represent who Jesus was and what He stood for. If Jesus were in that plane, He would have seen through the harsh behavior to the emptiness and broken hearts of these lost men who were in desperate need of a Savior. He would have continued on with the trip so they could see His love and experience His grace and eventually turn to Him for forgiveness and freedom and healing. As you represent Jesus to the world today, be sure to show His mercy and grace in order that the lost world around you would see Jesus in you and believe!