January 17
Matthew 12:1-21
Do you ever find yourself becoming obsessed by seemingly insignificant things and missing the main thing? Something that, when you step back you realize that you have substituted the inferior for the greater. When we do that, we have become like the Pharisees. One of the greatest conflicts between the Pharisees and Jesus concerned Sabbath adherence. The Sabbath was given as a sign of the Mosaic covenant around 1400 years before Jesus. This law, which was provided by God as an opportunity to rest and worship, had been transformed into a maze of commands with mountains of commands built upon them. Jesus points out the flaw in their thinking by quoting Hosea 6:6, which speaks to the fact that God desires mercy, not sacrifice.
This Hosea passage rebuked people who thought that regardless of their heart attitudes and actions, God would approve of them through animal sacrifices. It was meant to correct those who had made inferior things the primary things. Whenever we put a command of God in conflict with our relationship with God, we miss the point. Once again, Jesus reminds His listeners (and us by extension) that God is concerned about our hearts. He wants us to love God and love others―not simply keep a series of rules without relationship. Our relationship with God comes first, and then obedience flows as an extension of that.
Father God, thank you for your love. Help me to respond to this love with love for you, for others, and obedience to your ways. Amen.
Where in your life do you see rule-following superseding your relationship with God?
Do you ever find yourself becoming obsessed by seemingly insignificant things and missing the main thing? Something that, when you step back you realize that you have substituted the inferior for the greater. When we do that, we have become like the Pharisees. One of the greatest conflicts between the Pharisees and Jesus concerned Sabbath adherence. The Sabbath was given as a sign of the Mosaic covenant around 1400 years before Jesus. This law, which was provided by God as an opportunity to rest and worship, had been transformed into a maze of commands with mountains of commands built upon them. Jesus points out the flaw in their thinking by quoting Hosea 6:6, which speaks to the fact that God desires mercy, not sacrifice.
This Hosea passage rebuked people who thought that regardless of their heart attitudes and actions, God would approve of them through animal sacrifices. It was meant to correct those who had made inferior things the primary things. Whenever we put a command of God in conflict with our relationship with God, we miss the point. Once again, Jesus reminds His listeners (and us by extension) that God is concerned about our hearts. He wants us to love God and love others―not simply keep a series of rules without relationship. Our relationship with God comes first, and then obedience flows as an extension of that.
Father God, thank you for your love. Help me to respond to this love with love for you, for others, and obedience to your ways. Amen.
Where in your life do you see rule-following superseding your relationship with God?
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