Daily Affirmations - Day 5 - The Former Things - Mercy, Not the Ritual of Sacrifice
Day 5: Mercy, not the ritual of sacrifice
As Jesus went on… He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him (Matthew 9:9).
"Give thanks to the Lord," the psalmist urges us, "for He is good. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story..." (Psalm 107:1-2).
This is exactly what the gospel writer Matthew does, as he, with singular modesty and brevity, relates the story of his own calling (Jamieson Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary). The man who would become the seventh disciple called by Jesus, reports sitting at the tax collector's booth engaged in one of the most unpopular professions of his day when Jesus saw [him] (Matthew 9:9).
How like You, El Roi, the God who sees (Genesis 16:13), to notice a man that another gospel writer describes as a "publican" (Luke 5:27) a word that conveys the deep disdain, distrust and dislike of the profession. Yet, this is the man, and others like him You defended when the religious elite criticized Your social interaction with them. Theirs are the faces You held up to call us into deep compassion and mercy; not the external rituals of religion and sacrifice:
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:10-13)
Oh Lord, all Your redeemed ones have a story to tell. For You are the God who sees the unseen, chooses the despised, embraces the outcast. You rearrange the former order of things—You rebuild and restore, redeem and reverse.
You fill the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, revive the fainting. You settle the wanderer, free the prisoner, heal the afflicted. You lead out of darkness, break away chains, tear down barriers (Psalm 107:4-20). Thank You for Your great mercy.
Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:21 – KJV).
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