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“If,” someone has said, “is the biggest word in the English language!” If consists of only two letters, but the implications that usually accompany this little word are often gigantic. Jesus told the Pharisees, “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12.7-8).

In this case, if was the difference between grievous error and truth. The truth was there; it was available; it was understandable. Yet, like a diamond in the rough, it was doing the Pharisees no good. If they had only taken the opportunity to find out what the term meant! If they had only incorporated the verse into their thinking and into their lives! If truly is a huge and sometimes frightening word!

Mercy, the attribute which trumps sacrifice, is an attitude of heart. It was and is entirely possible to offer sacrifice to God from a heart that is depraved and tainted with sin. This was at the core of Samuel’s message to Saul when he disobeyed God in the matter of the Amalekites. Having worked his own will rather than God’s, Saul spared certain of the livestock as well as King Agag, king of Amalek. This act of self-will was not viewed lightly, even though Saul claimed that the animals were spared in order to offer a grand sacrifice to God. Samuel cited the same principle as Hosea and Jesus when he asked, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15.22-23). From that day forward, God began implementing plans to remove Saul from his high office as Israel’s first king.

The greatest sacrifice imaginable is but nothing before God when it originates from a heart that does not possess the love of the truth. The love of the truth is the pinnacle of all graces; it grows out of the others as they mature and are nurtured in the Christian’s life. Peter noted this progression when he identified seven graces which were to be added to the foundation stone of faith. The very last grace which he identified was love! This grace, the grace that grows out of knowing and growing in the truth, was the missing ingredient in the Pharisees and it was the missing ingredient that was to allow many to be deceived by lying signs and wonders (see 2 Thessalonians 2.7-12).

Jesus warned of trying to worship God when matters which were fundamental, matters which begged to be resolved first, remained as obstacles to worship and service. Again we cite His teaching from the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5.23-24).

Some things are not necessarily more important than worship, but they are prerequisite! Love and mercy are two such things!

Questions:

1. How could the Pharisees have known the meaning of Hosea’s message about mercy?

2. What excuse did Saul offer for saving the Amalekite’s animals? What was the relevance of Samuel’s response? How significant was Saul’s sin in this matter?

3. Why do you think Peter listed love as the final grace? Why not list it first? Is the type of love which Peter talks about something that just happens or must it be pursued?

4. Are there true prerequisites to acceptable worship? If yes, list a few. If not, why did Jesus speak as He did in Matthew 5.23-24?

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Moralism