I’d Take Mercy Any Day

After months of reading the good ‘ole Old Testament I’m in Matthew. I’m skipping ahead in the Bible because I’m thirsty for a glimpse of Jesus himself.

This morning I came to a section I love so much I could bend my head to the paper and give it a kiss. Give it a good, wet, smooch and thank Jesus for the lovingkindness in His voice, the mercy in his hands, and the freedom in his commands.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Imagine you are part of the crowd who just heard Jesus speak these words. Imagine you are dusty, beat-down and feeling pressed hard on by every side. You walk on eggshells. The Romans hang over you, watching every move your people makes. The Pharisees and other religious leaders hang about telling you where you’ve gone wrong, pointing out your failures. You may wonder, was life meant to be a constant uphill struggle? Does God want me to bend the back and carry this burden, thank Him for the whipping? Or could there be something more?

A beautiful ray of hope breaks through your monotony. A man named Jesus, who speaks with authority and captures your attention, has begun to heal people. The local blind man is walking around town looking in everyone’s faces; he can see. The guy from down the street who couldn’t walk is skipping down the road, and you’ve even heard of lepers who are clean and dead people–dead–who are alive. They all point back to Jesus. So you listen. You strap on your sandals, gather your family and walk out to join the crowds around Jesus.

What will you hear? Another tirade about your sins? Another lesson on how to follow all the rules so God will bless your life and your nation and give you freedom? No. You hear something different entirely.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

Translation: Take my burden (it isn’t heavy) and learn from me how to carry it. I am a gentle and lowly instructor, not a mighty and terrifying guard, not a complaining and judgmental Pharisee. If you follow me, you will find rest.

Rest. You roll the word around in your mind. Can it be?

This man speaking is not just anyone off the street. He knows the holy scriptures, his preaching is flawless, his kindness palpable. And further, he does things no mere man could ever do. Miracles. Of course he comes from God, you think. Of course.

A little later Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees for something his disciples are doing (see Matthew 12:1). They are walking through fields, eating the heads of grain as they go. Freely talking, maybe laughing, as they (sort of) fill their stomachs. On the other side they meet the Pharisees who have a problem with this, as they seem to with most things.

“Look!” they say to Jesus with triumph. “Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:2) Aha!, they think. We’ve finally caught them doing something really naughty.

Fast forward to modern day. Can you not hear it now? From many religious organizations and (sadly) churches:

“Look! You’re reading that book! That book is bad.”  ”Look! You’re having a beer. Beer is bad.”  ”Look! You’re dressed up for halloween. Halloween is bad.”  ”Look! You used a bad word!” “Look, look, look!” Fingers pointing everywhere.

Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees is so simple. “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)

God desires mercy and not sacrifice. He desires kindness, forgiveness, and love OVER doing good things, giving good things and being a good rule-follower. Why? Because He knows the supreme value in each human being (Matthew 6:26, 7:11, 12:12). He wants us to react to one another with kindness and love, giving each other the benefit of the doubt and helping one another along the way rather than pointing fingers.

Forget the Pharisees. Forget the religious organizations and churches who might do this today. What about me? Do I point fingers? What about you? Do you judge others? God, teach me to love mercy above sacrifice!

Jesus isn’t saying life should be a free-for-all sin-fest where anything goes and nobody calls “Foul!” He is condemning the “Aha!” spirit that resides in each of us. The primal urge to push others down and elevate ourselves. But to follow Christ is to take the low road, to encourage and help others as we learn from Him together.

I’ll tell you one more thing. I’m so thankful Jesus isn’t weighing up all my sacrifices and telling me how I’ve failed. I’d rather take mercy any day.