At the Heart of God Is a Heart of Mercy
What Matters Most to You?
We all care about something. And there are some things we care about more than others. That’s normal. That’s important. And it’s important to care about the right things in the right order.
For example, one of the things I care about is college football. I probably care too much about college football if I’m being honest. I grew up in Montgomery, AL, and from an early age I was an Auburn football fan.
I know there are A&M fans, Longhorn fans, Baylor fans, TCU fans, University of Houston fans, and many others out there. That’s great. Here’s the good news: we all dislike Alabama.
Early in our marriage, my wife grew to dread Saturdays because she knew, if my team lost, I was going to be in a very bad mood. I probably cared too much about a group of 18 and 19 year olds that I did not know and how they performed on Saturday in a game that, a year from now or ten years from now, would have absolutely zero bearing on my life.
I would like to report that I have grown and matured now that I am older and wiser. I can say that because the college football season hasn’t started yet. 🙂
What We Care About Reveals Our Deepest Desires
We all care about something. And there are some things we care about more than others.
We care about our families. We care about our kids. We care about our work. We care about our country. We care about justice. We care about what’s right. We care about being treated fairly by others. We care about truth. We care about people. We care about those who are hurting. We care about those who are in need.
And we care about sports. We care about our hobbies. We care about where we’re going on vacation. We care about where we live and what we drive.
And we care about the church. We care about making a difference. We care about the spread of the Gospel. We care about helping others.
There are a lot of things we care about. And we would all agree that there is a priority to those things. There are some things we care about more than others. If we’re honest, sometimes we get those things out of order and we need to pause and reorder what we care about.
Why? Because what we care about reveals something about our deepest desires. And sometimes our desires get out of order. And the only way to get things back in order is to pause and ask the question:
The question we need to ask isn’t, What matters to us? Or even, What should matter to us?
The question we need to ask is: What matters to God?
What Matters to God?
Some 2,000 years ago, there was confusion about what mattered to God. In some ways, that confusion continues even today. But Jesus set the record straight in Matthew 12. Jesus repeated a teaching that day that we also need to hear again about what matters to God.
At this point in the story, the tension is rising in Matthew’s Gospel. There is conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. Part of Matthew’s purpose in writing his Gospel is to reveal both Jesus’ true identity as God’s Messiah and His supreme authority as Lord. And remember, Matthew is writing this Gospel to the church, for the church. Matthew wants the church to understand what matters to God. So he writes…
1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” — Matthew 12:1-2, NLT
The Gift of Sabbath Rest
Matthew sets the scene for us. Jesus and the disciples are walking through the grainfields, and it’s Saturday, the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was an important day for the Jewish people. It was a day of rest. In the list of the Ten Commandments, it was number four.
Here are the first three:
- “You must not have any other god but me.” — Exodus 20:3
- “You must not make for yourself an idol…” — Exodus 20:4
- “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” — Exodus 20:7
And then God says this…
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” — Exodus 20:8-11, NLT
God says more about the Sabbath day and keeping it than any other command in the list of the Ten Commandments. This command is rooted in the creation story — how God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. For the Jewish people, this command was not a burden, it was a joy. The Sabbath stood at the center of their identity and their worship. By observing the Sabbath, they communicated their trust in God and their dependence on Him.
Rest was an act of faith.
Even today as Christians, we look back at the Ten Commandments and they are important to us because they are instructive about how we should live as we seek to honor God. We know it’s wrong to murder, to steal, to covet, because those things are on the list. We know idol worship is wrong, adultery is wrong, lying is wrong, because those things are on the list.
We know what matters to God because God has told us how to live lives that honor Him. What’s interesting is that we’re pretty good at keeping most of these commands, and we believe people should keep them if they want to live a life that honors God, but the one we probably leave off the list more often than not is this command about the Sabbath.
This is probably a topic for another day, but I would ask you to pause and think about it. God gave the Sabbath day of rest for a reason. When we practice Sabbath rest, we communicate our trust in God, our dependence on God.
If we work seven days a week, 80 hours a week, what does that communicate? What does that demonstrate? Does that communicate our reliance on God, or our reliance on ourselves? Does that demonstrate our trust in God, or that we believe everything is up to us?
We live in a world that rewards a lifestyle that leads to burnout. God calls us to do good work for six days, and rest on one.
When someone asks you how you are doing, you’re supposed to say, “Busy.” But what if that answer doesn’t honor God? What if we’re not called to be busy, but to work, rest, and depend on God? Just something to think about.
Rules Around the Rules
The Jewish people took the Sabbath day seriously. And it wasn’t a burden, it was a joy. It was a gift from God. The Pharisees, however, had taken the command of God and applied an interpretation of it that was extremely legalistic.
It would be like if I told my kids when they were little, “Don’t play in the street.” That’s the command, that’s the rule, and we all understand the intent behind it. But then one of my kids decides, “Dad said don’t play in the street, so we probably shouldn’t even leave the house.”
Then another one says, “Yeah… we probably shouldn’t even leave our rooms. We need to stay as far away as possible from breaking the rules Dad has set up, so let’s just stay inside, let’s stay in our rooms, and never leave so we’re not in danger of breaking the rules.”
This is what the Pharisees took it upon themselves to do. They put rules around the rules so they would not even come close to breaking God’s rules. But in doing that, they put unnecessary burdens on the people and, more importantly, they missed the heart of God. They had forgotten what mattered to God, and what God’s intention was behind the law He had given them.
Truthfully, the disciples were not breaking any command God had given them. There was no law against plucking a few heads of grain on the Sabbath to eat. It would be an extreme exaggeration to say they were “harvesting” the grain. That’s not what they were doing, not at all.
On top of that, Matthew tells us the disciples were hungry. Sometimes we might gloss over this, but it’s important to remember, the disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. These men had chosen a life of poverty to follow Him. The issue wasn’t that they needed a snack, Matthew emphasizes their genuine need. And the law permitted travelers to pluck heads of grain from the grainfields of others. It was one of the ways God ensured that people were cared for (Deuteronomy 23:25).
The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking God’s law, but in fact, they did not. What they were breaking were the rules the Pharisees had placed around the law. But Jesus doesn’t go there. He could have. Instead, He is going to prove from Scripture that even if this were true, the Pharisees needed to remember what matters to God.
Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath
3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” — Matthew 12:3-8, NLT
Jesus tells the Pharisees His disciples are innocent of their accusations. But more than that, they need to remember not just the law of God, but what matters to God.
So He says: you remember what David did, right? David and his men ate the bread ordinarily reserved by the law for the priests. But David and his companions were hungry (1 Samuel 21). They had a legitimate need.
And the point Jesus is making here is NOT that you can break God’s law just because you’re hungry. Our appetites are not our masters. Our wants and desires do not dictate what we do. Jesus doesn’t ever disparage the Torah, the Law of God. Just as He did in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus here interprets the Law of God. Jesus, not the Pharisees, is the authoritative interpreter of God’s Law. Jesus is restoring God’s intent, God’s heart.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath!
And right here, Jesus repeats a teaching for the Pharisees. He says something He has said before that they have yet to understand.
7 If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the innocent. — Matthew 12:7, NIV
This is the second time Jesus has quoted the prophet Hosea in the Gospel according to Matthew. The first time, in Matthew 9:13, Jesus quotes this passage when the Pharisees are upset that Jesus is spending so much time with tax collectors and notorious sinners. Jesus tells them that it’s not the healthy who need a doctor, it’s the sick. And then He says, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.'”
Here we are three chapters later, and the Pharisees haven’t done their homework. They haven’t learned what this means — that what God desires is mercy.
What Does God Desire?
To be clear, biblical mercy calls out sin, it protects the vulnerable, and it seeks justice. Biblical mercy is full of grace and truth.
God desires mercy. If you try to keep the Law of God without the mercy of God, you’ve missed out on something. That’s what Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see.
What matters to God? As the Ten Commandments reveal, what matters to God is His name, His holiness, our worship of Him and Him alone.
What also matters to God are people. One look at the cross reminds us that we matter to God. You matter to God. Your salvation matters to God. Mercy matters to God.
When Jesus says that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, He’s reminding us that everything God has done, He has done for us. Everything God has given us, including His law, is for us. It’s for our good. At the heart of the law, at the heart of God, at the heart of the cross, is mercy.
God is holy, and just, and He is merciful. He is full of grace and truth.
This story isn’t just about the Sabbath, it’s about the heart of God. The Law of God was given not to be a burden, but to be a gift — to teach us and show us how to live the good life, the abundant life, that God has for us.
But so many times, we turn God’s word into a burden. We are called to obey God’s Word and live according to God’s way, 100%, yes! And we are always called to remember God’s mercy, God’s compassion that never fails.
The Pharisees had failed to learn the lesson Jesus was trying to teach them. What about us?
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus says. Does that mean worship and obedience are unimportant? No! But they cannot be separated from the mercy of God.
What do you desire? Is it mercy?
Mercy on the Field
In 2023, I was over at a friend’s house watching an NFL football game. Some of you may remember this game. The Buffalo Bills were playing the Cincinnati Bengals. And I needed Buffalo to win because Josh Allen was my fantasy football quarterback, and if he had just a normal game and scored the normal amount of fantasy football points that he usually scored, then I would win the trophy for our fantasy football league that year! Some of you know how big of a deal that is to some of us. Others of you rightly understand that in the grand scheme of things, it’s just not that important. 🙂
But something happened that night during that game that changed everything.
Damar Hamlin played defense for the Buffalo Bills. It was a routine play, a routine tackle. After bringing Tee Higgins to the ground, who played for the Bengals, Damar stood up, then collapsed on the field.
He suffered a cardiac arrest right there on the field. Everyone in the stands was watching. Millions of people on TV were watching. Players immediately signaled for the medical staff on the sidelines to come on the field. Everything stopped. Everything fell silent. Both teams gathered to pray. These huge, sweaty football players were crying.
Medical professionals were doing CPR on Hamlin on the field, trying to save his life. They were able to revive him and take him to a hospital. By the time that happened, both coaches agreed the game should not continue. At first, they suspended the game. Then they decided to cancel it altogether.
As you might imagine, this story was all over the news that night. I’ll never forget watching ESPN cover the story because something happened that I’ve personally never seen before. Dan Orlovsky, a reporter for ESPN who was covering the story the next day, stopped mid-broadcast and prayed to God for Damar Hamlin.
In every game, there are the rules, and then there are the unspoken rules. Normally, the rules would say the game must go on — that these two teams should have stayed on their own sidelines instead of coming together to hug and to pray.
Generally, you don’t pray to God on national TV during a sports broadcast. But that night, mercy emerged. On an NFL field, on an ESPN broadcast the next day, in places we might not have expected to see it, mercy emerged. What mattered was mercy.
Just so you know, Damar Hamlin was okay. He made a remarkable recovery and later returned to play NFL football. And just so you know, I did win my fantasy football league that year. I know some of you were wondering.
It is always remarkable when we see mercy on display.
At the Heart of God Is a Heart of Mercy
The greatest demonstration of mercy happened at the cross on Calvary some 2,000 years ago. There, the justice of God and the mercy of God were satisfied. There, grace and truth met. And because of the cross, because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we can be saved. We can receive God’s mercy!
At the heart of God is a heart of mercy.
We reflect the heart of God when we reflect a heart of mercy. We live in a world that is often judgmental, legalistic, condemning, and harsh. That’s true in the world, and that can sometimes be true in the church. But…
Can I remind you:
- God has been merciful to you.
- God wants us to be merciful to each other.
So, who can you show mercy to? Who needs mercy in your life?
I wonder sometimes what would have happened that day if the Pharisees had responded with mercy. If they had learned the lesson Jesus tried to teach them three chapters before?
I’m not sure. But here’s what I do know. We can learn mercy. We can learn to be merciful. God desires mercy. And when we are merciful, we reflect the heart of God. Jesus said,
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7, NIV
May we be merciful.
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