Skip to content Embracing Mercy Over Sacrifice: Insights from Matthew 12 Jun 18 · 13 min ...more
Embracing Mercy Over Sacrifice: Insights from Matthew 12
June 18, 2025 · 13 min
Join us in understanding Jesus' declaration of divinity and His teachings on the true purpose and value of the Sabbath from Matthew 12.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand June 18, 2025 · 13 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Join us in understanding Jesus' declaration of divinity and His teachings on the true purpose and value of the Sabbath from Matthew 12. ...more Show the full description Show less Join us in understanding Jesus' declaration of divinity and His teachings on the true purpose and value of the Sabbath from Matthew 12.
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The Lord of the Sabbath 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, our journey takes us to Matthew chapter 12 verse 7. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,0:21 you would have not content condemned the guiltless. Now several, insightful encounters in this chapter, and we're gonna try and take a look as many of them as we can in the time we have together.0:33 In verses 1 through 8, we have Jesus being established as the lord of the Sabbath. What does that mean? Well, we're gonna take a look at that. Beginning verse 1. At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the0:44 Sabbath, and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, look. Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.0:57 Now the Jewish leaders had led the people to a place where they were in bondage to what was supposed to be the source of their freedom. Look at what Jesus says. Verse 7. But if you had known what this means, I1:09 desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would have not condemned the guiltless. What does that mean? It means the well-being of the people matters more than the religious ritual.1:21 Mark recorded a very poignant statement from Jesus in this exchange that he had with these religious leaders. In Mark chapter 2 verse 27, it says, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for1:32 the Sabbath. It's not about rules and regulations. It's about righteousness and relationship. Verse 8, for the son of man is the lord even of the Sabbath. Now this closing statement was the1:44 clincher in this exchange because what he is doing there is declaring his divinity. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. But there's more. Verse 9. Now when he had departed from there, he went into1:56 their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath that they might accuse him? So this is great. The opponents think2:08 that they have set a trap for Jesus, and what they're actually doing is setting the stage for him to show his compassion for mankind. It it revealed the2:20 compassion of Jesus and the priority of people in the plan of God. This is what Jesus was talking about in verse 7, mercy. Alright. Verse 11, Then he said2:32 to them, what man is there among you who has 1 sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then2:44 is a man than a sheep. Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Absolutely. They are not going to let 1 of theirCompassion and Authority 2:55 sheep die in a pit. That would be too costly. So God is going to act on behalf of those who are created in his image. And by the way,3:08 this destroys the foundation of the, the argument for moral equivalence, that humans and animals are morally equivalent. We we see that here. Jesus sets that the record straight on that3:19 matter. Verse 13, then he said to the man, stretch out your hand, and he stretched out it stretched it out and was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against him how they3:31 might destroy him. This reveals how dark and depraved the unregenerated heart of man really is. They wanted to kill Jesus for doing good. Verse 15,3:43 but when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there and great multitudes followed him, and he was and he healed them all. No, no partiality with3:55 Christ. All come. And as you've heard before, the ground that the cross is level. Yet he warned them not to make him known that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying now this4:07 is remarkable passage here. Okay? That once again illustrates the truth of verse 7. Verse 18, behold my servant whom I have chosen, my4:19 beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I mean, we heard that when Jesus was baptized and god the father spoke from heaven, a voice saying, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. I will put my spirit4:30 upon him, and he will declare justice to the Gentiles. Alright? He's going beyond the Jews to the Gentiles. Verse 19, he will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone4:42 hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed, he will not break, and a smoking flack, he will not quench till he sends forth justice to victory.4:55 And his name and in his name, Gentiles will trust. So this is the Messiah, an unassuming ministry that will have compassion on the weak. The bruised reed and the5:06 flickering flame of faith, he will not extinguish, rather he will nurture. Then 1 verse 22, then 1 was brought to him who was demon possessed, blind and5:19 mute. And he healed him so that the blind and the mute man both spoke and saw. Alright.5:32 We've already seen a, a lot of references to the demonic in Matthew. We're just in chapter 12. Biblical scholars say that there was an increase in demonic activity as Jesus5:43 began his ministry and introduced the kingdom of god. Now his return when he physically establishes the kingdom will be met with even5:55 greater demonic activity. How do we know that? Well, the antichrist will precede the return of Jesus. In second Thessalonians, Paul writes about the coming of the6:07 son of perdition, the lawless 1, whose coming will be preceded by growing lawlessness. There is growing there is a growing manifestation of the demonic today to the point that it's6:19 it's moving to make it familiar and even friendly. And followers of Christ, followers of Jesus must be discerning because it is in the spiritual realm where these6:31 powers and principalities reside, and that's where we have authority to affect the affairs on this earth by praying into and standing against the spiritual6:43 powers of darkness. Verse 23, and all the multitudes were amazed and said, could this be the son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub,Repentance and Transformation 6:55 the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan cast7:07 out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? Now think about it. How can any movement advance by exposing and attacking itself? It can't. Drop down to verse7:19 30. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Alright. Translation translation here. There is7:30 no spiritual middle ground. You're either for the Lord or you are against the Lord, period. Verse 31, therefore, I say to you every sin and blasphemy7:42 will be forgiven man men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not7:54 be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come. Alright. Let's stop here for just a moment, take a real quick look at this. And this is, you know, heavily debated. This8:06 is what some refer to as the unpardonable sin. So Jesus at this point when he's having this conversation, he he is still veiled. His work unfinished. But8:17 once the work on the cross is finished and the veil is torn and the power of the Holy Spirit is revealed when he is raised from the dead, to slander the spirit would be to reject8:29 him with the knowledge of the truth, a willful choice. And once we make that choice, we preclude salvation. But as long as we have breath, we can even repent,8:41 and we can find we can find healing, spiritual healing, and restoration in Jesus Christ. Verse 34. Brood of vipers, how can you be being8:53 evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You know, what comes out of us reveals what is in us. Verse 35. A good man out of the good treasure9:05 of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of9:16 judgment. Now this truth should give us pause. We will give an account for every idle word we speak. Wow. And9:28 our words why why is that? Because our words matter. Therefore, choose them carefully. And consider this, generally speaking, a closed mouth never gets in trouble. Verse9:40 37, to write your words, you'll be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned. Alright. 1 more principle I'm wanna look at from this chapter. Look at verses, look at verse 43. When an unclean spirit goes out of9:51 a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none. Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him 710:03 other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first, so it shall be with this wicked generation. Right? The principle here and this10:15 goes back to Jesus' the opening of Jesus' ministry in chapter 4 verse 17, when it says from that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now the10:27 Greek word for repent is metanoia, which means to to change your mind, to change your thinking. Notice it's not a it's not a call to change our behavior because our behavior changes when our thinking10:38 changes. In other words, we can't have reformation without an awakening or revival. The kingdom of God is about changing what is on the inside, our heart, our mind, which10:50 produces a lasting11:02 filling of the Holy Spirit and the sanctification that follows. The evil that had its talons in you before will only return with a renewed vigor.11:15 You see, we can only fight the powers of darkness with the truth of the light of Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you for your word. And, lord, so much here for us11:26 to comprehend. We pray for the holy spirit who is our teacher, who will lead us into all understanding of this. And, And, father, I pray that the holy spirit would help us to11:38 grasp these truths of your word and not just understand them intellectually, but, lord, live them. May there be a transformation of our lives because we11:50 have changed our minds. We have repented, and we have embraced your truth. And may it be evident in the words we speak that come out of our lips and the actions that we take with our12:01 lives. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Until next time. Keep standing on the word.12:12 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,12:24 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Lord of the Sabbath2:51 Compassion and Authority6:44 Repentance and Transformation
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