Matthew 12:7
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
The disciples who rubbed grain in their hands and ate on the Sabbath to satisfy hunger were guiltless, because the law gave a hungry person the right to eat from a neighbor's standing grain. The Pharisees and scribes followed to oppose and charged them with Sabbath-breaking, even accusing the Maker of the Sabbath himself of transgressing it. He defended their innocence by his own authority as one greater than the temple and Lord of the Sabbath, who spoke the law from Sinai and kept every commandment without fault. To have mercy and not sacrifice means God values mercy, love, and knowledge of him above religious ceremony and outward offering, for sacrifices were only a means to direct people to the Saviour. Condemning the guiltless comes from not knowing that saying and from ignorance of the Scriptures and the true import of the law. Relieving the sick and suffering on the Sabbath is therefore a work of mercy and necessity in harmony with the commandment, and those in authority must be governed by justice and mercy rather than condemn the guiltless by harsh human restrictions.
Sabbath Accusation and Defense
On the Sabbath the disciples passing through a field rubbed wheat in their hands and ate the kernels to satisfy hunger, and they were guiltless because the law gave a hungry person the right to eat a portion of a neighbor's standing grain, fruit, orchard or vineyard. Their act of plucking and eating grain as they went was in harmony with the Sabbath commandment, so the accusation that they broke it was false. If the saying about mercy rather than sacrifice had been known, they would not have been condemned as guilty.
The same controversy included going through the cornfield and healing on the Sabbath. This included healing the man with the withered hand and healing the sick while preaching the gospel to the poor.
The Pharisees and scribes continually tracked to oppose, charged the disciples with Sabbath-breaking, and accused the Lord who made the Sabbath of transgressing it while acting blindly. If the charge against the disciples for rubbing the ears of corn in the wheat fields had held, they could have condemned him as a Sabbath-breaker without getting false witnesses. Their judgment shows how people can condemn even the greatest Teacher despite clear evidence he was sent by God.
He defended their innocence from his own authority as one greater than the temple and as Lord of the Sabbath. He made the Sabbath himself, spoke the law from Sinai enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and kept every commandment of the Decalogue without fault according to God's law. The charge of Sabbath-breaking could not be proved, and his Sabbath works were in perfect harmony with the law.
Mercy Above Empty Sacrifice
To have mercy and not sacrifice means that mercy, love, and knowledge of God stand above religious ceremony, ritual offerings, and outward sacrifice in His sight. Sacrifices were given as a means of directing minds to the Saviour, not as an end in themselves. Heartless religious rites do not express true worship, and ceremony without truthful integrity and tender love is offensive to God.
The Sabbath was designed to bring people into communion with God and to reflect His character in truthful integrity and tender love, not in selfish and arbitrary demands. Wearisome human rites and restrictions that absorb the mind misrepresent God, thwart that purpose, and turn outward observance into a mockery. Maxims and traditions handed from rabbi to rabbi, repeated and enlarged until the specifications were buried in rubbish, had hidden the law which is the transcript of the Father's character so that people could not tell whether they were keeping it.
Condemning the guiltless came from not knowing what this saying means and from ignorance of the Scriptures, the power of God, and the true import of the law. To know it is to go back to the law and to the testimony, to the principles spoken enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. Mercy itself is kind and compassionate and reflects divine love; it purifies the soul, beautifies the heart, and cleanses life from selfishness, and those who serve God show it by reflecting heaven's light to others.
Honoring the Guiltless Today
Relieving the sick and suffering on the Sabbath is a work of mercy and necessity in harmony with the commandment, not a violation of it, and mercy is central to rightly understanding the Sabbath. This applies to suffering whether in man or in beast, for to relieve such suffering on the Sabbath day accords with God's commandment. The rebuke to those who accused Christ of breaking the Sabbath because He healed a man on that day is that they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God and ignorant of the true import of the law of God. To know what mercy rather than sacrifice means is to go back to the law and to the testimony, to the principles of the law spoken by Christ Himself when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. He had not violated God's command but had kept every commandment of the Decalogue without fault, so He was guiltless.
Mercy matters more than ritual observance, and the guiltless are not to be condemned for honoring God. Sabbath instruction need not take place within enclosed walls but may be given outdoors, following the example of teaching the disciples outside, and the Sabbath is not meant to prevent joyful, wholesome activity. By contrast, regularly spending the Sabbath in ordinary writing or working without making a special change harms the soul and fails to honor God.
The condemnation of the guiltless came from harsh human restrictions rather than God's purpose for the Sabbath, and the appeal to mercy over sacrifice rebukes condemnation that ignores mercy. The disciples were guiltless when they plucked and ate grain on the Sabbath, and Christ defended their innocence with His own authority. The same wrongful judgment appeared when the Pharisees accused Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, of breaking it, showing how people can condemn even the greatest Teacher despite clear evidence that He was sent by God. Those who hold authority must be governed by justice and mercy, and until they learn this they should step down, for a hard, cruel spirit that judges and condemns is contrary to the mercy God requires.