2007-05-12 10:28:31 · 8 answers · asked by carl 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There is absolutely no proof that Jesus said any such thing, the first writings for the Bible were written hundreds of years after the event.
2007-05-12 10:35:10 · answer #1 · answered by GOD 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The religious leaders of his day were oppressing the people with commands that were not necessary. Mercy would have dictated that they be kinder to those they lead and stop putting demands on them that were incredibly difficult for them to fulfill, including certain sacrifices. Another thing is that sacrifices were just for show. Mercy would reveal a compassionate heart.
2007-05-12 10:37:31 · answer #2 · answered by Q&A Queen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said this more than once. One time, Jesus had gone to a party at the house of Matthew the tax collector, a gathering of "sinners" and outcasts and despised people (Matthew 7). The other time, Jesus' disciples were picking bits of grain to eat on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees criticized them for breaking the Sabbath (Matthew 12).
Jesus does not want us so tied up in religious rules that we either burn ourselves out following them, or we look down on those who aren't as "holy" as we are. I suspect Jesus wants us especially to have mercy upon the "sinners", outcasts, despised people, and the hungry. Jesus wants us to receive God's mercy, and to have mercy upon ourselves and others.
Jesus was quoting Hosea 6:6 (NIV):
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
2007-05-12 10:36:58 · answer #3 · answered by MNL_1221 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't seem likely that Jesus would have said those words because at no time did he ever demand animal sacrifices. However, the words you are interested in do have a parallel in Micah 6:6-8.
" 6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."
2007-05-12 11:14:11 · answer #4 · answered by quaver 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most important thing about a sacrifice is the heart behind it. That is what is most pleasing to God.
The psalms say "the sacrifice to God is a clean spirit, a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
2007-05-12 11:03:15 · answer #5 · answered by Veritas 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus wants us to live in the manner He proscribed, lives full of love, compassion, and mercy, and not just to give empty words of worship to the Lord...
2007-05-12 10:36:07 · answer #6 · answered by Basilia Harmonia 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe the Bible says that "obedience is better than sacrifice".
2007-05-12 10:32:46 · answer #7 · answered by Larry B 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I "think" he means , I'm not asking for much.
I'm not asking you to die for me, but to feel my pain.
Makes sense?
2007-05-12 10:32:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋