John Gill Commentary Matthew 12:7

"But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." — Matthew 12:7 (ASV)

But if you had known what this means ,
&c,] The passage of Scripture in (6:6)

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice ;
of the sense of which, (See Gill on Matthew 9:13)

you would not have condemned the guiltless .
Our Lord taxes the Pharisees both with ignorance of the Scriptures, in which they pretended to be very knowing, and took upon them to be the interpreters of; and with inhumanity, for condemning innocent persons, the apostles, for rubbing a few ears of corn, for the refreshment of nature; which they would never have done, had they understood the word, and will of God; who prefers acts of humanity, compassion, and mercy, to the observance of rites and ceremonies; or had they the common affections of human nature, and those bowels of compassion which one man ought to show to another.