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But if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,` you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Verse Takeaways
1
God's Priority: Mercy, Not Sacrifice
Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to teach a profound truth: God values acts of mercy and compassion far more than strict adherence to outward religious rituals. Commentators like Calvin and Spurgeon explain that the Pharisees, in their zeal for the letter of the law, had missed its heart. They condemned the innocent disciples because they failed to understand that God's laws are meant for human good, not to cause suffering.
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Matthew
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7
The guiltless (τους αναιτιους). So in verse 5. Common in ancient Greek. No real ground against, it means αν + αιτιος. Jesus quotes…
19th Century
Anglican
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice — A third argument follows from the Old Testament (Hosea 6:6). The teachers or interprete…
Baptist
Our Lord had galled the Pharisees by saying twice, Have ye not read? Did He imagine that they had left any part of the Psalms or Law unrea…
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Again (cf. v.3) Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their failure to understand the Scriptures (cf. Jn 5:39), particularly Hos 6:6 (cf. 9:13). Jesus cl…
16th Century
Protestant
But if you knew—this third argument is also mentioned by Matthew alone. Christ indirectly reproves the Pharisees for not consider…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
But if you had known what this means , &c,] The passage of Scripture in (6:6)
I will have mercy, …
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Presbyterian
Being in the corn-fields, the disciples began to pluck the ears of corn; the law of God allowed it (Deuteronomy 23:25). This was slende…
