Matthew 9:13

"Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." Now this He said, to upbraid them with their ignorance of the Scriptures. Wherefore also He orders His discourse more sharply, not Himself in anger, far from it; but so as that the publicans might not be in utter perplexity. And yet of course He might say, "Did ye not mark, how I remitted the sins of the sick of the palsy, how I braced up his body?" But He saith no such thing, but argues with them first from men's common reasonings, and then from the Scriptures. For having said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick;" and having covertly indicated that He Himself was the Physician; after that He said, "Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." Thus doth Paul also: when he had first established his reasoning by illustrations from common things, and had said, "Who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk thereof?" then he brings in the Scriptures also, saying, "It is written in the law of Moses, Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn;" and again, "Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." But to His disciples not so, but He puts them in mind of His signs, saying on this wise, "Do ye not yet remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?" Not so however with these, but He reminds them of our common infirmity, and signifies them at any rate to be of the number of the infirm; who did not so much as know the Scriptures, but making light of the rest of virtue, laid all the stress on their sacrifices; which thing He is also earnestly intimating unto them, when He sets down in brief what had been affirmed by all the prophets, saying, "Learn ye what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." The fact is, He is signifying hereby t […]

And the Lord was going to the feasts of sinners, so that He may have an opportunity to teach and provide spiritual food to His invited guests. Ultimately, as He was frequently described as going to feasts, it is only important what He did there, what He taught, in order to demonstrate both the humility of the Lord in going to sinners and the power of His teaching in the conversion of repentant sinners. But as for what follows: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice' (Hosea 6:6).

Luke adds to repentance, which explains the sense; that none should suppose that sinners are loved by Christ because they are sinners; and this comparison of the sick shows what God means by calling sinners, as a physician does the sick to be saved from their iniquity as from a sickness: which is done by penitence.

This therefore what Paul himself also knew when he said rightly: Those whom God foreknew, the same He also predestined; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, the same He also glorified. [Romans 8:29-30] It is not God's foreknowledge …

He therefore warns them, that by deeds of mercy they should seek for themselves the rewards of the mercy that is above, and, not overlooking the necessities of the poor, trust to please God by offering sacrifice. Wherefore, He says, Go; that is, from the rashness of foolish fault-finding to a more careful meditation of Holy Scripture, which highly commends mercy, and proposes to them as a guide His own example of mercy, saying, I came not to call the righteous but sinners.

(ap. Anselm.) Yet does not God contemn sacrifice, but sacrifice without mercy. But the Pharisees often offered sacrifices in the temple that they might seem to men to be righteous, but did not practise the deeds of mercy by which true righteousness is proved. (ap. Anselm.) Or; Those who were righteous, as Nathanael and John the Baptist, were not to be invited to repentance. Or. I came not to call the righteous, that is, the feignedly righteous, those who boasted of their righteousness as the Pharisees, but those that owned themselves sinners.

"But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, …

Secondly, he cites a scriptural text, saying, "Go and learn what this means..." As if to say: You do not understand the Scripture, but go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." This is written in Hosea (6:6). And it is …

But go ye and learn what that meaneth,.... צא ולמד, "go and learn", is a phrase used by the Jews (a), when they are about to explain a passage of Scripture, and fetch an argument from the connection of the text. So the phrase τι εστιν, "what that is", or "what that meaneth", is Talmudic, as, מהי, "what is it?" מאי דכתיב, "what is that which is written?" מאי קרא, "what is the Scripture?" that is, what is the meaning of it?

Had the first Adam continued in his original righteousness, we had not needed a second Adam. [2.] Therefore his greatest business lies with the greatest sinners; the more dangerous the sick man's case is, the more occasion there is for the physician's help. Christ came into the world to save sinners, but especially the chief ( 1 Tim. i.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

But go ye and learn ... - To reprove them, and to vindicate his own conduct, he appealed to a passage of Scripture with which they ought to have been acquainted: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” Hos 6:6. This is not a declaration on the part of God that he was opposed to “sacrifices” or “offerings for sin;” for he had appointed and commanded many, and had therefore expressed his approbation of them.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth-- (Ho 6:6), I will have mercy, and not sacrifice--that is, the one rather than the other. "Sacrifice," the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while "mercy" expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up.

Let us notice, in the first part of this passage, our Lord’s knowledge of men’s thoughts. There were certain of the scribes who found fault with the words which Jesus spoke to a man sick of the palsy: they said secretly among themselves, “This man blasphemeth.”They probably supposed that no one knew what was going on in their minds: they had yet to learn that the Son of God could read hearts, and discern spirits. Their malicious thought was publicly exposed: they were put to open shame. Jesus “ knew their thoughts.” There is an important lesson for us here. “All things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” ( Hebrews 4:13 ). Nothing can be concealed from Christ. What do we think of, in private, when no one sees us? What do we think of in church when we seem grave and serious? What are we thinking of at this moment, while these words pass under our eyes? Jesus knows. Jesus sees. Jesus records. Jesus will one day summon us to give account. It is written that “God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” ( Romans ). Surely we ought to be very humble when we consider these things: we ought to thank God daily that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all sin; we ought often to cry, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.” (Psalm ). Let us notice, in the second place, the wonderful call of the apostle Matthew to be Christ’s disciple. We find the man, who afterwards was the first to write a Gospel, sitting at the receipt of custom. We see him absorbed in his worldly calling, and possibly thinking of nothing but money and gain; but suddenly the Lord Jesus calls on him to follow him, and become his disciple. At once Matthew obeys. He makes haste, and delays not, to keep Christ’s commandments ( Psalm 119:60 ). He rises and follows him.

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice - Quoted from 1Sa 15:22. These are remarkable words. We may understand them as implying, 1st. That God prefers an act of mercy, shown to the necessitous, to any act of religious worship to which the person might be called at that time. Both are good; but the former is the greater good, and should be done in preference to the other. 2dly. That the whole sacrificial system was intended only to point out the infinite mercy of God to fallen man, in his redemption by the blood of the new covenant. And 3dly. That we should not rest in the sacrifices, but look for the mercy and salvation prefigured by them. This saying was nervously translated by our ancestors, I will mild-heartedness, and not sacrifice. Go ye and learn - צא ולמד tse velimmed, a form of speech in frequent use among the rabbins, when they referred to any fact or example in the Sacred Writings. Nothing tends more to humble pretenders to devotion than to show them that they understand neither Scripture nor religion, when, relying on external performances, they neglect love to God and man, which is the very soul and substance of true religion. True holiness has ever consisted in faith working by love. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners - Most of the common editions add, εις μετανοιαν, unto repentance; but this is omitted in the Codex Vatic. and Bezae, sixteen others, both the Syriac, both the Persic, Ethiop. Armen. Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, all the Itala except three, the Vulgate, Clemens Roman, Origen, Basil, Jerome, Augustin, Ambrose, and Barnabas. The omission is approved by Mill and Bengel. Griesbach leaves it out of the text.