Day 36 | I Will Have Mercy
July 7, 2015 - WEEK SIX
James Tissot, The Man with the Withered Hand, Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription.
DAILY READING
Matthew 12
JST-Matthew 12:37–38
Mark 3:1-12, 3:22-35
CONSIDER AS YOU READ
- Did Jesus ever seem angry with the Pharisees who harassed Him? What can you learn from that?
- Did Jesus ever refuse to heal the sick? What can you learn from that? Most of the healings Christ performed are not described: what do we learn from the ones that are in these verses?
- Why do the words you choose to speak either justify or condemn you? How do the fruits you bring forth justify or condemn?
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
On a certain Sabbath, [Jesus] and the disciples walked through a field of grain, and, being hungry, the disciples began to pluck some of the ripening ears; rubbing out the kernels between their hands, they ate. There was no element of theft in what they did, for the Mosaic law provided that in passing through another’s vineyard or corn field one might pluck grapes or corn to relieve hunger; but it was forbidden to use a sickle in the field, or to carry away any of the grapes in a vessel. The permission extended only to the relief of present need. When the disciples of Jesus availed themselves of this lawful privilege, there were Pharisees on the watch, and these came at once to the Master…. The accusers doubtless had in mind the rabbinical dictum that rubbing out an ear of grain in the hands was a species of threshing; that blowing away the chaff was winnowing; and that it was unlawful to thresh or winnow on the Sabbath….
[Jesus] cited the word of God spoken through Hosea, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” (Hosea 6:6) and reproved at once their ignorance and their unrighteous zeal by telling them that had they known what that scripture meant they would not have condemned the guiltless. Be it remembered, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27) (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1915, 198–99).
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
- Do you feel Jesus’ love when you think that he gave us the Sabbath?
- What is your favorite thing to do on Sunday? Would you do it if Jesus was with you?