Lesson 6* TuesdayAugust 2 Eating With Sinners

TuesdayAugust 2

Eating With Sinners

Read Matthew 9:10-13. What crucial message should we as individuals take away from Jesus’ response to His critics? ReadHos. 6:6.

Jesus is reclining at the dinner table, where He is fellowshiping and eating with what this society would deem “undesirables.”
What kind of people does your culture deem “undesirables”?

Interrupted by the Pharisees’ question of the appropriateness of Jesus’ mingling with such despicable people, Jesus challenges them to learn the meaning of mercy in contrast to sacrifice. “ 'But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance’ ” (Matt. 9:13, NKJV). How sad that Jesus has to tell religious leaders to learn one of the most crucial truths of their own faith.
Here again we are seeing the same problem that we saw occurring in Old Testament times, that of religious forms and ceremonies becoming more important in the minds of people than the question of how they treated others. How interesting that He quoted the Old Testament here (Hos. 6:6) to make His point.
“Thousands are making the same mistake as did the Pharisees whom Christ reproved at Matthew’s feast. Rather than give up some cherished idea, or discard some idol of opinion, many refuse the truth which comes down from the Father of light. They trust in self, and depend upon their own wisdom, and do not realize their spiritual poverty. . . .
“Fasting or prayer that is actuated by a self-justifying spirit is an abomination in the sight of God.” - Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 280.
It is easy to judge the actions of others by using our own preferences as the standard. We must learn to humbly put self aside and allow the Holy Spirit to translate mercy into conviction.
What does Psalm 51:17 say to us all? How should the knowledge of our own sinfulness help us to understand better the meaning of this text?

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