Yesterday we read Paul’s call in Romans 12.1
“…to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Today we hit the topic of sacrifice again…this time from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9.
“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard it, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When comparing these passages, a possible contradiction appears. Paul tells us to make our bodies a living sacrifice and Jesus says he desires mercy not sacrifice.
Are these passages really talking about the same thing?
Yes and no.
As we know, context always matters when seeking to understand the truth in meaning. From a practical standpoint, we can all relate in situations when we don’t quite understand (or we don’t like) something a person says, we reply, “what do you mean?” What we mean when we say, "what do you mean?", is we need more information to better understand.
Another principle to remember about meaning...one word has more than one meaning, while multiple meanings usually have common attributes. One word may have 2 or 3+ similar (not same) meanings as a noun, and then 2-3+ similar (not same) meanings as a verb.
For example, the word 'block' has 45 meanings (ref. Dictionary.com)!
So what's with the language lesson here?
In Romans 1, Paul talks about God giving people up to a debased mind because they did not see fit to acknowledge him.
This world has clearly lost its way with regard to truth, meaning, and the rules of language. While some changes in language can be good, most are not...especially when the fundamentals of language are ignored.
That's why it's also important to at least be curious about the original Hebrew and Greek languages of the Scriptures. It's not that English translations are wrong or bad. They are neither.
It's a matter of cleansing the mind from the pollution of the world. That's part of the takeaway from Paul's very next sentence in Romans 12.2 about "renewing the mind..."
While I am in no way declaring myself a language expert, I respect it and will eagerly receive corrections to get it right.
Ok, so to the meaning of the Scripture text and the application to our work...
In this case, Jesus and Paul are both talking about sacrifice. Whereas Jesus is de-prioritizing it in contrast to mercy (mercy being his desire NOT sacrifice), Paul is saying to present our bodies as a LIVING sacrifice.
In the Matthew passage, the audience is the Pharisees. The message is consistent with Jesus' entire mission and ministry on earth. In that context, he's emphasizing mercy not sacrifice as his DESIRE for the people who need the kind of mercy only he can deliver (ironically by way of his own personal sacrifice later in his earthly ministry) more than a tool for a man to get right with God...sacrifice.
Does Jesus’ message in Matthew 9 negate the value of Paul's message to be a living sacrifice in Romans 12?
NO!
First, he directs us to present our bodies as a LIVING sacrifice. While the word "living" may appear to contradict the word "sacrifice", that would only be the case if Paul was talking about the kind of OT sacrifice that involved killing an animal.
In this case, Paul is using the contrast between the two words to create an uncommon illustration of how we are to spiritually worship God through Christ.
Jesus did not say sacrifice was bad in Matthew, nor did he make a universal condemnation of its value. And Paul is saying that a living sacrifice, post-resurrection, is good. Both views of sacrifice are true.
And one last note you may find interesting about the word sacrifice…the root Hebrew word of sacrifice is Korbanot which means “to draw near to God”. While we associate sacrifice with loss, God defines it as gain. Awesome.
So what’s the application of all this to our work?
When we think about the function of our work mission within the great commission, do we take an attitude of mercy first?
Let’s look at Jesus first in Matthew. When we encounter someone in the marketplace who, by our own observations, rejects Jesus, how do we treat them? Do we demonstrate mercy? Do we invite them into a conversation about something so important as Jesus and his saving grace?
Eventually, the sacrifice will their very lives to pay the penalty for unrighteousness unless they come to faith in Christ. Mercy is an act of love...it’s central to the message of Gospel. So choose mercy when you engage people.
If they don’t know the Gospel, find a way through prayer and Study of the story of John 3 (focus on the Nicodemus story) to share it, even encourage them to read it for themselves. You can also provide a written reference with a link to ESV.org/John+3 in an email, on a business card, scratch paper, or text it to them. If they are already a believer, offer to pray with or for them.
Do we operate in our work as a living sacrifice as a form of spiritual worship? Romans 12 goes on to tell us exactly how to do that...and it includes in our WORK men! Some of those “hows” are…
Renew your mind so you can discern the will of God when being tested.
Think with sober judgement.
Be constant in prayer.
Bless those who persecute you and do not curse them.
Repay no one evil for evil.
Outdo your brothers in showing honor.
Never be wise in your own sight, but associate with the lowly (wasn’t Jesus doing that in Matthew 9 - associating with the lowly?!).
And many more “hows”!
Men, show mercy.
Men, present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
Do these things in your work. It’s not an option. And what a great thing that it’s not! What a great Lord we have that he would expect such a standard of us in our work! He even gave us his Holy Spirit to be our helper!