At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry: how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:1-8, CSB).

In the early 1970’s Fritz Ridenour published a book, How To Be a Christian Without Being Religious. Presenting a practical commentary on the New Testament book of Romans, the book distinguishes between genuine faith and religious hypocrisy as it explores how “religion” as a practice can become empty when it is severed from authentic faith based on a personal relationship with Christ.

In Matthew 12 Jesus gives us a workshop on religion vs. relationship.

At the beginning of Matthew 12 Jesus and His disciples are walking through a grain field on the Sabbath. As they passed through the field they picked and ate some of the heads of grain. Some Pharisees saw the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath and complained to Jesus that it was unlawful. For modern disciples, the greater offense appears to be stealing another man’s grain. But, under the Mosaic law handpicking grain from a neighbor’s field was not considered stealing (see Deuteronomy 23:25).

First century rabbis divided work prohibitions into dozens of categories with each having many subcategories. Three prohibited categories were picking, threshing and winnowing; thus, by picking the grain and rubbing it between their hands to remove the husks the disciples were guilty on all three counts!

Jesus then added to the Pharisees’ consternation by breaking another Sabbath prohibition. He entered the local synagogue and healed a man with a shriveled hand! Healing on the Sabbath was only permitted if one’s life was at risk.

And, if that wasn’t enough to thoroughly offend the Pharisees, Jesus then totally subverts Sabbath laws by exorcising a demon-possessed man on the Sabbath! The Bible tells us that was enough to cause the Pharisees to conspire on how to get rid of Jesus (vs. 14).

Jesus defended his actions using examples from the Old Testament. First, in 1 Samuel 21:1-6 the future king of Israel, David, and his small army ate from the “sacred bread” in the house of God when they were starving. Next, Jesus pointed out that the priests in the temple offer sacrifices on the Sabbath but are considered innocent (see Numbers 28:9-10).

Jesus quoted a line from the Old Testament book of Hosea in vs. 7 to make His point: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6). In ancient Israel, people offered animal sacrifices as part of worship. But during the time of the prophet Hosea, many Israelites were corrupt, exploiting others, and worshiping idols. Yet they continued performing religious rituals as if everything was fine. Sacrifices themselves weren’t bad—they were commanded in the Mosaic law—but they were meaningless without a transformed heart.

When you dig a little deeper into the story behind this statement, God told the prophet Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer. Hosea’s marriage to Gomer symbolized God’s relationship with Israel–Hosea represented God and Gomer represented Israel. Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea and left him and in the same way Israel was unfaithful to God by worshiping idols and abandoning Him. Yet, even while turning away from God, the Israelites were still offering sacrifices, performing temple rituals, and acting religious in public.

Our relationship with God, individually and collectively, has the same expectations as in a marriage relationship. A wife or husband wouldn’t be satisfied if their spouse bought them gifts but cheated on them while acting happily married in front of their friends. God was saying through Hosea that Israel was unfaithful just as Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea. And, God wanted a relationship based on faithfulness, not religious pretense.

The Hebrew word often translated “mercy” (hesed) means much more than just feeling sorry. Hesed includes loyal love, kindness, faithfulness, and compassion toward others all rolled into one attitude or behavior translated into English as mercy. So, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that God wants people to live with faithful love toward Him and others and that religious rituals are meaningless unless they are practiced by people with hearts transformed by God’s love, kindness and mercy.

So, in this one short statement from the Old Testament book of Hosea–I desire mercy and not sacrifice–Jesus unequivocally explains how to be a Christian without being religious….

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. (Romans 12:1, CSB)