We experience the love of Christ today as we hear Him tell us that God is truly among us in His person. Jesus walks through the grain fields on the sabbath, seeing His disciples pick grain because they were hungry (Matthew 12:1). The Pharisees then point out that the disciples are doing what is considered unlawful to do on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2). Just moments later in the same chapter, we see that Jesus says it is okay to do good on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:12). This is precisely how we can begin to see how God reveals Himself to humanity in this instance. Upon creating our world, God originally rested on the seventh day, knowing that all He had brought into being was very good. Since the Fall, and since Original Sin entered the world, the original state of grace we were created in has been dwindled with each subsequent sin we commit. Creation is no longer perfect the way it was in the very beginning; therefore, it is as if Christ is commanding in Matthew 12 that the Sabbath be restored to the original state that was meant for it - goodness. We are called to do good on this sacred day. God created goodness, and Christ is, in a way, reinstating goodness on this day; a simple signal that clues us into His divinity. He goes on and says that David and his companions went into the Lord’s house and ate the bread of offering, which was unlawful to eat; in addition, the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath, yet in both of these instances, neither is found guilty (Matthew 12:4-5). Goodness and serving others to be able to continue serving God is permitted on a day He has always deemed meant for good.
Perhaps the most impactful statements from this Gospel comes next: Jesus says, “I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” (Matthew 12:6-8). The only one that can be greater than the temple, the dwelling place of God Himself, is God Himself. He is telling us that He is God among us. In addition, He had contradicted the rules of the Pharisees before, saying that it was lawful for those in the past to do good on the sabbath. Yahweh alone is Lord of the sabbath; therefore, by declaring definitive rules for the sabbath, He is claiming to be Lord of the sabbath, which he says in verse 8. Once again, He is telling us that He is God among us.
In verse 7, God speaks to each of us individually. He says that rather than desiring sacrifice, He desires mercy. The Lord longs for us to run to Him when we make mistakes and sin against Him. He does not want us to just give him sacrifices in order to make reparation; He doesn’t want us to feel like He only desires these things. In saying that He truly desires mercy, He is telling us that above all else, He just wants us. That is why He chose to come to earth in the person of Jesus and die for our sins - so that we might live in eternal peace with Him forever.