John Trapp Complete Commentary - Matthew 12:7
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. Ver. 7. But if ye had known ] And it was a foul shame for them not to know. "Who is blind as my servant?" &c., Isaiah 42:19 . Varro justly upbraided the Roman priests, that there were many matters in their own rites and religions that they understand not. a What kind of men they were, Cicero (2, de Finib. ) gives us to know in these words of his, Ut maiores nostri... read more
The Biblical Illustrator - Matthew 12:7
Matthew 12:7I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.Mercy, not sacrificeWhen St. Spyridion was about eighty years old, it happened that a traveller came to visit him at one of those periods of the year when it was his custom to fast on alternate days. Seeing that the stranger was very tired, Spyridion told his daughter to wash his feet, and set meat before him. She replied, that as it was fast-time, there was neither bread nor meat ready. On which Spyridion, having prayed and asked forgiveness,... read more