Crosswalk PLUS featured Amanda Idleman in a short video devotional centered on Matthew 12:7-8, a passage where Jesus confronts religious leaders with a pointed reminder: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
The devotional frames the verse as an invitation to freedom rather than fear-driven rule-keeping. According to the source, Idleman connects Jesus’ words to the simplicity of the gospel and the danger of condemning others through legalism.
“Mercy, Not Sacrifice”
The featured Scripture reads: “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Idleman is quoted in the source as saying, “You can live with freedom because you trust that God is who he says he is. That is the beauty and simplicity of the gospel.”
She adds that Jesus was sharing this truth with “the religious elites,” emphasizing that “God desires mercy, not all these laws and hoops to jump through.”
A Question for Daily Decisions
The devotional points readers toward a practical question: Are choices being made out of love, or out of legalism?
That tension sits at the center of Matthew 12:7-8. The passage challenges a version of religion that can become more focused on external compliance than on the mercy of God.
