4. Jesus teaches that it is better to show mercy and compassion than to obey the law.

Jesus was always getting himself in trouble with religious conservatives. One of the areas where he got himself in trouble more than once (and the act that I think ultimately led to his death) was appearing to violate the law against working on the Sabbath. During one of these occasions Jesus and his disciples were plucking grain (work) because they were hungry. When confronted for violating the law, Jesus replied to the conservatives:

“If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.” Matthew 12:7

Another time Jesus uses this same quote to tell off the conservatives when they criticize him for having unsavory friends, telling them: “go and learn what this means– I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.

In a variety of circumstances, we see that God values mercy and compassion above all else– which means we should be people who value mercy above all else. After all, mercy seems to be God’s love language.