The Principle “To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice” Spans the Entire Bible

It is demonstrated over and over in the Bible how people sought to win the Lord’s favor through using ceremonies, rituals, and other sacrifice in a way which He did not intend or through sacrifices contrived by man which they thought He should accept. This goes back to Cain in Genesis. It is seen in several of the Biblical illustrations which will be looked at here how people were rebuked for using things which might be labeled as sacrifice as an excuse to not turn to the Lord with their whole hearts and be obedient to Him consistently in every facet of life.

John 18:28-30 (this is one of the best examples right off the bat): “Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor (or, evildoer), we would not have delivered him up unto thee.”

The Jewish leaders which had condemned Jesus were bold liars and false accusers- yet they were very careful to not ceremonially defile themselves for the Passover. Isaiah and many other Prophets whom these leaders would have professed to believe had rebuked this hypocritical behavior long before they lived. It is no wonder that they rejected their Messiah.

Isaiah 1:10-20 (the rulers of Sodom referred to here are the Jewish leaders; and the people of Gomorrah are the Jewish people in general): “Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

These were morally corrupt people who were disobedient to the Lord and lived in sin while professing to love Him and offering sacrifices to Him. They surely didn’t appreciate Isaiah telling them their sacrifices were abominable to God and that their solemn assemblies themselves were sin.

Isaiah was even dealing with sacrifices and other ceremonial observances that the Lord had appointed for Israel rather than those which they had made up. Much sacrifice and ceremony now in both the realm of professing Christianity and in modern Judaism is invented and appointed by man. There is no substitute for worshiping the true God in spirit and in truth (doing so is essentially forsaking sin and yielding to His supreme authority in order to obey whatever His Word commands in the fear which He is due).

Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”

That describes living by faith. That is the type of faith which Abraham walked in which justified him and made him a prime example of justification by faith for Christians.

Consider also here:

Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Job 28:28: “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

In relation to the true fear of the Lord prescribed in the Bible, note the rebuke to disobedient King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22: “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Proverbs 15:8-9: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.”

Along the same lines, we read in Amos 5:18-24: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment (i.e. decisions in line with God’s judgments) run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

Coming now to Mark 12:28-34: “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.”

Unlike many preachers, Jesus did not tell this scribe that he could not possibly love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength; and his neighbor as himself. True repentance is actually exercising a wholehearted intent to get back in line with God’s law. A repentant person references God’s law to define what is immoral (like Zaccheus in Luke chapter 19). There is no authentic faith in Christ apart from such repentance. A person’s faith or unbelief in an authority figure is shown by whether they actually take heed to them and strive to do whatever they say. It is surely no different with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is an obvious reason why the concept of justification by faith alone is deceptive.

John 8:34-39: “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”

It is obvious that Jesus told physical descendants of Abraham that they are not of the spiritual seed of Abraham due to the incompatibility of their works with Abraham’s works. Abraham’s faith was marked by departure from sin and submission to God’s authority. This was indeed demonstrated by his works.

Genesis 26:5 (God is speaking to Abraham’s son Isaac): “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Jesus told the scribe who asked which is the first commandment of all that he was not far from the kingdom of God because the scribe made a truly wise statement in response to Jesus’ answer to his question. The man still needed to walk accordingly.

In relation, we read in Luke 10:25-29: “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him (Jesus), saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?”

This lawyer only considered other Jews as his neighbor. Such partiality was a problem among the Jews in Jesus’ time, it had been a problem among them beforehand, and it has remained a great problem among them since. Adherence to the law was not why Jesus contended with Israel’s leaders and scholars. He rather contended with them for their abuse and partiality in the law which is what actually made them hypocrites. That is why this lawyer was unjust and needed to repent.

Continuing from before in Luke 10:30-35: “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”

This priest and Levite could very well have been going to, or returning from, religious service in Jerusalem. Yet to obey is better than sacrifice.

Hosea 6:6: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

James 1:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

If the priest and/or Levite who came across the beaten and wounded man had just done their service at Jerusalem, they had an even bigger duty as they returned which they sadly neglected. If they were going to Jerusalem for service rather than returning, they came across a more important duty to fulfill which should have been a higher priority to them.

Continuing from before in Luke 10:36-37 (Jesus is again speaking to the lawyer directly): “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”

Samaritans were not Jews. They were foreigners who had come to inhabit a large part of what had been the northern kingdom of Israel. The Jews’ custom was to not have any dealings with the Samaritans. That is seen in how a Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus asked her for a drink of water in John chapter 4. It’s important to understand that Jesus portrayed this Samaritan as a man who used God’s law as a guide to faith and loved his neighbor as himself accordingly by these actions. Impartially following the principles of God’s law caused him to do these things so that he walked in agreement with Him and did not transgress.

Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

Micah 6:6-8: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

So yes, one really needs to love one’s neighbor as himself the way this Samaritan did in order to inherit eternal life. This goes back to verses 25 to 29 of Luke chapter 10 which led to Jesus telling the story of the Good Samaritan (i.e. the law-abiding Samaritan). This story is not negating everything the Bible teaches about the need for a blood atonement for sin and Jesus offering Himself on the cross as the perfect Lamb of God. Jesus was indeed teaching that we need to use God’s law as a guide to a living faith which makes pleasing Him and loving our neighbor in line with His instructions our foremost aim which overrules every other endeavor. Hoping in Jesus Christ’s blood without a faith which is surrendered to His supreme authority and decidedly walks in His ways is vain. There are no sacrifices which one can make to nullify this.

Psalm 119:10-11: “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Revelation 22:13-15: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”