Matthew 9:13

Then came to him the disciples of John,.... Of John the Baptist, to whom they had addicted themselves, and by whom they abode: though their master was in prison, and the Messiah was known to be come,…

But go ye and learn ... - To reprove them, and to vindicate his own conduct, he appealed to a passage of Scripture with which they ought to have been acquainted: “I will have mercy, and not…

In these verses we have an account of the grace and favour of Christ to poor publicans, particularly to Matthew. What he did to the bodies of people was to make way for a kind design upon their souls.…

I will have mercy i. e. I desire mercy. I require mercy rather than sacrifice, Hos 6:6. It is a protest by the prophet against the unloving, insincere formalist of his day. It is closely parallel to…