Matthew 9:13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
It amazes me that there are so many who would question the person and work of Christ, or spout nonsense about Jesus Christ, or even presume to speak about Jesus Christ at all if they have not spent much time in studying and applying the Scriptures (both to Jesus Christ and to himself).
Christ did not need to defend himself during the events recorded in Matthew 9, he only needed to point the religious leaders to the Old Testament, and bid them, ‘Go and learn what this means…’ Go and learn your Old Testament, written many years before the birth of Christ, before you question his person or actions.
Do you wonder why Christ was born of a virgin? Go and learn. Do you wonder why he healed the sick and raised the dead? Go and learn. Do you wonder why he died upon a cross? Go and learn. Do you wonder why he rose from the dead? Go and learn. The answers are only found in the Scriptures. If you have questions, why do you not study them? We would do well to follow the example of Jonathan Edwards:
11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances don’t hinder (From Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions).
And in studying the Scriptures, surely Christ implies that we must come under their authority, and learn them not only abstractly, but apply them to ourselves vigorously. A reading that fails to make application is no true reading at all, for it does not enable us to learn the meaning.
Go and learn what this means, implies that a misapplication of the Scriptures is tantamount to a total misunderstanding (cf. Matt. 12:2-5, 19:4) . If you would learn the meaning of the Scriptures, then learn to apply them to yourself, and your world, in the modern context.
Go and learn what this means implies also that a reading of the Scripture which does not shed light on the person and work of Christ is no true reading at all.
Note, It is not enough to be acquainted with the letter of scripture, but we must learn to understand the meaning of it. And they have best learned the meaning of the Scriptures that have not only learned how to apply them as a reproof to their own faults and a rule for their own practice but also as pointing to Christ and his gospel in every place.
Study of the Scripture that does not lead to the contemplation and understanding of the person and work of Christ is faulty. We have not, according to Jesus, learned what the Scriptures mean. Therefore go and learn.
Tides and Turning 