Matthew 9:13

“But you go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

‘Go and learn.' This was a regular Jewish way of directing people to seek spiritual truth. And He informed them that where they should look was in Hosea 6:6. There we read, ‘I desire covenant love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.' And there the emphasis was on following true righteousness and being God-like, rather than on the observance of ritual. Ritual had its place. But only if it helped men to love God and their neighbour. The purpose of ritual was to bring men to the knowledge of God. Once it got in the way of doing that, or replaced that, it had to be got rid of. Thus compassion had to come before rigidity of ritual. And that was why Jesus had come, not to call the righteous, but sinners. Any who were truly righteous would not need His help. It was the repentant sinners whose heart cried out for God, Who needed His help, and they were the ones He was mixing with. And that was in line with the heart of God.

As Hosea 6:1 makes clear, this coming of a special physician from God was to be a feature of the last days in order to bring His people back to Himself.