Amos stressed the need to associate religion with social justice. Jesus stressed the need for mercy and love. Jesus manifested His mercy and love particularly in His acceptance of the sick, the poor, the marginalized. The Pharisees refused to accept those whom they regarded as "those who disregard the law". In their eyes, these people were sinners and so should be avoided.

Amos criticizes those who treat the poor as so much merchandise, to be sold for silver, as Jesus was eventually sold for thirty pieces of silver. Those who were the object of Amos' criticism show no spirit of acceptance. They had no regard for anyone else. They did not accept ethical standards in business, but changed their weights and measures and cheated. Nothing much has changed since his time, and now many Church people and other conscientious thinkers are trying to promote business ethics. Amos did not, of course, know the term "business ethics", but he did know the pain of the poor when they were treated unethically. Jesus would have agreed with Amos but would have stressed the further dimension of love, elevating justice to a higher level.