Matthew 9:1-2
1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the
palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the
palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Following the “pig problem,”
Jesus got back in the boat and returned to
Upon returning to
When Christ saw “their
faith,” He was moved to action. However,
instead of saying “be healed,” Christ Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; your
sins are forgiven.”
Would you rather walk or be
forgiven?
Are your sins forgiven? Have you been healed of your sins?
Matthew 9:3-8
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man
blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore
think ye evil in your hearts?
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven
thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power
on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take
up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and
glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
Some scribes thought that by
Jesus’ forgiving the man’s sins, He had blasphemed. They did not need to voice those
thoughts. Christ understood!
Jesus asked them why they
thought such, “in their hearts?”
Then, Christ addressed their
concerns by asking, “Is it easier to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or to
say, ‘Arise, and walk’”?
Do you know that Christ did
some things just to prove His Lordship?
Christ Jesus continued,
“However, so you may know that the Son of man has the power to forgive sins,
arise, take up your bed, and go home.”
The man stood up, and went
home.
The crowd was amazed. They gave glory to God the Father, Who had
given Jesus, the Son, such power.
Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he
saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto
him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
As Christ Jesus was leaving
the area, he saw a man, named Matthew.
He was collecting taxes.
Jews who collected taxes for
the Roman government were considered to be social outcasts.
Instead of rebuking Matthew,
he said, “Follow Me.”
“Follow Me” (Gr. akolouthei-akolouqei) is a command! It is not
an invitation or request.
That teaching is missing from
most evangelistic moves. When God calls
us to follow Christ, He is not asking our opinion.
Matthew got up followed
Jesus, and also wrote the gospel story you are now reading.
Matthew 9:10-13
10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many
publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his
disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They
that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have
mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance.
Later Jesus ate with
publicans (Gr. teloonai-telvnai). They were
apparently tax collector friends of Matthew.
Sinners came to the home, and
sat down with Jesus and his disciples. That seems like a harmless thing.
But, when the Pharisees saw
it, they confronted Jesus’ disciples. It
seems that the Pharisees were always hanging around. Today, Pharisaic legalists are always hanging
around were grace is taught. But, they are not called at this time to partake
of the grace of Christ Jesus.
The Pharisees asked Jesus’
disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
There is a rule of thumb that
is apparent to most. IF you
want to save sinners, you must speak to sinners. The reason Christ came to this
earth was to save sinners.
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (NKJV)
When Jesus heard what they said,
He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician. Only those that are
sick need doctors.” The ones who were
complaining most really needed healing.
Jesus told them that they
needed to meditate on a biblical adage. “I will have mercy, not sacrifice”
(Exodus 33:19, Hosea 6:6). Jesus continued by saying, “I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke echoed that in His
gospel by quoting Jesus saying, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and
to save that which was lost."
(Luke 19:10/NKJV)
Matthew 9:14-17
14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees
fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will
come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old
garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and
the rent is made worse.
17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else
the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they
put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Some disciples of John the
Baptist came to Jesus and asked, “Why do we, and the Pharisees often fast, but
Your disciples don’t?”
Jesus referred to the great
marriage of Christ and
Jesus went on, “But, the days
will come, when the groom shall be taken from them, and then they shall
fast.” He spoke that concerning His
death and resurrection.
Then, Jesus gave some good
advice. Don’t put new things in an old container. That may sound simple, but it is true. It is true of the Holy Spirit.
You may look the same after
being regenerated in/by the Spirit, but the fact is you are not!
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)
If you have a problem
believing that teaching, perhaps you have not been regenerated. Look to Christ! Trust Him!
Matthew 9:18-19
18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler,
and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy
hand upon her, and she shall live.
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his
disciples.
At that point, a Jewish ruler
came to Jesus. The title “ruler” may
indicate a member of the Sanhedrin, or a local Synagogue leader.
His daughter had died and he
loved her so much that he was willing to go to one who was hated by the Jewish
leadership to ask for help.
His request was simple,
“Come, lay Your hand upon her, and she shall live.” That took humility and faith. Jesus went with
the man, and so did his disciples.
Matthew 9:20-22
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve
years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his
garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he
said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the
woman was made whole from that hour.
Now a side story: A woman who
very ill came up behind Him, as Jesus went to help the Jewish leader. As they
walked along, she reached out and touched the fringe of His prayer shawl.
Many have mistakenly taught
that this woman crawled on the ground to get to Christ and touch the bottom hem
of His cloak. Such a teaching is rooted
in historical ignorance and lack of common sense.
If she had been crawling, the
crowd around Jesus may have trampled her.
If she crawled, she surely would never have caught up with Jesus and His
disciples.
The Greek text indicates that
the woman was attempting to touch “the fringe” (Gr. tou kraspedou-tou kraspedou). That would
have been the fringe of Jesus’ prayer shawl. She had faith that if she touched
just the fringe, she would be healed, made whole.
Jesus turned, looked at her,
and said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you whole.” She was
immediately healed!
Matthew 9:23-26
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the
people making a noise,
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not
dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and
took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
As they arrived at the
“ruler's house,” they saw a crowd making noise as if in mourning. Jesus told them, Go away, the young girl is
not dead, she is only sleeping. The people laughed at Jesus in a mocking way.
They knew a dead girl when
they saw one, but they did not know Jesus.
When the crowd had gone,
Jesus went in to see the girl. He took
her hand and she arose as if from a nap.
The story of her rising immediately hit the gossip circuit.
Why is it so implausible to
some that the giver of life cannot resurrect whom He wills?
Faith is a scarce commodity!
Matthew 9:27-31
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and
saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men
came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this?
They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to
your faith be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly
charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that
country.
After that, Jesus left the
area and as He was going, He came upon two blind men. They followed Him, yelling, “Son of David,
have mercy on us.” Each of us, blind or
not, needs Jesus’ mercy.
When He came to “the house”
(which may indicate Jesus’ home in
Jesus asked, “Do you believe that I can do what you ask?
They were asking for mercy.
They replied, “Yes, Lord!”
People don’t ask others for
things from those they think cannot be given.
They knew what they were asking, and Jesus knew what they wanted.
Jesus came to touch those
blinded by sin and unable to see the truth. Jesus touched them and they could
see.
Jesus firmly warned them not
tell what happened.
Think about it. If you had two friends who were blind one day
and the next day they could see, wouldn’t you ask them about it?
Don’t you think they would
tell all their friends? The men did
exactly that. They told all their
friends---and foes alike.
Matthew 9:31-34
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a
devil.
33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake:
and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils
through the prince of the devils.
Jesus’ fame was
enhanced. People brought him a demon
possessed man who could not speak. The man was mute. Jesus cast the demon out and the man spoke.
That added to Jesus’ fame.
Those that saw this miracle
were amazed. They said that nothing like
it had ever happened in
However, the Pharisees put
another spin on Jesus’ miracles. In
their jealousy, they proclaimed that Jesus cast out demons through the power of
Satan.
Matthew 9:35-36
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness
and every disease among the people.
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with
compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep
having no shepherd.
Jesus went throughout the
area teaching in the synagogues. He
preached the gospel of the kingdom. And
He healed every sickness and every disease.
This was done in response to
prophecy. Isaiah 53:4--- Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
A literal translation would
say that He has taken our sicknesses and carried our pains. Sin is the root cause. Sin is the reason illness and death came upon
mankind.
Jesus came to take away that
root cause. John 1:29b--- Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He
looked on them with compassion, because they fainted (Gr. eskulmenoi- eskulmenoi), or were harassed
by Satan. They were scattered abroad
(Gr. errimmenoi-errimmenoi), in need of care as if they were sheep without a
shepherd.
In that respect, things have
not changed!
Matthew 9:37-38
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the
labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord
of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Seeing the needs around Him,
Jesus told his disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous (Gr. polus-polus), but the laborers (Gr.
ergatai-ergatai)
are few. You are to pray that the Lord
of the harvest, God the Father, will send laborers to His harvest.”
The Greek word translated
“laborers” may indicate teachers.