Matthew 9:1-38
9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. {cp. 4:13; 11:23}
9:2 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.
9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This [man] blasphemeth.
9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
9:5 For whether {which} is easier,
to say, [Thy] sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power {ie., authority} on earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
9:7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
9:8 But when the multitudes saw [it], they marvelled,
and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
a man sick of the palsy {GK=paralutikos, paralytic}- cp. Mark 2:3-12; Luk 5:18-26
this man blasphemeth- They reasoned that only God can forgive sins. cp. Mark 2:7; Isa 43:11,25
which is easier, to say...?-
  • 'Thy sins be forgiven thee'- Any false prophet could claim to forgive sins.
    It is beyond the capability of men to determine the truth or falsity of such a claim.
  • 'Arise... and walk'- The result of this command to a paralytic man would be easily verifiable by any observer.
    Jesus' demonstrated ability to do the latter, verified His authority to do the former.
    The healing was a sign (''that ye may know'', v.6) to Israel concerning His identity (cp. Isa 35:5,6).
Jesus is the Lord with authority to forgive sins. cp. v.6; Joh 3:35; 5:21-23; Acts 4:12
(The basis for the forgiveness of sins is His blood sacrifice. cp. Lev 4:20; Heb 9:22; Mat 26:28 )
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.
9:10 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.
9:11 And when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto his disciples,
Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? {cp. Rom 3:23}
9:12 But when Jesus heard [that], he said unto them,
They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
9:13 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.
Matthew- the author of this gospel, also called Levi. cp. Mark 2:14-17; Luk 5:27-32
at the receipt of custom- GK= telonion, the place where taxes were collected
(for the Roman government).
publican(s)- GK= telones, a tax collector. Most Israeli citizens despised the publicans
as traitors because they were in league with the occupying Roman force,
and as sinners because their business was rife with greed and graft.
the Pharisees- were self-righteous, and condemned Jesus for associating with sinners.
cp. Luk 15:2; 19:7; Isa 65:5
They that are whole {ie., well, able, strong} need not a physician... I am come...-
Not only does Jesus have authority to forgive sins,
but also He is the Lord who can cure a man's sinful condition. (cp. Psa 103:2-4)
But only those who recognize their need will come to Him for that cure. (Rom 10:3,4)
I will have mercy and not sacrifice...- (quoted from Hos 6:6; cp. Mat 12:7)
ie., God does not desire the external 'righteousness' of religious ritual.
See 1Tim 1:13-16 for an example of God's mercy to a man in need of mercy.
to call... sinners to 'repentance'- GK=metanoia, having another mind, a change of mind
(ie., in regard to sin, self and God). cp. Isa 55:6,7; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 20:21; 2Pet 3:9
Repentance, in the sense of 'sorrow for sin' (or, even 'turning from sin'), cannot in itself save (cp. Mat 27:3-5; Heb 12:16-17).
"Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone." [Hymn, 'Rock of Ages']
Salvation is by faith in the Savior. In the NT, repentance is frequently used as the equivalent of ''believing in Christ'' (cp. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2Pet 3:9). In this sense, repentance means 'a change of mind concerning the Person and work of Christ'. Once, I did not recognize my sinfulness or my need for the Savior, but now I have changed my mind acknowledging my guilt and trusting in Him for deliverance. Since 'repent' and 'believe' are each used separately to refer to saving faith, it can be seen that they are not two required steps to salvation. In fact, John's gospel never uses the word repent.
In any case, before these religious people could come to repentance, they must see themselves as sinners.
9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying,
Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft {often}, but thy disciples fast not?
{cp. Mark 2:18-22; Luk 5:33-39}
9:15 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.
9:16 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.
9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles {ie., wineskins}:
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.
Jesus answered this question about the practise of 'fasting' (see note at 6:16)
with a discussion about the changing dispensations.
  1. the dispensation of Law was about to end.
    The Pharisees and John the Baptist lived under the OT system established by Moses.
    For them, fasting was a matter of religious duty and an external display of righteousness.
  2. the dispensation of Grace was about to begin.
    The NT system was made possible by the Lord Jesus, and is centered around Him. Joh 1:17
    He is the Bridegroom. His disciples feasted on His Presence while He walked among them (Joh 3:29).
    They would fast later (due to sorrow at His death, Joh 16:20-22;
    and due to dependence upon Him after His ascension, Acts 13:2,3; 14:23).
no man...- To man, 'Law' and 'Grace' are incompatible systems (cp. Rom 11:6; Gal 2:16).
Jesus compares them to--
  1. new cloth on an old garment...- New cloth will shrink at a different rate than old cloth.
    If the old garment is repaired with a patch of new cloth, the resulting stress on the fabric will soon extend the damage beyond the original torn area.
  2. new wine in old wineskins...- Wineskins are bottles made of animal hides. New wine is not yet fermented. The fermentation process produces pressure which will stretch a new wineskin, but would rupture an old wineskin (which had already been stretched to its limit).
new wine into new wineskins-
Through Grace, God places His Spirit only into men that He has made new.
cp. 2Cor 5:17; Eph 5:18; Rom 8:8,9
both are preserved- ie.,
  • both the new wine and the new wineskins, cp. 1Joh 3:24 ; Jude 1:20,21,24
  • both the old bottle and the new bottle.
    - - the Law (the old bottle) was fulfilled by Christ (Mat 5:17), and
    - - Grace (the new bottle) abounds by Him to man (Rom 5:20,21).
9:18 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.
9:19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and [so did] his disciples.
9:20 And, behold, a woman,
which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years,
came behind [him], and touched the hem of his garment: {hem, border, fringe, cp. Num 15:37-40}
9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said,
Daughter {cp. Luk 13:16}, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.
And the woman was made whole from that hour.
9:23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house,
and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn.
9:25 But when the people were put forth,
he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
9:26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
This account is reported in greater detail in Mark 5:21-43 and Luk 8:40-56.
It shows that Jesus is Lord over 'the issues from death'. Psa 68:20
twelve years-
The number '12' in scripture ''in general is regarded as suggestive of divine administration''. [WEVine] (eg., God organized Israel into 12 tribes, and administered the early Church through the 12 apostles...)
The very different life stories of these two 'daughters' were arranged by God to meet at Jesus, at the proper time (cp. Eph 1:10; Gal 4:4).
  1. the woman had an issue of blood {GK=haimorrheo, a flow of bood}, twelve years (v.20)-
    • The cause is not stated. Perhaps a pregnancy had ended tragically in miscarriage, with the complication of continual bleeding as a constant reminder of her sorrow. Perhaps she desired to have children, but was unable due to continual menstration.
    • All human hope had been exhausted, as had been her financial resources. Mark 5:26
    • Her condition made her 'unclean'. (see Lev 15:19-33)
      She was cut-off from her husband, and from worship in the congregation.
  2. the ruler's daughter was twelve years old. (Mark 5:42)
    • Born at the time when the woman's sorrows began, this girl's life had brought joy to her family, until her sudden illness and death.
    • In both cases, Jesus would restore what (to men) was unrestorable.
thy faith-
  1. To the woman, Jesus said: 'Thy faith hath made thee whole {hath saved thee}.'
    He did not mean that the power to heal was in her faith, but rather,
    that her faith had been placed in the One who has 'virtue' {GK=dunamis, power} to heal.
    Jesus insisted that she rehearse the facts of her healing, so that the source of her healing was clearly identified. The power in Him was accessed by faith. cp. Mark 5:29,30
    Faith trusts this Physician (v.12), though all other physicians have already failed.
  2. To Jairus (the ruler of the synagogue) Jesus said: 'Only believe'.
    Faith trusts the Lord Jesus, when -
    • hope is almost gone-
      Jairus had not approached Jesus until his daughter was 'at the point of death' (Mark 5:22,23). Perhaps he had delayed turning to Jesus, hoping that she would improve. When her condition turned desperate, he was willing to take a great risk. cp. Joh 9:22
    • hope is entirely lost- cp. Mark 5:35,36
    • the trusted One is mocked by all- v.24; Mark 5:38-40
the maid is not dead, but sleepeth- ie., her death was comparable to sleep
because it would be temporary, since Jesus was about to 'awake' her. cp. Joh 11:11-14
Matthew reports only that Jesus 'took her by the hand', but from the other accounts we learn that the girl arose at Jesus' command ( Mark 5:41 and Luk 8:54 ). In every recorded instance, it was His spoken word that raised the dead. cp. Luk 7:14,15; Joh 11:43,44
The dead respond to His voice. Joh 5:25-29
Note the response of the (formerly dead) girl's parents (Mark 5:42). cp. Mat 8:27
9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying,
[Thou] Son of David, have mercy on us.
9:28 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.
9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
9:30 And their eyes were opened;
and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See [that] no man know [it].
9:31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
thou Son of David- They addressed Him as the Messiah, the one destined to be King.
cp. 1:20,21; Luk 1:32,33
their eyes were opened- Jesus, as the Light of the world, is Lord over darkness.
cp. Joh 9:5-7; Psa 146:8; Isa 35:5
see that no man know it- He did not need further advertisement as a physician.
His primary purpose was not the healing of the physically diseased, but the deliverance of the spiritual captives. cp. Isa 42:7
'These two blind men called Jesus 'Lord', but they did not obey Him. It seems that they could not contain themselves, and told others about the miracle Jesus had performed in their lives.' [McGee]
9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil {demon}.
9:33 And when the devil {demon} was cast out, the dumb spake: cp. Isa 35:6; Ex 4:11}
and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
9:34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. {cp. 12:23-28}
9:35 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.
the gospel of the kingdom- proclaims the good news that the kingdom of Messiah is near.
Jesus was offering Himself to Israel as their King.
The miraculous healings were credentials by which Israel should have identified the King.
Such credentials do not accompany the gospel of Grace, and are in fact suspect. cp. Mat 7:22,23; 1Joh 4:1
9:36 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.
9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;
9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
The Lord, the King is a compassionate shepherd at heart.
cp. Moses' concern for the people in Num 27:15-17
cp. the Lord's concern for His people. Jer 50:6
(cf. the neglect of God's people under false shepherds. Jer 23:1-6; Eze 34:4-6 )
the harvest- cp. Joh 4:35,36
pray ye... - cp. Luk 6:12,13; Acts 13:2; 2Thes 3:1
In answer to their prayer, the disciples were sent out as laborers, in ch. 10.
(cp. Mat 28:19,20; Eph 4:11,12)
Click here to continue the study in Matthew 10:1-
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