Introduction
In Harry’s introduction last week to Matt. 8-9 remember he pointed out that having finished giving his teachings of chapters 5- 7, Jesus descended from the "mountain," and "many crowds" began to follow him. Matthew’s purpose in chapters 8-9 is to show how Jesus interacts with these crowds and how they respond. Some of the miracles of these two chapters involve groups of people; some involve individuals, and we see how each of these reacts to Jesus in a different way: faith, hesitant faith ("little faith"), misunderstanding, disagreement, and finally hostility.
In 8:22 Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee (calming the storm) to the region of the Gadarenes on the southeast shore of the sea (sending the demons into the herd of pigs).
The pigs’ stampede dramatically proved that the former demon-possessed men had indeed been freed of their demons, but the crowds reaction to this amazing miracle is very telling and reveals the real values of the people in the vicinity. Their income is their only concern. They preferred pigs to people and they ask Jesus to leave that vicinity.
Begged to leave (8:34), Jesus embarked in the boat he had so recently left and returned to “his own town,” that is, Capernaum on the western shore of the lake where he had been living since 4:13.
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. (Matthew 9:1-8 NIV)
His return to Capernaum sparked his return to the scrutiny of the scribes, those experts in the law of Moses , "some" of whom are extremely critical and hostile toward him. It also brought about a return of the crowds, seeking healing for loved ones. Matthew chooses here one such incident, because it will show both model faith in Jesus by the men who bring the paralytic on a stretcher and blind and hateful opposition to him by his critics among the scribes.
When the paralyzed man is brought and placed before Jesus, he notices the faith of the men who have brought him. It is because of their faith, that he acts on behalf of he paralyzed man. This is not surprising, since we have seen this already in the case of the Roman centurion, whose remarkable faith persuaded Jesus to heal his slave back in his house.
Though it is obvious why these men have brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus (because they believe Jesus can heal him of his paralysis), Jesus says nothing about his physical problem, but instead addresses his spiritual one, and he tells him that his sins are forgiven. Perhaps the onlookers conclude that the man’s physical handicap is a result of his sin, and that may have been the case, but Jesus doesn’t say so.
His declaration of forgiveness of sin brings an angry muttering from the scribes as they say among themselves: “This fellow is blaspheming!”
Jesus knows what they are saying: more to the point, what they are thinking and why. “Knowing their thoughts” indicates that Jesus not only knew what they were thinking, but that he also knew the condition of their hearts.
Jesus had seen the faith of the paralytic and his friends, now he saw the evil thoughts of some of the teachers of the law. They refused to see what was being revealed before their eyes, and their hearts were filled with rebellion and unbelief.
The scribes have said “This fellow is blaspheming!” because he pronounced the man’s sins forgiven, and only God can forgive sin therefore Jesus was equating himself with God, which would be blasphemy.
Jesus challenges their indignant unbelief by asking whether it is easier to pronounce a person forgiven or to pronounce him healed. Whichever might be easier to do it was obviously easier to “say” that someone’s sins were forgiven since no one would be able to verify whether they were really forgiven or not.
Saying "Rise and walk" was the more difficult thing to say, because if the man was unable to do so, it would show that the speaker had no such power. Jesus has shown here that by saying the more “difficult words” whose results they immediately saw, then they must believe that when he said the "easier" words, "Your sins are forgiven," the result—though not immediately visible—is immediate and real. Which means, that Jesus is God, for only God can forgive sins.
Questions: What was Jesus’ primary concern for this paralyzed man?
Does God always heal our physical infirmities, even in answer to prayer?
What about our prayers for forgiveness and spiritual healing?
Jesus’ primary concern for this paralyzed man was not his physical state, but his spiritual state. God does not always heal our physical infirmities, even when we pray for healing, but he will always grant spiritual healing to anyone who asks.
The crowd were “filled with awe”... literally, they were “afraid”.
Men should fear the one who has the authority to forgive sins. Just so, we should be filled with awe and praise every time we think about the fact that God has forgiven our sins.
We have seen so far how Jesus demonstrated his authority over the wind and waves, then his authority over the demons who were under Satan’s authority, and now he displays the very authority of God to forgive sins. But despite these stupendous signs of the advancing kingdom, we are going to see the King facing increasingly bitter opposition.
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Matthew 9:9-13 NIV)
Jesus follows up the pronouncement of sins forgiven by calling a notorious sinner to follow him.
Matthew was a tax collector. He probably sat at the toll booths on the landing stage at the lake where he would collect customs from commercial ships as they arrived. Tax collectors were despised and even considered traitors because by collecting taxes they were of course collaborating with the Roman occupiers of their country. They regularly defiled themselves by contact with Gentiles and they were often dishonest and unscrupulous, charging unfair tariffs and keeping the excess for themselves.
Now Jesus looks straight into the eyes of a man whom everyone would have considered a “sinner” perhaps even a criminal, and says: “Follow me.” Matthew “got up” and followed him... just as the paralytic “got up”. He asks no questions, makes no excuses (as did the man in 8:22 who said he must wait till his duties to his father were finished). He simply follows. Obviously, he must have heard and perhaps seen Jesus at his teaching and healing. Who in Capernaum had not? Probably he thought that Jesus would have nothing to do with an outcast such as himself. So when the opportunity came for him to associate with this compassionate and wise teacher, he took it.
Later Matthew throws a party for Jesus and invites some of his fellow tax collectors and other “sinners” so that they can hear Jesus and also become his followers.
The Pharisees hear about this party and they confront, not Jesus himself, but his disciples, with their criticism. They often do this early in Jesus’ ministry, but later they will boldly confront and question Jesus personally.
When Jesus himself heard of this criticism, he confronted his critics, calling them “righteous” because that is their perception of themselves.
Then he says: But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
“Go and learn” was a standard charge from rabbis to their disciples. Jesus is dealing the Pharisees a double rebuke by treating them first as learners rather than teachers and second as beginners who have yet to learn Scripture correctly” (Blomberg).
These Pharisees think they are well (righteous) and don’t need healing, whereas the “sinners” gathered in Matthew’s house knew they were sick and so welcomed the Great Physician into their homes.
Application:
The Pharisees were more concerned with their respectability, their appearance of righteousness. Jesus was concerned with the poor, the outcasts, the needy. We as followers of Jesus must have the same concerns and be willing to leave our comfort zone to reach out to people very different from us but with the very same need of a Savior.
Next Jesus will be questioned, not by people who are openly hostile to him, but by ones who do not quite understand what he is all about.
Jesus questioned about fasting
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:14-17 NIV)
John the Baptist’s disciples are puzzled over the fact that Jesus’s disciples do not fast. John’s ministry is one of repentance, which included fasting and mourning one’s sins. But as he himself stated, his ministry was a preparation for the Messiah’s coming. Now the time for joy has arrived. John himself recognizes this in John 3:28-29 where he says:
28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. (John 3:28-29 NIV).
So Jesus explains to John’s disciples that his disciples (the “guests” of v. 15) are participating in that joy of having the bridegroom with them. He is the messiah, the end- time bridegroom. Those who now recognize him as such are the "friends of the bridegroom" assisting him in the wedding celebration. Those attending a wedding and refusing the food because they were fasting would be guilty of one of the most serious insults to the bridal couple and their friends.
The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. This foreshadows the crucifixion. At that time fasting and mourning will be appropriate, although short-lived.
Reinforcing the point that a new age has arrived Jesus gives two further illustrations of the incompatibility of the old and new: the new patch on an old garment, and new wine in old wineskins. The new patch would shrink and tear away from the old garment and further damage it, and the new wine while still fermenting and expanding would burst open the old wineskins.
Instead of patching up the old religious system Jesus has come to offer something new, the forgiveness of sins for all people through his own sacrifice. This new message of love and faith would not fit into the old religious traditions. Instead it is a new and living message and must be offered anew to each generation.
As Christians we should look at the people around us in a new way with our lives reflecting the joy of salvation and the lively presence of Jesus.
Final three healing miracles
In this final section of chapter 9 we have three healing narratives in which we find explicit references to the faith of those healed and the strongest statement to date of the crowds’ positive response to Jesus’ healing. But this is immediately followed by the strongest statement to date of the Jewish leaders’ opposition. An ever-increasing polarization is beginning.
18 While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. 20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. 23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region. (Matthew 9:18-26 NIV)
The “ruler” of v. 18 is identified by Mark and Luke as Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, one who is responsible for the order and progress of worship. He doesn’t come to Jesus while his daughter is ill to ask for her healing, for she has already died. This synagogue ruler has apparently come into contact with Jesus or at least has heard about him and he believes that Jesus can bring his daughter back to life. Jesus will explicitly allude to this faith in v. 22 when he brings the girl back to life.
This is the first recorded account of Jesus restoring a dead person to life. Later, when Jesus answers John the Baptist's question if he was the messiah, he alludes to this as a messianic credential, when he says "the dead are raised" (11:5).
Upon hearing Jairus plea Jesus and his disciples immediately set out for Jairus’ home. As they make their way some of the crowd follows and surrounds them, and among them is a woman who has been suffering from continual hemorrhaging between her menstrual periods. This physical affliction would have left her weak and miserable, but in addition to that she would be viewed as ritually unclean, an even greater stigma than her physical problem. Like Jairus this woman believes in Jesus’ power to heal and in fact thinks that all she needs to do is just touch the edge of his cloak and she will be healed. Jesus recognizes that someone has touched him (Mark says that “he realized that power had gone out from him”), and he turns to her and says: “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
Resuming his journey, Jesus comes to Jairus’ house and finds the place full of a raucous gathering. I’ve been to a couple of Irish wakes that would fit the description of v. 23. Loud mourning and wailing at the home of the deceased were characteristic in Jesus’ day. “Even the poorest people were required to hire at least two flute players and one wailing woman to perform these services.” (Blomberg)
Jesus ejects this crowd, saying the girl is not dead but asleep. The crowd mocked Jesus, not just because he had said, “The girl is not dead but asleep,” but even more because they thought that this great healer had arrived too late.
Jesus’ words “she is asleep” confirmed that death - confronted with his power - is not final.
Like the woman with the hemorrhage, this dead girl would have brought defilement on anyone who touched her, but at Jesus’ touch the body, far from defiling him, came to life.
In v. 26 we have this strong statement of the crowds’ positive response the Jesus: “News of this spread through all that region.”
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” (Matthew 9:27-34 NIV)
The two blind men address him as “Son of David”, which was a popular Jewish title for the coming Messiah, and they call out to him for mercy, ie. compassion.
“This is the first time Jesus is called 'Son of David' (v.27), and there can be no doubt that the blind men were confessing Jesus as Messiah. They may have been physically blind, but they really “saw” better than many others” (Blomberg).
If Jesus was really the Messiah, the blind reasoned, then he would have mercy on them; and they would have their sight.” Blomberg
Question: Why does Jesus ask them “Do you believe that I am able to do this” ?
(1) it revealed that their cries were not merely those of desperation only but of faith.
(2) it showed that their faith was directed not to God alone but to Jesus himself, to his power and authority.
He touched the blind men’s eyes, but the healing also depended on Jesus’ authoritative word. “According to your faith” does not mean “in proportion to your faith” but rather “since you believe, your request is granted”—cf. “your faith has healed you”.
The focus here is on not only the blind men’s faith but on Jesus’ authority as well.
Jesus performs the healing in private and as the men walk away Jesus sternly warns them to tell no one.
Question: Why did he say this? To avoid misplaced loyalty.
John in his Gospel tell us that right after feeding the five thousand Jesus withdrew to a mountain because he “knew they would try to make him king by force” (John 6:15).
But these men disobeyed and spread the news all over the region. As a result hostility began, as we shall see in a moment.
Even as these two are leaving Jesus, a deaf mute who is demon possessed is brought to Jesus. Matthew gives us no details about this exorcism and healing but simply says that when the demon was driven out the man who had been mute spoke. Once again crowds everywhere are buzzing with this amazing news. But their amazement ominously sets the stage for the Pharisees’ cynical remark of v. 34 which signals the beginning of hostility which will escalate throughout the rest of this Gospel.
These chapters give abundant evidence that the kingdom is advancing.
Remember Isaiah 35:5-6 predicts the healing of the blind and deaf mutes in the messianic age.
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV)
And when John sent his disciples to ask Jesus “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” by way of assurance that he was the one:
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Matthew 11:4-5 NIV)
“Lines are beginning to be drawn. The majority will side with Christ at least superficially. By the end of Matthew’s Gospel, the majority will oppose him.” (Blomberg)
Conclusion
Jesus said to the scribes, “Go and learn”. We need to give ourselves diligently to learning the truth as it is revealed in Jesus.
How do we respond to what we know, and do we keep on learning?
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