9 And Jesus, passing on thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, called Matthew, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.
And passing by, he saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-office, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him. And it came to pass as he lay at table in his house, that many tax-gatherers and sinners lay at table with Jesus and his disciples; for they were many, and they followed him. And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing him eating with sinners and tax-gatherers, said to his disciples, Why [is it] that he eats and drinks with tax-gatherers and sinners? And Jesus having heard [it] says to them, They that are strong have not need of a physician, but those who are ill. I have not come to call righteous [men], but sinners. And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting; and they come and say to him, Why do the disciples of John and [the disciples] of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bride-chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom shall have been taken away from them, and then shall they fast in that day. No one sews a patch of new cloth on an old garment: otherwise its new filling-up takes from the old [stuff], and there is a worse rent. And no one puts new wine into old skins; otherwise the wine bursts the skins, and the wine is poured out, and the skins will be destroyed; but new wine is to be put into new skins.
And after these things he went forth and saw a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the receipt of taxes, and said to him, Follow me. And having left all, rising up, he followed him. And Levi made a great entertainment for him in his house, and there was a great crowd of tax-gatherers and others who were at table with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees murmured at his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with tax-gatherers and sinners? And Jesus answering said to them, They that are in sound health have not need of a physician, but those that are ill. I am not come to call righteous [persons], but sinful [ones] to repentance. And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make supplications, in like manner those also of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink? And he said to them, Can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast when the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when also the bridegroom will have been taken away from them; then shall they fast in those days. And he spoke also a parable to them: No one puts a piece of a new garment upon an old garment, otherwise he will both rend the new, and the piece which is from the new will not suit with the old. And no one puts new wine into old skins, otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be poured out, and the skins will be destroyed; but new wine is to be put into new skins, and both are preserved.
And he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [with] twelve yokes before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah went over to him, and cast his mantle on him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. And he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers; and he says to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him. And going on thence he saw other two brothers, James the [son] of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawl-nets, and he called them; and they, having left the ship and their father, immediately followed him.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, who was surnamed Thaddaeus;
Which of the two did the will of the father? They say [to him], The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but *ye* when ye saw [it] repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him.
and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
[and] Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphaeus and Simon who was called Zealot,
And behold, [there was] a man by name called Zacchaeus, and he was chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was: and he could not for the crowd, because he was little in stature. And running on before, he got up into a sycamore that he might see him, for he was going to pass that [way]. And when he came up to the place, Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must remain in thy house. And he made haste and came down, and received him with joy. And all murmured when they saw [it], saying, He has turned in to lodge with a sinful man. But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return [him] fourfold. And Jesus said to him, To-day salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
And when they were come into [the city], they went up to the upper chamber, where were staying both Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon the zealot, and Jude [the brother] of James.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 9
Commentary on Matthew 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
We have in this chapter remarkable instances of the power and pity of the Lord Jesus, sufficient to convince us that he is both able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him, and as willing as he is able. His power and pity appear here in the good offices he did,
Thus did he prove himself to be, as undoubtedly he is, the skilful, faithful Physician, both of soul and body, who has sufficient remedies for all the maladies of both: for which we must, therefore, apply ourselves to him, and glorify him both with our bodies and with our spirits, which are his, in return to him for his kindness to both.
Mat 9:1-8
The first words of this chapter oblige us to look back to the close of that which precedes it, where we find the Gadarenes so resenting the loss of their swine, that they were disgusted with Christ's company, and besought him to depart out of their coasts. Now here it follows, He entered into a ship, and passed over. They bid him begone, and he took them at their word, and we never read that he came into their coasts again. Now here observe,
He came into his own city, Capernaum, the principal place of his residence at present (Mk. 2:1), and therefore called his own city. He had himself testified, that a prophet it least honoured in his own country and city, yet thither he came; for he sought not his own honour; but, being in a state of humiliation, he was content to be despised of the people. At Capernaum all the circumstances recorded in this chapter happened, and are, therefore, put together here, though, in the harmony of the evangelists, other events intervened. When the Gadarenes desired Christ to depart, they of Capernaum received him. If Christ be affronted by some, there are others in whom he will be glorious; if one will not, another will.
Now the first occurrence, after Christ's return to Capernaum, as recorded in these verses, was the cure of the man sick of the palsy. In which we may observe,
Mat 9:9-13
In these verses we have an account of the grace and favour of Christ to poor publicans, particularly to Matthew. What he did to the bodies of people was to make way for a kind design upon their souls. Now observe here,
Now observe,
Mat 9:14-17
The objections which were made against Christ and his disciples gave occasion to some of the most profitable of his discourses; thus are the interests of truth often served, even by the opposition it meets with from gainsayers, and thus the wisdom of Christ brings good out of evil. This is the third instance of it in this chapter; his discourse of his power to forgive sin, and his readiness to receive sinners, was occasioned by the cavils of the scribes and Pharisees; so here, from a reflection upon the conduct of his family, arose a discourse concerning his tenderness for it. Observe,
Now his argument is taken from the common usage of joy and rejoicing during the continuance of marriage solemnities; when all instances of melancholy and sorrow are looked upon as improper and absurd, as it was at Samson's wedding, Judges 14:17. Now,
Mat 9:18-26
We have here two passages of history put together; that of the raising of Jairus's daughter to life, and that of the curing of the woman that had the bloody issue, as he was going to Jairus's house, which is introduced in a parenthesis, in the midst of the other; for Christ's miracles were thick sown, and interwoven; the work of him that sent him was his daily work. He was called to do these good works from speaking the things foregoing, in answer to the cavils of the Pharisees, v. 18: While he spake these things; and we may suppose it is a pleasing interruption given to that unpleasant work of disputation, which, though sometimes needful, a good man will gladly leave, to go about a work of devotion or charity. Here is,
Christ went in and took her by the hand, as it were to awake her, and to help her up, prosecuting his own metaphor of her being asleep. The high priest, that typified Christ, was not to come near the dead (Lev. 21:10, 11), but Christ touched the dead. The Levitical priesthood leaves the dead in their uncleanness, and therefore keeps at a distance from them, because it cannot remedy them; but Christ, having power to raise the dead, is above the infection, and therefore is not shy of touching them. He took her by the hand, and the maid arose. So easily, so effectually was the miracle wrought; not by prayer, as Elijah did (1 Ki. 17:21), and Elisha (2 Ki. 4:33), but by a touch. They did it as servants, he as a Son, as a God, to whom belong the issues from death. Note, Jesus Christ is the Lord of souls, he commands them forth, and commands them back, when and as he pleases. Dead souls are not raised to spiritual life, unless Christ take them by the hand: it is done in the day of his power. He helps us up, or we lie still.
Mat 9:27-34
In these verses we have an account of two more miracles wrought together by our Saviour.
To this question they give an immediate answer, without hesitation: they said, Yea, Lord. Though he had kept them in suspense awhile, and had not helped them at first, they honestly imputed that to his wisdom, not to his weakness, and were still confident of his ability. Note, The treasures of mercy that are laid up in the power of Christ, are laid out and wrought for those that trust in him, Ps. 31:19.
Mat 9:35-38
Here is,
Observe how Christ in his preaching had respect,
See what moved this pity.