1 And having gone to the boat, he passed over, and came to his own city,
2 and lo, they were bringing to him a paralytic, laid upon a couch, and Jesus having seen their faith, said to the paralytic, `Be of good courage, child, thy sins have been forgiven thee.'
3 And lo, certain of the scribes said within themselves, `This one doth speak evil.'
4 And Jesus, having known their thoughts, said, `Why think ye evil in your hearts?
5 for which is easier? to say, The sins have been forgiven to thee; or to say, Rise, and walk?
6 `But, that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon the earth to forgive sins -- (then saith he to the paralytic) -- having risen, take up thy couch, and go to thy house.'
7 And he, having risen, went to his house,
8 and the multitudes having seen, wondered, and glorified God, who did give such power to men.
9 And Jesus passing by thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, named Matthew, and saith to him, `Be following me,' and he, having risen, did follow him.
10 And it came to pass, he reclining (at meat) in the house, that lo, many tax-gatherers and sinners having come, were lying (at meat) with Jesus and his disciples,
11 and the Pharisees having seen, said to his disciples, `Wherefore with the tax-gatherers and sinners doth your teacher eat?'
12 And Jesus having heard, said to them, `They who are whole have no need of a physician, but they who are ill;
13 but having gone, learn ye what is, Kindness I will, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call righteous men, but sinners, to reformation.'
14 Then come to him do the disciples of John, saying, `Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?'
15 And Jesus said to them, `Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast.
16 `And no one doth put a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up doth take from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
17 `Nor do they put new wine into old skins, and if not -- the skins burst, and the wine doth run out, and the skins are destroyed, but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together.'
18 While he is speaking these things to them, lo, a ruler having come, was bowing to him, saying that `My daughter just now died, but, having come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.'
19 And Jesus having risen, did follow him, also his disciples,
20 and lo, a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, having come to him behind, did touch the fringe of his garments,
21 for she said within herself, `If only I may touch his garment, I shall be saved.'
22 And Jesus having turned about, and having seen her, said, `Be of good courage, daughter, thy faith hath saved thee,' and the woman was saved from that hour.
23 And Jesus having come to the house of the ruler, and having seen the minstrels and the multitude making tumult,
24 he saith to them, `Withdraw, for the damsel did not die, but doth sleep,' and they were deriding him;
25 but, when the multitude was put forth, having gone in, he took hold of her hand, and the damsel arose,
26 and the fame of this went forth to all the land.
27 And Jesus passing on thence, two blind men followed him, calling and saying, `Deal kindly with us, Son of David.'
28 And he having come to the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus saith to them, `Believe ye that I am able to do this?' They say to him, `Yes, sir.'
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, `According to your faith let it be to you,'
30 and their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, `See, let no one know;'
31 but they, having gone forth, did spread his fame in all that land.
32 And as they are coming forth, lo, they brought to him a man dumb, a demoniac,
33 and the demon having been cast out, the dumb spake, and the multitude did wonder, saying that `It was never so seen in Israel:'
34 but the Pharisees said, `By the ruler of the demons he doth cast out the demons.'
35 And Jesus was going up and down all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign, and healing every sickness and every malady among the people.
36 And having seen the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, that they were faint and cast aside, as sheep not having a shepherd,
37 then saith he to his disciples, `The harvest indeed `is' abundant, but the workmen few;
38 beseech ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may put forth workmen to His harvest.'
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.