Matthew 9

CHAPTER 9THEME: Jesus performs six more miracles; calls Matthew; contends with the Pharisees; continues His ministry in GalileeIn the previous chapter we have seen six miracles which demonstrate that the King has the dynamic, the power, to enforce the ethic He has pronounced, and the chapter before us continues the same thought. We see Him performing physical miracles of healing, one that I classify as supernatural (the raising of the dead) and the spiritual miracle of casting out a demon.

Matthew 9:1

JESUS RETURNS TO CAPERNAUMJesus left the country of the Gadarenes, who did not want Him, and returned to Capernaum.

Matthew 9:2

We are given details in Mark’s account concerning this event. Mark tells us how this man was let down through the roof of a house, and the Lord both healed him and forgave him his sins. Healing and the forgiveness of sins are related.

Matthew 9:3

The scribes were of the opinion that the Lord could not enable this sick man to walk. The Lord, knowing the thought of their minds and the evil in their hearts, asked them

Matthew 9:5

They wouldn’t answer His question, but if they had answered, they would have had to say, “Well, for us, one is as great as the other.”

Matthew 9:6

When this palsied man got up and walked, it meant that the One who could make him walk was the One who could forgive his sins. My friend, you and I cannot forgive sinsonly the Lord Jesus can do that. And since we cannot forgive sins, we cannot make a man walk. Satan is a deceiver, and we need to investigate the so-called healings we hear about today. Let’s don’t get in the way of what God does, and let’s make sure that He receives the glory.

Matthew 9:9

JESUS CALLS MATTHEWMatthew modestly passes over his call with only this verse. Luke tells us that Matthew made a great dinner in honor of Jesus (see Luk_5:27-29). Evidently the incident which follows took place at this dinner. Matthew invited many of his publican friends to this dinner because he wanted them to know the Lord Jesus Christ also.

Matthew 9:10

The Pharisees did not believe in eating with publicans and sinners. Many saints today still have the same idea. It doesn’t hurt to invite sinners to dinner because they are the ones who need to be reached for Christ. We need to have some contact with sinners.

Matthew 9:12

Jesus is the Great Physician. He has come to heal mankind of their basic problem, which is sin. This ought to be said to a lot of our little Christian groups who have their banquets and “fellowship” meetings and do not invite the unsaved. If the unsaved do come, the majority of the Christians freeze them out anyway. May I say to you that I think some of these so-called Christian groups are sinful in their very existence and in the way they meet today.

Matthew 9:13

Matthew is at it again, quoting Hos_6:6 from the Old Testament. When Jesus said,“For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” He could have included the Pharisees because they were sinners. In fact, all of us are included"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23, italics mine).

Matthew 9:14

PARABLE OF OLD GARMENT AND OLD BOTTLESThe disciples of John had been observing the Lord Jesus. After all, some of these men were originally disciples of Johnwe know that Andrew and Philip were. They had come and were following the Lord Jesus, and the other disciples of John said, “Look, here is something happening which is a little different from the way we do it, and we wonder why.” John, as has been indicated previously, was an Old Testament prophet. He walked out of the Old Testament into the New Testament to make the announcement that the Messiah had come. Malachi had predicted that a messenger would come to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. John said, “All I’m doing is getting the highway ready for the Lord. He will be here in a few minutes.” And He did come as John had said. Now our Lord is going to enunciate a great principle and reveal the fact that the dispensation is going to be changed.

Matthew 9:15

Although for believers today fasting has real value, we have been given no commandment to fast. Fasting should be done with the idea that we are prostrating ourselves before God because we are in need of His mercy and of His help. This is the thought behind fasting. Now listen to the Lord as He explains the change of dispensations from the Old Testament of law to the New Testament of grace.

Matthew 9:16

Our Lord is saying this: The old covenant, the old dispensation of law, was ending, and He had not come to project it or to continue under that dispensation. Actually, He had come to provide a new garment, and that new garment was the robe of righteousness which He gives to those who do nothing more than to trust Him. The “bottles” were the wineskins of that day. They were fashioned of animal skin. You can see that when new wine would be put into a new wineskin, it would expand. But an old wineskin had reached the place of maximum expansion; when it was filled with new wine, it would naturally burst open and the wine would be lost. Our Lord is saying this, “I haven’t come to sew patches on an old garment. I have come to present a new garment, something which is altogether new.” This was very radical. John summed it up in his Gospel when he said, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Joh_1:17).

Matthew 9:18

JESUS HEALS A WOMAN AND RAISES A CHILD FROM THE DEADWe come to the eighth and ninth miracles which, in a manner of speaking, are linked together. Both are miracles of healing, and it is a tremendous scene. Luke in his Gospel tells us that when this ruler first came to Jesus it was to ask Him to heal his daughter: “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying …” (Luk_8:41-42). The little girl was sick unto death, and while her father waited to talk with Jesus, a servant came and told him that the little girl had died.

Matthew 9:19

As Jesus and His disciples arose to follow Jairus to his home, a large crowd gathered around Him.

Matthew 9:20

You cannot help but notice how striking this passage is. The little girl was twelve years old, and this woman had suffered with this issue of blood for twelve years. Here were twelve years of light going out of this child’s life, and twelve years of darkness were coming to an end and light was breaking into this woman’s life. Here is the contrast of light and darkness. In the previous verse note what the woman didJesus did not touch her, as He did in many other miracles, but she touched Him. It was not the method, however, that brought about her healing; it was her faith.

Matthew 9:21

Dr. Luke gives us much more detail about this miracle, recording our Lord’s reaction to this woman’s touch and her response. Jesus then moves from this woman and continues toward the house of Jairus.

Matthew 9:23

When Jesus arrived at the home, people were already mourning for the child. He told them the little girl was only sleeping and not dead, and they laughed at Him. None in the house believed Jesus could raise the dead, but He kept moving toward the child.

Matthew 9:25

This is the first instance of raising the dead that we have in the Gospels. Three notable incidents of raising the dead are recorded. Again, Luke goes into more detail than Matthew. Luke adds that He spoke to the little girl in this lovely fashion, “Little lamb, wake up, I say.” The method of Jesus in raising the dead was always the same. He spoke to the person directly. After healing the woman with the issue of blood and raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, the fame of Jesus spread.

Matthew 9:27

JESUS OPENS THE EYES OF TWO BLIND MENThe tenth miracle concerns two blind men who followed the Lord Jesus Note that the two blind men addressed Him as the “Son of David.” This is significant in this Gospel which presents Him as King.

Matthew 9:28

This is another remarkable case where the Lord charges these men not to tell anyone about what happened to them. He said the same thing to the leper. There are several reasons for the Lord to ask this favor, but one is made clear in this passage. The publication of His miracles caused the crowds to press in upon Him and actually hindered Him at His work.

Matthew 9:31

These two men whose sight was restored just couldn’t contain their joy"they …spread abroad his fame."

Matthew 9:32

JESUS HEALS A MAN DUMB AND DEMON-POSSESSEDWe now come to the eleventh miracle. Another demon-possessed man is healed. This is the third incident of demon possession recorded in chapters 8-9 of Matthew. Notice the reaction of the Pharisees

Matthew 9:34

They did not deny that He had caused the dumb to speak and the blind to see and the crippled to walk. What they accused Him of was that He did these things by the power of Satan.

Matthew 9:35

“The gospel of the kingdom” is not the gospel of the grace of God. This does not mean to imply that there are two gospels. There is only one gospel, but there are many facets of it. The gospel of the Kingdom was the announcement that the Kingdom of the heavens was at hand. It meant to get ready for the King. It required a heart condition that would accept and follow the King who was then going to the cross. “And healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” We see again and again that Matthew inserts this information that there were thousands of folk who were healed in that day. This is the reason the enemy never questioned the fact that He performed miraclesit was too obvious. Again let me say that in our day a great many people get excited about the claim of certain ones to have a gift of healing. Personally, I do not think that anyone in our day has that gift. As I mentioned previously, for many years I have offered one hundred dollars to anyone who would come forward and be able to prove that he had been healed by a so-called faith healer. You would think that out of literally hundreds of reported faith healings during the time of a sensational healing meeting, there would be one case that is genuine. I’ll be honest with youI did expect someone to come along that had had a psychological cure. No one has come. I asked the leader of a certain denomination who has offered one thousand dollars to anyone who could prove he had been cured by a faith healer what his experience had been. He told me about several lawsuits that had been filed against him by those who had tried to collect the money. No one, however, had ever been able to go into court and prove that he had been healed by a faith healer. In contrast to this, there were thousands of folk who had been healed by our Lord when He was here. And I would think that there would be at least one today, wouldn’t you think so? Let me ask you the question: Do you really know someone who has been healed by a man or woman? The point is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Great Physician, and I believeI knowthat He can heal today as well as yesterday. I have great confidence in Him. Now let me make myself clear: We should seek the best medical help available to us, but we need to recognize that doctors are very limited. However, the Lord Jesus is not limited. We can be confident that He will deal with us according to His perfect will, and we need to give Him the credit for whatever happens.

Matthew 9:36

The note of compassion which concludes this chapter is startling, isn’t it? God’s ideal kings and rulers have been shepherds. Both Moses and David were shepherds before they led God’s people. When we pray for the Lord to thrust forth laborers into His harvest, pray that He will give them the heart of a shepherd. Pray that the Lord will give you a heart of compassion for the lost.

Matthew 9:37

Having said this to His disciples, He now sends them forth. My friend, when you pray for something, it is always well to be willing to do it yourself. When our Lord asked the disciples to pray for laborers, He sent into the harvest these very men whom He asked to pray about it. This is very interesting indeed. An old bishop in the Methodist church in Georgia years ago said, “When a man prays for a corn crop, the Lord expects him to say ‘Amen’ with a hoe.” I have always believed that you should not pray about anything unless you are also willing to do it yourself.