Matthew 9
9
The Healing of a Paralytic
Mk 2:1–12; Lk 5:17–26
1#Mt 4:13; Mk 5:21He entered a boat, crossed over, and came into His own city. 2#Mt 9:22; 4:24; 8:10They brought to Him a man sick with paralysis, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you.”
3#Mt 26:65Then certain scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes.”
4#Mt 12:25; Lk 6:8Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, pick up your bed, and go into your house.” 7And he rose and departed to his house. 8#Mt 15:31; Lk 7:16; 17:15But when the crowds saw it, they were amazed and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
The Calling of Matthew
Mk 2:13–17; Lk 5:27–32
9As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s station. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him.
10While Jesus sat at supper in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11#Mt 11:19; Lk 5:30When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12#Mk 2:17; Lk 5:31But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. 13#Hos 6:6; Mt 12:7But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’#Hos 6:6. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
The Question About Fasting
Mk 2:18–22; Lk 5:33–39
14#Mt 11:2; Jn 3:25Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15#Jn 3:29; Ac 14:23Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16“No one sews a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is sewn in to fill it up pulls on the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17#Jos 9:4Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins. Or else the wineskins burst, the wine runs out, and the wineskins perish. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The Ruler’s Daughter and a Woman Healed
Mk 5:21–43; Lk 8:40–56
18#Mt 8:2; Mk 5:22–43While He was speaking these things to them, a certain ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter is even now dead. But come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19Jesus rose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
20#Mt 14:36; Dt 22:12Then a woman, who was ill with a flow of blood for twelve years, came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. 21For she said within herself, “If I may just touch His garment, I shall be healed.”
22#Lk 7:50; Mt 9:2; Mk 10:52But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort. Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well instantly.
23#2Ch 35:25When Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the musicians and the mourners making a noise, 24#Ac 20:10; Jn 11:4He said to them, “Depart. The girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they laughed Him to scorn. 25#Mk 9:27; Ac 9:40–41But when the people were put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26#Mt 4:24; Mk 1:45The news of this went out into all that land.
The Healing of Two Blind Men
27#Mt 15:22; 20:30–31As Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28When He entered the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
29#Mt 8:13Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, let it be done for you.” 30#Mt 8:4And their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows of it.” 31#Mk 7:36But when they had departed, they spread His fame in all that region.
The Healing of a Mute Man
32#Mt 4:24; 12:22–24As they went out, they brought to Him a mute man possessed with a demon. 33And when the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “This has never been seen in Israel.”
34#Lk 11:15; Mk 3:22But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons through the ruler of the demons.”
The Compassion of Jesus
35#Mt 4:23–24Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36#Mk 6:34; Nu 27:17; Mt 14:14But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they fainted and were scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. 37#Lk 10:2Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38#2Th 3:1Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send out laborers into His harvest.”
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Matthew 9: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Matthew 9
9
Who Needs a Doctor?
1-3Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus’ hometown. They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic on a stretcher and set him down in front of them. Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, “Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins.” Some religion scholars whispered, “Why, that’s blasphemy!”
4-8Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why this gossipy whispering? Which do you think is simpler: to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . .” At this he turned to the paraplegic and said, “Get up. Take your bed and go home.” And the man did it. The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way.
9Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”
12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
Kingdom Come
14A little later John’s followers approached, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting, but your followers don’t?”
15Jesus told them, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to exercise moderation, but not now. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”
16-17He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
Just a Touch
18-19As he finished saying this, a local official appeared, bowed politely, and said, “My daughter has just now died. If you come and touch her, she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, his disciples following along.
20-22Just then a woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years slipped in from behind and lightly touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned—caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on.
23-26By now they had arrived at the house of the town official, and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and the neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Clear out! This girl isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.” They told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. But when Jesus had gotten rid of the crowd, he went in, took the girl’s hand, and pulled her to her feet—alive. The news was soon out, and traveled throughout the region.
Become What You Believe
27-28As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!”
29-31He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw. Then Jesus became very stern. “Don’t let a soul know how this happened.” But they were hardly out the door before they started blabbing it to everyone they met.
32-33Right after that, as the blind men were leaving, a man who had been struck speechless by an evil spirit was brought to Jesus. As soon as Jesus threw the evil tormenting spirit out, the man talked away just as if he’d been talking all his life. The people were up on their feet applauding: “There’s never been anything like this in Israel!”
34The Pharisees were left sputtering, “Smoke and mirrors. It’s nothing but smoke and mirrors. He’s probably made a pact with the Devil.”
35-38Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.