Matthew

Chapter 9
{Chapter 9 - The Ministry of the King}
{The Ministry of the King - to the Paralytic - Verses 1-8}
9:1~~After boarding the ship He {Jesus} crossed back to the other side and came to His own town {of Capernaum}.

9:2~~All of a sudden they {two or four believers} brought {carried} to Him a paralytic {believer} lying on a stretcher in the past with the result that he did not get out of that bed {perfect tense}. And, Jesus, seeing their faith/faith rest, said to the paralytic, "Son {teknon}, keep on having confidence! Your sins {past, present, and future} have received cancellation/dismissal {eternal security} - to your advantage."

{Note: RBT says the stretcher carriers were believer understanding eternal security. The paralytic was a believer, however, he didn't believe in eternal security. His friends brought him to have Jesus explain eternal security, NOT for healing.}

{Note: Teknon means a small child under training and here is in the sense of a student. And, note that Jesus did not heal him at this point - doctrine in the frontal lobe is more important than the health of his body.}

{Opposition from Religion}
9:3~~Then some of the scribes/'experts in the law' thought {notice did NOT speak - only thought this!}, "This One slanders/blasphemes!"

9:4~~And Jesus, knowing their thoughts {information He always had known}, said, "Why do you think evil in your frontal lobe {hearts}?

9:5~~Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'?

{Note: Rise and walk is easier for Jesus to say because healing depends on divine sovereignty, whereas forgiveness of sins depends on human volition. The scribes thought the antithesis! Because religion offers forgiveness on the basis of human works and merit. It is easier for Jesus to heal than to save - but easier for them to 'say' your sins are forgiven then to 'say' Walk which would immediately be shown to be bogus.}

{Jesus provides His calling card to the scribes - He is the Messiah}
9:6~~"But for the purpose that you may know that the Son of Man keeps on having the authority on the earth to forgive sins"-He said to the paralytic- "Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home."

9:7~~And he got up and went home.

9:8~~When the crowd saw this they were afraid and honored God who had given such authority to men. {The crowd was all mixed up, but this is what they believed}

{Ministry of the King - Tax Collectors and Prostitutes - Verses 9-13}
{Jesus heads to Positive Volition in the town - wherever He finds it!}
9:9~~As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office {receipt of custom - a tax collector type of public servant}. "Follow me," He said to him. And he {Matthew} got up and followed Him.

9:10~~While Jesus {the honored guest} kept on reclining at the table {Roman style} in the house {from Mark and Luke we know this was Matthew's house}, many public servants and sinners {hamartolos - means sinners - mainly overt sinners - prostitutes} kept on coming in and sitting and eating {iterative tense - means at different times} with Jesus and His disciples.

{Note: Romans would lay down to eat at a dinner party. And, first century Middle Eastern meals were eaten while reclining on one's side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet away.}

9:11~~When the Pharisees saw this they kept on saying to His disciples, "Why does your Master/Teacher eat with public servants/tax collectors and sinners/prostitutes?"

{Note: There was a law in Israel forbidding eating with tax collectors or prostitutes.}

9:12~~When Jesus heard this He said, "The doctor goes to the sick, not the healthy."

9:13~~"Go and learn what this means {Hosea 6:6}: 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice.' For I {Jesus/Messiah} did not come to call the righteous {dikaios}, but sinners/prostitutes."

{Note: The scribes and Pharisees were having a great day of religious activities - rituals. Jesus was showing grace and mercy with the tax collectors and prostitutes.}

{Note: Dikaios means righteous but can mean the human righteousness (filthy rags) and the proud self-righteous. Since the scribes were the religious crowd, this is what is inferred here.}

{Ministry of the King - To the disciples of John - Verses 14-17}
{Opposition of legalism to Jesus Christ}
9:14~~Then John's disciples came and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"

{Note: Most fasting is legalism - ritual without reality and is NOT spirituality as they thought. They thought fasting was ritual and making points with God. But it is NOT. True fasting is forgoing any allowed activities of life {eating, sleeping etc.} for additional bible study or prayer.}

{Inner happiness or True Spirituality - Illustration the 'Honeymoon'}
9:15~~Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The day will come when the bridegroom is taken away {the death, burial, resurrection, and eventual ascension of Jesus Christ} and then they will fast {communion table is a legitimate fast - remembering the bridegroom!}!"

{Note: During this time the groom showed up at the bride's house, having already negotiated the dowry, and picked her up and took her to his house or the house of his parents. The groom's friends were already in the house living it up as the brides' friends waited outside until the bride showed up. The groom was the host and everyone stayed for the duration of the honeymoon. In the analogy, the wedding guests are believers and the groom is Jesus Christ. While Jesus was on the Earth they all should be having a wonderful time!}

9:16~~"No one sews an un-shrunken patch of cloth on a {pre-shrunk} old garment, because the un-shrunk patch {fasting legalism} will pull away from the garment {Christian Way of Life} and the tear will be worse."

{Note: Legalism destroys the Christian Way of Life. At the next wash, the un-shrunken cloth will shrink, pull away, and create a bigger hole.}

9:17~~"And no one pours new wine {eusebeia - spiritual life in the Church Age} into old wineskins {your old way of live} otherwise the skins will burst and the wine will pour out and the skins will be destroyed {legalism destroys spiritual life}. Instead they put new wine {phase II - believers way of life} into new wineskins {Protocol Plan of God} and both are preserved."

{Ministry of the King - To the Jewish Rulers - Verses 18-26}
9:18~~As He {Jesus} was saying these things - to their advantage - the ruler {of the Synagogue at Capernaum named Jairus - Luke 8:40-56; Mark 5:21-43} came, bowed low before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."

{Note: While the disciples of John criticized Jesus, this ruler was positive to Jesus.}

9:19~~So Jesus and His disciples got up and kept on following him.

{Woman with a deep faith in the Lord - verses 20-22}
9:20~~And, behold a woman who had been suffering with {some kind of} hemophilia for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the hem/edge of His cloak.

{Note: Dr. Luke went into this in more detail than the tax collector Matthew!}

{No doubt in her mind - she has faith rested the problem in the Lord - Psalms 55-22}
9:21~~For she kept saying to herself, "If I only touch His cloak, I will receive healing/ deliverance {from her medical problem}."

{Faith Rest Technique in action}
9:22~~But when Jesus suddenly turned and saw her He said, "Daughter {family relationship - she is saved}, keep on having {what you already have} . . . confidence! Your faith {faith rest - placing it in the hands of the Lord} has healed {sozo} you." And the woman was healed then and there.

{Note: Sozo is in the Aorist tense. This means the healing was in a point of time, divorced from time and perpetuated forever - her illness was gone forever!}

9:23~~ When Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the {funeral} flute players and the professional mourners wailing. {a real morbid situation}

9:24~~He {Jesus} kept on saying to them, "Get out, get out, get out, because the girl is not dead, just sleeping." So they ridiculed Him with laughter.

9:25~~When He {Jesus} had thrown them out, He went in and took her by the hand, and the little girl got up.

9:26~~And the news {pheme} of this spread throughout that region.

{Note: Pheme was transliterated fame, but means a news report.}

{Ministry of the King - To the Blind - Verses 27-31}
9:27~~As Jesus went on from there, two blind men started to follow Him {stumbling after Him}, started shouting out repeatedly, "Son of David, Son of David, Son of David, mercy {grace in action}, mercy, mercy {a demand from believers who had confidence}!"

{Note: Aorist imperative-in their confidence in who and what Jesus was, they were demanding mercy from Him. These blind men with their handicap are witnesses against unbelief in Capernaum. Any normal person should have 'seen' who Jesus was!}

9:28~~Then He went into the house, the blind men came to Him. Jesus said to them {for the benefit of the bystanders}, "Do you keep on believing that I am always able to do this?" They answered repeatedly, "Yes, Lord."

9:29~~Then He {Jesus} touched their eyes saying, "According to the norm or standard of your faith . . . become healed."

9:30~~And their eyes were opened. But Jesus commanded/warned them sternly, "Make sure {beware/stay on your toes} . . . that no one knows {until I take it off}!"

{Note: Jesus had to FIRST present His credentials to Israel (miracles followed by the content of His message). And, secondly, these men that had just been healed, were still too emotional to be prepared. Don't witness until you know something! And, He is faced with maximum negative volition in Capernaum.}

9:31~~BUT {conjunction of contrast} they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that entire region.

{Note: Their disobedience will cause trouble for Jesus.}

{Ministry of the King - To the Demon Possessed - Verses 31-35}
9:32~~As they were leaving, a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to Him {Jesus}.

9:33~~After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!"

9:34~~BUT the Pharisees said, "He {Jesus} casts out demons by the prince of demons.

{Note: The "buts" of vs. 31 and 34 are connective conjunctions where one but is the result of the other. Jesus permitted some people to speak and others he commanded not to speak. This presents why Jesus didn't want the healed blind men to go out and yap with no understanding. They muddied up the water for the true issue. When Christians without doctrine muddy up the water, it causes unnecessary problems for Christianity.}

9:35~~Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, heralding the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness.

{Ministry of the King - To the disciples - Verses 36-38}
9:36~~When He {Jesus} saw the crowds, He had a reasonable sympathy for them because {1} they fainted {were devoid of divine viewpoint attitude} . . . {2} they were scattered/'hit the ground' {rhipto} . . . {3} and they were like sheep without a shepherd.

{Note: Rhipto originally meant 'to hit the ground due to inebriation.' Here it means they weren't able to mentally take doctrine in . . . because of their negativity at God consciousness . . . due to being such a religious area.}

9:37~~Then He {Jesus} said to His disciples, "The harvest . . . plenty/great, but the {skilled} workers are few."

{Note: Plenty of positive volition, but not many who knew what to do with it! Needed people with doctrine in their souls!}

{Learn how to pray first is the concept - then pray for more knowledgeable people to help}

9:38~~"So NOW . . . pray {passive mood} . . . the Lord of the harvest {Holy Spirit} send out workers into His harvest."

{Note: All prayer is directed to God the Father. The passive mood here indicates that God the Father is to do the action by sending God the Holy Spirit send 'workers' to the harvest. If you are willing to pray, then you should be willing to go! This is not a missionary message, but is referring to Capernaum - where they are! Jesus is saying He needs prepared witnesses and if you know how to pray, then pray for prepared workers of the harvest.}

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