ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version
Matthew 9
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to v his own city. 2 w And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus x saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, y “Take heart, my son; z your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, a “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, b knowing [1] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, c they were afraid, and c they glorified God, who had d given such authority to men.
Jesus Calls Matthew
9 e As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called f Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
10 And as Jesus [2] reclined at table in the house, behold, many g tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, h “Why does your teacher eat with g tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn i what this means, j ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For k I came not to call the righteous, l but sinners.”
A Question About Fasting
14 Then m the disciples of John came to him, saying, n “Why do we and o the Pharisees fast, [3] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, p “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? q The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and r then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old s wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
18 t While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and u knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman v who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched w the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, x “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” y And instantly [4] the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw z the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for a the girl is not dead but b sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But c when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and d took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 e And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, f Son of David.” 28 When 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 g Then he touched their eyes, saying, h “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, i “See that no one knows about it.” 31 j But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak
32 As they were going away, behold, a k demon-oppressed man who was mute l was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds m marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
35 n And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 o When he saw the crowds, p he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, q like sheep without a shepherd. 37 r Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore s pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to t send out laborers into his harvest.”
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Matt. 8:1–9:38 The Authoritative Power of the Messiah: Kingdom Power Demonstrated. Jesus has shown himself as the Messiah in word through his teaching (chs. 5–7) and now shows himself to be the Messiah in deed through the performance of many miracles, demonstrating that the kingdom of God truly has arrived.
Matt. 8:1–9:8 Healings, Discipleship, and Overpowering Satan's Strongholds. Jesus' mission involves ministering to the marginalized (8:1–17), disappointing the messianic expectations of some who wanted to follow him (8:18–22), and overthrowing Satan's strongholds (8:23–9:8).
Matt. 9:1 Jesus returned to his own city, Capernaum, the home base of his ministry in Galilee. The healing probably took place in Peter's home (cf. 8:14–15).
Matt. 9:2 paralytic. Jesus had already cured paralysis (4:24; 8:6), and these people had no doubt heard of his miraculous powers. Your sins are forgiven implies that in this case sin and sickness are related but also that, of the two, sin is the more fundamental problem. Though individual sin is not always the direct cause of a person's disease or illness (John 9:2–3), ultimately all corruption and death result from the entrance of sin into the world (see Gen. 2:17; 3:16–19).
Matt. 9:3 blaspheming. The scribes believed Jesus was dishonoring God by taking upon himself the prerogative to forgive sins, which only God can do (cf. Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21).
Matt. 9:5 which is easier. The implied answer is that it is easier to say “Your sins are forgiven,” for there is no way to verify whether or not this has happened.
Matt. 9:6–7 Son of Man. See note on 8:20. Jesus' authority on earth to forgive sins is an explicit evidence of his divinity, since only God has that prerogative. That the man rose and went home is visible evidence of Jesus' authority.
Matt. 9:9–38 Unexpected Discipleship, Miracles, and Workers. Jesus reveals his unexpected definition of discipleship (vv. 9–17) and demonstrates extraordinary compassion through his unexpected miracles (vv. 18–34). The underappreciated are called to follow him, while the religious leaders continue to resist him.
Matt. 9:9 Matthew. See Introduction: Author and Title. sitting at the tax booth. The Jews probably considered Matthew a traitor, since collecting taxes entailed cooperation with the Roman occupiers of Palestine. rose and followed him. Matthew had likely witnessed Jesus' public teaching and healings and was now ready to join him.
Matt. 9:10 tax collectors. See notes on v. 9 and 5:46–47. Pharisees would have regarded as sinners anyone who failed to keep God's law as they interpreted it, and the term here seems to reflect a commonly understood meaning by which it included both people guilty of publicly known sin and others who did not keep the strict purity requirements of the Pharisees.
Matt. 9:11 Pharisees. See note on 3:7.
Matt. 9:12 those who are well . . . those who are sick. The Pharisees considered themselves “healthy” before God because of their observance of the law, and thus they were blind to their spiritual sickness. Jesus' point is that only those who realize their need come to him to receive the help they need.
Matt. 9:13 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Jesus' offer of salvation to sinners threatens the Pharisees' way of life, yet it is at the heart of the gospel he came announcing. “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” is a quotation from Hos. 6:6 (see note). “Sacrifice” summarized observance of religious rituals. More important to God was “mercy” (the Septuagint rendering of Hb. hesed, meaning “steadfast love”), which would have led the Pharisees to care for these sinners as Jesus did.
Matt. 9:14 fast. See note on 6:16–18.
Matt. 9:15 The bridegroom in the OT was Yahweh (cf. Isa. 62:5; Hos. 2:19–20). The arrival of the kingdom of heaven is cause for a time of rejoicing, similar to what is experienced during marriage ceremonies (cf. Matt. 25:10).
Matt. 9:16–17 unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Rather than patching up the traditional practices of righteousness within religious Judaism, Jesus has come to offer real growth in kingdom righteousness, which is like when new wine is put into fresh wineskins.
Matt. 9:18 Though Jairus was a ruler (cf. Mark 5:22 and Luke 8:41) and a man of considerable influence, he knelt before Jesus, the appropriate position to take before God. she will live. Evidence of Jairus's deep faith in Jesus, in the face of death.
Matt. 9:20 discharge of blood. Her plight is heightened by its duration (twelve years), leaving her hopeless and in an anemic, weakened condition. Moreover, her hemorrhaging would have made her ceremonially unclean, which would have excluded her from normal social and religious relations.
Matt. 9:22 your faith has made you well. Faith itself does not do the healing; God does. But the woman's faith was the divinely appointed means for her bodily healing, as well as for her spiritual salvation.
Matt. 9:23 flute players and the crowd. Professional mourners were customarily hired to assist at funerals, usually including flutists and wailing women (making a commotion). Since bodies decomposed quickly in Palestine, mourners had to assemble fairly soon after a death.
Matt. 9:24–26 took her by the hand. Touching a corpse rendered a person unclean for seven days (Num. 19:11–21), but Jesus brings the girl to life, transforming uncleanness into purity. Jesus' power over death anticipates his later raising of Lazarus and his own resurrection (Matt. 28:1–10; John 10:17–18; 11:25–26; etc.).
Matt. 9:27 This account of the healing of two blind men has significant differences from the healing of Bartimaeus (20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43) and should not be thought of as the same event. Jesus no doubt healed many blind people over the course of his ministry. Son of David. A reference to the promised messianic deliverer from the line of David whose kingdom will continue forever (2 Sam. 7:12–16), and the first of several times in Matthew that people refer to Jesus by this title (see Matt. 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; 22:42; cf. 1:1). The messianic age was to bring healing to the blind (Isa. 29:18; 35:5).
Matt. 9:30 See that no one knows about it. See note on 8:4. Cf. 12:16; 16:20; 17:9.
Matt. 9:32–33 a demon-oppressed man. Demonic influence manifests itself in a variety of forms; here it prevents the man from speaking (see also 12:22).
Matt. 9:34 He casts out demons by the prince of demons. The Pharisees were unable to recognize that God was doing something unique in the teaching and works of Jesus, so they attributed his powers to the only other existing source, since they could not deny the reality of the miraculous works that Jesus had done. But the truthfulness of Jesus' teachings, the moral excellence of his character, and his ministry of doing good should have convinced them otherwise (cf. 7:16; John 3:2; 9:31–33).
Matt. 9:36–38 The compassion of Jesus is a repeated theme in Matthew (cf. 14:14; 15:32) and throughout both the OT (e.g., Deut. 30:3; 1 Sam. 23:21; Ps. 103:13; Isa. 49:15; 54:8; Lam. 4:10) and the NT, where Christians are especially admonished to show compassion to those in need (e.g., Col. 3:12; Heb. 10:34; cf. James 5:11). like sheep without a shepherd. The leaders have failed in their responsibility, but Mic. 5:4 predicted that the Messiah would “shepherd” his people. Given the helplessness and the need of the crowds, Jesus' disciples are urged to pray earnestly that the Lord (shifting metaphors) would send out laborers into his harvest, since many are ready to receive the good news of the kingdom—a prayer that is as urgent today as it was when Jesus' original disciples heard his words.
