CHAPTER 9

(A.D. 31)

JESUS HEALS A PARALYZED MAN

¹And He entered into a ship, and passed over and came into His Own city (Capernaum).

²And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy (paralyzed), lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith (the action of faith) said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; your sins be forgiven you (the sickness was caused by sin).

³And, behold, certain of the Scribes (experts in the Law of Moses) said within themselves (murmured among themselves), This man blasphemes (they did not recognize Him as Lord).

⁴And Jesus knowing their thoughts said (revealed to Him by the Spirit), Why do you think evil in your hearts? (Unbelief!)

⁵For whether is easier, to say, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and walk? (Original sin and its corresponding result, sickness.)

⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins (proclaims His Deity), (then said He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up your bed, and go unto your house (power to forgive sins and heal).

⁷And he arose (the physical action of a spiritual result), and departed to his house.

⁸But when the multitudes saw it(healing of the man), they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men (the multitudes still didnt understand that He was the Messiah).

THE CALLING OF MATTHEW

⁹And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew (the Spirit directed Him), sitting at the receipt of custom (Matthew was a tax collector a publican): and He (Jesus) said unto him (Matthew), Follow Me (the call to be one of the Twelve). And he arose (immediately), and followed Him.

¹⁰And it came to pass (after a few days), as Jesus sat at meat (a meal) in the house (Matthews house), behold, many Publicans (tax collectors) and sinners came and sat down with Him and His Disciples (on His terms, and not on theirs).

¹¹And when the Pharisees saw it(heard of it a little later), they said unto His Disciples, Why does your Master eat with Publicans and sinners (self-righteousness)?

¹²But when Jesus heard that(a short time later), He said unto them (His Disciples), They who be whole need not a physician, but they who are sick (He came for sinners, which includes all).

¹³But go you and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice (the keeping of rituals, i.e., sacrifices, wont save; asking for mercy will): for I am not come to call the Righteous (self-righteous), but sinners to Repentance.

FASTING

¹⁴Then came to Him the Disciples of John (John was now in prison), saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your Disciples fast not? (They fasted twice a week.)

¹⁵And Jesus said unto them (introduction of the New Covenant), Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? (Jesus is the Bridegroom, so it was not the time to fast) but the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them (Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ), and then shall they fast (fasting pictures something wrong that needs remedying, which the Coming of Christ will address).

¹⁶No man puts a piece of new cloth (New Covenant) onto an old garment (Old Covenant), for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment (a patch), and the rent is made worse (to revert to Law is to worsen the situation; the Cross is the New Covenant).

¹⁷Neither do men put new wine (New Covenant) into old bottles (skins): else the bottles break (new wine splits the wineskin), and the wine runs out (reverting to Law frustrates Grace [Gal. 2:21]), and the bottles (skins) perish (Law destroys Grace): but they put new wine into new bottles (new skins), and both are preserved (the New Covenant can only function by Faith [new skins] and not law).

MIRACLES

¹⁸While He spoke these things unto them (subject matter of previous Verse), behold, there came a certain Ruler (Jarius), and worshipped Him (as Lord and Messiah), saying, My daughter is even now dead (is dying): but come and lay Your hand upon her, and she shall live.

¹⁹And Jesus arose, and followed him (immediately), and so did His Disciples.

²⁰And, behold (an interruption), a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood (physically and ceremonially unclean [Lev. 15:25] probably from a female disorder) twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem (border) of His garment (a blue and white tassel worn at the four corners of the upper garment [Num. 15:37-41]):

²¹For she said within herself (inasmuch as she could not get a private audience), If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole (her faith).

²²But Jesus turned Him about (in response to her touch), and when He saw her (took a moment to find her), He said, Daughter (a change of relationship from woman to daughter), be of good comfort (dont fear); your Faith has made you whole (if He doesnt touch you, you can touch Him). And the woman was made whole from that hour (tradition says her name was Veronica).

²³And when Jesus came into the Rulers house (Jarius, ruler of the Synagogue), and saw the minstrels (paid mourners, which was the custom then; by now the child had died) and the people making a noise (making lamentation over the death of the child),

²⁴He said unto them, Give place (leave the room where the child was): for the maid is not dead, but asleep (will not remain dead). And they laughed Him to scorn (they knew the child was dead, and surmised that He could do nothing).

²⁵But when the people were put forth (they didnt go quietly), He went in (He wouldnt go in until the skeptics left), and took her by the hand, and the maid arose (He raised her from the dead; life touched death; no one died or stayed dead in His Presence).

²⁶And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land (all over Israel and beyond).

THE BLIND HEALED

²⁷And when Jesus departed thence (left the home of Jarius), two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David (the Messianic title), have mercy on us (a cry to which He always responds).

²⁸And when He was come into the house (probably the house of Peter), the blind men came to Him (they no doubt heard He had raised the dead): and Jesus said unto them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? (He only required Faith.) They said unto Him, Yes, Lord.

²⁹Then touched He their eyes (light touched darkness), saying, According to your Faith be it unto you (the Law of Faith).

³⁰And their eyes were opened (instantly); and Jesus straitly (strongly) charged them, saying, See that no man know it(His fame was already such that Israel would shortly clamor to make Him king, but for all the wrong reasons).

³¹But they, when they were departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country (at least they spread His fame and not theirs).

DUMB MAN HEALED

³²As they went out (from the house, probably Peters), behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil (a demon spirit had caused the dumbness).

³³And when the devil (demon) was cast out, the dumb spoke: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel (demon spirits are the cause of many things).

³⁴But the Pharisees said (strongest religious group in Israel, and were bitterly opposed to Christ), He casts out devils (demons) through the prince of the devils (by the power of Satan).

³⁵And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching (explaining truth) in their Synagogues, and preaching (proclaiming truth) the Gospel of the Kingdom (good news), and healing every sickness and every disease among the people (preaching, teaching, and healing are the Gospel program).

LABOURERS NEEDED

³⁶But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them (had great pity and sympathy), because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd (no spiritual leadership).

³⁷Then said He unto His Disciples, The harvest (souls to be saved) truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few (not many Preachers of Righteousness);

³⁸Pray you (intercede) therefore the Lord of the Harvest (Christ is the Lord), that He will send forth labourers into His Harvest (the harvest of souls is His, and must be gathered in His way).