Matthew 9
1 And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city.
Christ left those that didn't want to hear and see The Truth.
2 And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Christ could have said nothing and this man would have been healed, but when Christ did this it upset the "religious community" elite.
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Christ Jesus sees what their saying to "themselves" and He is going to call them on it.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
God knows our every thought before it is even spoken. Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
It's always better to ask a question with evil, than to teach them directly. Christ is telling them God does both, without them even knowing it.
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
The proof of Who He is stands right before them, "that ye may know" Who He is and the power He has.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
Christ Jesus did this right before the scribes. This man had palsy, been laying for so long his muscles had no strength, yet he stands and walks away as though he had never been sick.
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose, and followed Him.
This "receipt of custom" is a tax collector. This one Matthew had people hating him because of his occupation, but he will have many more hate him because he would be a follower of Christ. I love the fact he listened to The Holy Spirit speak to his heart and got up to follow Christ Jesus becoming one of His disciples.
10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.
These friends of Matthew's could see Matthew and the others talking and eating. They wanted to know what it was that had captured Matthew in such a way.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
satan doesn't have hold of real Christians, he has those that aren't. One Way out and that's Christ Jesus.
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
He isn't going to sit around and argue with these Pharisees. He told them to go and "LEARN" what it means. It's about love not traditions of humans.
14 Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Fasting is giving something up because you are grieving over something or that is gone.
16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
You must be made new completely, having a change of heart. You can't continue to do evil once you repent. We must put away the traditions and follow Christ. Christ Jesus is comparing new cloth on the garment to the self-righteousness of humans and their traditions of men, when they hear The Truth of God's Word, = "new fresh garment material", applying that word to their old traditions, it causes them to squirm and pucker up as new sewn on old and put in the wash.
17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles
break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine
into new bottles, and both are preserved.
An old skin will be dry rotted and will burst from the gases of new wine. If you stay in your old ways, you can't become new. The Truth in a tradition church won't be able to last. Look how many have fallen from The Truth already. You can tell by the ones that have their halloween party's and easter egg hunts for the children. The ones that just don't have time to teach The Word, but plenty of time for fund raising. They'll preach on tithing, repentance and baptism, but not much else.
18 While He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
This one knew and accepted the power Christ Jesus has.
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did His disciples.
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.
Faith! Ref. to these things can also be found in Luke 8 †
22 But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
She heard what Christ Jesus was doing and who He is. With her faith, she sought Him and without her saying a word, He heard her thoughts and healed her.
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
Remember Christ was on His way to the rulers house with the dead twelve year old daughter. Within was hired professional mourners for a show.
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn.
She isn't sleeping in the sense we do in this flesh. She is in another place and body. Ref. 1 Cor. 15:35-44 35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
25 But when the people were put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
Christ let them have it, they left and He went in bringing her back to this dimension. Ref. Luke 8:55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat. When she arose, she was fed The Word of God. Bringing her knowledge will bring her to an understanding where she had been and what she can do to be a part of her Christian walk to come.
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
The miracles Christ preformed are noted even today. If you believe what anyone says to you, why would you not believe in Christ Jesus even more †
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
The flesh genealogy of Christ is though David, this is why they say, "Thou Son of David" as it's part of the key of David. They knew He is The Messiah.
28 And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Their faith will heal them or their lack of won't. Where does your faith lay?
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
He asks they keep this a secret. You know He knew what they would do regardless of His request. He still gave them the choice.
31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country.
They told everyone that they came across about the things Christ Jesus did and it became known everywhere.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
The power of God is right before their eyes.
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
The Pharisees are accusing Christ of being one of themselves. One of satans workers, come to fool the masses.
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Christ Jesus doesn't care what these evil people have to say, there is work to be done.
36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
All these people have been fed so little of The Truth, they wonder around without true guidance. Christ Jesus feels for them because of what the Pharisees have done to them. Look around today. So little is being taught in the churches, it has become an anything goes religion instead of holding to the salt of God's Word, having morals and power over the world. They just don't have time for God in the churches because it takes away from the shows and raising money. God only finds favor in two types of churches today. If your being fed, you know who they are and what they teach. If you're hearing a few verses each time you go, you're not in one of the two.
37 Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Our Father is looking for laborers today, just as He was in Christ's day, problem is there's a shortage. Are you part of the problem, or the solution?
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.
Are you studying The Word and helping get it out there? Get ready, the harvest is coming †