Gospel Of Matthew

Author(s): Mark Luke John
Publisher: Mark Luke John

Page 10

possessed. Whereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him implored him to leave their territory.
CHAPTER 9
Jesus heals in his own town
9:1-2 - So Jesus re-embarked on the boat, crossed the lake, and came to his own town. Immediately some people arrived bringing him a paralytic lying flat on his bed. When Jesus saw the faith of those who brought him he said to the paralytic, "Cheer up, my son! Your sins are forgiven."
9:3-8 - At once some of the scribes thought to themselves, "This man is blaspheming". But Jesus realised what they were thinking, and said to them, "Why must you have such evil thoughts in your minds? Do you think it is easier to say to this man, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and walk'? But to make it quite plain that the Son of Man has full authority on earth to forgive sins" - and here he spoke to the paralytic - "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." And the man sprang to his feet and went home. When the crowds saw what had happened they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such power to men.
Jesus calls a "sinner" to be his disciple
9:9 - Jesus left there and as he passed on he saw a man called Matthew sitting at his desk in the tax-collector's office. "Follow me!" he said to him - and the man got to his feet and followed him.
9:10-13 - Later, as Jesus was in the house sitting at the dinner-table, a good many taxcollectors and other disreputable people came on the scene and joined him and his disciples. The Pharisees noticed this and said to the disciples, "Why does your master have his meals with tax-collectors and sinners?" But Jesus heard this and replied, "It is not the fit and flourishing who need the doctor, but those who are ill! Suppose you go away and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice'. In any case I did not come to invite the righteous' but the 'sinners'."
He explains the joy and strength of the new order
9:14 - Then John's disciples approached him with the question, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees observe the fasts, but your disciples do nothing of the kind?"
9:15 - "Can you expect wedding-guests to mourn while they have the bridegroom with them?" replied Jesus. "The day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them - they will certainly fast then!"
9:16-17 - "Nobody sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on to an old coat, for the patch will pull away from the coat and the hole will be worse than ever. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins - otherwise the skins burst, the wine is spilt and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new skins and both are preserved."
Jesus heals a young girl, and several others in need
9:18 - While he was saying these thing to them an official came up to him and, bowing low before him, said, "My daughter has just this moment died. Please come and lay your hand on her and she will come back to life!"
9:19-20 - At this Jesus got to his feet and followed him, accompanied by his disciples. And on the way a woman who had a haemorrhage for twelve years approached him from behind and touched the edge of his cloak.