Matthew 9:1-17
I. \\#Matt 1:1-3:17\\ The Presentation of the King
A. \\#Matt 1:1-2:23\\ The Offering of the King
1. \\#1:1-17\\ The King is Offered to the Reader
2. \\#1:18-25\\ The King Is Offered to Joseph
3. \\#2:1-12\\ The King Is Offered to the East
4. \\#2:13-23\\ The King Is Offered to Herod
B. \\#Matt 3:1-17\\ The Announcement of the King
1. Announced by John
2. Announced by the Father
II. \\#4:1-7:29\\ The Person of the King
A. \\#Matt 4:1-4:29\\ Powerful but humble
1. \\#4:1-11\\ Powerful but humble before Satan.
2. \\#4:12-17\\ Powerful but humble before government.
3. \\#4:18-22\\ Powerful but humble in the selection of
His disciples.
4. \\#4:23-25\\ Powerful but humble in ministry.
B. \\#Matt 5:1-7:29\\ Wise and Godly
1. \\#5:1-2\\ The Setting
2. \\#5:3-12\\ Be All You Can Be
3. \\#5:13-16\\ Do the Work
4. \\#5:17-19\\ Honor the Law
5. \\#5:20-6:18\\ Do It Better-Grace Always Exceeds the
Law.
a. \\#5:21-48\\ Grace exceeds the Law in our
dealings with people.
(1) \\#5:21-22\\ Keep It Civil
(2) \\#5:23-26\\ Make It Right
(3) \\#5:27-32\\ Keep It Pure
(4) \\#5:29-30\\ Control Your Vessel
(5) \\#5:31-32\\ Make It Work
(6) \\#5:33-37\\ Keep It True
(7) \\#5:38-42\\ Go the Second Mile
(8) \\#5:43-48\\ Love Them Anyway
b. \\#6:1-18\\ Grace exceeds the Law in our dealings
with God.
(1) \\#6:1-4\\ Give unto God Alone
(2) \\#6:5-15\\ Pray unto God Alone
(3) \\#6:16-18\\ Fast unto God Alone
6. \\#6:19-34\\ Invest For Eternity
a. \\#19-20\\ An Investment Strategy
b. \\#21-24\\ Investment Truths
c. \\#25-34\\ Trust God Alone
7. \\#7:1-6\\ Don’t Judge
8. \\#7:7-11\\ Pray without Giving Up and Doubting
9. \\#7:12\\ Do Right by Others
10. \\#7:13-14\\ Walk through the Right Door
11. \\#7:15-20\\ Watch for False Professors
12. \\#7:21-23\\ Be Careful You Are Not A False Possessor
13. \\#7:24-27\\ Be Certain You Respond Wisely
14. \\#7:28-29\\ Closing
III. \\#8:1-11:1\\ The Power of the King
A. \\#Matt 8:1-39\\ Jesus’ Power and the Common People
1. \\#8;1\\ The Multitudes
2. \\#8:2-4\\ The Willingness of Jesus
3. \\#8:5-13\\ The Conduit of Jesus’ Power
4. \\#8:14-15\\ The Compassion of Jesus
5. \\#8:16\\ The Power of Jesus over Disease
6. \\#8:17\\ The Cost of the Power
7. \\#8:18-22\\ The Sacrifice of Jesus and His disciples
8. \\#8:23-27\\ The Power of Jesus over Nature
9. \\#8:28-34\\ The Power of Jesus over Demons
III. \\#8:1-11:1\\ The Power of the King
A. \\#Matt 8:1-39\\ Jesus’ Power and the Common People
1. \\#8;1\\ The Multitudes
2. \\#8:2-4\\ The Willingness of Jesus
3. \\#8:5-13\\ The Conduit of Jesus’ Power
4. \\#8:14-15\\ The Compassion of Jesus
5. \\#8:16\\ The Power of Jesus over Disease
6. \\#8:17\\ The Cost of the Power
7. \\#8:18-22\\ The Sacrifice of Jesus and His disciples
8. \\#8:23-27\\ The Power of Jesus over Nature
9. \\#8:28-34\\ The Power of Jesus over Demons
B. \\#Matt 9:1-42\\ Jesus’ Power and the Religious People
1. \\#9:1-17\\ The Religious Wondered (They had
questions.)
a. \\#9:1-8\\ Did Jesus blaspheme? Can He forgive
sins?
b. \\#9:9\\ Jesus continued to minister, calling His
disciples?
b. \\#9:10-13\\ Did Jesus defile Himself with sinners?
c. \\#9:14-17\\ Did Jesus ignore the Law?
2. \\#9:18-26\\ Jesus continued to minister, His Power
over Dire Sickness and Death.
3. \\#9:27-31\\ Jesus’ Power over Blindness
4. \\#9:32-34\\ The Religious Decide
5. \\#9:35-38\\ Jesus continued to minister, making
shepherds out of the sheep.
C. \\#Matt 10:1-11:1\\ Jesus’ Power and the Disciples
This chapter deals largely, although not exclusively, with Jesus
and the religious. In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the
religious leaders seemed curious about Jesus, asking questions and
listening to what He had to say. However, at some point, they
determined that Jesus was not of their mindset and from that time,
they sought to kill Him. That process can be seen starting in
Matthew 9 and finishing in Matthew 12.
I. \\#Matt 9:1-42\\ Jesus’ Power and the Religious People
A. \\#9:1-17\\ The Religious Wondered (They had questions.)
1. \\#9:1-8\\ Did Jesus blaspheme? Can He forgive sins?
a. \\#1\\ Location - "he entered… a ship… passed over…
into his own city."
(1) We continue to note the locations given by
Matthew.
(2) In the last chapter, Jesus crossed over Galilee
to the southwest shores of the Gergesenes. Now
He leaves that areas.
(3) Most believe that Jesus’ "own city" was
Capernaum, where He made His headquarters, and
that is likely so.
(4) Apparently, many of the religious leaders who
normally dwell in or around Jerusalem had come
to Capernaum for there were many in the crowd.
b. \\#2\\ Situation
(1) "a man sick of the palsy" - Palsy was some type
of paralysis; hence the man was "lying on a bed."
(2) "Jesus seeing their faith"
i. Notice that Jesus saw "their" faith. Jesus
is not looking at the man with the palsy’s
faith, at least not alone, but at the faith
of those who brought him.
ii. This is likely the companion story given in
\\#Mark 2:1-12\\, where Jesus was in a home
of Capernaum and four had to drop a man
with palsy through the roof.
(3) "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee"
i. This man’s sickness was caused by sin.
aa. We see Jesus’ power over sin in this
miracle. This King of Israel is
indeed a POWERFUL KING!
bb. Jesus could have healed this man
without mentioning the word "sin." He
had done so previously and He would do
so again.
cc. The fact that Jesus healed this
sickness with these words means that
He wanted the people to understand
the connection between sickness and
sin.
dd. He also wanted the people to understand
the connection between healing and
forgiveness (i.e. next point.)
ii. While all sickness is not brought on by a
direct act of sin, all sickness is caused
due to the sinful condition of the human
race. We do not know whether this man
committed a specific sin which caused his
palsy, but the sinfulness that was
ultimately responsible for his condition
was about to be forgiven.
iii. For this sickness to be healed, the sin had
to be forgiven. For sin to be forgiven,
Someone had to pay for it. Jesus added
this man’s sin to His account.
iv. Every healing requires a measure of
forgiveness by God and a payment.
c. \\#3\\ The Scribes
(1) "This man blasphemeth"
i. The scribes understood the point that Jesus
was making.
ii. If a sin had to be forgiven, Jesus was
claiming to have power to forgive sins, and
no mere man could do that; so Jesus was
also claiming to be God.
(2) Mark’s account states their conclusion outright.
Mr 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive
sins but God only?
(3) At this point, there is no reason to believe that
the Lord is displeased with the scribes.
i. It was His intention to point out this
connection. No doubt, those men had not
reasoned out the healing process to its
ultimate end anymore than many today.
ii. If Jesus were not the Son of God, to claim
the power to forgive sins would be
blasphemy.
iii. The scribes will now have to reason whether
this Man is God or not. While their first
instinct was wrong, it was normal. Who
would readily accept any person’s claim
at being divine?
d. \\#4-6\\ The Savior
(1) \\#4\\ "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?"
i. Jesus immediately corrects their wrong
thinking.
ii. Calling it "evil" may seem that Jesus was
rejecting the scribes; but in rebuking
Peter for his wrong thinking, Jesus called
him "Satan." \\#Matt 16:23\\.
iii. Jesus is sternly correcting their false
train of thought with the desire that
they will think further and come to
the correct conclusion.
(2) \\#5\\ "whether is easier"
i. Jesus is asserting that no matter what words
He pronounces when He heals a sickness, the
work behind the miracle is the same.
ii. Namely, for every healing, there is
forgiving and payment.
(3) \\#6\\ "But that ye may know that the Son of man
hath power… to forgive sins."
i. Now an unseen purpose of this miracle comes
out.
ii. Jesus wanted to help the man, but He also
wanted to teach a lesson.
aa. Jesus was and Is the Son of God.
bb. As so, He has the power not only to heal
but to forgive.
(4) "Arise, take up thy bed." Now that the
connection has been clearly made, Jesus heals
the man with the type of pronouncement He more
commonly used.
e. \\#7-8\\ The Results
(1) \\#7\\ "he arose, and departed" - The fact that
the paralyzed man walked away proved Jesus’
claim. If He could heal, He must know how He
did it; and He said He did by forgiving sin.
(2) \\#8\\ "the multitudes… marvelled, and glorified
God" - The average person may not have
understood Jesus’ lesson, but they understood
that God had blessed them.
2. \\#9:9\\ Jesus Continued to Minister, Calling His
Disciples.
a. Several times in this chapter, we will see that
although the religious were examining Jesus, He
continued His work. Of course Jesus knew the
conclusion the religious of His day would ultimately
reach, but even if He had not, the Kingdom of God does
not wait for men.
b. Yet, the calling of Matthew probably serves a second
purpose. It is possible that Matthew’s salvation
sets the situation for the large gathering recorded
in the \\#Matt 9:10-13\\.
c. "he saw a man, named Matthew" - Matthew details his own
calling into the ministry.
d. "sitting at the receipt of custom"
(1) CUSTOM means tax or toil.
(2) Matthew was one of the hated Roman tax collectors.
(3) We might draw several conclusions.
(a) Matthew was hated by the Jewish people. Just
like came Zacchaeus and any other who
collected these taxes, Matthew made his
money in over-charging the Jews and would
have been considered a traitor by the
conservative Jews of that day—which would
have been most of the nation.
(b) Matthew was likely wealthy. No one would
know for certain but since the reward of
being a tax collector was not popularity,
it must have been the wealth. The
collectors could keep everything over the
due tax they collected.
(c) Matthew was called out of Capernaum.
Supposing that Matthew is noting the major
changes in Jesus’ location, he told us
that Jesus entered "his own city
\\#Matt 9:1\\ and will not mention Him
leaving until \\#Matt 9:35\\.
e. "Follow me" - Jesus had a wide variety within His
group of disciples.
f. "And he arose, and follow him." Matthew left his
wealth and his job to follow Jesus.
3. \\#9:10-13\\ Did Jesus defile Himself with sinners?
a. \\#10\\ "as Jesus sat at meat… many publicans and
sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples."
(1) Publicans and sinners is a reference to Jewish
tax collectors and those Jews who were deemed
transgressors by the Jewish rulers.
(2) It is commonly believed that Matthew called the
other tax collectors and outcasts of Israel to
this meal and that it was likely held in his
home.
(a) There is a logic to this thinking although
the Scripture does not tell us.
(b) Matthew, being a publican, would not have
had any "religious" friends. Once he
accepted Christ and began to follow Him, it
is natural that he would want to invite
those who were his friends to come to
Christ too.
(c) Perhaps Matthew sent far and wide to gather
his fellow Jewish tax collectors to
introduce them to Jesus.
(d) Perhaps Zacchaeus missed this celebration
for some reason. If so, it would explain
why he worked to hard to see Jesus when He
passed through Jericho.
(3) Exactly who the "sinners" were and what they
might have done would be an interesting question.
(a) They are mentioned often as being with Jesus.
\\#Mt 11:19; 26:45; Mr 2:15-17; 14:41\\
\\#Lu 5:30-32 6:32-34; 7:34, 37, 39\\
\\#Lu 15:1,2, 7, 10; 19:7; 24:7\\
\\#Joh 9:16, 24, 25, 31\\
(b) One did not have to refuse the sacrifices,
worship false god, or blaspheme the God
to be "cast out of the synagogue" by the
Jewish leaders.
(c) In that group might be those who charged
interest to a Jew, prostitutes, those who
were gluttons (ate or drank excessively),
and a large variety of other grievances.
b. \\#11\\ "Why eateth your Master with publicans and
sinners?"
(1) The issue was, "Had Jesus somehow defiled Himself
by associating with sinners?"
(2) To understand this question, we must understand
the Jewish tradition. Peter stated it well.
Acts 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful
thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of
another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man
common or unclean.
(3) This is an example how over zealous the Jews
could be, although it seems that they were most
often too lax.
(4) There is no command in the Law that even hints at
it being a sin for a Jew to have fellowship
with a Gentile.
(5) What the Law commanded was that Jews should not
JOIN themselves to \\#Deut 7:3-6\\ or ACT LIKE
the Gentiles \\#Lev 18:24-29\\.
(6) No doubt, the religious leaders intended to help
the people by teaching them importance of
putting a separation between the holy and the
unholy, but doing so at the expense of changing
the Word of God is sinful.
(7) The fact that Peter still held to the tradition
that it was wrong to go to a Gentile home
demonstrates how well ingrained into the
Jewish culture the traditions were.
c. \\#12-13\\ Jesus’ does not correct the wrong
understanding of Scripture, but He does correct the
wrong attitude in the heart.
(1) \\#12\\ "They that be whole need not a physician"
(a) If the goal of Christianity is to reach the
sinners, we will have to be with the
sinners.
(b) This is a lesson that we must remind
ourselves of quite often. While worldly
sinners may get saved in the church,
sinners are far more likely to be saved
as the church ministers to them in the
world.
(2) \\#13\\ "I will have mercy; and not sacrifice"
(a) And further, instead of condemning the
world, the church should demonstrate mercy.
(b) Somewhere, there is a balance between
church’s need to separate from the world
and the church’s duty to win the world—-
and it doesn’t really seem that hard to
find.
i. In behavior, we are to separate from
the world.
ii. In compassion and ministry, we are to
be in the world.
4. \\#9:14-17\\ Did Jesus ignore the Law?
a. \\#14\\ The Issue
(1) While this question is never posed, it may be
implied in the question that was asked, "Why
didn’t Jesus move His disciples to fast?"
(a) Fasting was one of the customs and
traditions of the customs and traditions
of the day that had been corrupted by the
religious leaders.
(b) We know that fasting and praying were done
by the religious of that day because the
way they were done is corrected by our Lord
on several occasions.
\\#Matt 6:16-18, Luke 18:10-14\\
(c) The fact that these men "knew" Jesus’
disciples had not fasted would indicate
that somehow they had expected to see
"outward evidence" of fasting.
(d) No doubt, the lack of any such evidence had
caused some to find fault.
(2) "Then came to him the disciples of John" -
However, the question was not asked of the
Pharisees but of John’s disciples. That would
indicate that while some might have found fault
with Jesus’ disciples not fasting, these men
were likely more curious than condemning and
simply wanted to know the answer.
b. \\#15-17\\ The Answer
(1) \\#15\\ This is the time of rejoicing.
(a) Jesus compares His time on earth to a
wedding.
i. Jesus is the "bridegroom."
ii. His disciples are "the children of the
bridechamber."
(b) Jesus asks the question, "Should the
disciples be mourning while the bridegroom
is with them.
i. The answer implied answer is, "No."
ii. While Jesus was on the earth, the
disciples should be celebrating!
Indeed, all the world should have
celebrated the presence of God with
us; however, in truth, neither the
world nor for the most part His own
disciples recognized Him and
celebrated His coming as they should.
(c) At the same time, Jesus speaks of the
bridegroom "being taken from them."
i. This is a prophecy to both Jesus’ death
and His ultimate return to heaven.
ii. During the days of Jesus’ absence,
Jesus tells them that His disciples
will fast.
iii. So the short answer to their question
is that His disciples will fast when
the time is appropriate.
(d) That being the case, two things are to be
true of this day called the Church Age.
i. We are to fast. Fasting is both
appropriate and necessary for
spiritual power. Somehow, most in
the church have forgotten this tool
for securing God’s grace.
ii. That these are days of mourning.
aa. Jesus said that His disciples did
not fast because this was not the
time for mourning. If we now
SHOULD fast, these must be the
days of mourning.
bb. What should we mourn?
(I) Jesus’ departure
(II) Our powerlessness
(III) Sin’s dominion.
(IV) Lost souls
(2) \\#16-17\\ This is a time of change.
(a) Jesus gives two illustrations to show that
the new can not simply be added to the new
but must replace the new.
i. The "old" in these illustrations is the
Old Covenant.
ii. The "new" is the New Covenant.
iii. Christ did not come to merely add new
features to the Old Covenant. This is
not an update or modification. This is
a replacement of the Old Covenant with
the New.
Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first
old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Heb 7:18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment
going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a
better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
(b) \\#16\\ The old and new garment - One does
not sew new material onto a rotted garment.
i. The rotted material could not hold the
new patch.
ii. Ultimately, the new would tear lose from
the old causing a worse tear than was
originally in the garment.
(c) \\#17\\ Old and new wine bottles - Wine
bottles were made of skins in those days.
Once filled with the new juice, the skins
would stretch as the juice fermented. Over
time, the skins would also stiffen. If
new juice was put into the skins a second
time, the skins would bust as the juice
fermented and attempted to stretch the
skins a second time.
(3) While Christ gave no indication that the Law
would be permanently done away with, a new age
was on the horizon, and of necessity, a New
Covenant.
(a) This is an age in which God deals primarily
with the Gentiles who were never under
the Law; hence, attempting to tie the New
and Old Covenants together, at least at
this time, would not work.
(b) It appears that when the Jews are saved
during the tribulation and serve during
the millennial, that elements of both the
Old and New Covenants will be united
together is some fashion; but for this time
period, the Old Covenant has been set aside
so that a New Covenant could be enacted.
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