Call of Matthew; Fasting; Touching Christ's Garment; Raising a Girl
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¶ And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own
city.
.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. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 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. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. |
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- Own city That would have been Capernaum
mt0413,
mr0129.
This verse introduces his ministry at Capernaum and also concludes the
story of the demon possessed men.
2 - Man sick of the palsy Parallel accounts begin at lu0517 and mr0201. The fullest discussion is for Mark. |
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 .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.
9 - Custom Capernaum was on the border between the tetrarchy of Galilee under Herod Antipas and the area of Gaulainitis ruled by his brother Philip. Merchants from the Mediterranean on their way to Damascus often passed through the city. The nearby Roman military post probably made sure they did. I expect the call was a more joyful occasion than here pictured. Jesus always invites us. He doesn't demand our obedience. Also, Matthew's answering the call would not have meant leaving his post without making proper arrangements and giving an account of the money he had collected. |
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| .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.
.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. .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. |
10 - Publicans and sinners Some take this verse to mean that a little sin is okay. Didn't Jesus accept it? Notice that He accepted the presence of sinners, not their sin. He was there to help them turn away from evil. Also, it is never necessary for us to participate in sin to show people we accept them, and we must not expect them to be free from sin before we associate with them. |
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| .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. 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. 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. |
14 - Fast oft ... fast not See on mr0218 with note. |
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| .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.
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. 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. .23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land. |
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- Ruler ... My daughter Also described at lu0840,
mr0521.
18 - Even now dead From the account here, we assume that the girl was already dead, but in mr0523 the ruler said she was at the point of death. After that the woman touched His garment and while talking to her, the news of her death was brought by a messenger mr0535. The intent of the statement here is that she was in rapid process of dying. The mourners were already wailing when Jesus got to the house v23 so they must have been hired earlier. 20 - Issue of blood All this time she was ceremonially unclean and could not go to the temple le1525. |
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| 27 ¶ And when Jesus departed
thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on us.
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. .30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. 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. 34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. |
27
- Two blind men ... Son of David They recognized Jesus as
the Messiah.
29 - According to your faith In claiming the mercy of God, we must recognize His power as divine. Otherwise we would feel like our own wisdom or worse, a mystic power, had provided the blessing mt1224. 30 - Straitly charged them Explained at mr0143. 34 - Pharisees said See mt1224. |
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| .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. | Jesus went about all the cities Scholars call this His second Galilean Tour. Also lu0801. This verse may be seen as a summary statement about the second tour with v36 describing the third. |
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.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.
 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. 37 - Harvest Those ready to choose the kingdom of heaven. It is pictured as the separation of the saved and the lost mt0310, mt1330, jn0435. 38 - Pray Good advice for us, too. Image from
Christ's
Object Lessons, 1900
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