Matthew 9 Bible Commentary

9:1  And he entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city¹.
Came into his own city. Capernaum.

9:2  And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed¹: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven². JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC AT CAPERNAUM. Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26
A man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. See Mark 2:3.
Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. See Mark 2:5.

9:3  And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth¹.
This man blasphemeth. See Mark 2:7.

9:4  And Jesus knowing their thoughts¹ said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
And Jesus knowing their thoughts, etc. See Mark 2:8.

9:5  For which is easier, to say¹, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk?
For which is easier, to say, etc. See Mark 2:9.

9:6  But that ye may know¹ that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go up unto thy house².
But that ye may know, etc. See Mark 2:9.
Arise, and take up thy bed, and go up unto thy house. See Mark 2:11.

9:7  And he arose, and departed to his house¹.
And he arose, and departed to his house. See Mark 2:12.

9:8  But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid¹, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men².
When the multitudes saw it, they were afraid. See Mark 2:12.
And glorified God, who had given such authority unto men. Some take the word "men" as the plural of category, and apply it to Christ. Others think that they regarded Jesus as a mere man among other men, and that they therefore looked upon his power as a gift given to men generally, and not as something peculiar to himself. If this latter view is correct, it is likely that they took the words "Son of man" (Matthew 9:6) as referring to men generally, and not as a reference to the Messiah, such as Jesus meant it to be.

9:9  And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll¹: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. THE CALL OF MATTHEW. (At or near Capernaum.) Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:13,14; Luke 5:27,28
He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll. See Mark 2:14.

9:10  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans¹ and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. MATTHEW'S FEAST. DISCOURSE ON FASTING. (Capernaum.) Matthew 9:10-17; Mark 2:15-22; Luke 5:29-39
Many publicans. Matthew had invited his old friends.

9:11  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners¹?
Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners? See Mark 2:16.

9:12  But when he heard it, he said, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick¹.
They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. See Mark 2:17.

9:13  But go ye and learn what [this] meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice¹, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners².
But go ye and learn what [this] meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For an explanation of this passage, see Matthew 12:7. To mercifully help sinners to repent was more precious to God than sacrifice.
For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. See Mark 2:17.

9:14  Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not¹?
Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? See Mark 2:18.

9:15  And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn¹, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come², when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, etc. See Mark 2:19.
But the days will come, etc. See Mark 2:20.

9:16  And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment¹; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment, etc. See Mark 2:21.

9:17  Neither do [men] put new wine into old wine-skins¹: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved.
Neither do [men] put new wine into old wine-skins, etc. See Mark 2:22.

9:18  While he spake these things unto them¹, behold, there came a ruler, and worshipped him², saying, My daughter is even now dead³: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. JAIRUS' DAUGHTER AND THE INVALID WOMAN. (Capernaum, same day as last.) Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-56
While he spake these things unto them. While he talked about fasting at Matthew's table.
There came a ruler, and worshipped him. See Mark 5:22.
Saying, My daughter is even now dead. See Mark 5:23.

9:19  And Jesus arose¹, and followed him, and [so did] his disciples.
And Jesus arose. From Matthew's table. Jesus did not fast for form's sake, but he was ever ready to leave a feast that he might confer a favor.

9:22  But Jesus turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer¹; thy faith hath made thee whole². And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Daughter, be of good cheer. Faith gets a sweet welcome.
Thy faith hath made thee whole. See Mark 5:34.

9:23  And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult,¹
And saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult. See Mark 5:38.

9:24  he said, Give place: for the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth¹. And they laughed him to scorn².
The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. See Mark 5:39.
And they laughed him to scorn. See Mark 5:40.

9:25  But when the crowd was put forth¹, he entered in, and took her by the hand²; and the damsel arose³.
When the crowd was put forth. See Mark 5:40.
And took her by the hand. See Mark 1:31.
And the damsel arose. See Mark 5:42.

9:27  And as Jesus passed by from thence¹, two blind men followed him, crying out, and saying, Have mercy on us, thou son of David². HEALING BLIND MEN AND A DUMB DEMONIAC. (Probably Capernaum.) Matthew 9:27-34
And as Jesus passed by from thence. If construed strictly, this phrase means, as he departed from Jairus' house. But the phrase is indefinite.
Son of David. This, among the Jews, was a common and thoroughly recognized name for the expected Messiah.

9:28  And when he was come into the house¹, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this²? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
When he was come into the house. Possibly Peter's. But the place is not important. The house is mentioned to show that the blind men persistently followed Jesus until he stopped.
Believe ye that I am able to do this? In the earlier stages of his ministry Jesus had worked his miracles with little or no solicitation; but now, as the evidences of his power were multiplied, Jesus demanded a fuller expression of faith; for faith was the fruitage for which the miracles were wrought.

9:30  And their eyes were opened. And Jesus strictly charged them¹, saying, See that no man know it.
Jesus strictly charged them. Sternly.

9:31  But they went forth, and spread abroad his fame in all that land¹.
But they went forth, and spread abroad his fame in all that land. Jesus might well speak severely when charging his beneficiaries to be silent (Matthew 9:30), for apparently no one of them ever obeyed him.

9:33  And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake¹: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
When the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake. Some regard this demoniac as being the victim of combined physical and spiritual maladies, but it is more likely that the dumbness was caused by the demon, since in some instances they deprived men of reason (Mark 5:15), and in others they threw men into convulsions or distortions (Mark 9:18 Luke 13:11,16).

9:34  But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons casteth he out demons¹.
But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons casteth he out demons. If we are correct in our chronology, Jesus had already fully answered this charge. See Matthew 12:27. If he repeated any part of this answer at this time, Matthew is silent as to it.

9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues², and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. THIRD CIRCUIT OF GALILEE. THE TWELVE INSTRUCTED AND SENT FORTH. Matthew 9:35-38; Matthew 10:1,5-42; Mark 6:6-13; Luke 9:1-6
Jesus went about all the cities and villages. See Mark 6:6.
Teaching in their synagogues. See Mark 1:39.

9:36  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd¹. Matthew 9:36-38
Because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. These verses contain the reasons why Jesus separated his apostles from himself, and scattered them among the people. The masses of the people of Galilee had been deeply stirred by the teaching and miracles of Jesus, but they knew not as yet what direction was to be given to this popular movement. They were in a bewildered state, like shepherdless sheep, scattered over the hills and faint from running. The twelve were to assist him as undershepherds in gathering these sheep.

9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few¹.
The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few. In the second figure Jesus likens the people to a ripened harvest, and he sends the apostles among them as reapers who shall garner them.