The New Testament – Verse by Verse Bible Study – Part 9

The New Testament – Verse by Verse Bible Study – Part 3

In this Bible Study series on Internet Pastor we will be studying through the New Testament verse by verse. You can watch or listen to the study by going to the Online Church page.

Matthew 9:1-38 (NKJV)
1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”–then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. 9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” 18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. 20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. 23 When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went out into all that land. 27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country. 32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Chapter 9
Jesus continues to demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is here with dynamic supernatural encounters. Throughout the chapter there are awesome displays of faith and hope because of the message that Jesus has presented. He is now demonstrating the Words with the Works.

Matthew 9:1-8 Jesus heals a paralytic

These encounters are all so amazing. Not only is the fact the Kingdom of God is here being displayed, it is setting off all sorts of other situations. Notice in verse 2 that it is the faith of the friends that Jesus mentions. Sometimes we are led to believe that if we ask God for something and it doesn’t happen then it must either be a lack of faith or we have some sin in our life that is keeping it from happen. Neither conclusion is correct. First off, if the condition for answered prayer is that we are sin free, none of us will ever have a prayer answered. In this instance, it the healing wasn’t about the faith of the paralytic but the faith of his friends. (We must remember that the Kingdom is here but not fully here. This allows for the sovereignty of God) Jesus also gets the religious leaders stirred up when He says your sins are forgiven. This is significant because only God can forgive sins. Jesus is making a bold claim here and that is what stirs up the religious leaders.

Matthew 9:9-13

In these verses Matthew is called to follow Jesus and then he invites his friends over to meet Jesus. This is also not well received by the religious leaders of the day. They have spent years building themselves up by excluding the very people God wants to include. We have to be very careful that our own brand of religiosity doesn’t keep us from becoming just like the scribes and Pharisees. For example, one of the best ways to share the Gospel with people is to hang out with the friends of new Christians. Over time, our circle of friends begins to change and more and more our friends tend to be Christians. However, when someone new comes in, they might still have a lot of friends who aren’t believers. If we can connect with them in non-religious ways we have an opportunity to share the Gospel. However, we have to be will to meet them on their terms. People who are not believers have an entirely different way of processing life. If we aren’t able to love people where they are then we will not be effective in this approach. This is demonstrated in the way people respond to Jesus and the way they respond to the Pharisees.

Matthew 9:14-17

This interaction with John’s disciples is interesting. They also didn’t understand why Jesus and His disciples would attend a feast like the one at Matthews house while they were fasting. When they asked Jesus about it He told them that the Kingdom is like a great feast in this case a wedding banquet. At a wedding people are happy and eating, not fasting and mourning. Jesus the Bridegroom (King) was present and so there was no need to fast. When the people reject Him (when the bridegroom is taken away) then they will fast. Jesus then makes a comparison between the ministry of John the Baptist and His own ministry. John’s ministry was that of a reformer. He was trying to bring about repentance in people who were trapped in the traditions and rituals of the Pharisees. In effect, he was trying to patch up an old system (like sewing an unshrunk cloth on an old garment which would tear or pouring new wine into old wineskins which would burst). Jesus had come to do something new. He had come to lead a group out of the old ways and into the Kingdom of God based on Him and His righteousness!

Matthew 9:18-34

Jairus come to Jesus and worships and says to Jesus my daughter has died but if you will lay your hand on her she will live. The woman with the issue of blood knows that if she can just touch his garment she will be healed. Two blind men cry out for mercy and they receive sight. A demon possessed mute man is delivered and healed. The people are seeing the nature of God as light is breaking into the darkness they have lived in for so long. The reaction of the Pharisees is typical, this man casts out demons by the ruler of demons. What they are saying in effect that the mute demon possessed man is better than Jesus who they are saying is demon possessed and blaspheming.

Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus continues His ministry and trains His disciples. As He ministers His disciples are watching and learning. Jesus is preparing them to go and do the same things He was doing. The workers are few, the harvest is ripe. If you remember the teaching we did on the Feasts you know that we are in between the fourth feast (Pentecost), and the fifth feast (Trumpets), which signifies the end of the harvest. Jesus is filled with compassion for the condition of the people who have lived in such darkness. He is going to send out an army (which includes us) to bring the light of the Gospel into a fallen and broken planet. It is His story, and it is awesome.

Come back often to see the latest sermons or bible studies on your Online Pastor site. We are blessed to be your Pastor Online!