New Testament Commentary - Matthew 9

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 9 Jesus forgives sins, heals a paralytic, and calls Matthew—He eats with sinners; a woman is healed by touching his garments; and he raises Jairus' daughter to life—he opens blind eyes, casts out a devil, and preaches the gospel.
1 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 ^apalsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their ^bfaith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good ^ccheer; thy ^dsins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
4 And Jesus ^aknowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 ^aFor whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the ^aSon of man hath ^bpower on earth to ^cforgive 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.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
9 ¶ And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named ^aMatthew, sitting at the ^breceipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
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, ^aWhy 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, ^aI ^bwill have ^cmercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to ^dcall the ^erighteous, but sinners to ^frepentance.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
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, ^aand then shall they ^bfast.
16 No man putteth a piece of ^anew 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.
18 ¶ While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ^aruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy ^bhand upon her, and she shall ^clive. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
20 ¶ And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an ^aissue of ^bblood 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 ^awhole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee ^awhole. 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 ^alaughed 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.
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 ^ablind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, ^bBelieve ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your ^afaith be it unto you. 30 And their ^aeyes were ^bopened; and Jesus ^cstraitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31 But they, when they were departed, ^aspread abroad his ^bfame in all that country.
32 ¶ As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a ^adevil. 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.
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, ^ateaching in their synagogues, and preaching the ^bgospel of the kingdom^a, and ^chealing every sickness and every disease among the people.	35^a preaching the gospel of the kingdom Here again Matthew states that Jesus went about everywhere he went preaching the gospel of the kindgom. And what gospel is that? Certainly it would have included repeat renditions of the Sermon on the Mount and the message of faith, repentance and baptism. Perhaps indeed the finest example of what the Lord would have been teaching all round about unto the people is that which is preserved in much of its pureness and fulness in the Book of Mormon beginning in 3 Nephi 12 and so on. For it would have been the same gospel taught there as it was taught in the land of Israel.
36 ¶ But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with ^acompassion on them, because ^bthey fainted, and were scattered abroad, as ^csheep having no ^dshepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The ^aharvest truly is plenteous, but the ^blabourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.