In
Matthew 9, the author places stories of Jesus healing the sick and
demon-possessed alongside the questioning and challenges of the religious
leaders in order to make two important and related points: 1) Jesus Christ
brings a new way of relationship with God, and 2) changing the inner man is
more important than external appearances. Read Matthew 9 from the perspective
of the broader themes of this series of stories:
“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
The Calling of Matthew
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
14Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."
22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
23When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26News of this spread through all that region.
Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute
27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
32While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
34But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."
The Workers Are Few
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Two key verses are pivotal to the meaning presented here. The first is Jesus’ quote of Hosea 6:6. The second is Jesus’ presentation of the parable of the old wineskins and new wine. Let’s look first at the meaning of Hosea 6:6, which Jesus indicated was important to comprehend, as He instructed the Pharisees to “go and learn what this means.” The complete verse (Hosea 6:6) is:
“6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
In order to best understand these words, let’s look at other times the same verse is quoted or the same meaning is captured in other Scripture. Jesus quoted the same Hosea verse in Matthew 12:
“ 1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one[a] greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'[b] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Similar teaching is found in Psalm 40:
“4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods. [a](falsehoods)
5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced [b] , [c](opened) ;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll. [d] (with a scroll written for me)
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."
And again in Psalm 51:
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
In each of these examples, Scripture is pointing to the primacy of inner transformation over actions or external elements. If this is the case, why does Jesus then heal the physical bodies of those in the Matthew 9 stories?
“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
The Calling of Matthew
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
14Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."
22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
23When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26News of this spread through all that region.
Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute
27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
32While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
34But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."
The Workers Are Few
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Two key verses are pivotal to the meaning presented here. The first is Jesus’ quote of Hosea 6:6. The second is Jesus’ presentation of the parable of the old wineskins and new wine. Let’s look first at the meaning of Hosea 6:6, which Jesus indicated was important to comprehend, as He instructed the Pharisees to “go and learn what this means.” The complete verse (Hosea 6:6) is:
“6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
In order to best understand these words, let’s look at other times the same verse is quoted or the same meaning is captured in other Scripture. Jesus quoted the same Hosea verse in Matthew 12:
“ 1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one[a] greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'[b] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Similar teaching is found in Psalm 40:
“4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods. [a](falsehoods)
5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced [b] , [c](opened) ;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll. [d] (with a scroll written for me)
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."
And again in Psalm 51:
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
In each of these examples, Scripture is pointing to the primacy of inner transformation over actions or external elements. If this is the case, why does Jesus then heal the physical bodies of those in the Matthew 9 stories?
I do not believe these verses are about physical healing as it stands alone. As indicated in Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Matt. 9:4-8, Jesus claimed the authority to forgive sins, but so they would know He had that authority, He demonstrated that authority by healing the body. In other words, someone Who has authority over sin to proclaim forgiveness also has authority over the consequences of sin. Since it was through sin that sickness and death came into the world (not an individual’s sin causing sickness, but instead understanding that the presence of sin in the world brought death and decay to all things), Jesus demonstrates He can remove the consequences of sin. However, the most important thing, and Jesus’ initial focus prior to the Pharisees’ challenge, was on forgiving the man’s sin – on healing his inner self, transforming his heart and soul rather than his body. It is a truth that this man eventually died. His physical body was destined to decay, because of the presence of sin in the world. But Jesus, not focused on the temporal and external, offered the visible evidence of His authority to give the Pharisees (who were focused on the external) the opportunity to be transformed as well. Sadly, their hardened hearts did not receive what He offered. They remained blind, even though Jesus offered the return of their sight.
As Christians, we must be careful to not leave any false impressions about the character of God by what we say. If we were to read these verses, and focusing on the physical healings, say that an individual with enough faith will be healed, we could leave the impression with someone struggling with an illness that God is arbitrary, or even untrustworthy. We could also leave that individual in fear and doubt, feeling their faith is not strong enough or they are not worthy enough to warrant healing. However, it is the inner man that Jesus seeks to heal. It is our cleansing from sin and our freedom that He died to provide, all because of His deep love for us.
It is the internal (vs. the external) that is Jesus’ focus, while the Pharisees were consumed with appearances and externals. Along the same lines, Jesus brings a new way from the way of the Pharisees, which they would describe as the way of the Law. As Hebrews 10:1 states, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.” So what is the reality? According to the parable Jesus told in Matthew 9:16-17, there is a new reality, and this new reality cannot be “poured” into the old perception of things, or all the new “wine” will be lost.
Jesus is the “new wine” that cannot be poured into “old wineskins” lest the skins burst and all the wine (the change) pour out. Often, we try to “assimilate” God into our frame of reference or understanding of things. This is the error of the Pharisees in Matthew 9. They kept bringing up their “old way” of seeing things, of what they thought was important, and of how they related to God. Jesus’ response? God will not be assimilated. We, instead, must be “transformed” in order to accommodate for God in our hearts. We must also take care not to stay with what we know. Our “old wineskin” will not hold God within us either. It is God’s presence in us that changes us – forever – into a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (II Corinthians 5:17).
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