Matthew Chapter Nine
Healing the Paralytic, in Capernaum, 9:1-8.
(Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26)
1. his own city.—At the beginning of his ministry in Galilee Jesus left Nazareth and came and dwelt in Capernaum (4:12, 13), and the latter was thenceforward "his own city."
2. thy sins be forgiven.—As the terms of pardon prescribed in the law were yet in full force, this speech of Jesus was a surprising assertion of authority. It was also exceptional in the ministry of Jesus; for only on three recorded occasions did he thus forgive sins. (See Luke 7:48; 23:43.) Being exceptional, and not the established method of pardon, it must have been designed for a special purpose. The purpose is plainly declared in verse 6 below.
3. This man blasphemeth.—The scribes were right in charging him with blasphemy if he was not the Son of God. He doubtless made the remark for the purpose of forming this issue, and thereby preparing his hearers for the demonstration which followed.
4. think ye evil.—The thought of the scribes was evil, not because it was illogically drawn from their premises, but because their premises were wrong in that they denied the divinity of Jesus.
5. whether is easier.—This use of whether is now obsolete, having been supplanted by which. The scribes could not deny that it was as easy to say with effect to the man, "Thy sins are forgiven;" as to say, "Arise and walk." The power to work miracles does not in itself imply the authority to forgive sins; but it does when the authority is asserted and the miracles are wrought in proof of it.
6. that ye may know.—Assuming the only possible answer to his question as granted, he now demonstrates his power to forgive sins by commanding the man who was paralyzed to arise from his bed, and take it up, and go home. He had been brought there on his bed, perfectly helpless; he returns, carrying the bed in his arms. The proof was demonstrative, showing that Jesus was in the highest sense a Savior, because he could save men from their sins as well as from the diseases of the body, the stormy elements of the sea, and the power of demons.
8. they were afraid.—Here it the same fear that was exhibited by the Gergesenes (8:34); but instead of asking Jesus to leave their country, the people "glorified God who had given such power to men." Notice here Matthew's peculiar use of the plural. It was to the man, Jesus, that the power was given, and to men only as he was contemplated as one of the race.
For remarks on the faith displayed by the friends of the paralytic, see the note on Mark 2:5, where the details are more fully stated.
Matthew's Call and Feast, 9-13.
(Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32)
9. the receipt of custom.—The Greek word (τελώνιον) here rendered "receipt of custom," means "the office of publican," or, "a collector's office." Matthew was a publican (10:3), and was receiving the taxes assessed by the Roman government. (Comp. notes on 5:46, 47.)
he arose and followed him.—That Matthew promptly obeyed when Jesus said "Follow me," is proof that he was already a disciple. He now becomes one of the immediate personal attendants of the Lord, preparatory to being appointed one of the twelve. We are not to conclude, from the apparent abruptness of his movement, that he neglected to settle the accounts of his office. An honest settlement of accounts was indispensable to a good name in the future.
10. at meat in the house.—From Mark 2:15, and Luke 5:29, we learn that this feast was in Matthew's own house. It was a kind of farewell feast, preparatory to leaving all and following Jesus. The publicans and sinners who made up the company were his old associates, and the only persons, except Jesus and his companions, who would honor Matthew's invitation.
11. with publicans and sinners.—The publicans and other sinners habitually neglected the law and the traditions in regard to legal purifications, and therefore the Pharisees regarded it as incompatible with religious purity to associate with them.
12, 13. he said.—Had Jesus been unable to vindicate himself in reference to these associations, his cause would have been damaged in the estimation of many good persons. But he here presents three brief arguments which are so conclusive, and so tersely expressed, that they must have taken his accusers by surprise. First, his office being analogous to that of a physician who visits the sick and not the well, sinners are the very persons whom he should visit. Second, God himself had said in the Scriptures, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"—a Hebraism, which means, "I will have mercy in preference to sacrifice." (Hos. 6:6.) The mercy shown to these publicans and sinners by mingling with them for their good, was more acceptable to God than the sacrifices of the altar. (See the context in Hosea.) Third, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners." His call was a call to repentance, and therefore sinners alone were those to whom he should go; and the greater the sinners, the greater the need that he should be among them. It is impossible to conceive a more complete vindication, or one more happily expressed.
It should be observed, before we dismiss this incident, that neither the example nor the arguments of Jesus justify us in keeping company with bad people, except for the purpose of doing them good—the purpose for which the physician visits the sick.
Question about Fasting, 14-17
(Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39)
14. the disciples of John.—The fact that the question about fasting was propounded by the disciples of John should not be overlooked. It shows that the question was not intended as a captious objection, but as an honest inquiry: for although the disciples of John were not, as yet, identical with those of Jesus, we can not class them among the enemies of Jesus. Fast ing twice in the week was regarded by the Pharisees as a mark of superior piety (Luke 18:12), and the disciples of John seem to have agreed in this matter with the Pharisees. Indeed, John himself practiced what may be regarded as a continual fast, eating only locusts and wild honey, and this was well calculated to impress his disciples with great respect for fasting. It appeared to them, therefore, as a serious defect in the religious life of Jesus and his disciples, that they paid no respect to the regular fast days. The feast at Matthew's house, which occurred on a fast day (see note on Mark 2:18), very naturally brought the matter up for consideration, because it shocked the sensibility of the objectors.
15-17. Jesus said unto them.—Jesus reduces the objection to an absurdity by three arguments from analogy. First, he refers to the wedding customs of the day, and demands, "Can the children of the bridechamber"—that is, the invited guests at a wedding—"mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?" While he remained with his disciples, they were enjoying a wedding feast, and it would be absurd to fast as if they were mourning. But when he should leave them they would fast, because that would be a time of sorrow. Secondly, he draws an argument from the absurdity of putting a patch of new (properly rendered unfulled) cloth on an old garment. The unfulled piece, never having been shrunk, would shrink the first time it got wet, and would tear open the rent still wider. Thirdly, it would be equally absurd to put new wine into old bottles. The bottles being made of goat skins, an old one had little strength and no elasticity, and therefore the fermentation of new wine would burst it. The argument drawn from these two examples is not, as some have supposed, that it would be absurd to patch the old Jewish garment with the unfulled cloth of the gospel, or to put the new wine of the gospel into the old Jewish bottles; for the question at issue was not one concerning the proper relation of the gospel dispensation to the Jewish law, but one concerning the propriety of fasting on a certain occasion. Moreover, in Luke's report of this answer we find the additional argument, "No man, having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new; for he says the old is better." (Luke 5:39.) To carry out the interpretation just named, would make Jesus here argue that the old dispensation was better than the new But the argument is the same as in the first example. It shows that it would have been absurdly inappropriate to the occasion for his disciples to fast, as much so as to mourn at a wedding, to patch an old garment with unfulled cloth, or to put new wine into old bottles. The arguments not only vindicated his disciples, but taught John's disciples that fasting has value only when it is demanded by a suitable occasion.
The Ruler's Daughter and the Bloody Issue, 18-26.
(Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-56.)
18. a certain ruler.—Ruler of a synagogue. (Mark 5:22.) Even men of this class were ready to honor Jesus when they were in distress and wanted his aid. So it is with sinners generally.
even now dead.—On this expression see note on Mark 5:23.
20-22.—See for remarks on the cure of the bloody issue the notes on Mark 5:25-34, where the account is more elaborate than here. Matthew mentions it briefly as an instance of the cure of a chronic disease by merely touching the hem of the Savior's garment.
23. saw the minstrels.—Minstrels in a house of mourning would be incongruous according to western taste. But among the Jews it had been customary for ages to call to their service, on funeral occasions, certain women who were professional mourners, and who, by continual wailing and plaintive instrumental music, intensified the grief of the family and friends of the deceased. (Comp. Jer. 9:17, 18; Amos 5:16; and see Smith's Dictionary, Art. Mourning.)
24. not dead but sleepeth.—The maid was actually dead (Luke 8:53), but not, as the company thought, permanently so. She was about to be revived, and her death would then be more like sleep than death. The remark of Jesus was easily understood by the Jews after he had raised her to life, but before he did so it appeared so absurd that "they laughed him to scorn," or derided him. This is the only instance given by Matthew of raising the dead. The account is singularly free from suspicion as to its authenticity. If it were a pretended death and revival, we would expect to see an anxiety on the part of Jesus to make it appear that the girl was dead, and a disposition on the part of the unbelievers present to question this fact. But the reverse is true: it is the unbelievers who insist that the girl is dead, while Jesus alone raises a question about it. Perhaps the chief object of the remark, "She is not dead, but sleepeth," was to bring forth from the inmates of the house, who had the best opportunity to know the fact, a more emphatic affirmation that she was certainly dead.
For a more elaborate discussion of the details of this miracle, see the notes on Mark 5:22-43.
Two Blind Men Healed, 27-31
27. Thou son of David.—By thus addressing Jesus, the blind men acknowledged him to be the Christ; for it was understood by all the Jews that the Christ was to be a son of David. (See 22:42.)
28. Believe ye.—Being blind, the two men could not see the miracles for themselves; hence the pertinency of the question, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" That they believed with so little opportunity to know the evidence, being necessarily dependent on the testimony of others, shows, on the one hand, the abundance of the evidence, and, on the other, the obduracy of those who could see and still would not believe. Jesus questions them in order to draw attention to this consideration. He had also paid no attention to their cries until after they followed him into the house, in order that they might show their faith by their perseverance.
30, 31. See that no man know it.—The cure of the woman with the issue of blood, immediately followed by the resurrection of the ruler's daughter, and this by the cure of the blind men, had probably thrown the people into an ecstasy which once more required repression by the injunction of silence. (Comp. 8:4.) Mark tells us that Jesus gave the same injunction to the parents of the girl just mentioned. The two blind men, however, were too much exhilarated by the recovery of their eyesight, to heed the command of Jesus, or, perhaps, to believe that he meant what he said. They were too full to hold in; so "they spread abroad his fame throughout all that country."
The Dumb Demoniac, 32-35
32. a dumb man.—He was dumb in consequence of the demon-possession, as appears from the fact that he spoke as soon as the demon left him. (Verse 33.) Demon-possession had different effects on different persons. Some it deprived of reason, as in case of the man in the land of the Gergesenes (Mark 5:15); some it deprived of one or more of the senses, as in the present case; and some it threw into convulsions or distortions. (See Mark 9:18; Luke 13:11, 16.)
33. the multitude marveled.—With every new variety of miracles there came fresh surprise among the people. After seeing a few sick persons cured, they naturally ceased being surprised at cures of sickness; but when they saw this dumb man restored to speech, they were almost as much surprised as if they had seen no previous miracle. The range of fresh miracles, however, necessarily had a limit, and therefore miracle working, as a means of impressing men, had to be of temporary duration. A permanent continuance of miracles would have robbed them of their value by making them common.
34. through the prince of the devils.—It seems that when the Pharisees now accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of the demons, he made no reply, but waited till a subsequent occasion when they repeated the charge, and then he replied exhaustively. (See 12:22-30.)
35. Jesus went about.—In this verse Matthew groups together in a general statement a multitude of miracles and discourses, of which those in the section which is here brought to a close are specimens.
Argument of Section 6
The obvious purpose of Matthew in the preceding section is to present miraculous proofs of the claims of Jesus. The fact that his word was attended by divine power is proof that he spoke by divine authority. He is represented as making this argument himself in the case of the paralytic (9:5, 6), and it is Matthew's argument throughout the section. The demonstration is manifold, including the miraculous cure of six diseases—leprosy, paralysis, fever, chronic female hemorrhage, blindness, and dumbness. It includes also the expulsion of demons, the stilling of a tempest at sea, and the raising of the dead. All the ills to which humanity is exposed—the diseases of the flesh, the dangers of land and sea, the dominion of demons, and the power of death—are proved to be alike under the control of Jesus, and they are all controlled for the good of man. The benevolent purpose of his mission is demonstrated at the same time with its divine origin.
First Commission of the Apostles, 9:35-10:42
Occasion of the Commission, 9:36-38
36. moved with compassion.—The masses of the people in Galilee had now 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. Jesus very aptly compares them, in their bewildered state, to a flock of sheep without a shepherd, scattered over the hills, and faint from fright and running. He has compassion on them, and is moved by this to provide for their relief by appointing twelve men who shall assist him in teaching them now, and shall be shepherds to them hereafter. Men are still like sheep—they must have shepherds to lead them.
37. The harvest.—The figure is here changed from that of a flock to that of a harvest. The condition of the people, as represented in the previous comparison, rendered them like an abundant harvest ready to be gathered in for the master's use. But as Jesus contemplates it, he laments the absence of laborers, as he has lamented the want of a shepherd. Shepherds to gather them into the fold, and laborers to reap an abundant harvest, are two figures to represent the one want of the unhappy people.
38. pray ye.—When any want is realized, the first impulse of a worshiping soul, and rightly so, is to pray. Jesus here teaches us to pray for more laborers to reap the world's great harvest, and so long as the laborers continue to remain few in proportion to the harvest, the disciples must continue to offer this prayer. Our compassion should be moved, like his, toward a scattered and distracted world. Like him, too, we must not be content with praying, but we must act. Having told his disciples to pray that laborers be sent, he proceeded in the same discourse to command them to go. (10:5-7.) It is in vain that we pray God to send laborers unless we go ourselves, or co-operate in finding and sending those whom God makes willing to go.
The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark.
(Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26)
1. his own city.—At the beginning of his ministry in Galilee Jesus left Nazareth and came and dwelt in Capernaum (4:12, 13), and the latter was thenceforward "his own city."
2. thy sins be forgiven.—As the terms of pardon prescribed in the law were yet in full force, this speech of Jesus was a surprising assertion of authority. It was also exceptional in the ministry of Jesus; for only on three recorded occasions did he thus forgive sins. (See Luke 7:48; 23:43.) Being exceptional, and not the established method of pardon, it must have been designed for a special purpose. The purpose is plainly declared in verse 6 below.
3. This man blasphemeth.—The scribes were right in charging him with blasphemy if he was not the Son of God. He doubtless made the remark for the purpose of forming this issue, and thereby preparing his hearers for the demonstration which followed.
4. think ye evil.—The thought of the scribes was evil, not because it was illogically drawn from their premises, but because their premises were wrong in that they denied the divinity of Jesus.
5. whether is easier.—This use of whether is now obsolete, having been supplanted by which. The scribes could not deny that it was as easy to say with effect to the man, "Thy sins are forgiven;" as to say, "Arise and walk." The power to work miracles does not in itself imply the authority to forgive sins; but it does when the authority is asserted and the miracles are wrought in proof of it.
6. that ye may know.—Assuming the only possible answer to his question as granted, he now demonstrates his power to forgive sins by commanding the man who was paralyzed to arise from his bed, and take it up, and go home. He had been brought there on his bed, perfectly helpless; he returns, carrying the bed in his arms. The proof was demonstrative, showing that Jesus was in the highest sense a Savior, because he could save men from their sins as well as from the diseases of the body, the stormy elements of the sea, and the power of demons.
8. they were afraid.—Here it the same fear that was exhibited by the Gergesenes (8:34); but instead of asking Jesus to leave their country, the people "glorified God who had given such power to men." Notice here Matthew's peculiar use of the plural. It was to the man, Jesus, that the power was given, and to men only as he was contemplated as one of the race.
For remarks on the faith displayed by the friends of the paralytic, see the note on Mark 2:5, where the details are more fully stated.
Matthew's Call and Feast, 9-13.
(Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32)
9. the receipt of custom.—The Greek word (τελώνιον) here rendered "receipt of custom," means "the office of publican," or, "a collector's office." Matthew was a publican (10:3), and was receiving the taxes assessed by the Roman government. (Comp. notes on 5:46, 47.)
he arose and followed him.—That Matthew promptly obeyed when Jesus said "Follow me," is proof that he was already a disciple. He now becomes one of the immediate personal attendants of the Lord, preparatory to being appointed one of the twelve. We are not to conclude, from the apparent abruptness of his movement, that he neglected to settle the accounts of his office. An honest settlement of accounts was indispensable to a good name in the future.
10. at meat in the house.—From Mark 2:15, and Luke 5:29, we learn that this feast was in Matthew's own house. It was a kind of farewell feast, preparatory to leaving all and following Jesus. The publicans and sinners who made up the company were his old associates, and the only persons, except Jesus and his companions, who would honor Matthew's invitation.
11. with publicans and sinners.—The publicans and other sinners habitually neglected the law and the traditions in regard to legal purifications, and therefore the Pharisees regarded it as incompatible with religious purity to associate with them.
12, 13. he said.—Had Jesus been unable to vindicate himself in reference to these associations, his cause would have been damaged in the estimation of many good persons. But he here presents three brief arguments which are so conclusive, and so tersely expressed, that they must have taken his accusers by surprise. First, his office being analogous to that of a physician who visits the sick and not the well, sinners are the very persons whom he should visit. Second, God himself had said in the Scriptures, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"—a Hebraism, which means, "I will have mercy in preference to sacrifice." (Hos. 6:6.) The mercy shown to these publicans and sinners by mingling with them for their good, was more acceptable to God than the sacrifices of the altar. (See the context in Hosea.) Third, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners." His call was a call to repentance, and therefore sinners alone were those to whom he should go; and the greater the sinners, the greater the need that he should be among them. It is impossible to conceive a more complete vindication, or one more happily expressed.
It should be observed, before we dismiss this incident, that neither the example nor the arguments of Jesus justify us in keeping company with bad people, except for the purpose of doing them good—the purpose for which the physician visits the sick.
Question about Fasting, 14-17
(Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39)
14. the disciples of John.—The fact that the question about fasting was propounded by the disciples of John should not be overlooked. It shows that the question was not intended as a captious objection, but as an honest inquiry: for although the disciples of John were not, as yet, identical with those of Jesus, we can not class them among the enemies of Jesus. Fast ing twice in the week was regarded by the Pharisees as a mark of superior piety (Luke 18:12), and the disciples of John seem to have agreed in this matter with the Pharisees. Indeed, John himself practiced what may be regarded as a continual fast, eating only locusts and wild honey, and this was well calculated to impress his disciples with great respect for fasting. It appeared to them, therefore, as a serious defect in the religious life of Jesus and his disciples, that they paid no respect to the regular fast days. The feast at Matthew's house, which occurred on a fast day (see note on Mark 2:18), very naturally brought the matter up for consideration, because it shocked the sensibility of the objectors.
15-17. Jesus said unto them.—Jesus reduces the objection to an absurdity by three arguments from analogy. First, he refers to the wedding customs of the day, and demands, "Can the children of the bridechamber"—that is, the invited guests at a wedding—"mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?" While he remained with his disciples, they were enjoying a wedding feast, and it would be absurd to fast as if they were mourning. But when he should leave them they would fast, because that would be a time of sorrow. Secondly, he draws an argument from the absurdity of putting a patch of new (properly rendered unfulled) cloth on an old garment. The unfulled piece, never having been shrunk, would shrink the first time it got wet, and would tear open the rent still wider. Thirdly, it would be equally absurd to put new wine into old bottles. The bottles being made of goat skins, an old one had little strength and no elasticity, and therefore the fermentation of new wine would burst it. The argument drawn from these two examples is not, as some have supposed, that it would be absurd to patch the old Jewish garment with the unfulled cloth of the gospel, or to put the new wine of the gospel into the old Jewish bottles; for the question at issue was not one concerning the proper relation of the gospel dispensation to the Jewish law, but one concerning the propriety of fasting on a certain occasion. Moreover, in Luke's report of this answer we find the additional argument, "No man, having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new; for he says the old is better." (Luke 5:39.) To carry out the interpretation just named, would make Jesus here argue that the old dispensation was better than the new But the argument is the same as in the first example. It shows that it would have been absurdly inappropriate to the occasion for his disciples to fast, as much so as to mourn at a wedding, to patch an old garment with unfulled cloth, or to put new wine into old bottles. The arguments not only vindicated his disciples, but taught John's disciples that fasting has value only when it is demanded by a suitable occasion.
The Ruler's Daughter and the Bloody Issue, 18-26.
(Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-56.)
18. a certain ruler.—Ruler of a synagogue. (Mark 5:22.) Even men of this class were ready to honor Jesus when they were in distress and wanted his aid. So it is with sinners generally.
even now dead.—On this expression see note on Mark 5:23.
20-22.—See for remarks on the cure of the bloody issue the notes on Mark 5:25-34, where the account is more elaborate than here. Matthew mentions it briefly as an instance of the cure of a chronic disease by merely touching the hem of the Savior's garment.
23. saw the minstrels.—Minstrels in a house of mourning would be incongruous according to western taste. But among the Jews it had been customary for ages to call to their service, on funeral occasions, certain women who were professional mourners, and who, by continual wailing and plaintive instrumental music, intensified the grief of the family and friends of the deceased. (Comp. Jer. 9:17, 18; Amos 5:16; and see Smith's Dictionary, Art. Mourning.)
24. not dead but sleepeth.—The maid was actually dead (Luke 8:53), but not, as the company thought, permanently so. She was about to be revived, and her death would then be more like sleep than death. The remark of Jesus was easily understood by the Jews after he had raised her to life, but before he did so it appeared so absurd that "they laughed him to scorn," or derided him. This is the only instance given by Matthew of raising the dead. The account is singularly free from suspicion as to its authenticity. If it were a pretended death and revival, we would expect to see an anxiety on the part of Jesus to make it appear that the girl was dead, and a disposition on the part of the unbelievers present to question this fact. But the reverse is true: it is the unbelievers who insist that the girl is dead, while Jesus alone raises a question about it. Perhaps the chief object of the remark, "She is not dead, but sleepeth," was to bring forth from the inmates of the house, who had the best opportunity to know the fact, a more emphatic affirmation that she was certainly dead.
For a more elaborate discussion of the details of this miracle, see the notes on Mark 5:22-43.
Two Blind Men Healed, 27-31
27. Thou son of David.—By thus addressing Jesus, the blind men acknowledged him to be the Christ; for it was understood by all the Jews that the Christ was to be a son of David. (See 22:42.)
28. Believe ye.—Being blind, the two men could not see the miracles for themselves; hence the pertinency of the question, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" That they believed with so little opportunity to know the evidence, being necessarily dependent on the testimony of others, shows, on the one hand, the abundance of the evidence, and, on the other, the obduracy of those who could see and still would not believe. Jesus questions them in order to draw attention to this consideration. He had also paid no attention to their cries until after they followed him into the house, in order that they might show their faith by their perseverance.
30, 31. See that no man know it.—The cure of the woman with the issue of blood, immediately followed by the resurrection of the ruler's daughter, and this by the cure of the blind men, had probably thrown the people into an ecstasy which once more required repression by the injunction of silence. (Comp. 8:4.) Mark tells us that Jesus gave the same injunction to the parents of the girl just mentioned. The two blind men, however, were too much exhilarated by the recovery of their eyesight, to heed the command of Jesus, or, perhaps, to believe that he meant what he said. They were too full to hold in; so "they spread abroad his fame throughout all that country."
The Dumb Demoniac, 32-35
32. a dumb man.—He was dumb in consequence of the demon-possession, as appears from the fact that he spoke as soon as the demon left him. (Verse 33.) Demon-possession had different effects on different persons. Some it deprived of reason, as in case of the man in the land of the Gergesenes (Mark 5:15); some it deprived of one or more of the senses, as in the present case; and some it threw into convulsions or distortions. (See Mark 9:18; Luke 13:11, 16.)
33. the multitude marveled.—With every new variety of miracles there came fresh surprise among the people. After seeing a few sick persons cured, they naturally ceased being surprised at cures of sickness; but when they saw this dumb man restored to speech, they were almost as much surprised as if they had seen no previous miracle. The range of fresh miracles, however, necessarily had a limit, and therefore miracle working, as a means of impressing men, had to be of temporary duration. A permanent continuance of miracles would have robbed them of their value by making them common.
34. through the prince of the devils.—It seems that when the Pharisees now accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of the demons, he made no reply, but waited till a subsequent occasion when they repeated the charge, and then he replied exhaustively. (See 12:22-30.)
35. Jesus went about.—In this verse Matthew groups together in a general statement a multitude of miracles and discourses, of which those in the section which is here brought to a close are specimens.
Argument of Section 6
The obvious purpose of Matthew in the preceding section is to present miraculous proofs of the claims of Jesus. The fact that his word was attended by divine power is proof that he spoke by divine authority. He is represented as making this argument himself in the case of the paralytic (9:5, 6), and it is Matthew's argument throughout the section. The demonstration is manifold, including the miraculous cure of six diseases—leprosy, paralysis, fever, chronic female hemorrhage, blindness, and dumbness. It includes also the expulsion of demons, the stilling of a tempest at sea, and the raising of the dead. All the ills to which humanity is exposed—the diseases of the flesh, the dangers of land and sea, the dominion of demons, and the power of death—are proved to be alike under the control of Jesus, and they are all controlled for the good of man. The benevolent purpose of his mission is demonstrated at the same time with its divine origin.
First Commission of the Apostles, 9:35-10:42
Occasion of the Commission, 9:36-38
36. moved with compassion.—The masses of the people in Galilee had now 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. Jesus very aptly compares them, in their bewildered state, to a flock of sheep without a shepherd, scattered over the hills, and faint from fright and running. He has compassion on them, and is moved by this to provide for their relief by appointing twelve men who shall assist him in teaching them now, and shall be shepherds to them hereafter. Men are still like sheep—they must have shepherds to lead them.
37. The harvest.—The figure is here changed from that of a flock to that of a harvest. The condition of the people, as represented in the previous comparison, rendered them like an abundant harvest ready to be gathered in for the master's use. But as Jesus contemplates it, he laments the absence of laborers, as he has lamented the want of a shepherd. Shepherds to gather them into the fold, and laborers to reap an abundant harvest, are two figures to represent the one want of the unhappy people.
38. pray ye.—When any want is realized, the first impulse of a worshiping soul, and rightly so, is to pray. Jesus here teaches us to pray for more laborers to reap the world's great harvest, and so long as the laborers continue to remain few in proportion to the harvest, the disciples must continue to offer this prayer. Our compassion should be moved, like his, toward a scattered and distracted world. Like him, too, we must not be content with praying, but we must act. Having told his disciples to pray that laborers be sent, he proceeded in the same discourse to command them to go. (10:5-7.) It is in vain that we pray God to send laborers unless we go ourselves, or co-operate in finding and sending those whom God makes willing to go.
The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark.