One would think that by doing the great miracles that Jesus did, the Pharisees would be glad that He was there. Yet time and again these religious leaders gave Jesus trouble and doubted Him. Were they so full of themselves that they couldn't see the true savior? Were they so stuck in tradition that they were unwilling to receive life from Jesus? Or were they just upset that they were no longer the center of religious attention? In the first few verses of this chapter Jesus tells a lame man that his sins are forgiven. The Pharisees are all up in arms about that. Who is this man that he thinks he can forgive sins? Yet Jesus quickly silences them by healing the lame man showing that He truly did have the power of God.
There are many miracles recorded here in Matthew 9...and while any one of these miracles should have convinced the Pharisees that Jesus was from God they still refused to believe Him. They came to the conclusion that Jesus was doing these miracles by the power of demons.
Sometimes the truth is right in front of us and we can't see it because it is not what we expect it to be and not what we want to hear. Truth is truth whether we believe it or not. Our perception of truth does not change truth. The Pharisees false perception of Jesus did not change the fact that He is the savior!
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.Matthew the Tax Collector[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.”A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed[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.Two Blind Men Healed[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.A Mute Man Speaks[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.”The Compassion of Jesus[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.”
