Matthew 9 is the ninth chapter of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. It continues the narrative about Jesus' ministry in

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

as he ministers to the public, working miracles, and going through all the cities and towns of the area, preaching the gospel, and healing every disease. This chapter opens with Jesus back in "his own town", i.e.

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...

. This chapter reflects "the crucial role of

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

" in relation to healing.Bible Hub
Matthew 9
accessed on 10 July 2024

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing the text of this chapter are: *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(AD 325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(AD 330–360; complete) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and � ...

( AD 400) *

Codex Washingtonianus Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis, Codex Freerianus, also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', ''The Freer Gospel'' and ''The Freer Codex'', is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is de ...

( AD 400) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

( AD 450; complete) * Minuscule 828 (Codex 828; 12th century)

Old Testament references

* Matthew 9:13: * :

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to parallel texts in

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

and Luke): * = Healing the paralytic at Capernaum (; ) * = Calling of Matthew (; ) * = On fasting (; ) * = New Wine into Old Wineskins (; ) * = Daughter of Jairus (; ) * = Jesus healing the bleeding woman (; ) * = Healing the two blind men in Galilee () * = Jesus exorcising a mute * = Jesus' compassion

Miracles

The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

notes that the ten miracles recorded in chapters 8 and 9 demonstrate the power of Jesus over nature, sickness, death and devils. New Testament scholar Dale Allison notes that these "merciful deeds" performed by Jesus, along with those in the previous chapter, are all undertaken for the benefit of "people from the margins of Jewish society or without

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ** Status c ...

". Henry Alford describes these deeds as a "solemn procession of miracles", whose record confirms "the authority with which our Lord had spoken". On three occasions, in verses 2, 22 and 29, the relationship between faith and healing is reflected in the narrative.

Pharisees

This chapter develops Matthew's account of the hostility which the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

, (one of the sects of

Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is the Judaism, Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destruction of Jerusalem in ...

), showed towards Jesus and his disciples. Following the calling of Matthew, Jesus and his disciples are invited to eat in the house ( – this is often understood to refer to Matthew's house, because in the house is clearly that of Matthew known also as Levi) and "many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples". The Pharisees in all three

synoptic gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

ask the disciples why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners ("such scum" in the

New Living Translation The New Living Translation (NLT) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 1996 by Tyndale House, Tyndale House Foundation, the NLT was created "by 90 leading Bible scholars." The NLT relies on recently published Text ...

) and the question is either relayed back to Jesus or he overhears it.

Verses 12–13

:''When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 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."'' Jesus' reply in these two verses comes in three parts: *a saying, "healthy people don't need a doctor — sick people do" (: New Living Translation) *a reproof made by appealing to "a passage of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

with which they ought to have been acquainted: ''I will have mercy, and not sacrifice''" (: NKJV) *a summary of his mission – "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners o repentance. The final words, ''to repentance'', which some versions include but others do not, are "of doubtful authority here, and more than doubtful authority in Mark 2:17; but in Luke 5:32 they are undisputed". A number of early manuscripts do not include these words in Matthew.

Fasting

Verse 14 aligns both the disciples of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and the Pharisees in the practice of regular

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

, and contrasts this with the practice of Jesus' disciples, who appear not to fast. In Matthew's gospel it is John's disciples who ask the question, for themselves and for the Pharisees, about why Jesus' disciples do not fast. In Mark's gospel, the question is in some interpretations asked by apparently impartial observers – "some people came and asked Jesus ...".

Raising of Jairus' daughter and the healing of a bleeding woman

In the Gospel of Luke, the miracles follow the exorcism at Gerasa. Back in Galilee, Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galilee

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter, who was dying (in Matthew's account, Jairus used hyperbolic expressions in his anxiety: ‘My daughter is even now dead’). As they were travelling to Jairus' house, a sick woman in the crowd touched the border (or possibly the

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

) of Jesus' cloak and was healed of her sickness. Jairus' daughter was then reported as having died, and Jairus was therefore advised not to trouble Jesus, 'the teacher', any further. Jesus, however, continued to the house, stating that the girl was not dead but asleep, and restored her to health. The chapter ends with Jesus' mandate that Jairus and his wife should tell no-one what had happened.

Tzitzit

Matthew's (and Luke's) accounts specify that the bleeding woman touched the "fringe" of his cloak, using a Greek word ''kraspedon'' which also appears in

Mark 6 Mark 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. In this chapter, Jesus goes to Nazareth and experiences rejection by his own family. He then sends his Apostles in the New Testament, Ap ...

. According to the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' article on fringes in scripture, the Pharisees, who were the progenitors of modern

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

, were in the habit of wearing extra-long fringes or tassels (

Matthew 23 Matthew 23 is the twenty-third chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible, and consists almost entirely of the accusations of Jesus against the Pharisees. The chapter is also known as the Woes of the Phar ...

:5), a reference to the formative ''çîçîth'' (''tzitzit''). Because of the Pharisees' authority, people regarded the fringe with a mystical quality.

Jesus' compassion

The chapter concludes with a summary of Jesus' ministry "in all the cities and villages". When he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, seeing the crowds as "sheep without a shepherd". According to the

Westcott-Hort ''The New Testament in the Original Greek'' is a Greek-language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828 ...

Greek New Testament, the crowds were, in , ''eskylmenoi'' and ''erimmenoi'', but in the

Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts starting with Erasmus' ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) and including the editions of Robert Estienne, Stephanus, Theodore Beza, Beza, the House of Elzevir ...

the first adjective here is , ''eklelymenoi''. According to Bengel's Gnomon, "the reading ἐκλελυμένοι is clearly deficient in authority". English translations vary widely in how they translate these two adjectives: The portrayal of "sheep without a shepherd" reflects

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

' prayer for God to appoint a leader to succeed him after his death during the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

' Exodus journey: :''Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 'Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd'.'' NKJV Jesus' ministry of curing "every disease and every sickness" () is matched identically in the

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

he gives his twelve disciples in to cure "every disease and every sickness".

References

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Matthew 9 Matthew 09