| Matthew 9 | |
|---|---|
 Matthew 8:28–9:23 onCodex Sinaiticus (AD 330–360) | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 1 |
Matthew 9 is the ninth chapter of theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament. It continues the narrative aboutJesus' ministry inGalilee 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.[1] This chapter opens with Jesus back in "his own town", i.e.Capernaum.[2] This chapter reflects "the crucial role offaith" in relation to healing.[3]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 25 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to parallel texts inMark andLuke):
TheJerusalem Bible notes that the ten miracles recorded inchapters 8 and 9 demonstrate the power of Jesus over nature, sickness, death and devils.[4] New Testament scholarDale 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 withoutstatus".[5]Henry Alford describes these deeds as a "solemn procession of miracles", whose record confirms "the authority with which our Lord had spoken".[6] On three occasions, inverses 2,22 and 29, the relationship between faith and healing is reflected in the narrative.[3]
This chapter develops Matthew's account of the hostility which thePharisees, (one of the sects ofSecond Temple Judaism), showed towards Jesus and hisdisciples. Following the calling of Matthew, Jesus and his disciples are invited to eat in the house (Matthew 9:10 – this is often understood to refer to Matthew's house, because inLuke 5:28 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 threesynoptic gospels ask the disciples why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners ("such scum" in theNew Living Translation)[7] and the question is either relayed back to Jesus or he overhears it.[8]
Jesus' reply in these two verses comes in three parts:
The final words,to repentance, which some versions include but others do not,[11] are "of doubtful authority here, and more than doubtful authority in Mark 2:17; but in Luke 5:32 they are undisputed".[12] A number ofearly manuscripts do not include these words in Matthew.[13]
Verse 14 aligns both the disciples ofJohn the Baptist and the Pharisees in the practice of regularfasting, 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. InMark's gospel, the question is in some interpretations asked by apparently impartial observers – "some people came and asked Jesus ...".[14]
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In the Gospel of Luke, the miracles follow the exorcism at Gerasa. Back in Galilee,Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galileesynagogue, 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 thefringe) 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.
Matthew's (and Luke's) accounts specify that the bleeding woman touched the"fringe" of his cloak, using a Greek wordkraspedon which also appears inMark 6.[15] According to theCatholic Encyclopedia article on fringes in scripture, the Pharisees, who were the progenitors of modernRabbinic Judaism, were in the habit of wearing extra-long fringes or tassels (Matthew 23:5), a reference to the formativeçîçîth (tzitzit). Because of the Pharisees' authority, people regarded the fringe with a mystical quality.[16]
The chapter concludes with a summary of Jesus' ministry "in all the cities and villages".[17] When he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, seeing the crowds as "sheep without a shepherd". According to theWestcott-Hort Greek New Testament, the crowds were, inGreek:ἐσκυλμένοι καὶ ἐριμμένοι,eskylmenoi anderimmenoi, but in theTextus Receptus the first adjective here isGreek:ἐκλελυμένοι,eklelymenoi. According toBengel's Gnomon, "the reading ἐκλελυμένοι is clearly deficient in authority".[18]
English translations vary widely in how they translate these two adjectives:
| Version | ἐσκυλμένοι | ἐριμμένοι |
|---|---|---|
| ASV | distressed | scattered |
| ERV | worried | helpless |
| ISV | troubled | helpless |
| KJV | fainted | scattered abroad |
| NET | bewildered | helpless |
| NIV | harassed | helpless |
| NKJV | weary | scattered |
The portrayal of "sheep without a shepherd" reflectsMoses' prayer for God to appoint a leader to succeed him after his death during theIsraelites'Exodus journey:
Jesus' ministry of curing "every disease and every sickness" (Greek:θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν) is matched identically in theauthority he gives histwelve disciples inMatthew 10:1 to cure "every disease and every sickness".
