Matthew 9

In Matthew 9 we see Jesus continue His healing ministry in Israel. He first forgave the paralized man of his sins and then healed him. He healed the paralized man as a sign specifically for the unbelieving Pharisees. Later the Pharisees would ask Him to show them a sign and He won't, but right here He says that this sign is specifically for them, so they will know that He has the authority to forgive sins. They refused to believe even though He knew their thoughts and spoke directly to them about what He was doing. Jesus spoke plainly to them about what He was doing - it wasn't a hidden mystery to them. But after this Jesus will only speak to them in parables for the rest of the book of Matthew.

Jesus called Matthew - a tax collector who all Israel dispised - to follow Him, and then went to a party with all the other outcasts from Jewish society. He came for those who know they are sinners and who want to repent, not for those who deny that they are sinners and have no desire to repent. The outcasts of society are reminded often of their faults and inadequacy, and so are more likely to be willing to repent rather than those who justify their actions and attitudes by comparing themselves to the status quo.

We fast to show our devotion to, and dependence on, God. Jesus was there with His disciples, so they were able to show that simply by following Him around. Once He was no longer physically there for them to follow, then they would begin to fast in order to show their devotion to and dependence on Him.

Jesus came to establish the new way of following God. The old ways that Israel used to follow God, by the law and the temple traditions, would no longer be relevant or sufficient. Jesus came to establish the way of faith, and our heart and our lives need to be made new in order to understand and follow Him.

The next story has a link that you have to dig a bit to make, but it's a good one. Jairus's daughter had died. She was 12 years old (Mark 5:42, Luke 8:42). The woman with the bleeding had been afflicted for 12 years.

On the way to raise the dead daughter back to life, the uncleanness (sin) of the bleeding woman was healed by her simply believing in Jesus. Jesus did not have to do anything special for her - she simply believed in Him. After the woman was cleansed (forgiven) Jesus went to give the girl new life.

It's a demonstration of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. When we believe in Him we are forgiven for our sins - it's a function of faith. Once faith is demonstrated Jesus intentionally gives us new life.

The healing of the blind and mute was upsetting to the Pharisees because they saw those afflictions as being judgements from God, so they never attempted to heal those people. They always wrote them off as lost causes. The underlying premise is that God denied them the physical ability to fulfull the law, so they were never going to be acceptable to God. So, when Jesus heals them the Pharisees see that as somehow being an act of the devil - because they assume God would never do something like that. That is why they accuse Jesus of being from satan.

But them accusing Jesus (God) of being satan is where He drew the line, and after this He only speaks to them in parables so that they can be judged according to Isaiah 6:9-10.

Matthew 9:35 is repeated in Matthew 12:22 which is a continuation of the same story.