Matthew 9:1–13
God can forgive everyone
Jesus showed that he can forgive
This was the last in the set of three stories about
- In Matthew 8:23–27, Jesus had authority over everything that God created.
- In Matthew 8:28–34, Jesus had authority over all of the
spirits . - Now, in Matthew 9:1–8, Jesus showed his authority to forgive
sins . The Bible tells us that only God can forgivesin . (Read Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18; 43:25; 55:6–7; Jeremiah 31:34 and Micah 7:19.) This was an important subject for Matthew (1:21). So, he put this story here on purpose. He wanted to emphasise that Jesus is ‘the Son of God’ (8:29).
Pick up your bed! (Matthew 9:1–8)
Jesus now began a new part of his work. Before this time, people could think that he was just a teacher. He could even do
The teachers of the
In the next verses, we read about how they opposed him. The teachers of the
- He speaks against God (Matthew 9:1–8). This would be a very serious
sin . - His morals are bad (Matthew 9:9–13).
- His religious practices are not good (Matthew 9:14–17).
- He is a friend of the devil (Matthew 9:31–34).
They accused Jesus of all these things. This would lead to his death.
Sometimes, illness can be the result of personal
Jesus saw the man’s greatest need. Jesus was very gentle with the man. He called him ‘son’ (verse Matthew 9:2). Then he told the man that he forgave his
Only God can forgive
The ordinary people who were in the room saw this
The call of Matthew (Matthew 9:9–13)
Jesus came to forgive
Matthew was a tax official. Tax officials were called ‘tax collectors’. There was a main route for trade. It was from the country called Syria to Egypt. This route went through the district called Galilee. The city called Capernaum was a tax station. It was the boundary between two districts. There would be a tax as goods went from one district to another. The leaders of the two districts were Philip and Herod Antipas. Matthew worked for Herod.
The
- The tax officials often took extra money from other
Jews . In this way, they became rich. - They were working for the people who had defeated the
Jews . - They did not obey the laws of the
Jews . This was why thePharisees called them ‘sinners ’ (verse 11). They did not follow thePharisees ’ ideas of theLaw . Many tax collectors did not care about God. But this was not always true.
Jesus and his
Jesus gave an answer to the
- He had come like a doctor. A doctor cares about sick people and those in need. Jesus had come to help
sinners . ThePharisees thought that they did not have any needs. And they had no interest in people who did have needs. Jesus meant that they were neglecting their duty. - He used one of the religious leaders’ phrases. Jesus said: ‘Go and learn what it means.’ He used the phrase against them. Jesus repeated Hosea 6:6. Real religion must have spiritual attitudes. The
Pharisees knew theOT well. But they had never understood this basic truth.
Jesus’ final words were a test.
Questions
- Jesus died so that he could forgive your
sins . How can you be sure that yoursin has gone? - The church is a place for
sinners . What does this mean about our churches? Do we expect a standard that is too high from each other? - The church exists for those who are not its members. No other organisation is like this. Think about Jesus’ work in this passage. How could we copy him as we try to bring people to Jesus today?
(Note: ‘Church’ refers to the people, not to the building.)