In the paragraph preceding we have notable examples of the heart-searching powers of Jesus. These powers he manifested again, when, in going forth, he saw Matthew at the receipt of custom, and called him. The sequel proved the wisdom of his election.
I. JESUS, IN HIS CONDUCT, SHOWED HIMSELF THE SINNER'S FRIEND.
1. He called a publican into his discipleship.
(1) Publicans were hated by the Jews as representatives of Roman oppression. For they were public tax-gatherers, or rather farmers of the revenue. "The publican's trade is dirty and sordid" (Artemidorus). "There is no sinful calling but some have been saved out of it, and no lawful calling but some have been saved in it" (Henry).
(2) They were hated because many of them were extortionate in their exactions. So common was this that it became a saying that "all publicans are thieves." None are too vile to be reclaimed by Christ.
(3) Publicans were particularly obnoxious to the Pharisees because of their commerce with the Gentiles in the pursuit of their calling. Hence "publicans and sinners" are familiarly associated (cf. Matthew 5:46 with Luke 6:32; see also Matthew 11:19). Hence also Pharisees would have no communion with publicans. It was a maxim with the orthodox, "Take not a wife from the family of a publican" (Theocritus). Yet from this despised and hated class Jesus called Matthew to be one of his beloved and trusted disciples.
2. He ate with publicans and sinners.
(1) Gentiles, who came not under obedience to Moses, were accounted sinners (see Matthew 18:17; Matthew 26:45; Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:15). Some of these may have been at Matthew's feast. If so, then Jesus in eating with them would portend the calling of the Gentiles, as also did the favour he showed to the centurion and to the Syro-phoenician woman.
(2) Jews who were lax in respect to the ceremonies of the Law, as well as those who violated its precepts, were by the Pharisees accounted little better than heathen (see Matthew 8:30).
(3) Another class of "sinners," no less obnoxious to the Pharisee, were those who, while they honoured the Law, paid little respect to the traditions of the elders. Such sinners might be morally superior to the Pharisees who despised them.
(4) In eating with sinners Jesus did not evince sympathy with sin. Had he done so he would not have been the Friend of sinners. Those are net friends of sinners who encourage them in evil. His sympathy was for their souls. Christ comes to those who welcome him, and to none is he more welcome than to those who feel themselves to be sinners.
3. He encourages his disciples to go and do likewise.
(1) The sensual man enters the company of sinners for gratification. In this sense the holy Jesus could never join them. Neither in this sense could he encourage his disciples to join them.
(2) The spiritual man enters the company of sinners to do them good. There is no heart so vile that the Lord will not enter it when invited (cf. Revelation 3:20).
(3) The self-righteous man shuns the "sinner" from contempt. This unworthy feeling Jesus would discourage in his disciples. Therefore he had them with him to eat with the despised.
(4) The man of the world will shun the company of notorious sinners for the sake of reputation. Such a motive is hypocritical. Jesus would have his disciples true men. There is no fear for the reputation of any man anywhere if he be in the company of Jesus.
II. JESUS IN DEFENCE OF HIS CONDUCT SHOWED HIMSELF THE SINNER'S FRIEND.
1. He rested his defence upon the mind of God.
(1) Had man remained innocent he would have required neither mercy nor sacrifice. Man being fallen mercy is required; and sacrifice is instituted for the sake of mercy. To set forth the mercy of God in Christ's sacrifice of himself for us. To beget mercifulness in the heart of the believer. Mercy is the end, sacrifice the means, and the end is preferable to the means.
(2) Hence God will have mercy rather than sacrifice. He prefers mercifulness to ritual (see 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 50:13, 14; Isaiah 1:11; Luke 7:22, 23; Joel 2:13; Hosea 6:6; Mark 12:33).
(3) The Lord willed mercy; but the Pharisees chose sacrifice, in a very different sense, however, from that in which Jesus came to offer himself instead of the many "burnt offerings" previously required. When Jesus spake, sacrifices were being offered in the temple by a disobedient and gainsaying people who had little respect for mercy. In such sacrifices God had no pleasure.
(4) Another kind of sacrifice will surely come in the day of vengeance (see Ezekiel 39:17-19; Zephaniah 1:7, 8; Revelation 19:17). But this is the "strange work" of God, to which he greatly prefers the mercy in which he "delighteth."
2. He rested his defence also upon his special mission.
(1) In coming into the world Messiah says, "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me" (cf. Psalm 40:6-8; Hebrews 10:5-10).
(2) Where should the Physician be but among the sick? This was a home-thrust; for the Pharisee recognized a teacher of the Law as a "physician of the soul."
(3) Jesus came into a world of sinners. All men need healing.
(4) But men must acknowledge their need. The whole need not a physician. The self-righteous are outside the mission of Jesus. The most inveterate disease is that in which the sinner imagines himself a saint, and therefore will not seek the Physician of souls.
III. BY THE HAPPY ISSUE JESUS PROVES HIMSELF THE SINNER'S FRIEND.
1. The worthiness of the sinner is seen in the promptness of his obedience.
(1) Matthew arose at once responsive to the call Who amongst us has yielded obedience to the earliest call of Christ?
(2) Though conversion may at last take place, yet how much happiness and glory are forfeited through delay!
(3) How fatal are delays!
2. The worthiness of the sinner is seen in the completeness of his devotion.
(1) Jesus found Matthew in the midst of his business. Satan calls the idle to temptation. Christ calls the active to holy service (cf. Matthew 4:18-22). Matthew, like Saul of Tarsus, "conferred not with flesh and blood" (Galatians 1:15, 16).
(2) Matthew renounced a lucrative employment to embrace a life of poverty and persecution. There are better things than money. Yet the sacrifice shows up the man.
3. The worthiness of the sinner is seen in saintly zeal.
(1) In giving a great feast, Matthew sought no personal glory. It is from other evangelists we learn that Matthew gave it (see Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29).
(2) He gave it in honour of Christ. He gave it also in the interests of humanity. The service of Christ is the service of humanity. Humanity is blessed when brought under the influence of Jesus.
(3) When Matthew invited Jesus he invited the disciples of Jesus also. Those who welcome Christ to their hearts will welcome his disciples.
4. The worthiness of the sinner is honoured in the confidence of the Saviour.
(1) He is called to righteousness - the righteousness of faith. Matthew never forgot that he had been a publican (cf. 1 Timothy 1:13).
(2) Obedience, devotion, and zeal will be rewarded. Matthew was subsequently elected into the apostleship (Matthew 10:3). He was, moreover, distinguished as the first evangelist. The publican is immortalized through his connection with Jesus. - J.A.M.
He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom.
Whom are we to follow, and on what road, and to what place?
I. WE ARE TO FOLLOW CHRIST. Do not the soldiers follow their captain? Do not the redeemed follow their deliverer? Do not the disciples follow the teacher? We must follow Him further and further. Immediately, lest we never have the invitation given us again. He has something worthy to be obtained by such as follow Him. Will a man shut his ears to such a merciful invitation? If a rich man were to call a famished man to come into his house and be fed, would tie not instantly follow? The state of those who refuse is one of miserable bondage.
II. WHAT IS THE WAY ALONG WHICH HE CALLS US TO FOLLOW? Christ has opened a new and living way, in every sense of the Word. Our old, corrupt nature dislikes a new was. Christ gives the power, hence no excuse. But is this new way unpleasant? It has good company and entertainment; at the end, the house of the Almighty Father.
III. To WHAT PLACE.
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I. CONSIDER THE EVENT AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF DIVINE GRACE. God seeks whom He will to serve Him. The change rapid.
II. WE ARE TO FORSAKE ALL INORDINATE LOVE OF RICHES. Discriminate between the possession of riches and inordinate love of them.
III. Subsequently to his conversion Matthew ENTERTAINED HIS MASTER, INVITING GUESTS FROM HIS FORMER COMPANIONS — a proof of the sincerity of his conversion. We should silently and sedulously seek others. What mariner, rescued from the fury of the waves, would refuse to extend a charitable hand to his companions who are plunging in the abyss he has escaped.
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I. THE CALL.
1. It was a call of sovereignty. There was no miracle; the attraction of personal authority.
2. It was a call of grace. What was there in St. Matthew to recommend him?
3. It was a call of love (1 John 3:1).
II. THE ANSWER.
1. It was an answer of faith. He followed because he believed — had trust — in Christ.
2. It was an answer of decision.
3. It was an answer of self-sacrifice.
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I. His CALL SEEMED ACCIDENTAL AND UNLIKELY.
II. HIS CALL WAS ALTOGETHER UNTHOUGHT OF AND UNSOUGHT.
1. He was in a degrading business.
2. He was in an ensnaring business.
3. He would not have dared to follow Jesus even if he had wished to do so.
III. His CALL WAS GIVEN BY THE LORD, WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE OF HIM. Jesus "saw a man named Matthew."
1. He saw all the evil that had been in him.
2. He saw his adaptation for holy service.
3. He saw all that He meant to make of him.
IV. His CALL WAS GRACIOUSLY CONDESCENDING.
V. HIS CALL WAS SUBLIMELY SIMPLE.
1. Few were the words.
2. Clear was the direction.
3. Personal was the address.
4. Royal was the command.
VI. HIS CALL WAS IMMEDIATELY EFFECTUAL.
1. He followed at once.
2. He followed spiritually as well as literally.
3. He followed wholly.
4. He followed growingly.
5. He followed ever after.
VII. HIS CALL WAS A DOOR OF HOPE FOR OTHERS.
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I. We may learn also THE NECESSITY of our immediate and cheerful obedience to the commands of God. When our Saviour called him to arise and follow Him, He
(1)called him to give up a gainful profession for a life of hardship, toil, and danger.(2)To expose himself to the mockery of his former companions.(3)To the scoffs of the wise, and the(4)persecution of men in power.(5)To enter into a situation for which neither his former habits, nor, as he might plead, his general education suited him. Should we have wondered if, under such circumstances, St. Matthew had offered an excuse?II. ST. MATTHEW DID NOT ANSWER, "NOT YET, LORD, WHILE SO MANY PERSONS ARE LOOKING ON; at night I will come to Thee. Not yet, Lord, while my fortune is beginning to thrive; another year and I will give up my business."
1. He arose immediately, and followed Him.
2. With joy, as having attained the highest honour which mortal man could obtain.
3. To prove that joy he makes a great feast: calls together his brother publicans.
4. In defiance of their ridicule or wonder.
III. COMPARE THIS CONDUCT WITH YOUR OWN.
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I. THE CALL; in a word of command, "Follow me": a word very well befitting the Captain of our salvation, when He was to list soldiers or officers in His militia. Some have not come at the call. Others, though they have come, have not followed Him as they should do.II. THERE IS SOMETHING OH OUR PART, WHEN WE ARE CALLED, TO BE DONE BY US. There must be concurrence and obedient compliance of our will. Else we may resist the word as well as the ,Spirit.
III. THE OBEDIENCE — "He arose and followed Him.' His rising up shows
(1)reverence and respect, as well as(2)resolution.(3)Henceforth he owns Christ as his master.(4)He was wealthy, but now sees nothing before him but poverty and persecution. Yet he accepts the condition at first word.IV. THE CONSTANCY.
1. He followed his master to the end.
2. Till His departure.
3. Till his own death.
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Some articles of produce are taxed as they are brought into the town. A booth of branches, or a more substantial hut, is erected at every entrance into the city or village, and there, both day and night, sits a man at the "receipt of custom." He taxes all the produce, piercing with a long, sharp iron rod the large camel-bags of wheat or cotton, in order to discover concealed copper-wire, or other contraband.()
The people of this country sit at all kinds of work. The carpenter saws, planes, and hews with his hand-adze sitting upon the ground, or upon the plank he is planing. The washer-woman sits by the tub, and, in a word, no one stands where it is possible to sit. Shopkeepers always sit; and Levi sitting at the receipt of custom is the exact way to state the case.()
How easy it is for some men to rise and follow Christ, as compared with others. They seem to fall into the way of faith: it is like bringing the sun to bear upon a bud that wants to open, and that is just waiting for light in order that it might unfold its deep and sacred beauty. It is so easy for some men to pray: they seem to be walking up a gentle green slope to meet God at the height of it. When other men try to pray it is like climbing up a rugged, steep rock, some of the stones loose, and if you put your foot upon them you will fall. It is so easy for some men to do the act of benevolence.()
"Come," says the sea to the river. "Come," says the magnet to the steel. "Come," says the spring to the sleeping life of the field and forest. And, like the obedience of the river to the sea, of the steel to the stone, of the earth's charmed atoms to the spring's effectual call, is the obedience of the soul to Christ's wondrous spirit.()He that said " Let there be light," says now, "Follow me." That power sweetly inclines which could forcibly command; the force is not more irresistible than the inclination. When the sun shines upon the icicles, can they choose but melt and fall? When it looks into a dungeon, can the place choose but be enlightened? Do we see the jet drawing up straws to it; the loadstone, iron? And do we marvel if the Omnipotent Saviour, by the influence of His grace, attract the heart of a publican?
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1. We must remember how in business may be found a service for Christ.2. We may learn not to think too much of daily work, and set too great a price on it.
3. We shall seek to give of the fruits of our trading to Christ.
4. The true servant of Christ will be willing to give up, not only of the fruits of daily work, but daily work itself for Christ.
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People
David, Jesus, John, MatthewPlaces
CapernaumTopics
Booth, Collection, Collector's, Custom, Follow, Followed, Forth, Got, Matthew, Named, Office, Passed, Passing, Receipt, Risen, Rose, Says, Seated, Sitting, Tax, Taxes, Tax-office, Thence, TollOutline
1. Jesus heals a paralytic
9. calls Matthew from the receipt of custom;
10. eats with tax collectors and sinners;
14. defends his disciples for not fasting;
20. cures the sick woman;
23. raises Jairus' daughter from death;
27. gives sight to two blind men;
32. heals a mute man possessed of a demon;
36. and has compassion on the multitude.
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 9:9 2066 Christ, power of
2426 gospel, responses
4926 delay, human
7621 disciples, calling
7632 Twelve, characters of
8115 discipleship, nature of
8120 following Christ
8206 Christlikeness
8209 commitment, to Christ
8475 self-denial
8702 agnosticism
Matthew 9:9-10
5503 rich, the
Matthew 9:9-13
4438 eating
6040 sinners
Matthew 9:9-14
5576 tax collectors
Library
June 26. "When He Saw the Multitudes He was Moved" (Matt. Ix. 36).
"When He saw the multitudes He was moved" (Matt. ix. 36). He is able to be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities." The word "touched" expresses a great deal. It means that our troubles are His troubles, and that in all our afflictions He is afflicted. It is not a sympathy of sentiment, but a sympathy of suffering. There is much help in this for the tired heart. It is the foundation of His Priesthood, and God meant that it should be to us a source of unceasing consolation. Let us realize, more …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Christ's Encouragements
'Son, be of good cheer.'--MATT. ix. 2. This word of encouragement, which exhorts to both cheerfulness and courage, is often upon Christ's lips. It is only once employed in the Gospels by any other than He. If we throw together the various instances in which He thus speaks, we may get a somewhat striking view of the hindrances to such a temper of bold, buoyant cheerfulness which the world presents, and of the means for securing it which Christ provides. But before I consider these individually, let …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
A Christlike Judgment of Men
'But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.' --MATT. ix. 36. In the course of our Lord's wandering life of teaching and healing, there had naturally gathered around Him a large number of persons who followed Him from place to place, and we have here cast into a symbol the impression produced upon Him by their outward condition. That is to say, He sees them lying there weary, and footsore, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Soul-Healing First: Body-Healing Second
'That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.'--MATT. ix. 6. The great example of our Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is followed, in this and the preceding chapter, by a similar collection of His works of healing. These are divided into three groups, each consisting of three members. This miracle is the last of the second triad, of which the other two members are the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Touch of Faith and the Touch of Christ
'While He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did His disciples. 20. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment: 21. For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole. 22. But Jesus turned Him about, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Call of Matthew
'And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose, and followed Him. 10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12. But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Compassion of Jesus
THIS is said of Christ Jesus several times in the New Testament. The original word is a very remarkable one. It is not found in classic Greek. It is not found in the Septuagint. The fact is, it was a word coined by the evangelists themselves. They did not find one in the whole Greek language that suited their purpose, and therefore they had to make one. It is expressive of the deepest emotion; a striving of the bowels--a yearning of the innermost nature with pity. As the dictionaries tell us-- Ex …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 60: 1914
Eleventh Day for More Labourers
WHAT TO PRAY.--For more Labourers "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that He send forth labourers into His harvest."--MATT. ix. 38. What a remarkable call of the Lord Jesus for help from His disciples in getting the need supplied. What an honour put upon prayer. What a proof that God wants prayer and will hear it. Pray for labourers, for all students in theological seminaries, training homes, Bible institutes, that they may not go, unless He fits them and sends them forth; that our churches may …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession
Dread of Ridicule.
24th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. ix. 24. "And they laughed Him to scorn." INTRODUCTION.--"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. iii. 12.) This is what S. Paul says. This is what everyone of you must make up your mind to, if you intend to live godly lives, and, moreover, to live in Christ. Do you know what that meant to the early Christians? It meant that if they were going to be firm in their faith, live up to their profession, and eschew evil, they should …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent
Evil Thoughts.
19th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. ix. 4. "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" INTRODUCTION.--Thoughts are only thoughts! who is to beheld accountable for them? They are clouds blown about by fancy, taking various shapes. God is not so hard as to judge us for our thoughts; He will try us by what we have done, not by what we have dreamed. No garden is without weeds; there are tares in every cornfield. Who speak thus? Is it those who are conscientious and scrupulous to drive away evil thoughts? …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent
Civilized Barbarism (Preached for the Bishop of London's Fund, at St. John's Church, Notting Hill, June 1866. )
ST. MATTHEW ix. 12. They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I have been honoured by an invitation to preach on behalf of the Bishop of London's Fund for providing for the spiritual wants of this metropolis. By the bishop, and a large number of landowners, employers of labour, and others who were aware of the increasing heathendom of the richest and happiest city of the world, it was agreed that, if possible, a million sterling should be raised during the next ten years, …
Charles Kingsley—The Water of Life and Other Sermons
The Physician's Calling (Preached at Whitehall for St. George's Hospital. )
ST. MATTHEW ix. 35. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. The Gospels speak of disease and death in a very simple and human tone. They regard them in theory, as all are forced to regard them in fact, as sore and sad evils. The Gospels never speak of disease or death as necessities; never as the will of God. It is Satan, not God, who binds the woman with …
Charles Kingsley—The Water of Life and Other Sermons
Of the Words Themselves in General.
We come now to the words themselves, wherein Christ asserts that he is, 1, "the way;" 2, "the truth;" 3, "the life;" and, 4, "that no man cometh to the Father but by him." In them we learn these two things in general. First, The misery of wretched man by nature. This cannot be in a few words expressed. These words will point out those particulars thereof, which we will but mention. 1. That he is born an enemy to, and living at a distance from God, by virtue of the curse of the broken covenant of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life
Christ
IF NOT GOD--NOT GOOD BY I. M. HALDEMAN, D.D. "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God" (Matthew 9:17). THE world has accepted Jesus Christ as a good man. The evidences of his goodness are manifold. He was full of compassion. He never looked upon the people as a crowd. He never thought of them as a mass. He saw them always as individuals. His heart went out to them. All his impulses were to pity them, sympathize with, and help them. He went among them. He entered into …
I. M. Haldeman—Christ, Christianity and the Bible
Concerted Prayer
"A tourist, in climbing an Alpine summit, finds himself tied by a strong rope to his trusty guide, and to three of his fellow-tourists. As they skirt a perilous precipice he cannot pray, Lord, hold up my goings in a safe path, that my footsteps slip not, but as to my guide and companions, they must look out for themselves.' The only proper prayer in such a case is, Lord, hold up our goings in a safe path; for if one slips all of us may perish.'"--H. Clay Trumbull The pious Quesnel says that "God …
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer
Combination Illustrated.
To illustrate our method of combination, let us take Section 36, which is a fitting together of the following passages, namely: 9 And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.--Matt. ix. 9. 13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting at the place of toll, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
The Call of Matthew.
(at or Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 9; ^B Mark II. 13, 14; ^C Luke V. 27, 28. ^c 27 And after these thingsa [after the healing of the paralytic] he went forth, ^a again by the seaside [i. e., he left Capernaum, and sought the shore of the sea, which formed a convenient auditorium for him, and which was hence a favorite scene for his teaching]; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he ^a Jesus passed by from thence, he saw ^c and beheld ^a a man, ^c a publican, named …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Matthew's Feast. Discourse on Fasting.
(Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 10-17; ^B Mark II. 15-22; ^C Luke V. 29-39. ^c 29 And Levi [another name for the apostle Matthew] made him a great feast in his house: ^b 15 And it came to pass, that he was sitting { ^a as he sat} at meat in the { ^b his} ^a house, ^c and there was a great multitude of publicans [Matthew had invited his old friends] and of others ^b and ^a behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. ^b for there were many, ^c that were sitting at meat …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Jairus' Daughter and the Invalid Woman.
(Capernaum, Same Day as Last.) ^A Matt. IX. 18-26; ^B Mark V. 22-43; ^C Luke VIII. 41-56. ^c 41 And ^a 18 While he spake these things unto them [while he talked about fasting at Matthew's table], behold, there came, { ^b cometh} ^c a man named Jairus, { ^b Jairus by name;} ^c and he was a ruler { ^b one of the rulers} of the synagogue [He was one of the board of elders which governed the synagogue at Capernaum. These elders were not necessarily old men--Matt. xix. 16-22; Luke xviii. 18-23], and seeing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Jesus Heals a Paralytic at Capernaum.
^A Matt. IX. 2-8; ^B Mark II. 1-12; ^C Luke V. 17-26. ^c 17 And it came to pass on one of those days, ^b when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, ^c that he was teaching; ^b it was noised that he was in the house. [Luke uses the general expression "those days," referring to the early portion of our Lord's ministry in Galilee. Mark says, "some days," which implies the lapse of a considerable interval. The healing of the leper created such excitement that for some time, several weeks, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Lix. Healing Blind Men and a Dumb Demoniac.
(Probably Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 27-34. ^a 27 And as Jesus passed by from thence [If construed strictly, this phrase means, as he departed from Jairus' house. But the phrase is indefinite], two blind men followed him, crying out, and saying, Have mercy on us, thou son of David. [This, among the Jews, was a common and thoroughly recognized name for the expected Messiah.] 28 And when he was come into the house [possibly Peter's. But the place is not important. The house is mentioned to show that …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Third Circuit of Galilee. The Twelve Instructed and Sent Forth.
^A Matt. IX. 35-38; X. 1, 5-42; XI. 1; ^B Mark VI. 6-13; ^C Luke IX. 1-6. ^b 6 And he ^a Jesus ^b went about ^a all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner sickness and all manner of sickness. [In the first circuit of Galilee some of the twelve accompanied Jesus as disciples (see [3]Section XXXIII.); in the second the twelve were with him as apostles; in the third they, too, are sent forth as evangelists to supplement …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
The Return to Capernaum - Concerning the Forgiveness of Sins - the Healing of the Paralysed
It is a remarkable instance of the reserve of the Gospel-narratives, that of the second journey of Jesus in Galilee no other special event is recorded than the healing of the leper. And it seems also to indicate, that this one miracle had been so selected for a special purpose. But if, as we have suggested, after the Unknown Feast,' the activity of Jesus assumed a new and what, for want of a better name, may be called an anti-Judaic character, we can perceive the reason of it. The healing of leprosy …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
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