Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Matthew
Book: Matthew
Chapter: 9
Overview:
Jesus returns to
Capernaum, and heals a paralytic.
(1-8)
Matthew called.
(9) Matthew, or
Levi's
Feast.
(10-13) Objections
of
John's disciples.
(14-17) Christ raises the
Daughter of
Jairus, He heals the issue of
Blood.
(18-26) He heals two
Blind
men.
(27-31) Christ casts out a
Dumb Spirit.
(32-34) He sends
forth the apostles.
(35-38)
1-8 The
Faith of the friends of the paralytic in bringing him
to
Christ, was a strong
Faith; they firmly believed that
Jesus
Christ both could and would heal him. A strong
Faith regards
No
obstacles in pressing after
Christ. It was a humble
Faith; they
brought him to attend
On Christ. It was an active
Faith.
Sin may
be pardoned, yet the sickness not be removed; the sickness may
be removed, yet the
Sin not pardoned: but if we have the comfort
of peace with
God, with the comfort of recovery from sickness,
this makes the healing a
Mercy indeed. This is
No encouragement
to
Sin. If thou bring thy sins to
Jesus Christ, as thy malady
and misery to be cured of, and delivered from, it is
Well; but
to come with them, as thy darlings and delight, thinking still
to retain them and receive him, is a gross mistake, a miserable
delusion. The great intention of the blessed
Jesus in the
Redemption he wrought, is to separate our hearts from
Sin. Our
Lord Jesus has perfect knowledge of all that we say within
ourselves. There is a great
Deal of evil in sinful thoughts,
which is very offensive to the
Lord Jesus.
Christ designed to
show that his great errand to the world was, to save his people
from their sins. He turned from disputing with the
Scribes, and
spake healing to the sick
Man. Not only he had
No more need to
be carried upon his
Bed, but he had strength to carry it.
God
must be glorified in all the power that is given to do good.
9 Matthew was in his
Calling, as the
Rest of those whom
Christ
called. As
Satan comes with his temptations to the idle,
So
Christ comes with his calls to those who are employed. We are
all naturally averse from thee, O
God; do thou bid us to follow
thee; draw us
By thy powerful
Word, and we shall run after thee.
Speak
By the
Word of the
Spirit to our hearts, the world cannot
Hold us down,
Satan cannot stop our way, we shall arise and
follow thee. A saving change is wrought in the soul,
By Christ
as the author, and his
Word as the means. Neither
Matthew's
place, nor his gains
By it, could detain him, when
Christ called
him. He left it, and though we find the disciples, who were
fishers, occasionally
Fishing again afterwards, we never more
find
Matthew at his sinful gain.
10-13 Some time after his
Call,
Matthew sought to bring his old
associates to hear
Christ. He knew
By experience what the
Grace
of
Christ could do, and would not despair concerning them. Those
who are effectually brought to
Christ, cannot but desire that
others also may be brought to him. Those who suppose their souls
to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual
Physician.
This was the case with the
Pharisees; they despised
Christ,
because they thought themselves whole; but the
Poor publicans
and sinners felt that they wanted instruction and amendment. It
is easy, and too common, to
Put the worst constructions upon the
best words and actions. It may justly be suspected that those
have not the
Grace of
God themselves, who are not pleased with
others' obtaining it.
Christ's conversing with sinners is here
called
Mercy; for to promote the
Conversion of souls is the
greatest act of
Mercy. The
Gospel Call is a
Call to
Repentance;
a
Call to us to change our minds, and to change our ways. If the
children of men had not been sinners, there had been
No need for
Christ to come among them. Let us examine whether we have found
out our sickness, and have learned to follow the directions of
our great
Physician.
14-17 John was at this time in
Prison; his circumstances, his
character, and the nature of the message he was sent to deliver,
led those who were peculiarly attached to him, to keep frequent
fasts.
Christ referred them to
John's
Testimony of him, Joh
3:29. Though there is
No doubt that
Jesus and his disciples
lived in a spare and frugal manner, it would be improper for his
disciples to
Fast while they had the comfort of his presence.
When he is with them, all is
Well. The presence of the
Sun makes
Day, and its absence produces night. Our
Lord further reminded
them of common rules of prudence. It was not usual to take a
piece of rough woollen cloth, which had never been prepared, to
join to an old garment, for it would not join
Well with the
soft, old garment, but would tear it further, and the
Rent would
be made worse. Nor would men
Put new
Wine into old leathern
bottles, which were going to decay, and would be liable to burst
from the fermenting of the
Wine; but putting the new
Wine into
strong, new,
Skin bottles, both would be preserved. Great
caution and prudence are necessary, that young converts may not
receive gloomy and forbidding ideas of the service of our
Lord;
but duties are to be urged as they are able to
Bear them.
18-26 The
Death of our relations should drive us to
Christ, who
is our
Life. And it is high honour to the greatest rulers to
attend
On the
Lord Jesus; and those who would receive
Mercy from
Christ, must honour him. The variety of methods
Christ took in
working his miracles, perhaps was because of the different
frames and tempers of mind, which those were in who came to him,
and which He who searches the
Heart perfectly knew. A
Poor Woman
applied herself to
Christ, and received
Mercy from him
By the
way. If we do but touch, as it were, the
Hem of
Christ's garment
By living
Faith, our worst evils will be healed; there is
No
other real cure, nor need we fear his knowing things which are a
grief and
Burden to us, but which we would not tell to any
earthly friend. When
Christ entered the ruler's
House, he said,
Give place. Sometimes, when the sorrow of the world prevails, it
is difficult for
Christ and his comforts to enter. The ruler's
Daughter was really dead, but not
So to
Christ. The
Death of the
righteous is in a special manner to be looked
On as only a
sleep. The words and
Works of
Christ may not at first be
understood, yet they are not therefore to be despised. The
people were
Put forth. Scorners who laugh at what they do not
understand, are not proper witnesses of the wonderful
Works of
Christ. Dead souls are not raised to spiritual
Life, unless
Christ take them
By the
Hand: it is done in the
Day of his
power. If this single instance of
Christ's raising one newly
dead
So increased his fame, what will be his
Glory when all that
are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth; those
that have done good to the resurrection of
Life, and those that
have done evil to the resurrection of
Damnation!
27-31 At this time the Jews expected
Messiah would appear;
these
Blind men knew and proclaimed in the streets of
Capernaum
that he was come, and that
Jesus was he. Those who,
By the
Providence of
God, have lost their bodily sight, may,
By the
Grace of
God, have the eyes of their understanding fully
enlightened. And whatever our wants and burdens are, we need
No
more for supply and support, than to share in the
Mercy of our
Lord Jesus. In
Christ is enough for all. They followed him
crying aloud. He would try their
Faith, and would teach us
always to pray, and not to faint, though the answer does not
come at once. They followed
Christ, and followed him crying; but
the great question is, Do ye believe? Nature may make us
Earnest, but it is only
Grace that can work
Faith.
Christ
touched their eyes. He gives sight to
Blind souls
By the power
of his
Grace going with his
Word, and he puts the cure upon
their
Faith. Those who apply to
Jesus Christ, shall be dealt
with, not according to their fancies, nor according to their
profession, but according to their
Faith.
Christ sometimes
concealed his miracles, because he would not indulge the conceit
which prevailed among the Jews, that their
Messiah should be a
temporal
Prince, and
So give occasion to the people to attempt
tumults and seditions.
32-34 Of the two, better a
Dumb Devil than a blaspheming one.
Christ's cures strike at the root, and remove the effect
By
taking away the cause; they open the lips,
By breaking
Satan's
power in the soul. Nothing can convince those who are under the
power of pride. They will believe anything, however false or
absurd, rather than the Holy Scriptures; thus they show the
Enmity of their hearts against a holy
God.
35-38 Jesus visited not only the great and wealthy cities, but
the
Poor, obscure
Villages; and there he preached, there he
healed. The souls of the meanest in the world are as precious to
Christ, and should be
So to us, as the souls of those who make
the greatest figure. There were priests, Levites, and
Scribes,
all over the land; but they were
Idol shepherds, Zec 11:17;
therefore
Christ had compassion
On the people as
Sheep
scattered, as men perishing for lack of knowledge. To this
Day
vast multitudes are as
Sheep not having a
Shepherd, and we
should have compassion and do all we can to help them. The
multitudes desirous of spiritual instruction formed a plenteous
Harvest, needing many active labourers; but few deserved that
character.
Christ is the
Lord of the
Harvest. Let us pray that
many may be raised up and sent forth, who will labour in
bringing souls to
Christ. It is a sign that
God is about to
bestow some special
Mercy upon a people, when he stirs them up
to pray for it. And commissions given to labourers in answer to
Prayer, are most likely to be successful.