20 And a woman, who for twelve years had had a flow of blood, came after him, and put her hand on the edge of his robe:
With the request that they might only put their hands on the edge of his robe: and all those who did so were made well.
On the four edges of your robe, with which your body is covered, put ornaments of twisted threads.
And a woman, who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, And had undergone much at the hands of a number of medical men, and had given all she had, and was no better, but even worse, When she had news of the things which Jesus did, went among the people coming after him, and put her hand on his robe. For she said, If I may only put my hand on his robe, I will be made well. And straight away the fountain of her blood was stopped, and she had a feeling in her body that her disease had gone and she was well. And straight away Jesus was conscious that power had gone out of him; and, turning to the people, he said, Who was touching my robe? And his disciples said to him, You see the people round you on every side, and you say, Who was touching me? And on his looking round to see her who had done this thing, The woman, shaking with fear, conscious of what had been done to her, came and, falling on her face before him, gave him a true account of everything. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be free from your disease. And while he was still talking, they came from the ruler of the Synagogue's house, saying, Your daughter is dead: why are you still troubling the Master? But Jesus, giving no attention to their words, said to the ruler of the Synagogue, Have no fear, only have faith. And he did not let anyone come with him, but Peter and James and John, the brother of James. And they came to the house of the ruler of the Synagogue; and he saw people running this way and that, and weeping and crying loudly. And when he had gone in, he said to them, Why are you making such a noise and weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they were laughing at him. But he, having sent them all out, took the father of the child and her mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. And taking her by the hand, he said to her, Talitha cumi, which is, My child, I say to you, Get up. And the young girl got up straight away, and was walking about; she being twelve years old. And they were overcome with wonder. And he gave them special orders that they were not to say anything of this; and he said that some food was to be given to her.
And a woman, who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had given all her money to medical men, and not one of them was able to make her well, Came after him and put her hand on the edge of his robe, and straight away the flowing of her blood was stopped. And Jesus said, Who was touching me? And when they all said, It is not I, Peter and those who were with him said, Master, the people are pushing round you on every side. But Jesus said, Someone was touching me, for I had the feeling that power had gone out from me. And when the woman saw that she was not able to keep it secret, she came, shaking with fear, and falling down before him she made clear before all the people the reason for her touching him, and how she was made well straight away. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace. While he was still talking, someone came from the house of the ruler of the Synagogue, saying, Your daughter is dead; do not go on troubling the Master. But Jesus at these words said to him, Have no fear, only have faith, and she will be made well. And when he came to the house he did not let any man go in with him, but only Peter and John and James, and the father of the girl and her mother. And all the people were weeping and crying for her; but he said, Do not be sad, for she is not dead, but sleeping. And they were laughing at him, being certain that she was dead. But he, taking her hand, said to her, My child, get up. And her spirit came back to her and she got up straight away: and he gave orders that food was to be given to her. And her father and mother were full of wonder, but he gave orders to them to say nothing about it to anyone.
Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord; So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me:
And wherever he went, into small towns, or great towns, or into the country, they took those who were ill into the market-places, requesting him that they might put their hands even on the edge of his robe: and all those who did so were made well.
And if a woman has a flow of blood for a long time, not at the time when she generally has it, or if the flow goes on longer than the normal time, she will be unclean while the flow of blood goes on, as she is at other normal times. Every bed on which she has been resting will be unclean, as at the times when she normally has a flow of blood, and everything on which she has been seated will be unclean, in the same way. And anyone touching these things will be unclean, and his clothing will have to be washed and his body bathed in water and he will be unclean till evening. But when her flow of blood is stopped, after seven days she will be clean. And on the eighth day let her get two doves or two young pigeons and take them to the priest to the door of the Tent of meeting, To be offered by the priest, one for a sin-offering and one for a burned offering; and the priest will take away her sin before the Lord on account of her unclean condition. In this way may the children of Israel be made free from all sorts of unclean conditions, so that death may not overtake them when they are unclean and when they make unclean my holy place which is among them. This is the law for the man who has a flow from his body, or whose seed goes from him so that he is unclean; And for her who has a flow of blood, and for any man or woman who has an unclean flow, and for him who has sex relations with a woman when she is unclean.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Matthew 9
Commentary on Matthew 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
Mt 9:1-8. Healing of a Paralytic. ( = Mr 2:1-12; Lu 5:17-26).
This incident appears to follow next in order of time to the cure of the leper (Mt 8:1-4). For the exposition, see on Mr 2:1-12.
Mt 9:9-13. Matthew's Call and Feast. ( = Mr 2:14-17; Lu 5:27-32).
The Call of Matthew (Mt 9:9).
9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence—that is, from the scene of the paralytic's cure in Capernaum, towards the shore of the Sea of Galilee, on which that town lay. Mark, as usual, pictures the scene more in detail, thus (Mr 2:13): "And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them"—or, "kept teaching them." "And as He passed by"
he saw a man, named Matthew—the writer of this precious Gospel, who here, with singular modesty and brevity, relates the story of his own calling. In Mark and Luke he is called Levi, which seems to have been his family name. In their lists of the twelve apostles, however, Mark and Luke give him the name of Matthew, which seems to have been the name by which he was known as a disciple. While he himself sinks his family name, he is careful not to sink his occupation, the obnoxious associations with which he would place over against the grace that called him from it, and made him an apostle. (See on Mt 10:3). Mark alone tells us (Mr 2:14) that he was "the son of Alphæus"—the same, probably, with the father of James the Less. From this and other considerations it is pretty certain that he must at least have heard of our Lord before this meeting. Unnecessary doubts, even from an early period, have been raised about the identity of Levi and Matthew. No capable jury, with the evidence before them which we have in the Gospels, would hesitate in giving a unanimous verdict of identity.
sitting at the receipt of custom—as a publican, which Luke (Lu 5:27) calls him. It means the place of receipt, the toll house or booth in which the collector sat. Being in this case by the seaside, it might be the ferry tax for the transit of persons and goods across the lake, which he collected. (See on Mt 5:46).
and he saith unto him, Follow me—Witching words these, from the lips of Him who never employed them without giving them resistless efficacy in the hearts of those they were spoken to.
And he—"left all" (Lu 5:28), "arose and followed him."
The Feast (Mt 9:10-13).
10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house—The modesty of our Evangelist signally appears here. Luke says (Lu 5:29) that "Levi made Him a great feast," or "reception," while Matthew merely says, "He sat at meat"; and Mark and Luke say that it was in Levi's "own house," while Matthew merely says, "He sat at meat in the house." Whether this feast was made now, or not till afterwards, is a point of some importance in the order of events, and not agreed among harmonists. The probability is that it did not take place till a considerable time afterwards. For Matthew, who ought surely to know what took place while his Lord was speaking at his own table, tells us that the visit of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, occurred at that moment (Mt 9:18). But we know from Mark and Luke that this visit of Jairus did not take place till after our Lord's return, at a later period from the country of the Gadarenes. (See Mr 5:21, &c., and Lu 8:40, &c.). We conclude, therefore, that the feast was not made in the novelty of his discipleship, but after Matthew had had time to be somewhat established in the faith; when returning to Capernaum, his compassion for old friends, of his own calling and character, led him to gather them together that they might have an opportunity of hearing the gracious words which proceeded out of His Master's mouth, if haply they might experience a like change.
behold, many publicans and sinners—Luke says, "a great company" (Lu 5:29)
came and sat down with him and his disciples—In all such cases the word rendered "sat" is "reclined," in allusion to the ancient mode of lying on couches at meals.
11. And when the Pharisees—"and scribes," add Mark and Luke (Mr 2:6; Lu 5:21).
saw it, they said—"murmured" or "muttered," says Luke (Lu 5:30).
unto his disciples—not venturing to put their question to Jesus Himself.
Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?—(See on Lu 15:2).
12. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them—to the Pharisees and scribes; addressing Himself to them, though they had shrunk from addressing Him.
They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick—that is, "Ye deem yourselves whole; My mission, therefore, is not to you: The physician's business is with the sick; therefore eat I with publicans and sinners." Oh, what myriads of broken hearts, of sin-sick souls, have been bound up by this matchless saying!
13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth—(Ho 6:6),
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice—that is, the one rather than the other. "Sacrifice," the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while "mercy" expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up. The duty of keeping aloof from the polluted, in the sense of "having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness," is obvious enough; but to understand this as prohibiting such intercourse with them as is necessary to their recovery, is to abuse it. This was what these pharisaical religionists did, and this is what our Lord here exposes.
for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance—The italicized words are of doubtful authority here, and more than doubtful authority in Mr 2:17; but in Lu 5:32 they are undisputed. We have here just the former statement stripped of its figure. "The righteous" are the whole; "sinners," the sick. When Christ "called" the latter, as He did Matthew, and probably some of those publicans and sinners whom he had invited to meet Him, it was to heal them of their spiritual maladies, or save their souls: "The righteous," like those miserable self-satisfied Pharisees, "He sent empty away."
Mt 9:14-17. Discourse on Fasting.
See on Lu 5:33-39.
Mt 9:18-26. The Woman with the Issue of Blood Healed.—The Daughter of Jairus Raised to Life. ( = Lu 8:40-56; Mr 5:21-43).
For the exposition, see on Mr 5:21-43.
Mt 9:27-34. Two Blind Men and a Dumb Demoniac Healed.
These two miracles are recorded by Matthew alone.
Two Blind Men Healed (Mt 9:27-31).
27. And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him—hearing, doubtless, as in a later case is expressed, "that Jesus passed by" (Mt 20:30).
crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us—It is remarkable that in the only other recorded case in which the blind applied to Jesus for their sight, and obtained it, they addressed Him, over and over again, by this one Messianic title, so well known—"Son of David" (Mt 20:30). Can there be a doubt that their faith fastened on such great Messianic promises as this, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened," &c. (Isa 35:5)? and if so, this appeal to Him, as the Consolation of Israel, to do His predicted office, would fall with great weight upon the ears of Jesus.
28. And when he was come into the house—To try their faith and patience, He seems to have made them no answer. But
the blind men came to Him—which, no doubt, was what He desired.
and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? they said unto him, Yea, Lord—Doubtless our Lord's design was not only to put their faith to the test by this question, but to deepen it, to raise their expectation of a cure, and so prepare them to receive it; and the cordial acknowledgment, so touchingly simple, which they immediately made to Him of His power to heal them, shows how entirely that object was gained.
29. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you—not, Receive a cure proportioned to your faith, but, Receive this cure as granted to your faith. Thus would they carry about with them, in their restored vision, a gracious seal of the faith which drew it from their compassionate Lord.
30. And their eyes were opened: and Jesus straitly charged them—The expression is very strong, denoting great earnestness.
31. But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country—(See on Mt 8:4).
A Dumb Demoniac Healed (Mt 9:32-34).
32. As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil—"demonized." The dumbness was not natural, but was the effect of the possession.
33. And when the devil—demon.
was cast out, the dumb spake—The particulars in this case are not given; the object being simply to record the instantaneous restoration of the natural faculties on the removal of the malignant oppression of them, the form which the popular astonishment took, and the very different effect of it upon another class.
and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel—referring, probably, not to this case only, but to all those miraculous displays of healing power which seemed to promise a new era in the history of Israel. Probably they meant by this language to indicate, as far as they thought it safe to do so, their inclination to regard Him as the promised Messiah.
34. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils—"the demons through the prince of the demons." This seems to be the first muttering of a theory of such miracles which soon became a fixed mode of calumniating them—a theory which would be ridiculous if it were not melancholy as an outburst of the darkest malignity. (See on Mt 12:24, &c.).
Mt 9:35-10:5. Third Galilean Circuit—Mission of the Twelve Apostles.
As the Mission of the Twelve supposes the previous choice of them—of which our Evangelist gives no account, and which did not take place till a later stage of our Lord's public life—it is introduced here out of its proper place, which is after what is recorded in Lu 6:12-19.
Third Galilean Circuit (Mt 9:35)—and probably the last.
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 italicized words are of more than doubtful authority here, and were probably introduced here from Mt 4:23. The language here is so identical with that used in describing the first circuit (Mt 4:23), that we may presume the work done on both occasions was much the same. It was just a further preparation of the soil, and a fresh sowing of the precious seed. (See on Mt 4:23). To these fruitful journeyings of the Redeemer, "with healing in His wings," Peter no doubt alludes, when, in his address to the household of Cornelius, he spoke of "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil: for God was with Him" (Ac 10:38).
Jesus Compassionating the Multitudes, Asks Prayer for Help (Mt 9:36-38). He had now returned from His preaching and healing circuit, and the result, as at the close of the first one, was the gathering of a vast and motley multitude around Him. After a whole night spent in prayer, He had called His more immediate disciples, and from them had solemnly chosen the twelve; then, coming down from the mountain, on which this was transacted, to the multitudes that waited for Him below, He had addressed to them—as we take it—that discourse which bears so strong a resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount that many critics take it to be the same. (See on Lu 6:12-49; and Mt 5:1, Introductory Remarks). Soon after this, it should seem, the multitudes still hanging on Him, Jesus is touched with their wretched and helpless condition, and acts as is now to be described.
36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted—This reading, however, has hardly any authority at all. The true reading doubtless is, "were harassed."
and were scattered abroad—rather, "lying about," "abandoned," or "neglected."
as sheep, having no shepherd—their pitiable condition as wearied under bodily fatigue, a vast disorganized mass, being but a faint picture of their wretchedness as the victims of pharisaic guidance; their souls uncared for, yet drawn after and hanging upon Him. This moved the Redeemer's compassion.
37. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous—His eye doubtless rested immediately on the Jewish field, but this he saw widening into the vast field of "the world" (Mt 13:38), teeming with souls having to be gathered to Him.
but the labourers—men divinely qualified and called to gather them in—"are few."
38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest—the great Lord and Proprietor of all. Compare Joh 15:1, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman."
that he will send forth labourers into his harvest—The word properly means "thrust forth"; but this emphatic sense disappears in some places, as in Mt 9:25, and Joh 10:4—"When He putteth forth His own sheep." (See on Mt 4:1).