Jesus Dealt with Questions
Book of Matthew Chapter 9
We can talk about the greatest of the traits of God, but we should understand that every trait of the Lord is perfect.
There is no weakness in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world will certainly look upon humility as a weakness, but it is not.
The world will look upon compassion as a weakness, but it is not a weakness.
The world will look upon love as a weakness, but love is not a weakness.
The world will look upon forgiveness as a weakness, but forgiveness is a great trait to have.
The Lord Jesus is perfect in every trait the world calls a weakness and yet there is no power in the world that can stand against the power of God!
We have already established that Capernaum was at this time the base of operations we could say of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus had been busy since His time of temptation, though Satan stood against Him every day!
Jesus had been in Gadara where He had met a man who had been possessed with the devil and Jesus had caused that horde of demons to leave this man.
The one thing we know for sure is, that Jesus can heal anybody, anywhere, and at any time if they will only trust Him.
Gadara was on another side of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus had been asked to leave Gadara and He left.
We should completely understand, the Lord Jesus will never force Himself upon anyone.
This is a choice we must make ourselves and we must invite Jesus to come into our hearts.
Jesus left Gadara but not before He left a great witness of the truth behind.
Jesus was now returning to Capernaum where we pick up our lesson.
*****Mat 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
Mat 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
The palsy was a disease that caused the loss of muscular motion.
Either in the whole body or in parts of the body. We will meet a man here who could no longer walk.
We might say if this man was in such bad shape, why does this passage begin with forgiveness?
It is really simple! It is far better to be forgiven of our sins than to be healed of any sickness.
If we are healed of one thing it will not be long until we are sick or weak from something else.
When you are forgiven of your sin by the Lord Jesus Christ, you are forgiven throughout eternity.
It is foolish to believe that our Savior has the power to forgive us our sins and then does not have the power to keep us saved.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Why was this man forgiven? "Faith"!
Notice the joy in the voice of the Lord for being able to forgive this man and then add to that He healed him.
You will never receive anything from the Lord Jesus Christ unless you have saving faith!
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We must believe there is a God who is All-Powerful, and we must believe that he is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ!
1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
As we will learn as we continue in our study of the Book of Matthew, unbelieving religious leaders had already sent out spies to spy upon Jesus.
*****Mat 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
The scribes who were the men who made handwritten copies of documents, especially of the Old Testament Scriptures and the Books of Moses, the first 5 books of the Bible.
The one thing these scribes got right was the fact that only Jehovah God can forgive sin, because no matter what sin we commit, we sin first against God!
God expects us to treat each other as we would treat ourselves and most of us love ourselves!
When God says, "Thou shall not", He means it.
The Lord Jesus did not blaspheme because He is God! God cannot deny Himself!
God the Father (Jehovah), God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost).
Listen to what this passage says. These scribes spoke within themselves.
Jesus knows our every thought!
This is kind of scary. I know I have had some terrible thoughts that would greatly shame me if anyone else knew them, but Jesus does know them, and this is another reason we need Him to forgive us.
Mar 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Jesus knew exactly what these hypocrites were thinking!
*****Mat 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Mat 9:6 But 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.
We must understand that sin is a great evil. If we get this one right, then we will understand that "faith" is a great blessing!
You see Jesus did not concentrate on the suffering Jesus concentrated on his "faith".
Does this mean that Jesus does not see our suffering? No not at all!
When "faith" is present, then suffering, just as sin, can be done away with!
In typology these men spoken of with palsy, represent the Children of Israel who are paralyzed in unbelief and cannot move forward until the blindness has been removed from their eyes.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Rom 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
Rom 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
They have stumbled at the truth of the Scriptures and paralyzed, but we already know this will end after they go through the seven years of tribulation.
We must understand, we are still "heathen" until our sins are forgiven.
No amount of healing can take place until our sins are forgiven!
To Jesus it was just as easy for Him to say "rise up and walk" or 'thy sins are forgiven" for only He knows what is in our heart!
The truth is all mankind are disabled and sick "spiritually"!
What is the truth of the job Jesus has given us to do?
1) We must realize it is our job to get the disabled to Jesus Christ.
2) We must acknowledge that only Jesus Christ has the power to help.
3) We must persist and persevere until we get the disabled to Jesus Christ.
Our lost children and grandchildren are not just someone we love they are spiritually disabled!
We must not miss that Jesus knows the rejection of religionists.
Religionists think only evil when the name Jesus is mentioned!
We also note that these evil and wicked men did acknowledge that Jesus had the power to heal.
They did not recognize that this healing power as being the power of God.
They rejected Jesus for many reasons and one of those reasons was that He could heal anybody at any time, and their thinking was that God would certainly not heal sinners.
The Lord Jesus asked, "Why do you have evil in your hearts"?
Why is this world so afraid that Jesus is real?
Because their hearts are so full of evil wickedness!
You know what Jesus did not do? He did not show any fear.
He just went about the business He came to do. He was not intimidated by evil men!
What did this man who "was" paralyzed do?
*****Mat 9:7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
You see anyone can say "I forgive you" or even "rise up and walk", but if there is no action from those sayings then they are only loose words.
The Lord Jesus spoke our world into existence!
Col_1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
There will always be action in the Word of God, so we can depend upon the Word of God as being the truth and it is not important that the world believe, it is important that we believe as individuals.
When the Lord Jesus says your sins are forgiven, then it is not necessary for the world to believe!
Salvation comes to those whose sins are truly forgiven!
The fact is, the Messiah did truly come, and He will return a second time for separate reasons.
Salvation means truly saved and not ever lost again!
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
The sad fact is that some people attempt to glorify God, yet they will not receive forgiveness.
Just recognizing that someone has the power of God is not enough for forgiveness.
Forgiveness begins in our own heart and the Lord sees into the heart!
It is not even important that we marvel at the power of Christ!
It is important that we recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and not just some prophet and not some man who went around doing good!
Col_1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
1Jn_4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn_5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is certainly Emmanuel the God Man!
All those who witnessed these things marveled and glorified, but they did not recognize our Savior.
Then Jesus spots Matthew.
*****Mat 9:9 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.
In this passage we will see a short introduction to the person of Matthew, known as Levi before accepting the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mar 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Luk 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
Luk 5:28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
If Matthew had written this book without the Holy Spirit, he would certainly have used more words to describe himself, but as Christians we know our old life is in the past but forgotten by the Lord and we begin a new life just as Matthew did.
The name Matthew means "Gift of God". He was the son of Alphaeus and was a publican or today we would say tax collector.
We all hate the tax collector!
Custom, as it was called was not for Israel but for Rome. A man such as Matthew would be located at the gates of every city, town, village, and along each highway.
They collected money that was paid for goods.
Many of these tax collectors would collect more than was due and they became rich. Rome did not care as long as Rome received what was called for.
They were called "Publican" which means an employee of low degree.
1) They were Jews who worked for Rome.
2) They collected more that was required.
On this day Matthew began working for the Lord and he and the Lord made a big deal of it making a feast to celebrate his last day as a Publican and his new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
What we should understand is that Matthew wanted all such as himself to meet the Lord.
*****Mat 9:10 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.
Mat 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
Matthew was a hated man, but he found that God loved him.
Luk 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Luk 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Matthew had decided no more needed to be known about himself, and he moved on to tell the world about a Savior who loved all sinners and who came to save them.
When everyone else saw a man as a traitor who worked for Rome, Jesus saw a disciple who would become an Apostle.
The Bible teaches us to pay our taxes:
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
"As much as we can" we must live in peace with our governments.
The Lord Jesus saw the loneliness of Matthew, his lack of purpose, a man who needed a Savior.
What did Jesus see when He saw me?
What did Jesus see when He saw you?
What does Jesus see when He looks at His world today?
This world was created for Jesus to show His power!
One day for the Church at the 'Rapture" and seven years later one day of "Judgment" for those who reject Him!
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
This is why today, during the Church Age is the "Day of Salvation"!
Jesus sat down with these sinners and joined them in a meal.
Then the super religious, who rejected all sinners and rejected that they were sinners or that they were self-righteous, looked upon Jesus with disgust.
We should acknowledge that the first thing that Matthew did was to bring all his old friends into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
This is exactly what we are all to do today. To bring every sinner into contact with the one and only Savior.
Even Jesus cannot save a self-righteous man or woman!
*****Mat 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Those who are whole are all those who think they do not need our Heavenly Savior!
What is the reality of this passage? It reminds us of the last Church Age that we are now in!
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
The so-called modern-day church has forgotten that there is never a day that we do not need our Savior!
Jesus is not allowed inside the modern church.
The teachings of Jesus about abortion are forgotten.
The teachings of Jesus about the sodomites and the lesbians, and those who cannot determine what sex they are, all forgotten.
We either accept the Word of God as it is written and believe what Matthew wrote and Jesus said.
Those that are whole do not need Jesus!
When we place ourselves above the Word of God, then we have rejected the God of the Bible and He is the Lord Jesus Christ!
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Just like Jesus says, "go your way and learn what this means".
Jesus did not come to this earth to save those who have made themselves to be righteous!
Jesus came to save me a dirty rotten sinner! He can save you to.
Sin is a sickness and a sickness that affects our minds.
This sin sickness needs a Heavenly Physician!
Sin is the sickness of the spirit. Our spirit cannot be healed, but needs to be replaced by the Holy Spirit.
Sin is a sickness of the flesh. Our flesh cannot be healed, but needs to be replaced, we need to be Born Again!
We are foolish to believe our sin sickness cannot be healed and it begins with repentance!
Do not be one of those who continue to walk with the fatal disease of sin believing the Devil!
A merciful Physician named Jesus, brought the tools needed to heal us all and it begins with "Faith"!
You see, we just need a "Blood Transfusion", we need to be washed in the blood of Jesus.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
A merciful God came down from Heaven to put a stop to animal sacrifice and sacrificed Himself that we might be saved!
Then Jesus was confronted by men who had become the disciples of John the Baptist.
*****Mat 9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
By this time John the Baptist was in prison because he was not afraid to preach the truth to the government of Israel being led by King Herod.
It would not be long before John would be beheaded because of a political farce.
John had told his disciples that he had to step back so he would not draw people away from Jesus.
Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Joh 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
John's disciples were a bit confused, so they watched Jesus for a while, and then had some questions.
Jesus will always receive our questions, but we must be prepared to know that what Jesus says is the absolute truth!
We cannot question the Word of God!
How, did Jesus answer?
*****Mat 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Mat 9:16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
Mat 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
We have talked a little about fasting.
When we fast, we prove to the Lord that we are serious about some request and are willing to give up something that we need if He would consider filling our request. A fast should always be about godly things such as beginning a ministry.
The disciples of Jesus did not seem bothered by the fact that John was in prison and be willing to fast and pray to God that he might be freed.
The Lord Jesus speaks wonderfully here.
Remember Jesus is God in the flesh and if He wanted John out of prison, He would have just caused it to happen as He did for the Apostle Peter.
John the Baptist had a large following, but we must remember his message.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The Lord Jesus was that Light that John preached of and this message was fulfilled and had no real meaning.
Jesus Christ is the Light of the world!
Joh_8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John's disciples, just as the disciples of Christ, were to become little lights just as we are today!
Mat_5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat_5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat_5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The little lights, of the world is the Church and as commanded we must not allow our light to go out!
How could the disciples of Jesus mourn for John, when the Lord Jesus Christ was with them every day?
We fast today because the Lord Jesus is back in Heaven being an intercessor for our prayers.
When you put a patch on an old garment to repair a hole all people will see is that patch.
The religion of Judaism cannot be patched to become Christianity.
Christianity is something new that the Lord Jesus has built from the ground up.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and we are the Body of Christ.
Eph_5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Col_1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
You cannot take Christianity and pour it into Judaism, it will rot Judaism, and both would fail.
A bottle in this passage is really a skin that was used to contain the juice of the grape.
You could only use these things one time, because the juice would cause the wine skin to rot, and you would lose the grape juice.
You cannot take Judaism and pour it into Christianity, because Judaism is all about the Law and not Grace.
Rom_6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom_6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Gal_2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Gal_5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
These things are not hard to understand if you trust the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.
We must just remove our own thoughts and concentrate on what the Lord has done for us.
He has reconciled us back into the favor of God!
2Co_5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co_5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Amen
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