Bible Verse Lookup
Mt 9,36
Chapter 9
He Heals a Paralytic
Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and arrived in his hometown.
Here, they brought a paralyzed man lying on a bed to him. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic:
“Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”
Some teachers of the law thought to themselves:
“This man insults God.”
Jesus was aware of what they were thinking and said:
“Why do you have such evil thoughts?
Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the paralyzed man:
“Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!”
The man got up and went home.
When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God for granting humans such power.
He Calls Matthew and Shares the Table With Sinners
As Jesus continued on his way, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his booth in the customs house, and he said to him:
“Follow me!”
And Matthew got up and followed him.
Now, it happened while Jesus was at the table at Matthew’s house that many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples:
“Why is it, that your master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”
When Jesus heard this, he said:
“Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do.
Go and find out what this means: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
On Fasting
Then John’s disciples approached him with the question:
“How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but not your disciples?”
Jesus answered them:
“How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth because the patch will shrink and create an even bigger hole in the coat.
Similarly, you don’t put new wine into old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine will be spilled. Instead, you put new wine into fresh skins; then both are preserved.”
A Woman Healed and a Child Raised to Life
While Jesus was speaking to them, a synagogue official approached him, bowed before him, and said:
“My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hands on her, and she will live.”
Jesus stood up and followed him with his disciples.
Then a woman who had been suffering from severe bleeding for twelve years came up from behind and touched the edge of his cloak;
for she thought:
“If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned, saw her, and said:
“Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.”
From that moment, the woman was healed.
When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, he said:
“Go away! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!”
And they laughed at him.
But once the crowd had been gone out, Jesus went in, took the girl by the hand, and she stood up.
The news of this spread across the entire area.
He Heals Two Blind Men and Exorcises a Mute
As Jesus continued on his way, two blind men followed him, shouting:
“Son of David, help us!”
When he was about to enter the house, the blind men caught up with him, and Jesus said to them:
“Do you believe that I am able to do what you want?”
They answered:
“Yes, sir!”
Then Jesus touched their eyes and said:
“As you have believed, so let it be.”
And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus gave them a stern warning:
“Be careful that no one knows about this.”
But as soon as they left, they spread the news about him throughout the entire area.
As they were leaving, some people brought to Jesus a man who was mute because he was possessed by a demon.
When the demon was cast out, the mute man started to speak. The crowd was amazed and said:
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said:
“He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”
Narrative Summary of Jesus’ Activity
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and announcing the good news of the kingdom; he also healed every sickness and disease.
Jesus’ Compassion
When he saw the crowds, he was filled with compassion, for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples:
“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only a few.
Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.”
Commentaries
He Heals a Paralytic.
The Jewish mindset linked illness with sin; the disciples themselves believed that sickness or misfortune were caused by some fault, either their own or someone else’s (cf. Jn 9:1f). Jesus shows that he has received the power to heal, but more importantly, the power to forgive—a divine attribute—covering his entire mission of liberation and addressing the core of the human condition in need of salvation. The healing of the paralytic publicly affirms his authority, much to the scandal of the scribes.
He Calls Matthew and Shares the Table With Sinners.
Matthew’s calling is very important: Jesus chooses a tax collector, a publican working for Rome, the occupying power. Like all tax collectors, he has a very bad reputation among the people. Jesus shows him trust without asking for public confessions of conversion. Jesus’s sovereign call frees him from the slavery of money and leads him to discipleship.
On the other hand, Jesus, a regular guest at the tables of the poor and sinners, made sharing food with everyone, regardless of who they were, one of the most powerful symbols of the newness of the kingdom of God that he proclaimed. This is why his practice of inviting or allowing himself to be invited by tax collectors and sinners caused such scandal. Before God, we are all equal: sinners in need of his mercy and his bread of life.
On Fasting.
Through this specific question about fasting, we see the symbolism of the Messiah as the bridegroom (cf. Mt 22:1-14; 25:1-13). The newness brought by the bridegroom is explained in verses 16 and beyond. The images of new wine and new clothes make it clear that the Gospel cannot be contained in old structures and mentalities. We must be open to the newness that the Gospel introduces into our lives.
A Woman Healed and a Child Raised to Life.
Both miracles are connected and appear in the three synoptic Gospels. In both stories, faith and contact with Jesus are essential, linking the need of those who come to Jesus to be restored to full life. Matthew, as usual, stylizes, summarizes, and emphasizes the main message: on one hand, the faith of the official and the woman; on the other, Jesus’ power over sickness and death. For Luke and Mark, the official’s daughter was very ill; for Matthew, she was already dead, considered an impure corpse, just as the woman’s illness was seen as unclean. The pain of this father and the shame of this woman can symbolize all our personal and collective struggles.
He Heals Two Blind Men and Exorcises a Mute.
Every healing carries a deeper meaning, and perhaps the healing of the blind man and the mute are the most symbolic within the biblical tradition. Through these miracles, Matthew sets the stage for the significant declaration Jesus will make to John’s disciples in 11:5. The evangelist emphasizes the importance of faith as a necessary condition for the signs that reveal the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. Faith is precisely the focus of Jesus’ dialogue with the blind men (28ff), the setting for the personal encounter that heals and restores the individual.
Narrative Summary of Jesus’ Activity – Jesus’ Compassion.
These four verses serve as an interlude, closing one section and opening another. Jesus, the Messiah, has announced the beginning of God’s reign with words and actions. His first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, has been validated through signs and miracles. The success of his power to heal people from all kinds of diseases and ailments has drawn a large crowd of the poor and needy. This sets the stage for the next section: the missionary sending of the Twelve, close followers who will learn from Jesus the scope of the mission, how to carry it out, and God’s initiative, signaled by his call.