NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 124
Matthew 9:28 | 1717
9:13 g Hos 6:6;
Mic 6:6-8; Mt 12:7
h 1Ti 1:15
9:14 i Lk 18:12
9:15 j Jn 3:29 k Ac 13:2,
3; 14:23
9:18 l Mt 8:2
m Mk 5:23
9:20 n Mt 14:36;
Mk 3:10
9:22 o Mk 10:52;
Lk 7:50; 17:19; 18:42
p Mt 15:28
9:23 q 2Ch 35:25;
Jer 9:17, 18
9:24 r Ac 20:10
s Jn 11:11‑14
9:26 t Mt 4:24
9:27 u Mt 15:22;
Mk 10:47; Lk 18:38‑39
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the h
ealthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But
go and learn what this m
eans: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ a g For I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners.” h
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
9:14-17pp — Mk 2:18-22; Lk 5:33-39
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast
often, i but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the g
uests of the bridegroom m
ourn while he is with them? j
The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. k
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk c loth on an old garment, for the patch will pull
away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into
old wineskins. If they do, the s kins will b
urst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will
be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
9:18-26pp — Mk 5:22-43; Lk 8:41-56
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and k
nelt before him l and said,
“My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, m and she will live.” 19 Jesus
got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind
him and touched the edge of his cloak. n 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I
will be h
ealed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take h
eart, daughter,” he said, “your f aith has h
ealed
you.” o And the woman was healed at that moment. p
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and peo
ple playing pipes, q 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead r but asleep.” s But they laughed
at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand,
and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region. t
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy
on us, Son of David!” u
28 When he had gone indoors, the b
lind men came to him, and he a
sked them, “Do you
believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
a 13 Hosea 6:6
9:12 Jesus reapplies well-known proverbial
wisdom from the physical world to the spiri-
tual realm. Like medical doctors attending to
the most ill, Jesus must minister to the most
unrighteous.
9:13 I desire mercy, not sacrifice. The con-
trasts are not absolute, as the context in Hos
6:6 shows. The point is one of priorities. The
neediest often require the most attention.
9:14 – 17 A difference among the practices
of the followers of various Jewish leaders,
including Jesus, leads to a question about
fasting.
9:14 fast often. Although most Jews under-
stood the OT to command fasting only on the
Day of Atonement (Lev 23:26 – 32), Pharisees
fasted twice a week as well. John the Bap-
tist’s asceticism naturally led his followers to
refrain from food periodically, though we do
not know with what frequency.
9:15 Jesus calls himself the “bridegroom”;
his followers will thus be the bride. With his
presence, wedding-like celebration rather
than self-denial is in order. After he has died,
they will mourn and fast. In Isa 62:5 God is
depicted as a bridegroom; Jesus may be
using a similarly exalted picture for himself
here.
9:16 – 17 unshrunk cloth. Many types of cloth
shrink after their first washing, so one would
not want to patch an “old garment” with new,
unshrunk cloth. new wine. Unfermented
wine expands as it ferments, so one would
not want to put it in brittle “old wineskins”
that could break in the process. both are pre-
served. Refers to both the “new wine” and
the “new wineskins.” Jesus’ message is new
enough compared to the old ways of Judaism
that it requires new attitudes and behaviors,
including less fasting. After his death and res-
urrection, believers do occasionally fast (Acts
13:2 – 3) but not with the regularity of the Jew-
ish leaders.
9:18 – 34 Four final miracles of chs. 8 – 9 ap-
pear in three discrete episodes, rounding out
this section on Jesus’ authoritative healing
(see note on 8:1 — 9:34).
9:18 – 26 Jesus’ countercultural concern for
women continues, while his overcoming
ritual uncleanness associates him closely
with God.
9:18 synagogue leader. Mark 5:22 gives the
name of the synagogue leader (the chief
elder) as Jairus. Mark’s much fuller version
shows that Jesus was informed twice, first
that the girl was dying (Mark 5:23) and then
that she was dead (Mark 5:35). Matthew con-
denses the entire story considerably, here
using a different verb for “died” that means
“came to an end.”
9:20 bleeding. Greek haimorroeō (“to hem-
orrhage”), implying an unnatural bodily
discharge. The malady would have been
intermittent if she had been afflicted for 12
years and was still alive. It would have made
her ritually unclean; normally, anything she
touched would have also become unclean.
9:21 – 22 The woman has undoubtedly heard
about Jesus’ other miracles and hopes that
by secretly touching him, she can also avail
herself of his healing power. But Jesus praises
her “faith” (v. 22), teaching that trusting in
him as the great healer is the key to salva-
tion, spiritual and physical. healed. Greek
sōzō, which often means “to save.”
9:23 the noisy crowd. Probably included
those mourning loudly. people playing
pipes. Refe rs to flutists or oboists perform-
ing dirges.
9:24 The girl is not dead but asleep. Probably
denies the permanence of her death. The
crowds take Jesus literally and thus mock his
claim. By touching the corpse, Jesus again
shows he cannot be defiled but has the power
to make the unclean clean.
9:27 Son of David. The Messiah (see note on
1:1 — 2:23).