MattheW 10:2 | 1549 house and saw the noisy crowd and peo ple playing pipes, 24 he said,“ Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 Af ter the crowd had been put out side, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that re gion.
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
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As Jesus went on from there, two blind men fol lowed him, call ing out,“ Have mer cy on us, Son of Da vid!”
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When he had gone in doors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them,“ Do you be lieve that I am able to do this?”“ Yes, Lord,” they re plied.
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Then he touched their eyes and said,“ Ac cording to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was re stored. Jesus warned them stern ly,“ See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that re gion.
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While they were go ing out, a man who was de mon-pos sessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the de mon was driv en out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said,“ Noth ing like this has ever been seen in Is ra el.”
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But the Phar i sees said,“ It is by the prince of de mons that he drives out de mons.”
The Workers Are Few
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Jesus went through all the towns and vil lag es, teach ing in their syn a gogues, pro claim ing the good news of the king dom and heal ing ev ery disease and sick ness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had com pas sion on them, be cause they were ha rassed and help less, like sheep with out a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his dis ci ples,“ The har vest is plen ti ful but the work ers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the har vest, there fore, to send out work ers into his har vest field.”
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10:2-4pp— Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16; Ac 1:13 10:9-15pp— Mk 6:8-11; Lk 9:3-5; 10:4-12 10:19-22pp— Mk 13:11-13; Lk 21:12-17 10:26-33pp— Lk 12:2-9 10:34,35pp— Lk 12:51-53
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Jesus called his twelve dis ci ples to him and gave them au thor i ty to drive out im pure spir its and to heal ev ery dis ease and sick ness.
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These are the names of the twelve apos tles: first, Si mon( who is called Pe ter) and his broth er vv. 18 – 19. the noisy crowd and people playing pipes Participants in a funeral. Burial in first-century Palestine took place soon after death, so the presence of these mourners indicates that the process is already underway. 9:24 asleep Jesus is not denying the fact of the girl’ s condition as much as the finality of it. Sleep is a euphemism for death elsewhere in the Bible( e. g., Da 12:2; Jn 11:11 – 12; Ac 7:60; 13:36; 1Co 15:6). 9:25 took the girl by the hand Touching a corpse rendered a person ceremonially unclean, but Jesus is not concerned with that( Nu 19:11; compare Mt 8:3 and note). got up The Greek verb used here, egeirō, is also used to describe Jesus’ resurrection( 28:6 – 7).
9:27 – 31 Jesus’ ministry of healing continues with two blind men receiving their sight.
9:27 Son of David A Messianic title meaning“ descendant of King David”( see note on 1:1; compare 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9,15; 22:42). 9:30 See that no one knows Despite Jesus’ apparent desire to keep a low profile, his call for secrecy is not obeyed. Once these men experience the good news, they cannot keep it to themselves.
9:32 – 34 Jesus again asserts his authority over the spirit realm( compare 8:28 – 32) and causes all of Israel to marvel at his deeds.
9:34 It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons Jesus later shows the absurdity of this statement( see 12:22 – 32).
9:35 – 38 These final verses summarize Jesus’ ministry( compare 4:23). They also set up the next chapter, in which Jesus sends out his disciples.
9:36 like sheep without a shepherd Jesus’ compassion for the people was intensified by the lack of leadership to help them( compare Jn 10:1 – 18; Eze 34). Without a shepherd, sheep are prone to wander and vulnerable to danger. The Old Testament often portrays Israel as God’ s flock and the nation’ s leaders as shepherds— who failed in their responsibility to look after for the sheep( e. g., Nu 27:17; 2Sa 5:2; Isa 56:11; Jer 10:21).
10:1 – 15 Matthew 9 ends with the need for laborers for God’ s harvest; ch. 10 begins with Jesus commissioning his disciples( compare Mk 6:7 – 13; Lk 9:1 – 6). Matthew records the names of Jesus’ twelve primary disciples— later called apostles— as well as his instructions for spreading the message of the kingdom of heaven.
10:1 called his twelve disciples to him So far, Matthew has described the calling of only five disciples( Mt 4:18 – 22; 9:9). Jesus had many followers, but these were his leaders— those whom he commissioned to build his church. 10:2 the twelve apostles Matthew initially refers to this group as disciples. Here, he calls them“ apostles”— those who are sent out with the authority of the sender( Jesus). No explicit reason is given here for the choice of twelve disciples, but it may have been in part to reflect the fact that there were twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew later presents the twelve disciples as Israel’ s new leaders( 19:28). See the table“ The Twelve Apostles” on p. 1550. first Rather than identifying Simon as the leader of the Twelve, this term simply designates the starting point of the list. Simon( who is called Peter) Simon is his Hebrew name, while Peter is his Greek name( see 4:18; 16:17 – 18). Elsewhere, Biblical writers refer to him by his Aramaic name, Cephas( e. g., Jn 1:42; 1Co 1:12; Gal 2:9). Simon and the next three disciples listed( Andrew, James and John) were mentioned earlier in Matthew( Mt 4:18,21). Andrew This is the last mention of Andrew