Matthew 9

Written on 05/09/2024

Verses 1-8

  • Verse 2. This is a simple reminder that having faith in Jesus grants forgiveness of sins.

  • Verses 2-7. Jesus has all power. If He has this power, He also has power to forgive.

    • Understand that if people are forgiven, there are many powerful things that can happen. There are chains that fall off through forgiveness—when God forgives, when you forgive, when someones accepts forgiveness—forgiveness brings freedom to all parties involved.

    • In this case, forgiveness included healing for this paralytic.

      • As believers, confess your sins to each other, and forgive each others. This helps to bring healing in many ways (James 5:15-16).

  • Verse 4. Jesus had discernment that allowed Him to know what people were thinking. This guided His words and actions to prove a necessary point to the Pharisees.

    • Discernment is great for guiding your actions. Think about things carefully before you act. Your discernment will grow as you do.

 

Verses 9-13

  • Do spend time with unbelievers, to bring them to Jesus. Jesus came for unbelievers! See them as hurting people that need healing.

  • Make friends out of unbelievers and share meals with them to build relationship! 

    • This is great for bringing people's walls down.

 

Verses 14-17

  • Remember not to bring practices of your old life into a new life of following Jesus. Even though it can be hard, let go of old habits and ways of thinking! Make sure that all your actions are biblically supported!

  • It is a good idea to fast during times of mourning. 

    • If you are sad about something, or during a time when a loved one is away, fasting and prayer will help things greatly!

 

Verses 18-22, 27-31

  • Jesus healed some by His faith, and others, He said, were healed because of their own faith in Him. 

    • Understanding this, and talking about it, encourages people to have their own faith, which is good!

  • Verses 28-29. These blind men needed to have their own faith. Understand that for God to grant certain healings, the receiver of the healing needs to believe. We might not understand all the reasons, but this is important to know!

  • Understand that faith brings miracles. The faith can come from the person praying or the person being prayed for. 

    • Pray for people for healing! It is also a great idea to pray for someone if you notice that they have faith of their own (Acts 14:9-10).

 

Verses 23-26

  • Jesus saw this girl's death merely as sleep. In a basic understanding, we know that “those who sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:2).

    • For a believer, don't see death as an end, but a sleep! You may pray for them to be raised from the dead, but if they are not, their death is only a sleep; they will be raised again (John 11:25-26). Let this keep your encouraged.

  • And if you ever have a chance to pray for someone to be raised from the dead, removing people from the room can be a good idea (see Acts 9).

 

Verses 32-34

  • Sometimes physical infirmities are caused by the presence of demon in a person's body. 

    • Simply consider this possibility.

 

Verses 35-38

  • Out of His compassion, Jesus preached and healed everywhere.

    • You also be moved by compassion. Many others are without guidance, and they are on their way to hell. Realize this need, and take action!

  • Also understand that there are always people who need help. Help unbelievers, and pray for other believers to help them too.