Hey all!
Here’s some great additional Bible resources for you that correlates with Bible Study Fellowship’s Matthew study.
Enjoy!
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Jesus continues on, and two men follow him, asking Jesus to have mercy on them, and they call him the Son of David. Jesus goes indoors, and the blind men come to him. He asked them if they believed he could heal them. They answered yes. Jesus touched their eyes, and they could see. He told them not to tell others, but they went out and spread the news instead.
Citizens brought a demon-possessed man to Jesus. He could not talk. Jesus drove the demon out, and the man could speak. The people were amazed by this miracle, saying this has never been seen before. But the Pharisees said it was the prince of demons who drives out demons.
13a) They blind men called Jesus the Son of David. They asked him to have mercy on them.
b) Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Then he touched their eyes and healed them. He asked them to tell no one of this miracle. They disobeyed.
14) Jesus came to save his people. He opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf.
15a) The miracle amazed the crowd. They said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” The Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
b) People don’t like authority. They don’t like to submit or be told what to do. People don’t want to give up autonomy or control.
c) Honestly, I’m not around people all that much. I work from home and don’t really go anywhere so I haven’t really ever had this occur to me. But I usually ignor people and pray for them.
It’s interesting to me how Jesus didn’t mind some of his miracles known, but that he asked others to be kept secret. It’s hard to fault the men for shouting their joy. Yet, this is a question of obedience. Jesus had compassion on others and healed them, but his primary mission was to bring forgiveness to sinners. He didn’t want his healings to overshadow his ministry. Plus, he knew the timeline he had for his ministry and did not want to draw undue attention to himself.
There were more infirmaries in ancient times simply due to their lack of medical knowledge. No one know about germs or infections and nor did they have a cure for them.
For blind people to follow others, they have to be determined to listen. These men were.
Fun Fact: This is the first time in the Bible that Jesus is called the “Son of David.” These men knew Jesus was the messiah. They appealed to mercy.
Fun Fact: No blind person was ever healed in the Old Testament.
Again, faith healed these men, and Matthew emphasizes that point.
Jewish priests believed that they could not help the demon-possessed man becuase they believed you had to know the demon’s name in order to exorcise it. Thus, if a demon made you mute so you couldn’t say their name, you were lost. Thus, Jesus’s miracle both showed this belief was not true and showed the power of Jesus.
However, the Pharisees, so used to absolute power, dismiss and reject Jesus as having the power from Satan.
These miracles prove Jesus’s authority and his divinity as the Son of God.
A ruler came to Jesus to ask him to raise his daughter from the dead. Jesus and his disciples went with the man. At this time, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up to Jesus and touched his cloak, believing if she did this, she would be healed. Faith healed the woman.
At the ruler’s house, there were flute players and a noisy crowd. He told them to go away because the girl was only sleeping, not dead. The crowd laughed at Jesus, and they were kicked out. Jesus then went to the girl, took her hand, and she got up. This news spread.
9) Both are characterized by faith. The woman believed she only had to touch Jesus’s cloak to be healed. The ruler believed Jesus had to touch the girl to be healed. In both cases, what they believed is what happened.
10) How Jesus heals by faith and in different methods and ways: with touch or just by touching his clothes.
11) When accompanied by faith, Jesus can and often does anything, including miracles.
12) I have a lot of needs lately it seems. I’m very unhappy with my job, so I’m looking for a new one. I’m don’t like where I live, so I would like to move sooner rather than later. My kids all have dreams they need help fulfilling, as does my husband. We are all waiting on God to move. This draws all of us closer to Him.
I love how faith is the answer in all of Jesus’s healings. Someone has faith that Jesus is God and in his healing abilities. Jesus then responds. This is true for us today. Have faith; Jesus will respond.
Something light-hearted for your week, especially for coffee lovers!
The ruler worshipped Jesus, as is appropriate for God. Humans (Acts 10:25-26) or angels (Revelation 22:8-9), are not to be worshipped.
Note how the centurion in Matthew 8 believed Jesus could heal from afar and this ruller requests Jesus to come and touch his daughter. Thus, the centurion had greater faith.
The woman with blood has great faith Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:43-48 . Jews considered the woman unclean, so, odds are, she didn’t even think she could ask Jesus to touch her to heal her. However, her faith was big enough that a garment would suffice.
The garment that Jesus wore was like others in the time (he did not dress like a King). She touched a corner of his garment that had a tassel on it. These tassles of blue reminded those who wore it they belonged to God.
Note everyone who Jesus healed had faith in him, not in his clothes, his touch, or his words.
Jesus cured her immediately. He made sure people noticed the woman, although she didn’t want to be seen. Jesus wanted to make sure she knew:
The ruler paid the flute players and crowd to mourn, which was common in that day. The crowd did not deter Jesus. Obviously, they had no faith.
Jesus healed this girl out of mercy and compassion. The ruler had enough faith to warrant this, too. While Jesus did not raise everyone from the dead (he will some day) that he encountered, he healed/raised those out of God’s will and when faith was shown.
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Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. Matthew did. They ate dinner at Matthew’s house with other tax collectors and sinners. This was much frowned upon, and the Pharisees asked why was Jesus doing this. Jesus responded that he has come to heal the sick and the sinners.
John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus why he does not fast like they do. He replied that since he is here on earth, everyone should be rejoicing, not fasting. He says you don’t patch up old garments, making the tear worse, nor do you pour new wine into old wineskins.
6a) That Matthew immediately gets up and walks away from his career and everything else.
b) First, many are curious about the author of the book, and it’s a great example of what you do when Jesus calls you. It also lends credibility to his words.
7a) The Pharisees asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” This was deeply frowned upon in Jesus’s day; no one of faith mixed with known sinners.
b) Jesus responded that he has come to heal the sick and the sinners. Jesus is here to offer mercy and show God’s love.
c) Matthew 28:19-20 is the great commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations” and teaching them about God and to obey God. John 17:14-19 says how Christians are not of the world and Jesus prays for protection from the evil one and that they (disciples) may be santified as they enter the world, spreading the gospel. 1 Peter 3:13-17 says that you are blessed for doing good and be prepared to tell everyone about Jesus. It is better to suffer doing God’s will than to do evil. Set Christ apart in your heart.
Matthew challenges Christians to go out into the world shining God’s light. To go against the grain for Jesus even if you suffer for it. He says to do good rather than evil. To spread the Good News.
8a) “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
b) He replied that since he is here on earth, everyone should be rejoicing, not fasting.
The wedding guests: no one should be mourning while the bridegroom is with them.
The patched garment and wineskins: He says you don’t patch up old garments, making the tear worse, nor do you pour new wine into old wineskins.
Isaiah 43:18-19 talks about doing a new thing and how Jesus is making a new way for the world.
Lots to think about in this lesson. We see how to follow Jesus: unequivocally. We see that with Jesus, it’s a new way. And, perhaps most importantly, we see it’s okay to go against the grain to follow Jesus and do things his way, not the world’s.
Mark 2:14 reveals that Matthew as also known as Levi the son of Alphaeus. Matthew 10:3 tells us that there was another son of Alphaeus, James, who also was amongst the 12 disciples.
Jews despised tax collectors (they aren’t liked now, either) because they collected taxes that then went to the Romans. This job pitted Jews against Jews, as they were seen as traitors. Tax collectors were paid on commission, which lead to many extorting others; whatever they collected over the tax amount, they got to keep. This meant the more they collected, the more they enriched themselves.
Jews considered a tax collector an outcast. They could not be a judge or a witness in a court of law, they could not attend synogogue, and they were most likely outcast by their immediate family, too. The price was high to be a tax collector in the 1st century A.D.
You will see the word “publican” used for tax collector in the King James Version, from the Latin word meaning “public revenue.”
Matthew left a lucrative career to follow Jesus. Out of all the disciples, he may have given up the most. Yet, he penned the first book in the Gospels. How cool!
We see truly how Jesus came for sinners with his calling of Matthew. Odds are, Jesus used this opportunity to reach others who were sinners and needed Christ. This was most likely a large public gathering, not one in a home.
Jesus came for sinners, as seen in this scene. (Romans 5:8). Yet, the Pharisees don’t get it; they avoided sinners like the plague.
Jesus here quotes scripture Hosea 6:6 and essentially tells learned leaders to go back and read God’s word because they just don’t get it. “Go and learn” was a rebuke commonly used by religious leaders at the time to someone who should know better or learn more about what they are speaking about.
Romans 3:10 “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Jesus offers sinners righteousness.
The disciples of John the Baptist were very strict on their religious followings. The Pharisees fasted regularly Luke 18:12), and Jesus already addressed how they only fasted for show, rather than for faith. (Matthew 6:16).
The day will come where fasting will be appropriate, but while Jesus is here, it’s not. Instead, it’s a time to celebrate.
The wineskins represent how Jesus will not repair the Old Covenant, but instead he’ll bring a new one. New wine into new wineskins means his new church will form a new body of Christ.(Ephesians 2:16).
There is no patch to the Old Testament; only new. Sometimes the old cannot be renewed.
Jesus as the bridegroom is another claim Jesus makes as God. In the Old Testament, God was the bridegroom and His people the bride. Here, Jesus is saying he is God with this analogy.
Jesus arrived in Capernaum. Some brought to him a paralytic. Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven. Some teachers of the law took this as blaspheming God. Jesus said these words so that they would know that the Son of Man had power on earth to forgive sins. He then told the man to get up and walk, which he did. The crowd then praised God for such authority.
3) The men who brought the paralytic to Jesus. Mark adds the details that the men made a hole in the roof and lowered the man down to Jesus because the crowd was so thick they could not get through. God can help others through your faith alone.
4a) Jesus healed the paralytic first off. Then, he forgave the man’s sins, saying he is the Son of Man who has authority to do so.
b) The teachers of the law were offended. They thought Jesus was blaspheming God and they said only God has the power to forgive sins. The man who was healed did as Jesus instructed: he got up and walked out, carrying his mat. The watching crowd was absolutely amazed. They praised God for His goodness.
5) Everything. It gives me hope everyday despite my sins.
I love this story. So dramatic with the lowering of the roof. Now that would have been cool to see. It shows the faith of the men that they will do anything to get their friend help. It also shows the power of friendship. Do you have friends like this — who would do anything for you?
Great encouraging stories below!
We see Jesus as healer of the sick as prophesied by Isaiah. Isaiah 35:5-6
Note that Jesus heals for need, not show. Bible scholars speculate that there’s a lot of need at this time due to a lot of unfaithfulness. Exodus 15:26
Fun Fact: This is the first mention in the Bible of opposition to Jesus.
Note God gets the glory here. Jesus is not out for himself, which false prophets are.
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