Daily Bible Reading (Thursday, Jan. 12th)

12

Matthew 9 (ESV)

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

12 Comments

I sometimes wonder why the 2 blind men whom Jesus healed in chapter 9 verse 30, went out and spread Jesus' fame even though he warned them not to. Makes me realize how we sometimes disobey God (again) even though His mercy continues towards us.

Read it, and it's amazing to read about how God healed each one, and read about their faith.

We see Jesus' love and compassion and also His magnificent power here. Matthew's account highlights Jesus as King. I should never cease to marvel that He would ever regard me much less die for me, save me, have compassion on me and give me a glimpse of His kingdom free from sin and disease and pain. This convicts me of my own pride and laziness that I don't pray and evangelize more consistently and earnestly.

Read it and it was good!

As the disciples prayed for laborers to be sent out for the harvest it was them that were sent out. When we pray for laborers we need to be prepared to be those laborers

Verses 33-34- The response to the restoration of the mute man's speech by the crowd following Jesus is utter amazement at His mighty works, while, horrifyingly, the Pharisees' response is one of hostility and envy. These Pharisees knew the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament that were being done now before their very eyes by Christ, and their response is evil accusation, that His power to perform these mighty works displayed before them in this Chapter they ascribed to Satan's influence. These accusations by the Pharisees will surface again more powerfully in Matthew 12:24-32. The sin of blinding envy is at work here, which will drive these Pharisees to cry out for Christ's very Crucifiction later. But for God's grace, so there would be I doing likewise!

Jesus came "not to call the righteous, but sinners" to repentance. He came not to "those who [were] well... but to those who [were] sick." Let's follow Christ' example and reach out to the sick around us. And for those around us who think themselves righteous and well, lets do our best to convince them otherwise.

As we see in this chapter, Jesus demonstrated His compassion by healing people's bodily diseases. We often forget that He did a miracle in us when He turned our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Therefore, as Bruce pointed out, we should plead with God to send labors to do the same for those around us.

I was convicted by the word "earnestly" in Jesus' command to prayer. Let's resolve to pray earnestly for workers!

Verses 9- 13: There was a time when I could not be in the world without being of the world. Because my righteousness was based off of my own strength and will power, not because God held my heart in His hands. This is why the Pharisees were as they were. They knew nothing of being anchored in God. They didn't know His power to protect you from sin as you reach out to sinners. They did not love God. They did not love people. They loved the appearance of righteousness.

Verses 37 & 38 stand out. When it comes to evangelizing the "lost", I fall victim to "complacency". But I pray continually for the breakage of this state of mind when it occurs so that I may revere God and glorify Him who gives "such authority to men", so I may remain obedient to His great commission.

The whole chapter is about Jesus showing compassion to those who were harassed and helpless. He then calls on His disciples to pray earnestly that the Lord of the Harvest would raise up laborers to go out into the harvest of these harassed and helpless people. Will you and I be an answer to those prayers? Will we show the compassion of Christ towards the lost?

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