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Matthew 9:9-17
The tax collector 9And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 14Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. |
Margin notes:
"As Jesus passed forth from thence." (9:9) - "As Jesus went on from there." Means Jesus left the place where He had just healed the paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8) "Matthew." (9:9) - The author of this Gospel. See lesson one for Matthew's biography. "Sitting at the receipt of custom." (9:9) - "Sitting at the tax office." Publicans were tax collectors, like Matthew, who manned customhouses and collected duty on imported and exported trade goods. They paid Rome for the right to collect the taxes and then paid themselves by overcharging tradesmen and keeping the difference. Couple this with the fact that they worked for the oppressive Romans meant they were not very popular with the Jewish population. "Jesus sat at meat." (9:10) - "Jesus sat at dinner." "Many publicans." (9:10) - "Many tax collectors." No doubt friends of Matthew. "They that be whole need not a physician." (9:12) - "Those that are healthy don't need a doctor." "Go ye and learn what that meaneth." (9:13) - "Go and learn what this means." "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." (9:13) - Jesus is paraphrasing Hosea 6:6 which emphasizes morality ("I will have mercy") over the rites and ceremonies (sacrificing) of Judaism. Jesus reinforces this message in verse 12:7. "Disciples of John." (9:14) - "Disciples of John the Baptist." "Can the children of the bridechamber mourn." (9:15) - "Do the friends of the bridegroom mourn?" No, they celebrate. Jesus is speaking metaphorically of His pending crucifixion. While the bridegroom (Jesus) was still with the apostles, there was joy and no need to mourn or fast. "The rent is made worse." (9:16) - "The tear is made worse." |