The Book of Matthew
Matthew was taught by Dr. James Modlish

CHAPTER NINE

9:1 Jesus enters a ship (the good ship of Zion) because of rejection (8:34), passes over a body of water and goes to His own city, which is located somewhere else. This compelled me to look at other travels of Jesus in a ship.

[1]. (8:23) - 1st advent.
    (a). A ship is a method of conveyance over the great deep, and Jesus calls fishermen first to follow Him, (4:18-22).
    (b). Following Jesus can have its temperous moments, (vs. 24-27).
    (c). Jesus came to a place filled with devils, (8:28-34).

[2]. (9:1) - Ascension
    (a). Jesus goes to His own city after being rejected in (8:34).
    (b). He then concentrates on forgiving sin more than physical healing, (9:2-6).
    (c). Jesus ministry then turns to publicans and sinners, (9:9-13).
    (d). Then He plainly tells them the day is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, (9:15).

[3]. (13:3) - Rapture
    (a). The spiritual state of Israel only grows worse (12:43-45, Rom. 11).
    (b). Great multitudes were gathered together to him, (13:2).

[4]. (14:13) - Tribulation preservation.

(a). John is killed (14:10-12), John is a picture of the two witnesses in (Rev. 11:7,8).

(b). Jesus heard of it (vs. 13) - (Ex. 2:23-25).

(c). Jesus motivation is compassion.

(d). The multitude is fed in a desert place (vs. 15-21; Rev. 12:6; Mic. 7:14,15; Jer. 50:19-22; Eze. 20:35-37).

(e). After eating Jesus constrained His disciples to get into the ship, which turned out to be a scary experience for them, but Jesus comes to them on the water, Peter a Jew, asks the Lord to save him (vs. 30) and there is a general conversion (vs. 33), (Zech. 12:9-11; Rev. 10).

(f). Mid-trib appearance of Christ is made clear in (Rev. 10:1-3; Isa. 66:7-8; Mic. 5:3)

(g). Paul says he saw Christ "as one born out of due time" (1 Cor. 15:8). Paul is a picture of the remnant of Israel that is saved during the Tribulation.

(h). Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in the second year of a seven year famine. Joseph is a type of Christ is 152 ways. He is rejected by his brothers the first time and accepted the second time.

[5]. (15:39) - Magdala - 2nd Advent?

(a). Jesus comes to the home of Mary Magdaline who He cast seven devils out of (Lk. 8:2).

(b). So this could be a picture of the Millennium when the devil is locked up in the bottomless pit.

(c). However in (Mk. 8:10-13), Jesus leaves again with a boat load of disciples, which could be a picture of a Tribulation rapture for the 2nd Advent is a horse not a ship.

9:2

[1]. Palsy is a muscle disorder, like Bells Palsy.

[2]. Sickness is connected to sin, not necessarily his own, but a sin nature.

[3]. "Son" is a strange address give to a sick man from a 30-31 year old man, unless the speaker is more than human.

9:3

[1]. Blasphemy is the charge brought against Christ at His final hearing (Matt. 26:65; Jn. 19:7). Those making the charge were guilty of it, (Matt. 12:31,32).

[2]. In (vs. 5) Jesus offers the proof of the pudding by doing what they could not do - so in the face of scientific evidence they reject all evidence that Jesus is God. The trouble is the heart, not the head.

[3]. "Son of Man" in (vs. 6) is used nowhere in the Pauline epistles because it is specifically connected with Christ's earthly ministry to Israel (see Eze. 1-6).

9:9-10

[1]. This Matthew is the author of the gospel and is called "Levi" in (Mk. 2:14 and Lk. 5:29). Luke makes it clear that Matthew was one of the publicans at the feast.

[2]. The custom was taxes levied on the Jews by Rome. Jesus never failed to pay it (17:27), although He was accused of it (Lk. 23:2). It was a bone of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees, (Matt. 22:15-17).

9:11-13

[1]. The Pharisees were inclined to consider sinners to be only from a lower social order and didn't consider sin to be envy, laziness, exaggerations, gluttons, self-righteousness, pride, deceit, stubbornness, and rejection of Truth.

[2]. The proverb on the physician debunks the idea that physicians are the devil. Luke is called the "beloved physician" (Col. 4:14). Medicine is recommended in both Testaments (Prov. 17:22; Matt. 8:17).

[3]. "Go ye and learn what that meaneth" is a reference to (Hos. 6:6). The idea is God has always emphasized mercy more than sacrifice, i.e.,

(a). When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he said nothing about sacrifice, (Ex. 15:26).

(b). When He did say something about it, it was voluntary, (Lev. 1:2,3).

(c). The Passover lamb was not offered as a sacrifice, but as a feast to commemorate mercy and grace.

(d). Jesus instructs some very self-righteous people to learn about that!

9:14,15 From here on, the ministry of our Lord is marked by constant questions of religious controversy. On this occasion, it was fasting.

[1]. Fasting was not found as a commandment anywhere in the Old Testament, but rather it was a voluntary practice among people who were going through deep times of testing and trouble. Many times it was malpractice, (Isa. 58:3-6; Zech. 7:5,6).

[2]. "Children of the bride chamber" is a reference to Israel in one of two positions; either as Jehovah's bride, with God as the Bridegroom (Isa. 62:4,5: Hos. 1-3; Jer. 3:1-8), or to Israel as attendants on Christ as Bridegroom with his bride, the church (Eph. 5:23-33, Jn. 3:29).

At this point, the meaning is veiled, but both applications were manifest later after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and He was taken from them (Jn. 14:28). Where did the tradition ever come from that the groom is not supposed to see the bride the day of the wedding until she comes down the aisle. A time of separation. After Christ was taken away they began to fast, (Acts 13:1-3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 11:27). Prophetically, Israel is fasting, weeping and wailing in the Tribulation, after Christ comes and catches His bride out; the virgins of the Tribulation will attend the Bridegroom when He returns. (Psa. 45; Song. 6:8-10; Matt. 25:1-8)

9:18,19 Jesus never refused worship as the natural and right thing. That makes Him God or an impostor. The NIV says "knelt before" not worship. Could it be its translators are opposed to worship of Christ?

[1]. Notice worship is connected with believing in Jesus ability to do anything.

[2]. In (Matt. 14:33), it's connected with believing Jesus Christ it the Son of God.

[3]. In (Jn. 9:38), it's associated with believing in his presence.

...but in all cases it has to do with believing an unbelieving heart cannot worship Christ. (vs. 20-22)

Missing details are in (Mk. 5:25-31).

[1]. The problem is a blood problem, (Mk. 5:29) calls it a plague. Ziare plague.
[2]. The sin plague that infects the blood cannot be healed by physicians.
[3]. The woman was afflicted 12 years (vs. 20) and the dead maid (same chapter) was 12 years old (Mk. 5:42). Since the #12 has to do with Israel, these events undoubtedly have a prophetic application to the future healing and resurrection of Israel. The Lord is always demonstrating more than the obvious.

9:13-26 Again (Mk. 5:35-43) provides details that Matt. omits.

[1]. This is the daughter of dead religious - their problem is believing (Mk. 5:36).

[2]. Peter, James and John, as on the Mount of Transfiguration, accompanied Jesus. Both occasions type the 2nd Advent. (Hos. 6:1,2).

[3]. Religion's professional mourners (minstrels vs. 23) look very sentimonious, but laugh at the power of Jesus words.

[4]. The scorners are ultimately put out - (Prov. 1:22-23)

9:27-31

[1]. "Son of David" indicates that the common people are beginning to recognize Jesus as the long promised Messiah.

[2]. The result of the recognition is Jesus goes into the "house."

[3]. Sight comes as a result of faith.

[4]. "See that no man know it" - revelation is on a time clock.

9:32-34

[1]. Some physical problems can be caused by spiritual forces, however it can go either way as in (Mk. 7:31-37).

[2]. "It was never so seen in Israel" finds amplification in (11:4,5).

[3]. The Pharisees lack of ability to do the same is defended with the idea that Jesus did these miracles through the power of the devil, which is interestingly from the standpoint that there has been a long standing belief that the Devil has that power.

9:35

[1]. Jesus taught an preached - both are essential.

[2]. This Gospel of the kingdom could not possibly be the same Gospel of (1 Cor. 15:1-4. See Gal. 1:8,9).

[3]. The Gospel of the kingdom is a Tribulation message preceding the 2nd Advent (Matt. 24:14).

9:36-38

[1]. The Shepherd - Sheep reference is a fulfillment of (Eze. 34) (see vs. 1-5), and is primarily concerned with Israel's condition at the time of both Advents.

[2]. The literal interpretation concerning the harvest is a literal harvest of Israel during the Tribulation, (Rev. 14:14-16).

[3]. That we can transcend the application to us in a spiritual way is verified in (Jn. 4:35), spoken while Jesus was in Samaria.

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