RSV ~ Matthew 9 Notes

Mt 9:1 | ISB Notes

his own city: Capernaum in Galilee (cf. 4:13; Mk 2:1).

Mt 9:3 | ISB Notes

the scribes: Jewish leaders and experts in the Mosaic Law. The episode marks the beginning of a growing resistance to Jesus, which culminates in his death (16:21; 20:18; 27:4143).

blaspheming: A charge leveled at Jesus for his claim to absolve sins (cf. Lev 24:16; Jn 10:33). From the scribes’ perspective, only God can rightly forgive (Ps 103:12; Is 43:25; Mk 2:7). Moreover, this forgiveness was available only through the sacrificial system of the Temple. Jesus’ actions hence prove scandalous: he not only claims to forgive, but he does so apart from the Old Covenant system. In the end, the scribes remain unaware that Jesus has divine authority to inaugurate the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34; CCC 589).

Mt 9:6 | ISB Notes

that you may know: Since forgiveness cannot be verified by his audience, Jesus demonstrates his power by healing the man. His authority over paralysis points beyond the body— it signifies his ability to cure the soul. The OT indicates that bodily sickness is sometimes tangible evidence of sin (Ps 107:17; Is 33:24; cf. Jn 5:14; 9:2).

• Anagogically (St. Ambrose, In Luc.), the healing of the paralytic signifies the future resurrection of the faithful. The paralytic is the Christian whose sins are forgiven and who stands before God as son (9:2). When the Lord raises him (9:7), he will take up the bed of his body (9:7) and proceed to his heavenly home with God (9:6; cf. Jn 14:2-3).

Mt 9:8 | ISB Notes

authority to men: The crowd links Jesus’ authority with his power to forgive.

• Matthew’s description points forward to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. After his Resurrection, Jesus invests other men (apostles) with this same power to forgive sins in his name (Jn 20:23; cf. Mt 18:18; CCC 1441, 1444).

Mt 9:9 | ISB Notes

the tax office: Collecting taxes in the territory of Herod Antipas (Galilee) involved frequent contact with Gentiles. Many religious Jews thus despised the occupation, considering tax collectors socially equivalent to “sinners” (9:10; 11:19) and Gentiles (18:17). Undeterred by this religious and cultural convention, Jesus invites Matthew to break with his livelihood and follow him. Matthew’s former life as a sinner only increased his need to be a disciple.

Mt 9:13 | ISB Notes

I desire mercy: Jesus challenges the Pharisees with Hos 6:6 (12:7). Understanding the prophet’s message will explain Jesus’ fellowship with “those who are sick” (9:12).

• Hosea addressed the Northern Kingdom of Israel and declared them sick and wounded by sin (Hos 5:13). Their rebellion against Yahweh (Hos 4:1-2), their rejection of the Jerusalem Temple, and their preference for idolatrous sacrifices (Hos 4:13-14; 8:11-13; 13:2) made this sickness deadly. The real tragedy is that Yahweh appointed Israel to be a physician to the nations, yet Israel acted irresponsibly and so contracted the very illness (idolatry) they were supposed to eradicate. Jesus cites Hosea to make an implied comparison between the prophet’s sinful contemporaries and his own critical opponents, the Pharisees. Just as the Northern Kingdom of Israel rejected the royal son of David (the Judean king) to sacrifice to idols, so the Pharisees have rejected the messianic Son of David (Jesus) in preference to the sacrificial and purity regulations of the Mosaic Law. By eating with sinners and tax collectors—whom the Pharisees considered unclean and untouchable—Jesus claims to fulfill Israel’s original vocation by reaching out to the sick with divine mercy. See note on Mt 5:20.

not to call the righteous: Jesus came, not to perpetuate the Old Covenant, but to inaugurate the New Covenant of forgiveness (Jer 31:31-34). His frequent fellowship with sinners was central to this healing work (9:12).

Mt 9:15 | ISB Notes

the bridegroom: A depiction of Jesus found elsewhere in Matthew (25:1-13). See note on Mk 2:19.

• Similar OT imagery depicts Yahweh as the husband of Old Covenant Israel (Is 54:5; Jer 3:20; Hos 2:14-20). Jesus takes this role upon himself and is now the divine spouse of the New Covenant Church (Jn 3:29; Eph 5:25; Rev 19:7-9; CCC 796).

The days will come: Only after Jesus’ departure (Passion and Ascension) is fasting appropriate (cf. 6:16).

Mt 9:16 | ISB Notes

an old garment: An image of the Old Covenant. It suggests that Jesus viewed it as a “worn out” piece of clothing ready to be cast off.

• According to Ps 102:26, the Old Covenant world was scheduled to “wear out like a garment” (cf. Heb 1:10-12; Is 65:17; Rev 21:1).

Mt 9:17 | ISB Notes

new wine … old wineskins: Fermenting wine is accompanied by a build-up of pressure. If kept in skins already used and dried out, the wine would certainly burst them. Jesus thus illustrates the impossibility of inaugurating the New Covenant while maintaining the Old. The abundance of New Covenant grace cannot be contained within the structures of the Old Covenant (cf. Jn 1:16). A new kingdom is needed to contain it—one fashioned to endure for ever.

Mt 9:18 | ISB Notes

a ruler: Mark 5:22 and Lk 8:41 refer to him as “Jairus”, head of the local Capernaum synagogue.

Mt 9:20 | ISB Notes

fringe of his garment: According to the Mosaic Law, Israelites were instructed to wear “tassels on the corners of their garments” (Num 15:38; cf. Mt 14:36; 23:5). These were outward reminders to follow God’s commandments.

Mt 9:27 | ISB Notes

Son of David: A messianic title for Jesus, used eight times in Matthew. It is sometimes linked with Jesus’ healings and exorcisms (20:30-34; CCC 439). See note on Mt 12:23.

Mt 9:36 | ISB Notes

compassion: Those needing spiritual and physical ’ healing lie close to Jesus’ heart (14:14; 15:32; 20:34).

like sheep without a shepherd: A familiar OT simile.

• Sheep often represent the people of Israel (1 Kings 22:17; Jud 11:19; Jer 23:1-3; Zech 10:2). Shepherd imagery is used for Israel’s spiritual leaders. (1) Joshua was Moses’ successor and the “shepherd” of Israel (Num 27:17). (2) David was elected to “shepherd” Israel as its king (2 Sam 5:2-3). (3) In Ezek 34, God himself promised to set “one shepherd” (Ezek 34:23) over his people to feed and protect them as a new Davidic king (Ezek 34:23-24; cf. Jer 23:1-6). Jesus draws on these to illustrate his own role as the Shepherd and King of the restored Israel, the Church (25:31-34; Jn 10:16; 1 Pet 2:25).

Mt 9:37 | ISB Notes

the laborers are few: Anticipates the following narrative, where Jesus chooses the apostles as laborers to shepherd the “lost sheep” of Israel (10:6; cf. Jer 23:4; Mt 15:24).