Matthew 9.

1-13
Laurens Pruis

Translation
1. And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city.
2. And see, they brought a paralytic to him who was lying on a bed. And when Jesus
saw their faith he said to the paralytic: “Take courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
3. And see, some of the scribes said to themselves: “This one is blaspheming.”
4. And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said: “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?
5. For what is easier, saying: “Your sins are forgiven,” or saying, “Stand up and walk”?
6. But in order that you might know that the Son of Man has the authority on the earth to
forgive sins,—he said to the paralytic—stand up, pick up your bed and go home.”
7. And he stood up and went home.
8. But when the crowds saw, they feared, and glorified the God who gave such authority
to men.
9. And when Jesus went on from there, he saw a man sitting in a toll house called
Matthew, and he said to him: “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10. And it happened as he was reclining in his house, and see, many tax collectors and
sinners had come and reclined with Jesus and his disciples.
11. And when the Pharisees saw, they said to his disciples: “Why does your teacher eat
with tax collectors and sinners?”
12. But when he heard them, he said: “Not those who are healthy need a doctor, but those
who are sick.
13. But go ahead and learn what it is: “I want mercy and not sacrifice”; for I did not come
to call the righteous but sinners.”

Textual Observations
9.1-2 Jesus crosses the water in a boat, presumably leaving the country of the
Gadarenes (cf. 8:28-34) and goes to his hometown. Here he encounters a
paralytic who is brought to him on his bed. After Jesus’ earlier healings, one
might expect Jesus to go ahead and simply heal this person. Instead, remarkably,
Jesus sees his faith (πίστιν) and proceeds to pronounce forgiveness over him!
This, as we also read in Mark 2:7, is something only God can do. Davis and
Allison observe: “Jesus has taken to himself a divine prerogative. He has made
himself out to be more than an intermediary. He has acted not as a channel of
forgiveness but as its source.”1
The two ‘see’ verbs here (ἰδοὺ/ἰδὼν)—the first drawing the reader to consider
the paralytic being brought to Jesus and the second describing Jesus seeing their
faith—seem to draw attention to an interesting reality: where most see the
physical reality of a paralyzed man, Jesus sees the spiritual reality of faith.
He is seeing and doing things only God can do.
9.3-4 The next ‘ἰδοὺ’ in our text draws our attention to the scribes, who pick up on the
fact that Jesus is appropriating divine actions to himself. Therefore, they
consider Jesus’ words to be blasphemous. Once again, Jesus, “seeing their
thoughts” (ἰδὼν), is perceiving something invisible to the naked eye—something
only God can do. He calls them out and describes their thoughts as evil
(πονηρὰ).
9.5-7 The logic of Jesus’ rhetorical question here seems to be as follows: Telling a
1
W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint
Matthew, vol. 2, International Critical Commentary (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 91.
 paralytic to stand up and walk is harder to say than pronouncing the forgiveness
of sin. Why? Because it can immediately and objectively be verified. This does
not mean that forgiving sin is easier. The double use of the infinitive of “to say”
(εἰπεῖν) seems to confirm this reading.
9.8 The fifth time Matthew uses the verb “to see” in this short story is concerning
the crowds. They see (ἰδόντες) all this happen and as a result fear (ἐφοβήθησαν),
and give praise to God. They realize the point Jesus has made earlier; this
authority (ἐξουσίαν) is given to the man (cf. ἀνθρώποις) Jesus. Yet, there might
be a hint that they have missed the deeper reality of what this means for Jesus’
identity (more on this below); he who was given such authority is no mere man.
9.9 After Jesus demonstrates his multi-faceted authority, both to forgive sins and to
heal, his authority is seen once more. This time in calling a disciple to himself.
The striking simplicity and brevity makes sense in light of both Jesus’ authority
that has been on display in this triad of miracles (see more below) and the fact
that we are witnessing the call to discipleship of the author of the present gospel.
The power lies in its brevity. The author does not wish to draw too much
attention to himself; this verse is mainly a stepping stone into the lesson we learn
about Christ in the next verses.
9.10-11 At first consideration, Jesus seems to be hosting these outcasts in his own house
(ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ). Yet, in conjunction with the calling of Matthew, considering the
synoptic parallels (cf. Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29), it is more likely that this episode
occurs in Matthew’s house. Regardless, the Pharisees are struck by the fact that
Jesus is eating with such unclean sinners and traitors.
9.12-13 Jesus’ response brings us to the climax of this small episode on Jesus’ disciple-
making efforts. Like a doctor is concerned for the sick, he has come to call
sinners, not righteous people. How must we understand the use of righteous
here? One of the possible interpretations Allison and Davies mention is the
following: “Jesus could have been saying that he came to call sinners only, it
being presupposed that everyone is a sinner (cf. 7:11; Rom. 3:9–18). The
‘righteous’ would then simply be those who failed to see that they were no better
off than everyone else (cf. Lk 18:9–14). In other words, ‘righteous’ refers to
subjective opinion, not objective fact (cf. Chrysostom, Hom. on Mt. 30:5). The
saying would contain irony.”2 Indeed, in light of Hosea 6:6 which Jesus cites
here, this reading seems to be correct (see more below).

Structure of Matthew 8.1-9.35

A. Three Miracles: Jesus Fulfills the Scriptures 8.1-17
Bridge: Following Christ (ἀκολούθει) 8.18-22
B. Three Miracles: Who is Jesus? 8.23-9.17
1. Authority over the Storm—Who is this? 8.23-27
2. Authority over Demons—Son of God 8.28-34
3. Authority to Forgive Sins—Son of Man 9.1-8
Bridge: Matthew Follows Christ (ἀκολούθει) and Fasting 9.9-17
C. Three Miracles: Jesus’ Fame Spreads 9.18-34

Narrative Analysis

2
Davies and Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 2,
107.
 - In the larger context of chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew’s Gospel, in which we find three
triads of miracle-stories with two brief intermissions, the healing of the paralytic
seems to be chiefly about Jesus’ identity and authority. As one can see in the structure
of Matthew 8.1-9.35 outlined above, this story concludes the middle triad of miracle
stories which focus on Jesus’ identity. Jesus shows his sovereign authority over the
winds and the sea as he saves his people—something God does (cf. Ps. 107:28-30)—
which prompts the question: “Of what kind is this one?” (ποταπός ἐστιν οὗτος; Matt.
8:27). The answer seems to follow in the next story. The demons, whom no mere
human being dared to approach (8:28), declare in fear that he is the Son of God (8:29)
who has come to judge them! Our story follows on the heels of this and adds Jesus
own designation to the equation: He is the Son of Man prophesied in Daniel 7 who
has the authority to forgive sins, once again something only God can do (see more
below).
- Therefore, taking the two stories of our text together as one, we might phrase the main
point of our passage like this: Jesus is the (divine) Son of Man, who, having the
authority to forgive sins, calls sinners to himself and fellowships with them.
- It is clear that the Scribes and Pharisees totally miss the point, but the crowds seem to
misunderstand Jesus as well. Even though they marvel at the display of authority
(ἐξουσίαν; 9:8), they do not pick up on the allusion to Daniel 7 (see below).
- In the larger context of Matthew, however, it is significant that the crowds are
praising God. In Matthew 5:16 we read Jesus saying: “Let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good works and give glory (δοξάσωσιν) to your
Father who is in heaven.” Jesus’ good works here indeed lead the crowds to give
glory (ἐδόξασαν) to God.

Canonical Significance
Daniel 7: The Son of Man’s Authority
- As mentioned multiple times above, Jesus is alluding to Daniel 7:13-14 in our
passage. Considers the following parallels:

Jesus, “the Son of Man” (ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου),

“has authority” (ἐξουσίαν ἔχει),
to forgive sins “on the earth” (ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς).

In Daniel 7, one like a “Son of Man” (ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου; LXX)

descends from heaven and “was given authority” (ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία)
over all the nations of “the earth” (τῆς γῆς).

The presence of the theme of heaven and earth in the Gospel of Matthew seems to
strengthen this connection, as Jesus is the one coming from heaven to bring the
Kingdom of Heaven to earth.
- This allusion is significant, as it reveals something extremely significant about Jesus’
identity: he is the one like a Son of Man described in Daniel 7. The figure in Daniel 7
ushers in the eschatological reign and Kingdom of God on the earth: He is the
mediator of this reality. In other words, the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus has been
announcing is the eschatological kingdom of Daniel 7. It is no surprise, then, that
Jesus will continue to use this enigmatic title to refer to himself throughout the Gospel
of Matthew.

Psalm 103:3: Forgiveness & Healing

 - In light of Psalm 103:3, Jesus’ claim to divinity here becomes even more explicit. The
Psalmist writes, speaking of Yahweh: “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all
your diseases”. We see Jesus performing both of these divine prerogatives in our text!
The Psalm continues to speak of Yahweh’s character as merciful and forgiving, One
who remembers that humans are dust (see 103:11-14). This is exactly the picture we
get of Jesus in both of the stories in our text! Jesus is the exact imprint of the God of
Psalm 103.

The Minor Prophets: Mercy, not Sacrifice

- As Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their disdain for him and the sinners whom he is
eating with, he addresses them with a prophetic rebuke from Hosea 6:6: “I want
mercy and not sacrifice”. The prophets, concerned with calling Israel back to
covenant loyalty, repeatedly make this point. Disobedient Israel might offer sacrifices,
but they are worthless if they are not paired with true faith and repentance. They do
not function as indulgences or fines for wrong behavior. Micah 6:7-8 makes a similar
point: “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers
of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin
of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” The
point is not that God changed his mind on sacrifices, but rather that Israel has missed
the point of the sacrifices! They regard them as external, perhaps mystical, rituals that
might appease the deity, instead of understanding them as a gracious means and
invitations for sinners to walk humbly with God in covenant loyalty.
- This helps us understand why Jesus rebukes them in this way. Indeed, as suggested
above, he does not believe the Pharisees are the ‘healthy righteous ones’ who do not
need a doctor, who do not need Jesus. He seems to point out that the Pharisees think
they are righteous because of their outward, ritual obedience to the law. Yet, in
reality, they are like Old Testament Israel who received these prophetic rebukes
because of their sin. “The Pharisees are castigated because their objections show that
despite their concern with external ritual their hearts are far from the God they think
they honour.”3

Application
Fallen Condition
- In our passage, the issue of sin repeatedly raises its head. The fact that Jesus starts
speaking of the paralytic’s faith and the forgiveness of sin, even though we might
naturally first deal with his paralysis, underlines the severity of sin. Ultimately, the
paralytic’s greatest problem is not his paralysis, but his sin. Besides the paralytic, we
read of many more sinners in our passage. And lest we think the people who look
righteous on the outside are sinless; Jesus calls them out and points out they are very
much sinful, too. Whether we like it or not and acknowledge it or not, we are sinners
in the sight of God. We have miserably failed his standard and deserve judgment.
Whether we are sick or healthy, outwardly religious or openly sinful, our biggest
problem is our sin.

Redemptive Solution
- Yet, as our passage so beautifully shows, Jesus has come to solve our biggest
problem, to heal our greatest disease. He has the authority to forgive sins, and he is
3
Davies and Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 2,
105.
 willing to do so for all who acknowledge their lowly state and put their faith in him!
As we will learn later, he ultimately accomplishes our forgiveness through his death
and resurrection, being the final and all-sufficient sacrifice for sin. He is the Son of
Man who ushers in the Kingdom of Heaven and calls wretched sinners to feast with
him!

Virtue Formation
- This passage calls us to fight against the human tendency to merely appear religious
and righteous, while looking down on those who are openly and outwardly sinful.
Instead, it reminds us that we are all sinners in need of mercy and calls us to be
merciful with sinners who sin in different and more severe ways than us. We are to be
people who are quick to forgive, cultivating humble and merciful hearts. Moreover,
we are to be people who are willing to fellowship and associate with repentant sinners
and social outcasts, even if this might result in a loss of reputation.