Matthew 9

Matthew 9
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Matthew 8:28-9:23 on Codex Sinaiticus (AD 330-360).
Book	Gospel of Matthew
Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Bible part	1
Category	Gospel

Matthew 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and continues the narrative about Jesus' ministry in Galilee as he ministers to the public, working miracles, and going through all the cities and towns of the area, preaching the gospel, and healing every disease.

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to parallel texts in Mark and Luke):

This chapter develops Matthew's account of the hostility which the Pharisees, (one of the sects of Second Temple Judaism), showed towards Jesus and his disciples. Following the calling of Matthew, Jesus and his disciples are invited to eat in the house (Matthew 9:13 - this is often understood to refer to Matthew's house, because in Luke 5:28 the house is clearly that of Matthew known also as Levi) and "many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples". The Pharisees in all three synoptic gospels ask the disciples why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners ("such scum" in the New Living Translation) and the question is either relayed back to Jesus or he overhears it. Jesus' reply comes in three parts:

The words to repentance are "of doubtful authority here, and more than doubtful authority in Mark 2:17; but in Luke 5:32 they are undisputed".

Verse 14 aligns both the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees in the practice of regular fasting, and contrasts this with the practice of Jesus' disciples, who appear not to fast. In Matthew's gospel it is John's disciples who ask the question, for themselves and for the Pharisees, about why Jesus' disciples do not fast. In Mark's gospel, the question is in some interpretations asked by apparently impartial observers - "some people came and asked Jesus ...".