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Friday 9/3/21
An Invitation to the Harvest

  1And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
 2And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
 3And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
 4And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
 5For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
 6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
 7And he arose, and departed to his house.
 8But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
 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.
 18While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
 19And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
 20And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
 21For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
 22But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
 23And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
 24He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
 25But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
 26And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
 27And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
 28And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
 29Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
 30And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
 31But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
 32As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
 33And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
 34But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
 35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
 38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Matthew (Levi)
Date Penned: (60-65 AD)
Overview: Jesus Christ the King (c 1-28)
Theme: Message and Ministry of Jesus, The King (c 4-25)
Message: Jesus Performes Many Miracles - Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man (1-7) Jesus eats with sinners at Matthew's House (9-13) Religious leaders ask Jesus about fasting (14-17) Jesus heals a bleeding woman and restores a girl to life (18-26) Jesus heals the blind and mute (27-34) Jesus urges the disciples to pray for workers (35-38)

Matthew 9 Commentary
  
(9:1-8) The events in 8:28-34 had occurred on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Jesus and the disciples had gotten there by boat, 8:18, 23). The events Matthew placed at the end of chapter 8 and the beginning of chapter 9 are not in chronological sequence

(9:9-13) Matthew’s radical obedience would cause a great change in his life. He was probably very wealthy—tax collecting was a lucrative occupation—so when Matthew walked away from his booth, he snubbed Rome and a lifetime of potentially great wealth. Several of the other disciples could always return to fishing, but Matthew could never turn back.

(9:14-17) The Pharisees questioned Jesus about those with whom he had fellowship at meals. They also questioned why Jesus and his disciples feasted instead of fasting on the customary days. Jesus showed the need for joy because the Messiah had come.

(9:18-26) In this new Kingdom, joy predominates (9:15) and love in action takes the place of rigid law-keeping. Matthew followed the previous account of Jesus’ response to the questioning Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist with the account of Jesus reaching out to two more unclean people—a woman with a bleeding disorder and a dead child—healing one and raising the other to life.

(9:27-34) Matthew showed how Jesus was maligned by those who should have received him most gladly. While the Pharisees questioned, debated, and dissected Jesus, people were being healed and lives changed right in front of them. Their skepticism was based on jealousy of Jesus’ popularity. The opposition to Jesus was intensifying; Jesus was far too powerful and popular for the Pharisees’ comfort.

(9:35-38) From 9:35 through 10:42, Matthew recorded a second discourse of Jesus, focusing on mission. (The first discourse was the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in chapters 5–7.) Jesus continued to share the Good News of the Kingdom to all who would listen, and he exemplified the task and pattern his disciples would follow after his return to heaven.
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Matthew with Chapter 9. In our text today we see Jesus continuing to heal the sick, reach out to sinners, and minister to others. What catches my eye is verse 37 where Jesus says the harvest is plenteous but the labors are few. In making application the Lord is extending the invitation to believers to work in the harvest. How about you? Are you saved? Let us learn from our text today and the invitation to the harvest from our Lord so we will do His Will and minister to others.
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Sincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.