टीका वर्तमान में केवल अंग्रेज़ी में उपलब्ध है। हिन्दी अनुवाद प्रगति पर है।
Matthew 9 — I Will Have Mercy, and Not Sacrifice
Jesus heals the paralytic and forgives his sins. He calls Matthew the publican from the receipt of custom; eats with sinners. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The new wine and old bottles. The ruler's dead daughter; the woman with the issue of blood healed by touching His garment. Two blind men cry out — Son of David. A demoniac speaks. The harvest is plenteous, the labourers few; pray the Lord of the harvest.
“But 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.”
— Matthew 9:13
- v.1-8 The paralytic forgiven and healed
- v.9-13 Matthew called; eating with sinners
- v.14-17 New wine, old bottles
- v.18-26 Jairus's daughter; the woman with the issue
- v.27-34 Blind men, mute man
- v.35-38 The harvest is plenteous
A challenge to the religious to learn what Hosea 6:6 meant. They had become experts in sacrifice and amateurs in mercy. The God of the Old Testament prefers the merciful heart over the ritual hand.
Not the righteous, but sinners. The qualifying admission is the door. Pharisees deemed themselves righteous and were locked out; publicans deemed themselves sinners and walked in.
Daughter. Christ names her with relational tenderness. She had been an outsider by law; He places her inside His family.
Thy faith hath made thee whole. The healing flowed through her faith — not because faith has inherent power but because it connects to the One who does.
A diagnostic that has never changed. The harvest is large; the workers are few. The shortage is not in the field but in the willing.
The next verse names the response: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers. The first prayer is not for the harvest but for the workers. The harvest is the Lord's; the workers come from His sending.
Verses 37-38 give Christians their first assignment in evangelism — to pray. Before strategy, before training, the prayer is for workers. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers — including, if He wills, you. The chapter exposes a chronic problem and gives a simple first response.
Matthew 9 shows the Saviour at His most accessible — touching the sick, eating with sinners, calling tax collectors, healing the bleeding woman, raising the dead girl. Around all of it He pronounces the chapter's core: I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The chapter is His mission statement in motion.
The visible miracle authenticates the invisible one. Christ heals the body to demonstrate the authority to forgive the soul. The lesser proves the greater.
Power on earth to forgive sins — a divine claim. The scribes were right that only God forgives sins of others; their error was missing the God who was speaking.