- Matthew 9:11-15
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- Mat 9:11 (KJB)
- And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why
eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
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- No doubt the Pharisees had seen this group enter the house of Matthew
and it would have seemed normal to them since all the guests were publicans
and sinners but then they saw Jesus eating with them and the disciples were
questioned by them. They wanted to know why Jesus was associating, and even
worse, being seen in public with this crowd. They wanted to know why He was
eating with them? They did not know that Matthew had just become a disciple
and wanted to tell all his friends and co-workers the good news.
(Mat
21:31 KJV) Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto
him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the
publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
The Pharisees because of their arrogance and pride had sentenced themselves
to eternal damnation.
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- Mat 9:12 (KJB)
- But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick.
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- Then Jesus overheard their question and responded quickly. He used the
example of if a person is healthy, why would they go to a doctor? Only when
a person becomes sick should they go see a doctor. The basic premise here is
that those who are sick need a doctor just as those who are sinners need a
Savior. In other words, everyone needs a Savior including the Pharisees.
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- Mat 9:13 (KJB)
- 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.
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- (Hosea 6:6 KJV) For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. The
phrase “go ye and learn” was a not a rebuke but was a rabbinic expression
for “go and study.” Jesus was directing the Pharisees to the Hebrew
Scriptures with which they should have been familiar with. The Pharisees had
placed ritual and ceremony above everything, even to the excluding of having
mercy upon someone. The whole essence of the ministry of Jesus was to have
mercy on the sinners who became saved. He came to call them to repentance,
that is, to salvation. In Hosea 6:6, the Scripture was teaching that God had
desired mercy rather than cold sacrifices. God would rather His people show
mercy to others, even without a sacrifice to God. His people would be
mirroring His attributes more with mercy than a burnt sacrifice. The burnt
sacrifice comes from the outside of man while mercy comes from the heart of
man. (Micah 6:8 KJV) He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and
what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and
to walk humbly with thy God? When Jesus speaks about
not calling the righteous, he may have those in mind who are already saved
and He may have implied that those who are “self-righteous” and do not think
they need a Savior.
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- Mat 9:14 (KJB)
- Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the
Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
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- Apparently even after John was thrown into prison, some of his disciples
had stayed together in a group.
(Mark 2:18 KJV) And the disciples
of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him,
Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples
fast not? This little feast in Matthew’s house had
probably been planned on a day of fasting when both the Pharisees and the
disciples of John would fast. The Pharisees would fast on Monday and
Thursday. So this even may have occurred on one of those days. The disciples
of John had approached Jesus directly on the question of fasting. They
wanted to know why they and the Pharisees fast but His disciples do not
fast. It is the difference between freedom in Christ and a religious system.
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- Mat 9:15 (KJB)
- And 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.
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- They normal length of a Jewish wedding lasted seven days and during that
time, the guests were normally excused from the more serious religious
obligations.
(Isa 54:5 KJV) For thy Maker is thine husband; the
LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God
of the whole earth shall he be called. The time for
fasting in a preparatory sense has passed because now is the time of
fulfillment. Jesus will be the husband and the body of believers will be the
bride of Christ. This is why there is no mourning or fasting on the part of
the disciples because the time of fulfillment of all the prophecies of the
past has come. Jesus then states there will come a time when the disciples
will fast. This will be the time when He is taken from them for three days
for the crucifixion until the resurrection. During those days, there would
be a time of mourning and fasting. Fasting was never a part of any
requirement. If a Christian fasted, it was between them and God. During the
years of the New Testament there would be fasting by the church but not by
requirement, it would be voluntary. (Acts 13:2-4 KJV) As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. {3} And when
they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them
away. {4} So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto
Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.