What Jesus Did

[After pointing out that wedding guests do not fast, Jesus continued:] "Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved."


—Matthew 9:16-17 NLT

Key Thought​

None of us...

 

[After Jesus heard the Pharisees criticize him for eating with tax collectors and other sinners, he said,] "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

—Matthew 9:13 NLT

Key Thought​

God has never wanted to condemn. That has never been his purpose. His Old Testament laws were meant to distinguish the Israelites as his people...

 

[After Jesus called Matthew to follow him], Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?"
When Jesus heard this, he said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor — sick people do."


—Matthew 9:10-12 NLT

Key Thought​

It's one thing to minister to the outcasts and sinners in public preaching...

 

One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why don't your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?"
Jesus replied, "Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."


—Matthew 9:14-15 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus wanted John's disciples, along with his own disciples, to realize that while he was with them, it was a time of joy. It was not a time of...

 

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

—Matthew 9:9 NLT

Key Thought​

Not only does Jesus have the authority to forgive sins, he also has the authority to call sinners to follow him. Fortunately, some respond with a change of heart and behavior and follow. A classic example is Matthew, the tax collector — tax collectors in Jesus day were...

 

Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven."
But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, "That's blasphemy! Does he think he's God?"


—Matthew 9:1-3 NLT

Key Thought​

True friends are friends that help us find Jesus and let him minister to our needs and brokenness. Like the...

 

[After the demons left the men and went into the pigs, the] herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

—Matthew 8:33-34 NLT

Key Thought​

The status quo is very powerful! We would rather things not change if they are going to threaten us or our livelihood, even though that change might mean something better for others. We would...

 

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons [in the two men Jesus encountered after crossing the lake] begged, "If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs."
"All right, go!" Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.


—Matthew 8:30-32 NLT

Key Thought​

Two truths are powerfully illustrated by these verses...

 

When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.
They began screaming at him, "Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God's appointed time?"


—Matthew 8:28-29 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus is in foreign territory. This is a region of the Gentiles — the other side of the lake...

 

Jesus responded, "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
The disciples were amazed. "Who is this man?" they asked. "Even the winds and waves obey him!"


—Matthew 8:26-27 NLT

Key Thought​

There is nothing that can stand in the way of Jesus. No enemy has the power — he simply casts out demons. No teacher or skeptic can stump him with a question. No disease can withstand his call for...