MattheW 10:2 | 1549 house and saw the noisy crowd and peo ple playing pipes , 24 he said , “ Go away . The girl is not dead but asleep .” But they laughed at him . 25 Af ter the crowd had been put out side , he went in and took the girl by the hand , and she got up . 26 News of this spread through all that re gion .
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
27
As Jesus went on from there , two blind men fol lowed him , call ing out , “ Have mer cy on us , Son of Da vid !”
28
When he had gone in doors , the blind men came to him , and he asked them , “ Do you be lieve that I am able to do this ?” “ Yes , Lord ,” they re plied .
29
Then he touched their eyes and said , “ Ac cording to your faith let it be done to you ”; 30 and their sight was re stored . Jesus warned them stern ly , “ See that no one knows about this .” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that re gion .
32
While they were go ing out , a man who was de mon-pos sessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus . 33 And when the de mon was driv en out , the man who had been mute spoke . The crowd was amazed and said , “ Noth ing like this has ever been seen in Is ra el .”
34
But the Phar i sees said , “ It is by the prince of de mons that he drives out de mons .”
The Workers Are Few
35
Jesus went through all the towns and vil lag es , teach ing in their syn a gogues , pro claim ing the good news of the king dom and heal ing ev ery disease and sick ness . 36 When he saw the crowds , he had com pas sion on them , be cause they were ha rassed and help less , like sheep with out a shepherd . 37 Then he said to his dis ci ples , “ The har vest is plen ti ful but the work ers are few . 38 Ask the Lord of the har vest , there fore , to send out work ers into his har vest field .”
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10:2-4pp — Mk 3:16-19 ; Lk 6:14-16 ; Ac 1:13 10:9-15pp — Mk 6:8-11 ; Lk 9:3-5 ; 10:4-12 10:19-22pp — Mk 13:11-13 ; Lk 21:12-17 10:26-33pp — Lk 12:2-9 10:34,35pp — Lk 12:51-53
10
Jesus called his twelve dis ci ples to him and gave them au thor i ty to drive out im pure spir its and to heal ev ery dis ease and sick ness .
2
These are the names of the twelve apos tles : first , Si mon ( who is called Pe ter ) and his broth er vv . 18 – 19 . the noisy crowd and people playing pipes Participants in a funeral . Burial in first-century Palestine took place soon after death , so the presence of these mourners indicates that the process is already underway . 9:24 asleep Jesus is not denying the fact of the girl ’ s condition as much as the finality of it . Sleep is a euphemism for death elsewhere in the Bible ( e . g ., Da 12:2 ; Jn 11:11 – 12 ; Ac 7:60 ; 13:36 ; 1Co 15:6 ). 9:25 took the girl by the hand Touching a corpse rendered a person ceremonially unclean , but Jesus is not concerned with that ( Nu 19:11 ; compare Mt 8:3 and note ). got up The Greek verb used here , egeirō , is also used to describe Jesus ’ resurrection ( 28:6 – 7 ).
9:27 – 31 Jesus ’ ministry of healing continues with two blind men receiving their sight .
9:27 Son of David A Messianic title meaning “ descendant of King David ” ( see note on 1:1 ; compare 12:23 ; 15:22 ; 20:30 ; 21:9,15 ; 22:42 ). 9:30 See that no one knows Despite Jesus ’ apparent desire to keep a low profile , his call for secrecy is not obeyed . Once these men experience the good news , they cannot keep it to themselves .
9:32 – 34 Jesus again asserts his authority over the spirit realm ( compare 8:28 – 32 ) and causes all of Israel to marvel at his deeds .
9:34 It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons Jesus later shows the absurdity of this statement ( see 12:22 – 32 ).
9:35 – 38 These final verses summarize Jesus ’ ministry ( compare 4:23 ). They also set up the next chapter , in which Jesus sends out his disciples .
9:36 like sheep without a shepherd Jesus ’ compassion for the people was intensified by the lack of leadership to help them ( compare Jn 10:1 – 18 ; Eze 34 ). Without a shepherd , sheep are prone to wander and vulnerable to danger . The Old Testament often portrays Israel as God ’ s flock and the nation ’ s leaders as shepherds — who failed in their responsibility to look after for the sheep ( e . g ., Nu 27:17 ; 2Sa 5:2 ; Isa 56:11 ; Jer 10:21 ).
10:1 – 15 Matthew 9 ends with the need for laborers for God ’ s harvest ; ch . 10 begins with Jesus commissioning his disciples ( compare Mk 6:7 – 13 ; Lk 9:1 – 6 ). Matthew records the names of Jesus ’ twelve primary disciples — later called apostles — as well as his instructions for spreading the message of the kingdom of heaven .
10:1 called his twelve disciples to him So far , Matthew has described the calling of only five disciples ( Mt 4:18 – 22 ; 9:9 ). Jesus had many followers , but these were his leaders — those whom he commissioned to build his church . 10:2 the twelve apostles Matthew initially refers to this group as disciples . Here , he calls them “ apostles ”— those who are sent out with the authority of the sender ( Jesus ). No explicit reason is given here for the choice of twelve disciples , but it may have been in part to reflect the fact that there were twelve tribes of Israel . Matthew later presents the twelve disciples as Israel ’ s new leaders ( 19:28 ). See the table “ The Twelve Apostles ” on p . 1550 . first Rather than identifying Simon as the leader of the Twelve , this term simply designates the starting point of the list . Simon ( who is called Peter ) Simon is his Hebrew name , while Peter is his Greek name ( see 4:18 ; 16:17 – 18 ). Elsewhere , Biblical writers refer to him by his Aramaic name , Cephas ( e . g ., Jn 1:42 ; 1Co 1:12 ; Gal 2:9 ). Simon and the next three disciples listed ( Andrew , James and John ) were mentioned earlier in Matthew ( Mt 4:18,21 ). Andrew This is the last mention of Andrew