Matthew 9
One day Jesus saw a man sitting, in the place where taxes were collected from the people, and He said to that man. as He had to the fishermen, “Follow Me”, and the man left his work and went with Jesus.
Men who collected taxes were called “publicans”; they were not liked by the rest of the Jewish people, because the taxes were for the nation which ruled over them. But Jesus knew this publan believed in Him.
This man had two names, Matthew and Levi, most often called Matthew. He had probably seen Jesus before, and heard His wonderful words and knew of His great deeds, because Jesus had been much in the towns near Galilee and lived near there.
Matthew made a supper at his house in honor of Jesus, and invited his friends that they could see and hear Him. Some men thought Jesus should not eat with publicans, whom they thought were more sinful than other people. But Jesus was ready to help all who needed Him.
Later Matthew went about the land with Jesus and the other disciples, and afterward he wrote this book about what Jesus did and said But Matthew did not write about himself, only that he was a publican and that Jesus called him to follow Him. Matthew must have been a careful, accurate man, to have collected the money for the strict Roman ruler. He must have listened carefully to Jesus’ words, and he was the one God used to explain for the Jewish people that Jesus came as Son of David, their rightful King.
In the same town where Matthew lived, there was a little girl who was very sick. Her father was a leader in the synagogue, the building where the scriptures were kept, and where they were read to the people. Perhaps this ruler had heard Jesus read the Scriptures, and had seen people He had cured, for he believed Jesus could cure his little daughter, and he also believed Jesus had come from God, for when he came to ask Jesus to heal her, he worshiped Him.
Jesus started on the way to the ruler’s home, but before they reached there, a, messenger came to tell the ruler that his little daughter had died (Mark 5:3535While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? (Mark 5:35)). Jesus came to the house, and the friends were mourning that the girl was dead. But Jesus went to the bed where she was laid. He took her hand, and by His power she arose, alive again.
The friends who had seen that she was dead, wondered greatly at the power of Jesus, and told about this in all the country. The father and mother and that young girl must often have seen Jesus afterward, and how they must have loved and honored Him!
The same day the girl was raised to life, while Jesus was walking with crowds of people close to Him, a woman who had suffered from a sickness a long time, came and touched the hem of His garment, and was made well. All these were wonderful miracles which no one else could do. There were so many persons cured, that each one is not told of.
ML 03/21/1943