Matthew 9:16

_THEN CAME TO HIM THE DISCIPLES OF JOHN, SAYING, WHY DO WE AND THE PHARISEES FAST OFT, BUT THY DISCIPLES FAST_ _ NOT?_ No JFB commentary on these verses....

16._And no man putteth a piece of fresh cloth. _He supports the preceding statement by two comparisons, one of which is taken from _garments, _and the other from vessels of _wine _Those who think that he compares worn-out garments and decayed bottles to the Pharisees, and new wine and fresh cloth to the doctrine of the gospel, have no probability on their side. The comparison is beautifully adapted to the matter in hand, if we explain it as referring to the weak and tender disciples of Christ, and to a discipline more strict than they were able to bear. Nor is it of any consequence that the idea of being _old _does not agree with scholars who were only commencing: for, when Christ compares his disciples to _old bottles _and _torn garments, _he does not mean that they were wasted by long use, but that they were weak and wanted strength. The amount of the statement is, that all must not be...

14-17 John was at this time in prison; his circumstances, his character, and the nature of the message he was sent to deliver, led those who were peculiarly attached to him, to keep frequent fasts. Christ referred them to John's testimony of him, John 3:29. Though there is no doubt that Jesus and his disciples lived in a spare and frugal manner, it would be improper for his disciples to fast while they had the comfort of his presence. When he is with them, all is well. The presence of the sun makes day, and its absence produces night. Our Lord further reminded them of common rules of prudence. It was not usual to take a piece of rough woolen cloth, which had never been prepared, to join to an old garment, for it would not join well with the soft, old garment, but would tear it further, and the rent would be made worse. Nor would men put new wine into old leathern bottles, which were goi...

Verse Matthew 9:16. _NO MAN PUTTETH A PIECE OF NEW CLOTH_] Ουδεις δε επιβαλλει επιβλημα ρακους αγναφου επι ιματιω παλαιω. _No man_ _putteth a patch of unscoured cloth upon an old garment_. This is the most literal translation I can give of this verse, to convey its meaning to those who cannot consult the original. ρακος αγναφον is that cloth which has not been scoured, or which has not passed under the hand of the _fuller_, who is called γναφευς in Greek: and επιβλημα signifies a _piece put on_, or what we commonly term a _patch_. _IT - TAKETH FROM THE GARMENT_] Instead of _closing_ up the rent, it makes a larger, by tearing away with it the whole breadth of the cloth over which it was laid; αιρει γαρ το πληρωμα αυτου - _it taketh_ _its fulness or whole breadth from the garment_; this I am persuaded is the meaning

THEN CAME THE DISCIPLES OF JOHN ... - This narrative is found also in Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33. The reference here is to John the Baptist. It is probable that they had understood that John was the forerunner of the Messiah; and if such was the case, they could not account for the fact that there was such a difference between them and the disciples of Jesus. The Pharisees fasted often - regularly twice a week besides the great national days of fasting, Luke 18:12. See the notes at Matthew 6:16. This was the established custom of the land, and John did not feel himself authorized to make so great a change as to dispense with

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 9:1 _The_ _paralytic forgiven and healed. _Parallel passages: Mark 2:1; Luke 5:17. (For connexion of thought, cf. Matthew 8:18, note.) In the parallel passages this narrative follows our Matthew 8:1. Matthew's account is shorter, as usual. MATTHEW 9:1 AND HE ENTERED INTO A SHIP; _boat _(Revised Version). So completely did he grant the request of the Gadarenes. Obs

NO MAN PUTTETH A PIECE OF NEW CLOTH,.... These words are, by Luke 5:36 called a "parable", as are those in the following verse; and both are commonly interpreted of the unreasonableness and danger of putting young disciples upon severe exercises of religion, as fasting, c: and it is true, that young converts are to be tenderly dealt with, as they are by Father, Son, and Spirit, as the disciples were by Christ, and the first Christians were by the apostles: and some things in these parables may seem to agree as that these austerities should be represented as "new", and as burdensome and troublesome, and the disciples as weak, and easily staggered: but then there are others that will not bear; as that the disciples should be compared to "old garments, and old bottles"; when they were "young" converts, and men "renewed" by the Spirit and grace of God, and had on the beautiful robe of Christ...

Matthew 9:1. _And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee._ Our Lord dealt first with the greater evil, for sin is worse than even such a dreadful disease as the palsy. Forgiveness of sin is an even greater mercy than the healing of sickness. Matthew 9:3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,

CHAPTER 9 1. A Man Sick of the Palsy Healed. (Matthew 9:1 .) 2. The Call of Matthew (Matthew 9:9 .) 3. With the Publicans and the Sinners. (Matthew 9:10 .) 4. The Question of John's Disciples. (Matthew 9:14 .) 5. The Ruler's Request.(Matthew 9:18 .) 6. The Woman Healed of an Issue of Blood. (Matthew 9:20 .) 7. The Maid Raised from the Dead. (Matthew 9:23 .) 8. The Two Bli

FASTING. THE OLD AND THE NEW (Mark 2:18 *, Luke 5:33). Mt. makes the disciples of John (who were more numerous and important for two or three centuries than is usually recognized; _cf._ p. 797) put the question. Sons of the bride-chamber means, by a common Heb idiom, wedding-guests; John 3:29 has its root here. The old garment is the system deduced from the Law rather than the Law itself; there is no contradiction of Matthew 5:17. Lk. takes the patch from a new garment a double disaster. Note the necessity of new forms (Matthew 9:17) unless the new spirit is to be l