For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10.

And in our chapter, Matthew 9, we continue to meet people the disciples and we would never have encountered without Jesus, the Son. The loved children of Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, are as diverse as the creation itself…will we allow God to open our hearts to understand? Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to His own town. Some men brought to Him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. v. 1-8. What evil thoughts do we entertain that God wants us to see for what they are; and how they prevent us from seeing His good work. As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. v. 9. This Matthew is our Matthew! We are reading his book! If we had been writing this we would have written that Jesus called us! While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6). For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Then John’s disciples came and asked Him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? The time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” v. 10-17. Can we see how both examples show the incredible love of Creator God? The Pharisees, indeed all strict religious people, see only sinners and because of that they cannot accept new understanding even though what Jesus was doing was told to them of old…I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Even the followers of John the Baptist had a difficult time accepting this new way Jesus, the Son…Creator God…was showing and living…old wineskins of thinking and doing; Jesus was presenting new understanding that could not be contained by old, incomplete understanding. And then Matthew continues the roll call of new things no one had done before: bringing a child who had just died back to life…healing a woman who was rendered an outcast because she bled for 12 years…v. 18-26. Remember, none of these things and those that followed had ever been seen before. No wonder people were amazed and struggled to believe what their own eyes saw. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you,” and their sight was restored…While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.” v. 27-30, 32-33. Because Jesus did what the Pharisees did not expect the Messiah to do, they refused to believe He was the Messiah. They could not reconcile their old beliefs with the new way that Jesus was doing. When has Creator God not done surprising things never before seen? Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. v. 35-38. Jesus healed physical illnesses and diseases and that in itself was amazing. But never forget that as wonderful as that was, and is, for those suffering physically, the spiritual healing He brings to hearts and minds is the deepest need of each one of us. Are we willing? He asks us, Do you believe that I am able to do this? We can with His help. Trust Him to lead you. He knows the way…He IS the way.