Matthew 9

Chapter 9 is largely composed of Jesus healing various people - blind men, a person muted by demon possession, a paralytic, and even a dead girl. Interestingly, in at least one case Jesus told those healed (the two blind men of verses 27-31) not to tell anyone what had happened... but they did anyway. I'm not sure if that was a case of reverse psychology on Jesus' part, or if He really did want to keep a lower profile; if the later, I don't understand why.

We also get the account here of Matthew, a tax collector, being called as one of Jesus' disciples. He is the author of this book, of course, so up till now the stories told would have been compiled from second-hand sources... but from here on out, he is writing about events he actually witnessed.

Finally, in the middle of the chapter we have Jesus' response to two different questions: why he associated with tax collectors and sinners, and why He and His disciples did not fast. I love his answers, especially to the first question! He points out, quite rightly, that it is the sick (sinners) who need a physician (savior). The reality is also that the Pharisees who asked the question were in fact sinners, they just didn't think of themselves that way because of their religiosity. May we be careful never to fall into the same trap, and to be willing to reach out to those we may see on the outside as dirty or sinful - just like Jesus did.