Bible 911 – Matthew

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Matthew 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? (KJV)

Matthew 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” (NASB)

First, my appreciation for The Chosen is huge. They are telling the Gospels in story form and have done a great job of weaving things together. Several years ago, I started looking at Kingdom; I chose Matthew to be my go-to Book because of the number of times he used the phrase kingdom of God/Heaven. Then I noticed how these fit in with his references to John the Baptist. So, if you take Matthew’s chronology, he may have been the last disciple called and he was not always there from Chapters 4 to 9. Like Brother Luke he had some studying to do, and like Brother John not every detail in those years of ministry is covered.

Chapter 9 is in the center of a very busy ministry time for Jesus before He sends the Twelve out on their first mission trip. Jesus healed two men in the Gadarenes, made Pharisees mad by forgiving sins and healing a paralytic, called Matthew, and His feasting frustrated Pharisees, then Jesus took questions from John’s disciples about fasting; all of this was before He healed two women.   

Back to the feast that He fearlessly attended to infuriate Pharisees. In the Pharisees minds the attendees were human flotsam, but there were still Jews in attendance. Most translations use tax collectors and sinners, some paraphrases use more edgy terms. The sinners may have been Gentiles, but the tax collectors were probably Jews that were educated and spoke more than one language. (They did have to keep records and talk to the Romans.) The practical and metaphorical references to food stuffs, drinks, meals, and feasting are extensive in the Gospels and the rest of the Bible. (This is a good homework assignment.)

To eat with someone was a BIG deal in first century Galilee and Judah. Jesus had a meal with 5,000 Hebrews, 4,000 Hebrews and Gentiles, He ate with Pharisees, in Luke 19 He ate with Zacchaeus, and in John 12 He ate with Lazarus. Jesus ate His last meal with His disciples before Passover and gave a sop to Judas Iscariot. Don’t forget about the unproductive fig tree. I feel it is a good idea to view this feast as Matthew’s going away party and an evangelism outreach. Paul picked up on that thought and knew you could eat with someone and not sink in your relationship with Jesus. Not everyone is as free as he was; plus, it is hard to evangelize people if you are never around them. To give a hungry person food is great, but taking time to eat with them would be better.

Jesus’ mission statement in verses 12 and 13 are clear. He came for the sick, He gave mercy, and called sinners to come to Him. Amen and Amen!

Father God has a sense of humor and gave me an intensify study session on food; my last three Bible 911’s (Judges, Leviticus, and 1 Corinthians) have a food connection. The last two deal with sacrifice, God’s workers, and the righteous (fellowship) meal we are to partake-in with Him.

Strong’s Greek: 2068. ἐσθίω (esthió) — To eat, consume

Matthew 9:11 Greek Text Analysis

Who Has Believed Our Report

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The iconic statement “who has believed our report” or “message” is first made in Isaiah and then repeated in John and Romans. As important as those five words are you should not miss where they are said. Those words in context are what this post is about.

Isaiah 53:1

Isaiah did not put in chapters or verses; a French printer did most of that. Paragraphs came after that and the helpful chapter and section headings are the work of publishing companies. This section of Isaiah is important, so you may need to work a little at grouping thoughts together. I like looking for, “This is what the Lord says.” So, if you start at 52:4 and go to 55:13 that may be a section. A problem with that is there are several times in this body of Scripture you will find the Lord reinforcing things He has said. These are also a nice place to put in chapter or sections breaks. Regardless of how you think the sections might read, I would suggest you read 52:4 through the end of Chapter 53 to get a little better context for this study.

Just before Chapter 53 are several “Repeats and Upgrades” that the Lord uses to get our attention for 52:13 where He talks about “my servant”. This flows into 53:1 and continues the description and work of this servant. Christians, you will see many references to Jesus here and portions of this are repeated in the Gospels, look at the footnotes if your Bible uses them.

We see this “servant” as Jesus and much of this describes His condition after the Romans laid hands on Him before He was “raised and lifted up and highly exulted” (52:13 NIV) at His crucifixion. Yes, both the Jews and Gentiles laid hands on Jesus as part of Him becoming our sin offering. Okay, those looked more like slaps and punches and not the simple touching and confessions of the Mosaic sin offerings.

The message/report, is the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5) and the righteousness that the Father wants with and for His Children, Jew and Gentile. Love God and love your neighbor is the heart of the Ten Commandments, but righteousness also has two parts. Righteousness deals with justice and right standing before God, but it also has a fellowship component and that is with God and with man. Deuteronomy 11 is about loving God and keeping His commands and He would take care of His Children, it would be a good place to read that Chapter.

Part of Isaiah’s message is this righteousness. Look at the “Repeats and Upgrades” that precede 53:1 and you will see this. The Northern Tribes did not believe God and were unfaithful to Him in how they worshipped. So, Isaiah and many of the “minor” prophets were trying to get Judah back to the Father; they would not believe his report about God.

John 12:38

John’s focus is different than the other Gospels, but that last Passover is still majority of his Book. John 12 is about Jesus getting ready to follow the example of David and ride into Jerusalem. I see this time as Jesus going to pay the Bride’s Price for His Church. John reflects on the stubborn attitude that persisted even with His message and the miracles to back up His words.

The people liked the power Jesus displayed with the healing and miracles, but their idea of Kingdom was not wrapped around repentance and righteous fellowship in God. They wanted a military leader. His sermons on the two mounts on Tuesday of Holy Week was not what they wanted. Please note that the wedding parables are given on the Mount of Olives after having answered marriage questions on the Temple Mount. All of this happened after the fig tree died.

The leaders just wanted Him to go away so they could keep the Temple (vineyard). War is messy and they had a nice deal going in Jerusalem and the synagogues. Temple tax, offerings, and sacrifices added up to a lot of money coming into the region. Plus, they could make the people feel good.

Running tally on believing the message.

  • Isaiah – The Ten Commandments and righteousness. They took Baal and the sex-oriented worship that went with him. Plus, the servant in Chapter 52 and 53 did not sound very powerful.
  • Jesus and His message to repent and the miracles to confirm the Good News. They were nice but dead Romans and no Herod would be better. They took Barabbas.

Romans 10:16

I want to say that this section of Romans that deals with several important topics goes from 9:1 to the end of Chapter 11 with the Doxology, that is open for debate. The verse is nestled in with a part of the “Roman Road” and confession because of hearing the Good News. If you have footnotes for Chapter 10, look at them; mine are from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Psalms, and Joel. Clearly these ideas are found in the Old Testament.

(A note from my reading through Acts. Saul/Paul’s part of the story begins with the testimony of Stephen and ends with Paul’s testimony. Both are to Jewish leaders and those groups were divided on what they heard.)

Paul, several times, is confronted with Jews hearing and not believing. Acts 22:18-19 is where Jesus tells Saul to leave Jerusalem. Saul is convinced that the Jews will listen to him because of who he was, he leaves. Chapter 28:24 talks about the Jewish leaders in Roman, some believe some don’t. There were many cities where Paul started talking to Jews and had to stop, then they mounted physical attacks against him. Just because we speak the Word of Life to people does not mean that they will or can hear the message. Jesus help us and send us into “the field that is ripe for harvest”.   

Counting God’s People

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Counting God’s People started as I was reading through Numbers. In Numbers, God has Moses count His people twice; once in Numbers 1 and then in Chapter 26. Many things were done with these totals, but I will focus on camp/marching order and then division of the land. These are at the beginning of their journey and then before they crossed the Jordan.

In Numbers 1 is the totals for the first census. This, I believe, was for Marching Order and camp placement around the Tabernacle. Numbers 26 is the second census; this is at the end of the journey before crossing the Jordan. Some Tribes increased and some had a decline. Ephraim and Manasseh switch places in the Family List in the second census. (Manasseh was the oldest but Jacob switched the blessing to Ephraim.)

  • Ruben – 46,500.                       43,730
  • Simeon – 59,300.                     22,200
  • Gad – 45,650.                          40,500
  • Judah – 74,600.                       76,500
  • Issachar – 54,400.                   64,300
  • Zebulun – 57,400.                   60,500
  • Joseph/Ephraim -40,500.        32,500
  • Joseph/Manasseh – 32,200.   52,700
  • Benjamin – 35,400.                 45,600
  • Dan – 62,700.                          64,400
  • Asher – 41,500.                       53,400
  • Naphtali – 53,400.                   45,400
  • First census total – 603,550.    601,730

Levi

  • Gershon – 7,500
  • Kohath – 8,600 The NIV has a footnote for – 8,300. This number evens the total to the stated 22,000.
  • Merari – 6,200

In Numbers 26 there is no breakdown of the families of Levi, just a total of 23,000. The second census was for the allotment of land for the tribe’s inheritance (26:64). The Levities would receive towns from the other tribes as their inheritance was the Lord.

Toledoth or toledot is the Hebrew term for a family list. These censuses are a toledot of God’s family through Jacob. Seth, Adam’s son, has a toledot in Genesis. Terah is at the end of this list but has his own that features Abram. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 have the same list for the men who returned to repopulate Jerusalem and the Land. Matthew and Luke also have toledots for Jesus. 1 Chronicles has family list and some interesting narratives mixed in; these lists are just one of the things that validate the Bible as history and not a nice story.

David in 2 Samuel 24:1 orders a count of the men of Israel. David should not have done this as the people are the Lord’s; in ordering the count he was “claiming” the people as his. We know that ended with punishment and the purchase of the land for the Solomon’s Temple.

Appeared and Speak

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God talking and appearing to Old Testament characters has had my attention for some time. How and who did He use come first in my thoughts. Were there other “prophets” about? Did they hear audible voices? Many of them had no Scriptures to read, they were writing them. We belong in the Family of a supernatural God, and it is very clear they heard and saw something. These encounters were vivid enough to get them to know that they had heard and seen God.

As I read through Genesis His appearing to Abram/Abraham caught my attention, again. Some of these were dreams and visions, but with some of them a physical body appeared. Now, this also occurred with Issac and Jacob/Israel. God talked with them, had dinner, and even wrestled with Jacob. So, as I read through Exodus, I found some of the same activities happening, but this time with Moses.

We have “modern” terms to identify and explain some of these encounters. You can even say it was just an angel, think about that for a while. Sadducees, a religious branch of Judaism, who had many priests in their ranks, accepted the five Books of Moses; they however did not believe in angels, how did that work? God is not confined to your paradigms, but you are. We have the luxury of having His Word written for us to use to know God. Your experiences maybe limited, but my God is not. Did He speak to everyone the same, no. These men and women, however, knew they had heard God and acted on what they were told and saw.

Now when you read from Joshua to Mary and Joseph and then to John the Baptist observe the many times and varied ways that God talked to His people. God has not changed; Him speaking to His people picked up again in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit was given to help us hear and know His voice and ways better.   

Moses

From the Burning Bush to the top of Mount Nebo, Moses heard, talked with, and saw God and His glory. He was given to Israel, not only as leader, but as an example for them and us on ways to hear and know God. Thank You, Father.

This will be more a research post for you. I am giving links to Bible Hub and their resources. An interesting fact for those of us who never took Hebrew, most concordances use a “root word”. Bible Hub does this also but list the various forms of the words you are looking for. So, these will have all of the similar words and where they are used. (As much as you think you know, there is always something else to learn.)

Exodus 4:5 Hebrew Text Analysis

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

Hebrew Concordance: nir·’āh- — 22 Occurrences

Alright, just because it has to be said, not everyone who saw and heard God in the Book of Exodus listened and stayed faithful. God calls out ten times the people tested Him. The Book of Judges is a book of ups and downs. Even David and Solomon lost focus, unfortunately this is a very human condition; thank God for His grace and the finished work Jesus did on the cross.

Scholars have sorted, collected, and analyzed every word in the Bible, both First and Second Covenant. They have set the words in context and argue about the exact meaning. For me just looking at the same word everywhere it is used has given me better insight to the word. Please understand that there are times when a form of a word is used only once in all of Scripture. I also wonder why, and are we really getting the depth of meaning God wants us to have. In the New Testament in the Lord’s Prayer is the word epiousious, and there are some of these single-use or limited-use words with God appearing in our Old Testament.

Here are some other times when it is noted that God visited men:

King David in his disobedience set into motion an appearance of an angel that was visible and about to destroy Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 24:16 and 1 Chronicles 21:15 for the story of the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite that became the site for Solomon’s Temple. Celtic Christians might refer to this location as a “Thin Place”; that is where it just seems you are closer to God. This story extends to God appearing to Solomon after he sacrificed at Gibeon (2 Chronicles 3:1 and 1 Kings 3:5), and then how the glory of God filled the new Temple as it was being dedicated (Just like He did in Leviticus 9 for the Tabernacle). We all know that even with these visits Solomon lost focus and strayed from God. Did he come back, I think so, the end of Ecclesiastes makes you think he returned to what was important.

Righteousness is an idea that carries two meanings. The first one is a judicial concept and is frequently found with the word justice. The second meaning is a relational practice of spending time with God. Yes, God will and does appear and speaks to humanity, He wants to do that.

Bible 911 – 1 Corinthians

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1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? (KJV)
1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have planted the spiritual seed that has been of benefit to you, is it too much if we receive part of the harvest from your earthly goods? (NOG – Names of God Bible)

Why two translations? 400-year-old English may not give you a large amount of understanding. Actually, take a look at several translations, I found that it helped.

For 1 Corinthians 9:11 I feel the thoughts for Chapter 9 start in Chapter 8. Paul did an amazing job of weaving several problems together. He started with food and idols then ended Chapter 9 with running your race with discipline in order to win the prize. The story of the Corinthian Church starts in Acts 18, it will give you a feel for these two Letters. I know it is hard to believe, but the first century Christian churches had problems; just read the start of the Book of Revelations. Chapter 9 builds on 2:1,6; 3:1; and 4:1,6. It seems that the Corinthians were preferring other ministers and giving Paul a bad time for a number of reasons.

FREE and FOOD These two themes are the root of the sharing in Chapters 8 and 9 with Paul’s teachings stemming from them.

Free – Paul talks about “free” quite a bit in Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. You may want to want to check more than one translation as the number of verses using that word changes a lot. Remember, this is Paul who has a deep understanding of grace and being bound to the Lord for the purpose of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom. We get lost in the idea of free and forget to look at the lives of Jesus and those He commissioned to spread His message.

A word for “free” was used twice in Chapter 9: 9:1 and 9:19. Paul inferred he was free several times. He was free:

  • To live for God and Jesus
  • From the fear of the Law
  • To eat what is put in front of him
  • Not to cause weak Christians to stumble
  • To be equal with other Christians
  • Not to use his rights as an apostle
  • To boast about not using his rights
  • To be available to be used by God
  • To discipline himself to be useful

Food – 1 Corinthians 9:11 in “modern times” translates to money. Programs, staff, and buildings are expensive; if you enjoy the church community, bearing those burdens are necessary. Paul starts his discourse on food talking about knowledge. Paul tempers what you think you know versus your responsibility towards weak members of Christ’s Body. Animal sacrifice was part of life in the first century, we have some knowledge and understanding of the practice. The Corinthians, however, were not ignorant and neither were Jews. Part of Jewish sacrifice was to have a family meal before God. I have heard it said that the meat market was next to the neighborhood pagan temple in large Gentile cities. Exodus 34:15 and Numbers 25:1-3 are passages about sacrificing to idols, eating the offering, and being led away from God and frequently into sexual sin. Paul did not sacrifice to idols, but he knew food was just food. It seems he had a good understanding of Jesus’ words about “what goes in the mouth does not defile, it is what comes out”. Now, use the knowledge you have right now from the Lord and switch from food to money. What are you sacrificing, eating, and teaching others about your freedom?

Paul offers several examples for 9:11 starting in verse 7 and ends with a question in 12. Why do you support others and not the ones who brought you the Gospel? I would like to offer two other references/examples for Paul’s boasting and behavior:

  • In Genesis 14 Abram gathers an army and rescues Lot. In verse 21 he refuses to take anything from King Bera of Sodom, except the tenth to Melchizedek and the share for allies who went with him.
  • Jesus in Luke 10:4-8 commissions seventy-two apostles/missionaries and sends them out. He told them to go out and that the people they preach to should take care of their needs. This is a food and funds focus from Jesus.