Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 9

2 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.

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
2 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.
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

The above is yet another example that involves Jesus' call for logical, deductive reasoning (starting as verse 5), but the supercilious experts 'knew better'. Same as today.

Their incorrect premise was that only God can forgive sins, therefore their conclusion was that the man was blaspheming:

Luke 5:20-21 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

So here comes Jesus' response, an appeal to logic that falls on deaf ears:

What's easier to say [to a man who can't walk]? "Your sins are forgiven", or, "Arise and walk"?

The first one, because it's a spiritual claim. Any fraud could say that, as there would be no visible proof that it had occurred. But to tell a crippled man to get up and walk? No pretender would dare say that, because when nothing happened, he would be instantly exposed as a fraud.

So that you may know that the Son of man (a human) has power on earth to forgive sins (the easier statement to make), he said the more difficult thing: "Arise and walk." And then the crippled man got up and walked.

He proved the difficult claim so everyone would know that he could accomplish the much easier claim as well.

But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

What happened, is that the incident (and many others) was long ago twisted by the religious establishment to "prove" the exact opposite of what Jesus said. Jesus said that a human could forgive sins. He proved it.

Why was Jesus crucified at Golgotha (meaning skull, poll, census i.e. head count). Because Truth is crucified at the place of the poll (consensus).

"Crucify, crucify him!" ~ the mob

John 19:19-20 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

The WORD that was nailed to the cross was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Any Christian would say that the whole Bible points to Jesus, the name and title and person who was nailed to the cross by the mob. The word of God, "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS", was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

What is written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin IS the place of crucifixion.

And those aren't just languages. Each is its own alphabet system as well.

Hebrew - Torah, Prophets, Writings
Greek (the first translation ot the Torah was the LXX)
Latin (not just the Latin language, e.g. the Vulgate, as there's a long list of Western languages that are rooted in Rome, using Latin letters).

The idiom to crucify somebody doesn't mean to kill a person bodily, it means to destroy a person's reputation by slander - bearing false witness; telling half-truths; passing along assumptions and flimsy reasoning as if they were God's honest truth; repeating rumor, gossip, and so on. To be crucified by the press, or in the court of public opinion, social media...

Come to think of it, of the languages of Jesus' day, there's one conspicuously absent from the cross: Aramaic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Aramaic#Aramaic_in_Hebrew_Bible

The first occurrance of Aramaic is a place named by Laban the Aramean of all people, who was the quintessential manipulator of words. Skilled in the art of wordsmithing Gotcha! games, that was Laban.

Gen 31.47. And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed:

A heap of witness. An interesting data point (there are always many) is that the sum of that name is 929 (יגר שהדותא), which is also the number of chapters in the Hebrew Bible. It's also the sum of the New Testament; i.e. "Brit Chadasha" (ברית חדשה).

Concerning Laban:

The name Laban means "white". According to the Kabbalah, Laban represents loben ha-elyon, the "supernal whiteness" that transcends all "color" and classification. Thus "Laban" embodies the power of transformation — because it is beyond classification, it bridges opposites and can transform a thing into its very extreme. This is how Balaam's divine gift of prophecy (our sages go so far as to equate his prophetic power with that of Moses!) could reside within such an evil person, and how, on the other hand, his virulent curses could be transformed in his very mouth into blessings, and this arch enemy of Israel even ends up issuing the most important of the Torah's prophecies (Numbers 24:15-25) — the promise of the future redemption by Moshiach.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3179/jewish/Laban.htm

Heap of witness. There is much written about the connection of Balaam to Laban, such that the two are equated, and that Balaam (Laban) broke the treaty [by crossing the boundary marker] that is the subject of Gen 31.47 above. Cf. the book of Jude.

Luke 24 is an interesting chapter. There's this:

44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

What's missing from the list is the section that is called the Writings (only the subset of the Psalms is specified). The Writings is the section in which the Aramaic passages are located. Hmmm.

“So that you may know that the Son of man (a human) has power on earth to forgive sins (the easier statement to make), he said the more difficult thing: “Arise and walk.” And then the crippled man got up and walked.”

I understand that the Messiah was called the Son of Man in the Old Testament, particularly in Daniel and Ezekiel. I’ve taken that to mean God becoming one of us, but I don’t go very far into wondering about the Trinity and God taking on human form. In the words of David, that’s “too wonderful for me.”

>>>The WORD that was nailed to the cross was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Any Christian would say that the whole Bible points to Jesus, the name and title and person who was nailed to the cross by the mob. The word of God, “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS”, was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
What is written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin IS the place of crucifixion.

Come to think of it, of the languages of Jesus’ day, there’s one conspicuously absent from the cross: Aramaic
>>>

That’s all very interesting.

>>>What’s missing from the list is the section that is called the Writings (only the subset of the Psalms is specified). The Writings is the section in which the Aramaic passages are located. Hmmm. >>>

I’m not quite getting the significance. Maybe it’s just me.

The Messiah is the ultimate representative/ambassador of the Word of God in thought, speech, and action.

He has been crucified (slandered) through the twisting of the Word of God, whether it be in the Hebrew, Greek, or Latin languages/alphabets (and by extention through the Western languages by way of Rome).

The Bible originated in Hebrew, then was translated first into Greek, then came the Vulgate. Aramaic versians appeared somewhere in all that, but what I had noticed was that Aramaic was not nailed to the cross along with the rest.

Furthermore, it was noted in the NT text that Jesus spoke Aramaic on the cross, which were his last words.

Matthew 27

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

Mark 15

32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.

Elijah - Eliyahu - sounds like Eli Eli. The quote, from Psalm 22:

1.To the chief Musician, according to Ayeleth HaShahar [doe of the dawn], a Psalm of David:
2. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my loud complaint:
3. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear; and in the night, and I have no rest:

And as is often the case when I end up on a topic, the timing coordinates with "real time". The psalm is recited on the Fast of Esther, which is Wednesday. A Jewish tradition is that King David prophetically composed the psalm for Queen Esther, that she recited it while trapped in the palace isolated from her people.

Aramaic "appears" on the cross as Jesus' last words, but it was not nailed to the cross as were Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Surely there is something to that, especially considering that Aramaic's first appearance in the Bible is a place name called out by Laban (the 'king' of word-twisting), meaning witness heap.

The gematria of the name Jegar-Sahadutha (929) connects with the whole Tanakh (being the number of chapters), and with the whole of the NT, as it is the gematria of its Hebrew name: Brit Chadashah.

The 'witness heap' was the place where Jacob and Laban agreed not to "cross over the line":

Genesis 31

51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;
52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

Somebody doesn't honor agreements, while insisting that everything is as it should be. Laban was the type of character to debate over the meaning of "is", and then act like the other guy is the problem for his lack of comprehension.

Regarding Jesus' last words:

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

The last words of the "Old Testament" as per the Christian order of the books:

Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Truth is crucified at the place of the poll.

Strong's concordance unwittingly 'nails it' here:

1115 Golgotha {gol-goth-ah'}
of Aramaic origin [cf 01538]

AV - Golgotha 3; 3

Golgotha = "skull"
1) the name of a place outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified; so called, apparently because its form resembled a skull

cf 01538

HEBREW:

01538 gulgoleth {gul-go'-leth}
by reduplication from 01556; TWOT - 353l; n f

AV - poll 7, scull 2, every man 2, head 1; 12
1) head, poll, skull
1a) skull
1b) head, poll (of census)

GREEK (a completely different word and language, but the same number...):

1538 hekastos {hek'-as-tos}
as if a superlative of hekas (afar);; adj

AV - every man 39, every one 20, every 17, misc 7; 83

1) each, every

Besides, the whole Bible is an appeal to thick skulls to pay attention to what's in there.

As if he didn’t know why he was on the cross?

Every word and detail has a purpose. One of the big ones is to give the interested reader something to think about, ponder, study, meditate upon, observe, watch, keep in memory...

Kind of like when two people are in love... they just can't get enough of being with each other, and are keen to pay close attention to what the other is saying because of a natural desire to know what the other is all about. A match is really not two people at all, but one. They can complete each other's sentences.

Take the tradition that God's match-making is "as difficult as splitting the Red Sea"... there's more than one beautiful paradox in that.

In contemplating my reply, I came upon this for simply looking for a link to that idea for you.

So there you go. Exodus and the crucifixion and the Red Sea. The brief article needs to be read in full, but here's a key section:

The Zohar finds a message about God's agonizing choice hidden in a strange silence in the story. In this week's Torah portion (Beshalach), Moses exhorts the Israelites not to fear the advancing Egyptians. He says, "Adonai will battle for you. Hold your peace!" (Exodus 14:14). And then, in the very next verse, God says to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward!" (Exodus 14:15). What happened between those two verses? When did Moses cry out to God? How are the Israelites to "go forward" before the waters have been parted? What's missing from the story?
The Zohar says that the missing moment is the moment of God pondering the horrible dilemma. When God asked Moses the question, "Why do you cry out to Me?" the Zohar reads it as a moral challenge. It is as if God asked Moses, "Did you really think that I would save you at the expense of the Egyptians because of your pleas? Don’t cry to Me. Rather, cry out to the Israelites and beg them to behave in a manner that will make them worthy of being saved! Tell them to ‘go advance’ … in their behavior!”

Matthew 27:50-51 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

I appreciate the time it must take to be so expository. Thank you for that.

I think I mentioned to you that I’m Noachide, though I was trained in Catholicism at 12 when my mom wanted to sing in a Catholic choir, but to do so, had to take instruction, and I went with her. And I myself have sung in many Anglican choirs over the years, so I’m not exactly a novice when it comes to the Mysteries of Christian theology.

I’m not a believer in Satan, for instance, as I feel it undermines ethical monotheism, and to the extent that although there is abundant evidence for God in the universe, there is none whatsoever for the Serpent until the human mind had evolved to abstract information from its environment. I.e., that the tempter of Eve then Adam in The Garden was God Himself in beguiling form.

Thus, why would Jesus have been tempted in the desert when the outcome was already predetermined?

Rather, I draw from those NT episodes that are consistent with The Law, from which Jesus drew constantly...except why would he have refused to wash his hands before eating? Being God, he would have known the therapeutic reasons, even still concealing them for later historical reasons. Though why even then risk bacterial and viral infection of the Disciples and even himself if only just for their then sacramental purposes. But I think you get my drift.

Not in any way however to impugn your sense of The Christ. The United States could never have been founded without it.

Thus, why would Jesus have been tempted in the desert when the outcome was already predetermined?

I suppose we could say that for anything going on in this world. There's always the matter, however, of providing outward evidence of what is inside the heart. Take Job and... the satan.

why would he have refused to wash his hands before eating?

Is that what really happened, or was it a matter of his not washing according to the accepted method? Consider, for example, a mother instructing her child, "Go wash up before supper". He runs off, sticks his hands under a dribble of water for two seconds and as far as he's concerned, he's clean and good to go. Of course, when he arrives at the table with dirty hands, his mother says, "You didn't wash..." because, well, he didn't. Each has a different definition of "wash".

Now certainly Jesus knew how to remove dirt off of his hands to be appropriately clean for supper, but from the minders' perspective - if focus on correct ritual was what was going on - he didn't wash his hands.

Matthew 15

1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Mark 7

1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

It was not a matter of washing or not washing [of cups and pots], but what was the tradition concerning how that was to be done to be deemed acceptable.

Before we eat a meal with bread, we wash our hands and make a special blessing. So immediately after Kiddush we perform the ritual washing for bread.

Go to the kitchen, or the nearest sink in the house. Fill a large cup with water. Pass the cup to your left hand and pour three times over your right hand. Repeat by pouring on your left hand. As you wipe your hands recite the blessing:

Baruch atah A-donoy, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam, asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al netilat yadayim.
http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/257763/jewish/6-Ritual-Washing-of-the-Hands.htm

Being God...

So saith the traditions that make void the Word of God.

The Healing of a Paralytic.

1* a He entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town. 2And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”b 3At that, some of the scribes* said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? 5Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6* But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”c 7He rose and went home. 8* When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.

The Call of Matthew.*

9As Jesus passed on from there,d he saw a man named Matthew* sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10While he was at table in his house,* many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.e 11The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher* eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.* 13Go and learn the meaning of the words,f ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’* I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

The Question About Fasting.

14g Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?” 15Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.* 16No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,* for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. 17People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

The Official’s Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage.

18* While he was saying these things to them,h an official* came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel* on his cloak. 21She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”i 22Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.

23When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, 24he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”* And they ridiculed him. 25When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. 26And news of this spread throughout all that land.

The Healing of Two Blind Men.*

27j And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, “Son of David,* have pity on us!”k 28When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. 29Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

The Healing of a Mute Person.

32l As they were going out,* a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, 33and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”m 34* But the Pharisees said,n “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Compassion of Jesus.

35
* o Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.

36
p At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,* like sheep without a shepherd.

37
* q Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;

38
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

http://usccb.org/bible/matthew/9

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