Matthew 9:27 says, And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.  Having raised the maid from the dead, Jesus did not stay around for the praise of the people, but continued on His way.  When Jesus saves us today, He does not expect us to simply stay where we are and praise Him, but He expects us to go out into the world and share the gospel.  Yes, we should praise Jesus continually as we go about life, but we cannot just withdraw from the world to do so.  Two blind men were following Jesus.  When anyone comes to Jesus by faith in His gift of salvation, they come to Him spiritually blind.  Verse twenty-eight says, 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.  We are not told what house Jesus came into, but there He spoke to the blind men who had followed Him.  Jesus asked them if they believed that He could restore their sight.  That is the question that we must ask ourselves today when we come to Jesus.  Can Jesus, and Jesus alone, restore our spiritual sight and give us everlasting life?  These two blind men said that they believed that Jesus could give them their physical sight.  Verse twenty-nine states, Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.  This does not say that Jesus touched their eyes and they immediately had their vision restored.  We are told Jesus touched their eyes and told them that according to their faith that it would be unto them.  It is not enough to just have Jesus touch us, but we must have faith in His ability to restore us to a right relationship with the heavenly Father.  Verse thirty states, And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.  When they could see, Jesus told them not to tell anyone how they had their vision restored.  Again, I believe that this was because Jesus did not want people following Him simply for His ability to heal people physically.  Jesus came to offer spiritual healing to all people for all time, if they only put their faith in Him.  Verse thirty-one says, But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.  The two who had their sight restored could not keep quiet, even though Jesus had told them to.  We today have the opposite command, and that is to spread God's word into all the world, yet we often remain silent.  Verse thirty-two says, As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.  This dumb man, which I know is no longer a politically correct way to describe a person, was brought to Jesus.  Not only could this man not speak, but it says he was possessed with the devil.  Sometimes people came to Jesus on their own, and sometimes they were led to Jesus by others, but either way they came to personal encounter with Jesus.  Even if we lead someone to Jesus today, they must accept Him by a personal acceptance of Who He is.  Verse thirty-three states, And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. When Jesus cast out the devil the man could speak.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord today, He casts out the devil from us and we can truly speak for Him for the first time.  We cannot really witness for Jesus until we have a personal relationship with Him and He has cleansed us of our sins.  Verse thirty-four declares, But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.  The people marvelled, but the Pharisees attempted to discredit Jesus.  The said Jesus was casting out devils by the power of the devil.  It is really sad that some of the most devout men around Jesus could not recognize Who He really is.  Jesus was the long awaited Messiah of the Jewish people, but those who claimed to be the best of the Jews religiously did not recognize Him.  Verse thirty-five says, 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.  Though His primary purpose wasn't to heal people physically, Jesus did so as He taught and preached about the kingdom of God in their synagogues and in the surrounding areas.  We must remember that Jesus came first to save the Jewish people, those who were identified as God's people, so He naturally would have gone to the synagogue to teach.  He also came to save the Gentiles, so He taught and preached outside the synagogue as well.  Likewise, we should teach and preach in the church building, but we should also teach and preach wherever we go. Verse thirty-six says, 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.  Jesus had compassion on the multitudes of people, because they fainted and were like sheep without a shepherd.  Anyone today who does not have Jesus as there Savior and Lord is like a sheep without a shepherd, having no one to guide and protect them.  Verse thirty-seven states, Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;  Jesus said that the harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few.  This is even more true today, so as followers of Christ we must be at work to reach the lost, the harvest of souls in need of salvation.  Verse thirty-eight declares, Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.  Jesus tells us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth workers.  I believe that as we pray for others to witness to the lost with a real compassion and concern that we need to be witnessing the same way while we pray.  The harvest, the lost in the world today, is plentiful, but the laborers to reach them are few.

Matthew 9:18 says, 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.  While Jesus was in the midst of teaching, He was once again called upon.  I believe that we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is never to busy to help anyone at any time when they call on Him in faith.  This ruler came to Jesus and worshipped Him.  When we do come to Jesus, it should be with an attitude of worship and with complete faith in His ability to meet our needs.  This ruler certainly had faith.  His daughter was dead.  He did not ask Jesus to come and see if He might possibly raise her from the dead, but that he knew that Jesus could.  We need this same type faith, but it must be expressed in being obedient to the will of God.  We cannot say that simply because we have faith and ask that all sickness will be healed and all death defeated in this lifetime, but if we have faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then we know that ultimately both will happen.  Verse nineteen states, And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.  Jesus and His disciples followed the ruler.  Jesus did not go because the man was a ruler and therefore Jesus had no choice but to go.  Jesus went because of the faith of the ruler.  When Jesus responds to our requests today, it is because of our faith in Him.  Like the disciples, we must always go with Jesus wherever He leads us.  Verse twenty declares, And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:  On His way to the rulers house, on what we could call urgent business, a woman who had been suffering from some illness for twelve years came to Jesus and touched His garment.  Verse twenty-one states, For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.  This woman truly had great faith in Jesus.  She believed that just by touching His garment that Jesus would make her whole.  We need that same type faith today, knowing that if we just get to Jesus that He can make us whole.  Of course, if we are followers of Christ, we have the advantage of the Holy Spirit living within us, but we still must come by faith when we ask anything of God.  Verse twenty-two declares, 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.  Jesus did not say that there was something miraculous about simply physically touching Him.  Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are always physically in the presence of God.  There is no place that we can go that God isn't there.  The key to having God meet our needs is faith, not only in Christ as our Savoir, but also that God will always answer our prayers if they are made in faith and that God will answer in the best way possible.  If we truly ask, not for what we want but for God's will to be done, He will never fail us.  By her faith, the woman was made whole.  Only by our faith, we can be made whole.  Verse twenty-three states, And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,  These people were not having a party, but were mourning a loss.  Verse twenty-four says, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.  Jesus told those who were mourning to stand aside that the maid was only asleep, and they laughed at Him with scorn.  When we are dead in sin today and come to a saving knowledge of Christ, those around us may laugh at us or even scorn us, but through our faith in Christ we will be made alive spiritually for the first time and for evermore.  Verse twenty-five declares, But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.  When the people let Jesus in and He took her by the hand, the maid arose.  When we let Jesus in, and He takes us by the hand spiritually through our faith in Him, we will arise to everlasting life.  Verse twenty-six states, And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.  We likewise should spread the word of the power of Christ to the world today.

Matthew 9:14 says, Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?  First, we are told of people coming to Jesus and bringing others who needed to be healed, and Jesus healing some.  Then, we had the Pharisees coming to Jesus and accusing Him of blasphemy.  Now, we have the disciples of John the Baptist, grouping themselves with the Pharisees, coming to Jesus questioning His obedience to the law of God.  Though the disciples of John the Baptist were baptized into repentance, they still did not understand Who Jesus was.  There may be those today who come to a partial knowledge of Who Jesus is, but until they accept Him as Savior and Lord, they will never be free from attempting to justify themselves before God.  These disciples of John the Baptist questioned why Jesus and His disciples did not fast as the Pharisees and they did.  It may be that they were claiming a moral superiority by the fact of their actions.  We should never act morally superior to any other Christian, and we definitely should never act morally superior if we ourselves have not come to a saving knowledge of Who Jesus is and that salvation comes by faith in Him alone.  Verse fifteen asks, 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.  In this analogy, Jesus is the bridegroom.  He was only to be on the earth for a short time, and He was more concerned with fulfilling the law than observing all of the limitations that had come to be associated with the law.  Jesus said that there would be time to fast when the bridegroom was taken away.  Though His earthly ministry was short, we should celebrate the fact that once we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, He will never be taken away from us.  Verse sixteen states, 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.  Jesus was telling us that He wasn't here to be a new patch on the law of God.  He wasn't sent to repair the law, which people had continually broken, but to fulfill the requirements of the law and bring salvation by faith in Him.  Verse seventeen says, 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.  Jesus stated that just as new wine is put in new bottles to preserve both the old and the new wine, He came with a new covenant, not to destroy the old covenant, but that both could be preserved.  Jesus did not follow all the rules and regulations that had become associated with the old covenant, because people could not be saved by the law.  Still, He fulfilled all the requirements of the law, which was never based on people's actions, but instead on their relationship with God.  Jesus alone was able to meet all the requirements of this perfect relationship.

Matthew 9:9 says, 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.  Jesus was still calling His disciples, and when He saw Matthew, a tax collector, Jesus told him to come and follow Him.  Jesus first called fishermen and now He called a tax collector, who was despised by most.  Matthew had to have had faith in Jesus, because he arose and followed Him.  Verse ten states, 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.  We can assume that this was Matthew's house, but whatever house it was, publicans and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples for the meal.  Jesus will always invite even the vilest of sinners to join Him by faith in His sacrifice for salvation.  People must come to Jesus just as they are, and He will willingly accept them.  Verse eleven says, And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?  Some of the religious leaders, Pharisees, questioned the disciples about Jesus eating with publicans and sinners.  The Pharisees took pride in believing that they were morally superior to other people because of their strict adherence to God's law.  They did no go to Jesus to get an answer to their question.  Those who would attempt to discredit Jesus today will often attempt to do so by getting His followers or disciples to question what Jesus teaches.   Verse twelve declares, But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.  Though the Pharisees did not ask their question to Jesus, He heard what they were asking.  We can never question God, whether directly or indirectly, without Him knowing about it.  That is why, if we have a question about God's teachings, we should go to God for the answer.  Jesus said that those who were whole didn't need a physician.  Verse thirteen states, 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.  The Pharisees thought themselves to be the ultimate authority on God's word, but Jesus told them to go and learn what He meant by saying the whole didn't need a physician, but the sick did.  Jesus said that He would have mercy instead of sacrifice and call sinners and not the self-righteous to repentance.  We should never attempt to limit who can come to Jesus for salvation, but instead should reach out to the lost of the world.  We should never become so self righteous that we feel that anyone is unworthy of salvation, no matter how sinful they may be.

Matthew 9:1 says, And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.  Jesus once again took a ship across the sea and came back to His own country.  I don't believe that we can say that Jesus was run out of the country, but that He chose to leave where He wasn't wanted and continue with His ministry.  A lost person cannot drive Jesus away from a position of being more powerful than Him, but if that person continually say no to Him, He may depart from that person.  Verse two states, 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.  People were still bringing the sick to Jesus to be healed.  They saw Jesus as One Who could restore physical health, but had not yet come to see Him as One Who could restore spiritual health.  They brought a man who had palsy, and lying in his bed.  He had to rely on others to get him to Jesus.  There are those today who need help in coming to Jesus, which is why we as followers of Christ must go out into the world with the gospel.  Jesus told the man to be of good cheer, because his sins were forgiven.  The man had been brought for a physical healing, but he received much more.  When Jesus forgives us of our sins, it is so much more than just a physical healing.  It is a spiritual restoration.  Verse three says, And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.  Jesus again encountered some scribes, or religious leaders, and they accused Him of blasphemy.  Sometimes those who should be the first to acknowledge the saving power of Christ are the hardest to reach, because He threatens their position in the world.  Verse four declares, And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?  Jesus knew their thoughts, just as we are told that we will be held accountable for our thoughts as well as our actions.  Jesus asked them why they thought evil in their hearts, or their innermost thoughts.  If we question the power of Jesus today, then we are guilty of evil in our innermost thoughts.  We should never question the power of God.  Verse five asks, For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?  Jesus was asking why He would have said that the man's sins were forgiven if He was not able to forgive them.  Jesus could have simply told the man to rise up and walk, and he would have been able to do so.  The man wanted to walk, but Jesus saw a greater, more lasting need.  The man needed to be forgiven for his sins.  I believe that when we come to Jesus today, even if it is for the wrong reason, that He stands ready to forgive our sins, if we only allow Him to by putting our faith in His ability.  Verse six states, 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.  Jesus tells us that He not only told the man that his sins were forgiven for his benefit, but for the benefit of all those around him.  They needed to understand that Jesus has the power to forgive sins.  He is actually the only One Who can.  Verse seven declares, And he arose, and departed to his house.  The man got up and walked to his house.  When we come to Jesus in faith, He will always exceed our expectations.  This man came simply for physical healing, but he departed spiritually healed as well. Verse eight states, But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.  When God performs a miracle in the world, we should marvel and glorify Him, and there is no greater miracle than the salvation that Christ offers us through our faith in Him.

Matthew 8:28 says, And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.  After Jesus had crossed to the other side to get away from the multitudes for awhile and had calmed the stormy sea, He encountered another obstacle.  There were two possessed with devils, who were evidently living in the grave yard, who would have blocked the way Jesus was going.  I believe that what we need to understand is that just because we have been successful in overcoming problems by our faith in Christ, that does not mean that we will never face another problem.  The opposite may be true.  If we are being successful in witnessing for Christ, Satan will notice and attempt to stop us.  Verse twenty-nine says, And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?  These two, possessed by devils, recognized Jesus for Who He is.  That was more than the religious leaders of God's people did.  They asked what Jesus, the Son of God, had to do with them.  They may have felt that they were just too evil for Jesus to redeem them, so they wondered if He had come to torment them.  We need to understand that no one is ever to evil to be redeemed by Christ, and that He never comes to torment people, but to save them.  Verse thirty states, And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.  Swine were really considered as unclean to the people of Israel, so they would likely have been of no real significance to Jesus.  Verse thirty-one states, So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  We should first recognize that these devils that possessed these two men acknowledged the power of Jesus over them.  They did not say cast us out if you are able to do so.  They simply said to Jesus that if He cast them out that they be allowed to enter the swine.  Like these demons, Satan knows that he is powerless against God.  Though Satan may rule a person completely, if that person calls on Jesus for salvation, then Satan's rule over that person will be over.  Verse thirty-two states, And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.  Jesus allowed the demons to enter the swine, but their escape was brief.  The whole herd of swine ran violently into the sea and drowned.  I am not sure why the demons were not able to escape the swine, but I think it was because they had submitted to the authority of Jesus.  Satan and his disciples really do have limited power in the world.  Verse thirty-three says, And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.  Those who had kept the swine went into the city and told what had happened to the swine and to the two who had been possessed of the devils.  Verse thirty-four declares, And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.  Evidently the people were not happy about the two who were restored to sanity.  They were evidently more concerned about the loss of the swine.  For whatever reason, the whole city came out to Jesus to ask Him to leave their coasts.  There are whole countries today where Jesus is not welcome.  In some places, it is because they worship another god, and some places it is because they claim there is no God.  Even if miracles occur, they will never welcome Jesus.

Matthew 8:23 says, And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.  When Jesus was leaving the multitudes, He got into a ship.  We are not told who the ship belonged to, but possibly one of the disciples.  We can be certain that Jesus did not just take someone's ship without having the right to do so.  We likewise cannot just take what belongs to someone else and claim that as a follower of Christ we have a right to do so, even if we are doing something for God.  The disciples followed Jesus onto the ship.  They did not know where He was going, but they were following Him wherever He was going.  We need to always follow where Jesus leads us.  Verse twenty-four states, And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.  We might think that where Jesus is that all would be calm, but a great storm arose.  I believe that we should be ready for storms to come to our lives today if we are following Christ.  As the storm was raging, Jesus was sleeping, which implies that He was at peace in the storm.  I believe we can have that same peace in the storms today, if we put our faith in God.  Verse twenty-five states, And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.  The disciples, though physically with Jesus, were afraid that they were going to die.  They at least went to the right source for deliverance: Jesus.  When we are in the storms of life today, we must look to Jesus for deliverance.  Verse twenty-six declares, And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.  The disciples thought they had to wake Jesus up to be delivered from the storm.  Jesus declared them to have little faith.  We need to have faith that the Holy Spirit is always with us and knows our needs, even in the storms when it may not seem to be true.  Jesus rebuked the winds, and there was a great calm.  Jesus can bring that great calm to our lives today, if we live by faith in Him.  We should never focus on the storms, but on the One Who can calm the storms.  Verse twenty-seven declares, But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!  We should marvel at Jesus, because He is able to calm all the storms of life if someone only puts their faith in Him.  Even when the storms rage around us, we are secure for the rest of eternity if we keep our faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the One Who secures us for all eternity, no matter what storms we face in life.  Had the faith of the disciples been strong enough, they would not have feared the storm, since Jesus was with them.  Neither should we fear the storms as long as we are following Christ by faith.