UTN uW Translation Notes:

Matthew 9 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

3. Jesus illustrates the kingdom of God through acts of healing (8:1-9:34) * Healing a paralytic (9:1–8) * Calling Matthew and eating with sinners (9:9–13) * Jesus brings something new (9:14–17) * Healing a woman and resurrecting a girl (9:18–26) * Healing two blind men (9:27–31) * Casting a demon out of a mute man (9:32–34)4. Jesus teaches about mission and the kingdom (9:35-10:42) * More laborers for the harvest (9:35–38)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Healings

In this chapter, Matthew narrates how Jesus heals a paralyzed man, a woman with a disease that caused bleeding, two blind men, and many other people who were sick. In every case where Matthew describes what happened, Jesus speaks words, or he touches the sick person, or he does both. These stories show how powerful Jesus is. He does not need to use medicine or magic to heal people. Instead, he can just command the sickness to go away or simply touch the person.

Casting out demons

Matthew clearly distinguishes sick people from people who are controlled by demons. Demons are evil spiritual beings who can control people. They usually use these people to hurt themselves or others. In 9:32–34, Matthew briefly describes how Jesus drove out a demon who caused the man it controlled to be mute, that is, unable to speak. In response, both the crowds and the Pharisees realize that Jesus is powerful.

Resurrecting the dead

In 9:18–19 and 9:23–26, Matthew narrates how Jesus raised a girl from the dead. While Jesus describes her as only “sleeping,” he uses this word to indicate that the girl will “wake up” from being dead. The story clearly indicates that the girl had died and that Jesus raises her from the dead by touching her.

“Sinners”

When Matthew uses the word “sinners,” he is describing a group of people whom many Jewish religious groups would have considered to be living in ways that were improper for those who were part of God’s people. Some of these people may have committed significant sins, while others may have disagreed with many of the Jewish religious groups about how Jews could properly behave. If possible, use a word or phrase that identifies people who are not living as many religious groups think that people should live. (See: sin)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

The short parables in 9:15–17

In these verses, Jesus gives three short parables that describe how certain things do not go well together. Fasting does not happen during a wedding celebration. An unshrunk piece of cloth does not make a good patch for an old garment. Old wineskins do not make a good container for fresh wine that still needs to ferment. Jesus tells these parables to illustrate how his ministry and preaching do not match well with how people had previously done things. In other words, Jesus wants people to expect what he does to be new, and this may require thinking and doing many new things. You should preserve these parables, since they are not direct metaphors. If necessary, you could introduce them in such a way that your readers recognize that they are parables or illustrations. See the notes on each verse for possible translation options. (See: figs-parables)

The harvest metaphor

In 9:37–38, Jesus speaks of people who will believe as if they were a harvest of grain, and he speaks of those who preach the gospel as the laborers who work to harvest the grain. Just as when there is a large harvest but only a few laborers, so there are many people who will believe, but only a few people who are preaching the gospel. If possible, preserve the metaphor or express the idea in simile form. See the notes on these verses for translation options. (See: figs-exmetaphor)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Most of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in dialogue between Jesus and other people. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are singular. You should assume forms of “you” are singular unless a note specifies that the form is plural. (See: figs-yousingular)