Matthew 9

Matthew 9:1-8 . HEALING A PARALYTIC. ( = 2:1-12 Luke 5:17-26 ).

This incident appears to follow next in order of time to the cure of the leper ( Matthew 8:1-4 ). For the exposition,

Matthew 9:9-13 . MATTHEW'S CALL AND FEAST. ( = 2:14-17 Luke 5:27-32 ).

The Call of Matthew ( Matthew 9:9 ).

9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence--that is, from the scene of the paralytic's cure in Capernaum, towards the shore of the Sea of Galilee, on which that town lay. Mark, as usual, pictures the scene more in detail, thus ( Mark 2:13 ): "And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them"--or, "kept teaching them." "And as He passed by"
he saw a man, named Matthew--the writer of this precious Gospel, who here, with singular modesty and brevity, relates the story of his own calling. In Mark and Luke he is called Levi, which seems to have been his family name. In their lists of the twelve apostles, however, Mark and Luke give him the name of Matthew, which seems to have been the name by which he was known as a disciple. While he himself sinks his family name, he is careful not to sink his occupation, the obnoxious associations with which he would place over against the grace that called him from it, and made him an apostle. Mark alone tells us ( Mark 2:14 ) that he was "the son of Alphæus"--the same, probably, with the father of James the Less. From this and other considerations it is pretty certain that he must at least have heard of our Lord before this meeting. Unnecessary doubts, even from an early period, have been raised about the identity of Levi and Matthew. No capable jury, with the evidence before them which we have in the Gospels, would hesitate in giving a unanimous verdict of identity.
sitting at the receipt of custom--as a publican, which Luke ( Luke 5:27 ) calls him. It means the place of receipt, the toll house or booth in which the collector sat. Being in this case by the seaside, it might be the ferry tax for the transit of persons and goods across the lake, which he collected.
and he saith unto him, Follow me--Witching words these, from the lips of Him who never employed them without giving them resistless efficacy in the hearts of those they were spoken to.
And he--"left all" ( Luke 5:28 ), "arose and followed him."

The Feast ( Matthew 9:10-13 ).

10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house--The modesty of our Evangelist signally appears here. Luke says ( Luke 5:29 ) that "Levi made Him a great feast," or "reception," while Matthew merely says, "He sat at meat"; and Mark and Luke say that it was in Levi's "own house," while Matthew merely says, "He sat at meat in the house." Whether this feast was made now, or not till afterwards, is a point of some importance in the order of events, and not agreed among harmonists. The probability is that it did not take place till a considerable time afterwards. For Matthew, who ought surely to know what took place while his Lord was speaking at his own table, tells us that the visit of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, occurred at that moment ( Matthew 9:18 ). But we know from Mark and Luke that this visit of Jairus did not take place till after our Lord's return, at a later period from the country of the Gadarenes. (See Mark 5:21 , &c., and Luke 8:40 , &c.). We conclude, therefore, that the feast was not made in the novelty of his discipleship, but after Matthew had had time to be somewhat established in the faith; when returning to Capernaum, his compassion for old friends, of his own calling and character, led him to gather them together that they might have an opportunity of hearing the gracious words which proceeded out of His Master's mouth, if haply they might experience a like change.
behold, many publicans and sinners--Luke says, "a great company" ( Luke 5:29 )--came and sat down with him and his disciples. In all such cases the word rendered "sat" is "reclined," in allusion to the ancient mode of lying on couches at meals.