Matthew 9:1  “…came to His own city”
The folks on the other side of the Sea of Galilee urged Him to leave so He did.  He is now back at Nazareth.

2  “…a paralytic lying on a bed…your sins are forgiven you”
The man and the ones who brought him wanted physical healing.  But Jesus gave him what he needed most, forgiveness of his sins.

5  “..which is easier, to say…sins are forgiven…Arise and walk”
Point being that a person could supposedly forgive sins and no one could say otherwise since you can’t see it happening.  On the other hand, if you chose to tell a lame person to get up and walk, it will be easy enough to see if the person is able to get up or if you’re a sham.  Jesus showed He had the power to forgive sins by showing He had dominion over physical ailments.

10  “…as Jesus sat at the table in the house…”
Safe bet this was Matthew’s house.  Other tax collectors felt at ease being in his house.  I’m sure they were interested in having an opportunity to be with Jesus.

13  “…I desire mercy and not sacrifice…I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance”
The irony and hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  They accuse Jesus of eating with sinners, yet they don’t see their own sin.  Jesus tried to tell them, the only way to obtain salvation is to admit you’re a sinner so you can accept Jesus’s forgiveness.  They refuse to admit their sin by saying they have none and thus put themselves out of God’s grace and mercy to save them.

14-17  “…Your disciples do not fast…days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast…Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins…”
The disciples of John may not have recognized that Jesus was the one whom John had been preaching about.  They could fast or mourn about John’s current situation, but there was no need to fast regarding the coming of the Messiah because He was sitting in front of them.  There is much in the statements regarding the old and new, and I’m not sure I’m seeing all the nuances of the context at the moment.  Perhaps He was saying that the Pharisees were trying to fit what Christ was teaching into their old way of looking at things.  Christ was here now, the fulfillment of the old ways.  It was time to open their eyes to the fact that the reason they fasted was in front of them.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word.  May it accomplish what He desires.  Please feel free to comment or post questions.  Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.