Faith and Healing

Introduction: The Final Three Miracles Proving Jesus’ Authority

The famous words of Paul to the Philippian jailer when the man asked how he could be saved was to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”. In that short episode we see the truth of how God expects us to respond to his authority revealed in the coming of Christ and the Gospel that he preached. The greatest of acts ever done by God, the incarnation of his own Son, the forgiveness of sins through his death, the giving of life freely in his resurrection, all this is for more than good storytelling, just as the miracles of Jesus were more than a magician’s tricks. They demand something of you, something personal, something that you can only do in the depths of your heart. No one can force you, no one can make you, you yourself cannot do this without the Spirit’s help in the hearts of the elect. The proper response to the work of God is simple: belief. The work of God is not simply to be observed, nor are the doctrines of our faith to be merely agreed with in a shallow way, but we are indeed saved by faith alone, a faith which challenges all we thought we knew about life, the world, and God and centres us on the work God did through his dear Son.

In our text today, we see a firm link established between the authority of Jesus and the response of faith. These miracles give is the idea that Christ does not show his miraculous authority to those who do not believe, but he does show this authority and power to those who do believe. Those who believe that Jesus can do great things in his sovereignty that go beyond our understanding will see the golden plan of grace opened up to them a little more. Jesus shows his authority to those who believe in it.

The Girl Raised and the Woman Healed

This first scene includes two miracles, the raising of the ruler’s daughter and the healing of the woman with the discharge.

This episode is far longer in the other synoptic gospels than it is here in Matthew.

In Mark and Luke, we learn that the ruler, whose name was Jairus, coming telling Jesus that the girl was on the point of death, whereas Matthew gives us the same story more summarized. While here he shortens the story to the man coming to Jesus telling him his daughter is dead, Mark and Luke go into more detail. There, we learn that this little girl was about to die when his father went looking for Jesus. It is on the way over that they find out from some messengers that the girl was dead.

The story is interrupted when a this ill woman touches Jesus’ clothes and is healed. In verse 22, Jesus specifically tells her that it was her faith that made her well.

Here the final theme of this section of Jesus’ miracles in this text makes itself known. All three of these miracles we are looking at today are done with an emphasis on faith. The idea is that it is those who come to Christ in faith that will witness the work of God for themselves in Christ Jesus.

God, in his hatred of sin and the enmity that stands between himself and sinners, hides himself from those who do not submit to him in faith and love. When an atheist demands that if there is a God he must show himself before I can believe, God refuses to show himself to such a proud and stubborn heart. God refuses to reveal himself to them, and the more they look around them the more they imagine a godless fiction to be reality.

But God does reveal himself to those who are truly looking for him, those who have the fertility of the Holy Spirit in their hearts to see Christ and respond to him in faith. For this woman, the touching of Jesus’ garb was the physical action prompted by a sincere reaching out to God with all her heart.

After telling this woman that her faith has made her well, she is healed. It is not that her faith as a work made her well, but her passive leaning on the Saviour displayed in an active grasp of his cloak. Just as the action of baptism doesn’t literally save but through it salvation is displayed, it was not the act of grabbing that saved this woman but the trust she had in Christ which led her to reach out her hand.

By the time they reach the ruler’s house, professional mourners were already there. Jesus strangely tells everyone that she is not dead but rather sleeping, a statement that brings inappropriate laughter from the crowd.

After showing his authority to heal to a believing woman, Jesus now makes a statement that forces everyone who hears it to make a very careful decision.

Knowing that the child is indeed dead, it is no wonder that the mourners take it for a joke, for it would seem to be the most comfortable of the options. Either Jesus is joking, or he is making a boldface lie, or he’s telling truth, and if he’s telling the truth, is he telling it as one who witnesses and responds to information they see or as someone whose very words affect reality. In other words, is Jesus speaking this truth as a creature or as a creator? Is he speaking it as a mortal who observes the reality of life and death or as the one who has power over life and death?

We know Jesus cannot be lying because the truth of the girls death is well known. Jesus is not misinformed because he was there when the news of her death reached Jairus.

So if we work through it logically, the only reason Jesus would say this is either as a joke of extremely poor taste, or a claim to divinity. Only God has power over life and death and for someone to claim that a dead girl is actually asleep is to claim that she will shortly rise. Only God or someone endowed with God’s authority can make such a claim. The funeral guests laugh because they do not yet believe that this is possibly what they are about to witness. Jesus spoke truth before it existed and that spoken truth, that promise, exists to be a solid rock in which to build our faith.

The promises of God exist to play this role in us. Each promise exists to give you something to latch onto in faith as a way of trusting God. The promises of God are extremely important for us because the faith they inspire is precious to God, and it is indeed how we may reach the Father. When Jesus says the girl is not dead, he demands faith in what he is about to do.

How do you respond to the promises of God? Do you meditate on them and respond in faith, or do you return with an attitude that surely such promises are only wishful thinking. Do you simply not take his promises seriously? He promises salvation from the guilt and shame of sin, he promises life beyond this mortal existence, he promises security in Christ for your soul to lean back on in faith, he promises rest to the weary who bring their burdens to him. How do you respond to such promises?

Jesus takes the girl by the hand, the other two Gospels each have their own summary of what Jesus said, which is that he addresses her and tells her to get up, and she arose. This is an incredible new high in Jesus’ healing ministry; bringing the dead back to life. Jesus proves his words about her not being dead to be true as a prophecy. Once again, Jesus’ authority is championed with the implication of a proper response of faith.

The Blind Men

Faith continues to be the theme as we move into the next miracle, the healing of the two blind men. The story is set right after the events we just discussed, and Jesus is followed by two blind men. They call out that Jesus would have mercy on them, and they address him as the Son of David. In the cry of these blind men, they are already connecting for us the authority of Christ and the faith that is necessary as a response to that authority. Son of David not only communicates Jesus’ ancestry, but his claim on the Throne of Israel. They identify him, quite explicitly, as the Messiah. The first people in the New Testament to address Jesus explicitly as the Messiah are these two blind men. These men, although they do not have the ability to even see Jesus in the flesh, have more faith than most. Addressing him as Messiah shows hearts that were soft and impressionable to the authority with which Jesus spoke. They thus respond in appropriate trust that Jesus is who he says he is, and give him this royal title.

They cry out for mercy. Not only do they believe in that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised King of God’s people, but they also believe in his merciful heart. They choose to trust in God’s mercy, his compassion, his deep care for those who come to him in faith.

Jesus meets with them in private and questions them about their faith. So central is this theme of faith as the response to Jesus’ authority in our text that even after these men had shown extraordinary faith in their cry to him, that we have Jesus question whether they actually believe that he is able to do this. The actual request is never mentioned, but it is not hard to guess that they want their sight back. After they reply that yes, they do believe he is able to do this, Jesus pushes the issue of faith even further by saying “according to your faith be it done to you.” Jesus is eager to show mercy to those who truly have a trusting, humble heart before him.

Once again, Jesus instructs the healed men not to speak about it, and we covered why this was in a previous sermon. They don’t listen to him and as a result Jesus’ fame spread throughout the area. Leon Morris

The Gospel according to Matthew b. Two Blind Men, 9:27–31

These two men had faith, and it was in response to their faith that they were given sight. But they lacked obedience.

We are reminded that it is not blind, religious fervour that Jesus wants. He would have us supplement out faith with the Word of God and walk obediently according to that Word.

The Mute

Finally, we meet a man who is unable to speak, and we are told that this disability is specifically because of the possession of a demon.

There is both physical and spiritual oppression in his life. We must remember we are also spiritual being. Doctors can help us with our health, but they can only see one side of it. They cannot see the spiritual. However, we must also be careful not to

The Miracle

This mute possessed man is brought to Jesus. Jesus deals with the spiritual malady and the physical sickness is removed too. This doesn’t mean our physical problems are always connected to a spiritual problem, but we certainly see a emphasis put on the spiritual problem first. So far as you care for your body, care all the more for your soul, and do not let the signs of spiritual sickness become a low priority for you.

The Response

Once the miracle is performed, there are two distinct responses that come from the people who witness this miracle, which proves Jesus’ authority on both a physical and a spiritual level.

The Crowds

The majourity of the people watching are included in the crowds. These are following Jesus around, witnessing his miracles, and hearing his teaching.

Their marveling, however, falls short of faith. They do wonder that nothing like this has never been done in Israel before, but they speak of it without identifying the authority with which it comes. The works of Christ demand a response, and that response is not just to look at them and talk about how cool they are, it is a response of faith that is expected.

This would acknowledge Jesus identity.

This would speak of Jesus with deep trust and personal assurance.

This would subject the lifestyles of the listeners to the words of Christ. They must either follow him with faith or not.

Again the point is made that miracles are designed to be reacted to in faith. That is because their existence in the Gospels is meant to display that a new age has dawned, the age of the King. But the reality is that it is impossible to see this Kingdom of God with human eyes. The eyes of faith must be employed to secure a sight of that Kingdom. This is the significance of faith in the Christian religion.

The Pharisees

While the crowd was struck with awe, the Pharisees show the heart of a person who dead set against believing in the Kingdom of God because of the wickedness and pride of their hearts.

The Pharisees grant that Jesus does have authority over the supernatural world, that much is undeniable in the miracle. What they challenge is the source of that authority, which they claim is from the prince of demons. This is a Satanic confession of theirs and accurately reveals the state of their hearts.

Here is an example of the absolute hardest of hearts. It is a heart like this that sins against the Holy Spirit in blasphemy. When it sees the authority of God, it attributes it to be the very opposite of what it is.

This shows their religion to be groundless, because it is based solely in tradition and not in in the true substance of their texts. They didn’t want a religion that was real, only one that was static and predictable. They weren’t really looking for the coming of the Messiah, and so when he came they did not recognize him.

Many trust in Christ in a static way, in a way that is similar to how these Pharisees kept their religion. They trusted in religious facts, debates, interpretations of words, and traditions. They didn’t have a religion that actually allowed the Messiah into his place of power and would hand that Messiah his crown. They don’t look to Jesus as a Lord who may command me believe and obey, but as a hypothetical idea that affects their life very little. When these approach true Christianity, they gawk and complain because the living Christianity shows just how dead was the faith of the man who saw Jesus in a merely theological context, and not a real life context.

The Pharisees here are not afraid to make up their minds about Jesus ministry. Up to this point, they have been there and at times showing their unbelief and jealousy through veiled accusations, but here they are not even showing their unbelief, which could be due to ignorance, but also their counter belief that Jesus gets his power from Satan. This cannot be from simple ignorance, this is an emboldened, defying unbelief. They would rather believe the worst thing possible about Jesus than submit themselves in faith.

Conclusion

In these three miracles which we have looked at this morning, the common theme between them all has been faith as the proper response to the authority displayed in Jesus miracles. We saw in the raising of the young girl that faith in Jesus was the active factor which caused the older woman to be healed. The mourners, also, were told to believe that the girl was asleep, meaning they would have to choose either to believe in Christ’s power over life and death or not. The takeaway is this: faith is the cause of all healing from the hand of God. It is part of the circuit that links us to God and his plan of salvation, our redemption, and our ultimate healing in Christ. It is the sick who need a doctor, and if you know you are sick in your sin and fallenness you are half-way there. But you must also believe that Jesus is the doctor who will take away your sickness. James tells us in James 1:6-8

James 1:6–8 ESV

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Take the promises of God and believe them. Believe that they are real, and pray like you expect to receive them. Ask for them regularly and believe that they are there. The Bible is full of great promises and God will keep each and every one of them, so do not be passive, but active, in stoking your faith in those promises.

In the story of the two blind men, we learn that faith must evident. Even these men who had never seen Jesus themselves had already come to the conclusion that he was the Christ and believed he could heal their sight. Even then, Jesus pressed them to see whether they truly did believe that he was able to do this. The point here is simple: any declaration of faith must be genuine if it is to be accepted and returned in blessing.

The last miracle gave us a look at the unbelief of the Pharisees and what a stubborn and hard heart can do to someone who refuses to bend themselves to God’s revelation. In a way we can see by their own admission who their true God was. This stands for us as a warning.

A warning against hardheartedness.

A warning against a cold, theoretical Christianity.

A warning against theological pride and overzealous judgement.

If you want to see the work of Christ in your life, if you want healing in your soul and even if your asking for healing in your body, ask in faith. Do not be double minded and do not doubt. Honour God by showing him you trust him and all his promises.

Finally, let us cast our gaze upon Christ in this text. He is the one worthy of such faith. He has come to heal both in body and spirit, spirit today and body in glory most fully, and he has pity on those who are sick and in need of saving and they come to rest on Christ. They find in him a rock of salvation, a mighty fortress, a rest for the weary, and the hope of all who’ve looked upon him in faith.