The Touch of Jesus

Matthew 9:18-26

18 While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”

19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.

21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.

23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd,

24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

26 News of this spread through all that region.

Faith: the thing that God wants from men is the very same thing a parent wants from a child—faith and trust, love and dependence. God wants a man to believe and trust Him, to love and depend upon Him. This is clearly seen throughout this passage.

1. God responds to true faith. God does whatever good a person asks if that person really believes in Him and His power.

The man who cried for help was a ruler and a father. Luke says that the ruler’s name who oversaw the administration of the synagogue at Capernaum was Jairus. The synagogue ruler was an elected position among the religious leaders. The person was highly respected, both capable and popular, a person who wielded great power. He determined who was to teach in the synagogue worship and supervised the whole operation. He was one of the most important men in a community.

a. The daughter was raised from the dead because of the father’s faith (Mt. 9:18, 25).

Jairus’ daughter was only twelve years old. Jairus was a man of strong love, a man who loved his daughter ever so deeply; and he was a man of strong courage. He showed remarkable courage in approaching Jesus, for he went against the tide of the other religionists who were violent in their thoughts against Jesus.

b. The hemorrhaging woman was healed and saved because of her own faith (Mt. 9:21–22).

She was desperately hopeless, feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and unworthy. According to the law, she was not to be in the crowd surrounding Jesus at all. She was supposed to be isolated, but her desperation drove her to Jesus. She felt that Jesus would never touch her because she was unclean, but she had heard so many wonderful things about Him: if she could only touch His garment, He would never know, and she would be healed. Imagine her great faith!

Our faith is only as strong as the object of our faith. The power of faith does not rest in a person’s own faith but in God and in God alone (Mk. 6:30). Christ can do anything no matter what it is, but the question is, will He?

Mark 5 : 30 Immediately Jesus realized that powers had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But he was looking around to see who had done this. 33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

a. Is the request good? Is it good for all, both for the people involved and for the world? And is it good for God Himself and His glory? Only God can know if a request is good; that is, does it embrace good for all persons involved. This is what is meant by asking according to His will. But note this: a great deal of what is good (His will) is already revealed to us in His Word. We can ask according to His Word and He will answer—if we truly believe.

b. Is the request really asked in faith? Do we really believe that God can and will do the good that we ask?

Hebrews 11: 6  Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Thought 1. The Lord cares for all, no matter how rejected, cut off. A person may be considered unclean, dirty, contaminated, lost forever; but that person is precious to our Lord. His heart goes out in tenderness and care to the greatest of sinners.

To Jesus the most important work in all the world is meeting a person’s need.

John 1)

12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,

Jesus always knows what is best for us and when to meet our need. We should not become fearful, questioning and unbelieving when our needs are not immediately met. Jesus is going to meet the need of anyone who approaches Him in humility and faith.