Healing Interrupted Pt.2

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Let’s Jump into today’s message.

If you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.

We are currently walking through the NT book of Matthew.

Last week we entered into the last Three Miracles that Jesus would perform out of the group of 10 that Matthew Highlights. He is highlighting these 10 miracles to show his readers that The Messiah indeed had power over the Kingdom.

These last three miracles demonstrate Jesus’ restorative power.

Jesus Came to Restore All Things

For those of you who are theology buffs this aligns with The Recapitulation Theory of Atonement:

Which suggests that Jesus Christ restored humanity to its original state of righteousness by living a sinless life, dying on the cross, rising again from the dead, and ascending into Heaven as our High Priest.

Last week we began the story of the Synagogue Official Jarius and His Faith in Jesus’ ability to Heal his sick 12 year old Daughter.

Let’s Reread last weeks passage.

Matthew 9:18–26 CSB

18 As he was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. 20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years approached from behind and touched the end of his robe, 21 for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was made well from that moment. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly. 24 “Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.

Like I said last week this story is packed with so much amazing insight into faith and the Power of Jesus.

As we look deeper here we will see that these last three miracles that Matthew showcases all are instances where Faith was the key to the miracle.

Today, we are going to conclude the miracle brought about by Jarius’ faith but we are also going to discover some amazing parallels when it comes to our own faith Journey.

What you will see also today is how these two miracles are tied together in a much deeper way than just one miracle interrupting the other miracle.

So let’s get started.

As we learned last week Jarius shows up and interrupts a party, falls to his knees, and pleads with Jesus’ to come heal is sick 12 year old daughter.

As discussed last week this is a crazy moment for this man as essentially He is displaying an act of blasphemy by kneeling before a man.

Because Kneeling is reserved for God.

So this means this man is acknowledging that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.

I believe this is vital for us to notice because so often we look at the Jews and think they rejected Jesus.

However, here you the Jewish Leader of the Synagogue in Capernaum accepting the Lordship of Jesus in his posture of kneeling before Jesus.

He like thousands of other Jews would in fact become followers of Jesus even as others hardened their Hearts towards the Messiah.

We now See Jesus leave with Jarius surrounded by droves of people as they attempt to get to the young Girl.

Suddenly, Jesus feels power leave him and turns to find that a woman with an issue of blood has touched the wing of his garment in an faith attempt to be healed.

Laci, brought up an important point that I have been pondering on all week. She said this lady disregarded everyone in the crowds Cleanliness in order to get to Jesus.

She obviously touched others on her way to touch Jesus.

As I thought about it, this made her Faith seem so much greater. She didn’t care about being ridiculed or what any other person was doing she Just had to get to Jesus.

Jesus was her only focus.

In this act she also interrupted Jarius’ Moment......

Think about how you would feel if you were him..........

This is his Daughter we are talking about.......But Wait.

Matthew 9:22 CSB

22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was made well from that moment.

Jesus had a daughter to take care of too!

Why was she a daughter?

Because of Faith!

This woman’s Faith became a Test for Jarius’ Faith.

Mark 5:34–35 CSB

34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.” 35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”

It is one thing to have Faith while she is still alive it is another after she has passed.

After all, how can a healer help a person who has already died?

Now imagine the ruler’s state of mind in that moment

Hearing that his daughter has died, he must have been instantly consumed with grief and despair

And who among us would have enough faith in that moment to think about asking Jesus for resurrection?

Thankfully Jesus Steps in!

Mark 5:36 CSB

36 When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”

Jesus tells the official to believe (or trust) in Him – don’t go by sight, only by faith

So the ruler passes this test, agreeing to let Jesus go to the house, rather than giving in to his fear

And as they arrive, they encounter a strange scene

Matthew 9:23–26 CSB

23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly. 24 “Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.

A bunch of Wailing Women!

The Tradition.

But think of the Father of this little Girl.

What he must be going through

In this moment he has to choose to trust Jesus and what he just observed or to trust the circumstances of his surroundings.

This man could not let the crowd’s hopeless wailing persuade him against believing in Jesus’ power to resurrect

Yet we can see how different the world’s mindset is regarding death, when Jesus told the mourners to leave

He said they’re not needed anymore, because the girl isn’t actually dead; she’s just asleep

In fact, Mark says Jesus spoke it this way:

Mark 5:39 CSB

39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

The text says the girl had died, but Jesus says she’s asleep, so we might ask, “Is Jesus lying to the crowd?”

So the Bible euphemistically calls a believer’s death “sleep”, because we will rise to live again

Interestingly, the Bible never refers to the death of unbelievers as sleep, only believers, because it’s a reference to the resurrection.

So Jesus enters the home with only the Parents and Peter, John, James.

Again we see the Father put to the Test!

As the father entered that room with Jesus, he set his eyes on his daughter’s dead body for the first time

Imagine the emotions running through his mind and heart

How he must have wanted to drop down at her side, embrace her and wail – not like the professional mourners – but like someone who’s truly lost somebody.

Matthew 9:25 CSB

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

Praise God She is Alive.

Now, Let’s look at how these two stories are connected.

First, we have a father who comes to the Messiah in faith, seeking to have his daughter of 12 years restored from sickness.

Secondly, a daughter of her Father in Heaven comes to the Messiah in faith, seeking to be restored from 12 years of sickness.

That woman had been unclean for 12 years, because of her bleeding, which barred her from participating in normal life

She was unclean under the Law, so anything she touched was unclean, and anyone who touched her was unclean

And likewise, the 12-year-old girl became unclean as she died, for dead bodies are also unclean under the Law.

Both of these daughters were unclean and neither had reason for hope that they could be restored

The woman had tried everything under the sun to stop her bleeding, but nothing worked

And the young girl…well, she is Dead.

For both these ladies there only hope is God.

Now let’s look at the number 12

The number 12 has a symbolic meaning in Scripture…it’s always used in conjunction with the government of God on earth

We see the number’s meaning evident in details like the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles in the early Church

So these two women are connected by the number that represents God’s government or Kingdom

And this fits one of Matthew’s central themes of Jesus as the King over the promised Kingdom to come

So Matthew has recognized that these two women  – and the father who bridges their two stories – form a unique picture of the Kingdom

Together, they picture how we all enter the Kingdom

Last week, I mentioned that the woman’s experience with Jesus forms a picture of our own salvation moment

To see that picture, let’s go back to the woman’s story

In a sense, we all encounter Jesus the way this woman did.

1. We come to Him unclean, estranged from God, under condemnation for a condition we cannot cure

2. Her condition was bleeding, which made her unclean, but our condition is the impurity of our soul…our sin makes us unclean

Like the woman, we come to know Him first by trusting the promises found in the Word of God

And as we approach Him in confidence, he will heal us spiritually if only we reach out to Him

By the power of the Spirit, we receive healing, and then we confess publicly what God has done in our hearts

By our faith, we become a son or daughter of The Living God, the Bible says, and we have peace with God

By our faith, we also become a citizen of the future Kingdom, of Christ's government, which will rule the earth in peace

But since the Kingdom hasn’t arrived yet, we first must spend some time here, living in faith

Which brings us to the father’s story

The father’s story picks up immediately after the woman is healed, and carries us into the rest of the account

His circumstances form a picture of the second part of our salvation story…our walk of sanctification

As a child of God, we live by faith – not by sight, the Bible says

Like that father, we have bowed our knee to Jesus, we’ve acknowledged He is our King

From that point, we have a journey to make with Him as He leads us toward our resurrection

We yearn for that journey to end, so we may receive our new life, just as that father was seeking new life for his daughter

But that journey will test our faith along the way

Jesus will give us moments along our walk where we must resolve to trust in Him so we can learn what’s possible by faith

And in each moment, we face the same choice the father faced

Will we follow after the world’s ways, relying on what we can see, or will we live with eyes for eternity?

Do we trust in the Word of Christ, or become distracted and discouraged by the noise of the world?

Running the race set before us, means passing these tests

And as we move through each one, the Lord is working to build our faith

He speaks to us in quiet moments, in His Word and in our prayer life, or in a Godly friend, encouraging us to trust Him

As Jesus said to the father, do not be afraid any longer, only believe

Finally, the father’s journey brought him to his daughter lying on her bed, awaiting resurrection

And our walk with Jesus will deliver us to our greatest hope: resurrection from death

That 12-year-old girl serves as a picture of the final state of our faith

For as the government of Christ comes to earth, His saints will join Him in resurrected bodies, as Jesus calls us up from the grave

Just as that girl was raised, so we too will be raised by the Father because of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:22 CSB

22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life!

In that one verse, we find all three steps of our faith-life, as represented by the characters in Matthew’s story

Paul says by our faith, we are freed from sin – from our separation, our uncleanness under Law – just like the woman

As a result, we derive the benefit of sanctification – our walking with Jesus that grows our faith – just like that father

Which leads to the outcome, eternal life – which we receive at our resurrection – just like the girl

there is one, final detail in Matthew’s account that I especially love…for it’s another reminder of what we look forward to in the Kingdom

The first thing that Jesus does for the girl after she’s raised back to life is give her something to eat

This reminds us that the very first event of the Kingdom for all saints will be the marriage supper of the Lamb

Jesus will feed us all with a great feast that inaugurates the Kingdom

As Jesus promises in Luke

Luke 13:29 CSB

29 They will come from east and west, from north and south, to share the banquet in the kingdom of God.

Which leads me to the events of Friday and the importance of Salvation and Evangelism.

Psalm 91:11–12 CSB

11 For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. 12 They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

After surveying Chucks Truck and the Accident sight There is no doubt in my mind Angels were involved in protecting Chuck, Rusty, and Danny.

Even Steve Driscoll as he was a few miles in front of them

But what about the ones who died?

God is a Gentlemen and will only enter where He has been invited. He won’t force himself on anyone.

I don’t know for sure but what if no one had ever given the victims an invitation to invite God to protect them.

What if there was no Father to get Jesus to these people.

We all need to look at our walk, faith, and relationship.

But we also all need to be about making sure everyone has heard of the saving power of Jesus and his Kingdom.