Power Over Life And Death

ENGAGE — When “Nothing Else Can Be Done”

There are problems in life we believe we can solve.

If something breaks, we repair it. If we get sick, we seek treatment. If we lose money, we work to replace it. If a relationship struggles, we try to repair it.

We are accustomed to doing something.

But eventually every human being encounters a moment when there is nothing left to do.

The doctor has exhausted the treatment options. The relationship cannot be repaired by another conversation. The years cannot be recovered. The diagnosis cannot be changed. The grave cannot be negotiated with.

And that is where Matthew takes us.

Matthew 9:18–26 contains two people who have reached the end of what human beings can do.

One has suffered for twelve years.

The other has died.

One life is slowly draining away.

The other life is already gone.

And Matthew places both of them in front of Jesus.

Because Matthew wants us to see:

There is a point where our power ends—but there is no point where Jesus’ power ends.

Bottom Line

Jesus has power where every human solution ends.

TENSION — What Do You Do When the Situation Is Impossible?

There is an important difference between a difficult situation and an impossible situation.

Difficult means, “I don't know how this is going to work.”

Impossible means, “There is nothing left that can work.”

And Matthew intentionally keeps raising the stakes throughout chapters 8–9.

Jesus has already demonstrated authority over sickness.

He has demonstrated authority over nature.

He has demonstrated authority over demons.

He has even claimed authority to forgive sins.

But now Matthew pushes the question further.

How far does His authority go?

Can Jesus handle a disease that has lasted twelve years?

Can Jesus help someone after hope has disappeared?

And ultimately:

What happens when Jesus comes face-to-face with death itself?

Because sickness may frighten us.

Suffering may exhaust us.

But death is the enemy before which every human being eventually becomes powerless.

Then Jesus walks into the room.

TRUTH

1. Matthew 9:18–19 — Bring Jesus What You Cannot Fix

Matthew 9:18–19 ESV

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.

“While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him…”

Exegesis

Matthew simply calls this man “a ruler.”

Mark and Luke identify him as Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, but Matthew keeps the account compressed because his focus is not primarily upon the man's biography.

Matthew wants our attention on his desperation and Jesus' authority.

This is a man accustomed to having influence.

People listened when he spoke.

He occupied a respected position.

But position cannot protect you from pain.

Authority cannot keep tragedy outside your house.

There eventually comes a situation where titles, money, influence, education, and connections cannot help.

And the ruler comes to Jesus.

Matthew says he “knelt before him.”

The Greek word proskyneō describes bowing down or paying homage. Matthew repeatedly uses this kind of posture around Jesus to show recognition of His extraordinary authority.

Then the ruler says something astonishing:

“My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

Notice what he does not say.

“Maybe she will live.”

“I hope she will live.”

“Perhaps you can do something.”

He says:

“She will live.”

His situation is hopeless.

But his confidence in Jesus is enormous.

His daughter is beyond his reach, but he believes she is not beyond Jesus' reach.

Verse 19

“And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.”

That sentence is easy to pass over.

But think about it.

The ruler comes desperate.

His daughter is dead.

He needs Jesus.

And Jesus gets up.

Jesus does not lecture him first.

Jesus does not tell him his request is unreasonable.

Jesus follows him into the impossible situation.

Application

Some of us will pray confidently when we think we can already see the solution.

But real faith begins to show itself when we cannot.

Faith is not pretending the situation isn't bad.

This man openly says:

“My daughter has died.”

Faith does not deny reality.

Faith simply refuses to make reality bigger than Jesus.

Maybe your situation really is bad.

Call it what it is.

The marriage really is struggling.

The diagnosis really is serious.

The grief really does hurt.

The consequences really are severe.

The future really is uncertain.

Christian faith does not require us to pretend otherwise.

It requires us to recognize that what is impossible for us is not therefore impossible for Christ.

Big Idea

Faith brings Jesus the situation it cannot repair.

And watch what happens next.

Jesus is walking toward a dead girl when somebody interrupts Him.

2. Matthew 9:20–22 — Trust Jesus When Hope Has Been Draining Away

Matthew 9:20–22 ESV

20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him…”

Verse 20 — Twelve Years

Matthew deliberately gives us the length of her suffering.

Twelve years.

That means this isn't a bad week.

It isn't a difficult month.

It isn't even a difficult year.

This has become her life.

For twelve years she has awakened with the same problem.

For twelve years she has gone to bed with the same problem.

For twelve years she has carried something she could not make go away.

And under the purity laws associated with such bleeding, her condition would have carried serious religious and social consequences as well.

So this is not merely physical suffering.

Her condition has affected her entire existence.

And then Matthew says she approaches Jesus from behind.

She doesn't make a speech.

She doesn't stop the procession.

She reaches.

“…and touched the fringe of his garment.”

The fringe likely refers to the tassel worn on a Jewish garment in keeping with the Old Testament command.

But Matthew's emphasis isn't the clothing.

It is the woman's confidence in the One wearing it.

Verse 21

“For she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’”

She has apparently reached the end of every other hope she had.

But now she believes one touch is enough.

And there is something important happening here.

Under ordinary circumstances, ceremonial uncleanness spreads through contact.

But when this woman touches Jesus, something extraordinary happens.

Jesus does not become unclean.

She becomes clean.

Her condition does not overpower Him.

His power overcomes her condition.

That is what happens repeatedly around Jesus.

Disease touches Jesus and loses.

Uncleanness touches Jesus and loses.

And before this paragraph is finished—

death will touch Jesus and lose too.

Verse 22

“Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’”

This may be my favorite detail in her story.

Jesus doesn't merely heal her.

He sees her.

She approached anonymously.

Jesus makes the encounter personal.

And He calls her:

“Daughter.”

She came looking for healing.

Jesus gives her dignity.

She wanted to touch His garment.

Jesus wanted her to know the Person who had healed her.

Then Jesus says:

“Your faith has made you well.”

The Greek verb translated “made you well” is sōzō. Depending on context, it can carry the idea of saving, delivering, or making whole. Here the immediate meaning is physical healing.

But Matthew's language helps us see something deeper about Jesus.

He is not merely managing symptoms.

He is the One who saves and restores.

And Matthew finishes:

“And instantly the woman was made well.”

Twelve years.

Then Jesus.

And everything changes.

Application

Some suffering arrives suddenly.

Other suffering wears you down slowly.

Sometimes the greatest challenge to faith isn't catastrophe.

It is duration.

You prayed last year.

Nothing changed.

You fought the temptation again.

You struggled again.

You went through another treatment.

Another disappointment.

Another lonely night.

Another setback.

And eventually you stop asking, “Can God do something?”

You begin asking:

“Does God even see me?”

Matthew's answer is found in three words:

“Jesus…seeing her…”

Jesus saw the woman everybody else would have overlooked.

He knew what twelve years had done to her.

And He called her daughter.

Big Idea

Long suffering does not mean Jesus has stopped seeing you.

And here is the remarkable thing.

Jesus has stopped while on His way to a dead child.

There is no panic in Him.

There is no anxiety.

There is no sense that He is running out of time.

Why?

Because Jesus does not experience death the way we do.

Memorable Moment

Jesus can stop on the way to a funeral because death cannot make Him late.

The ruler may be thinking:

“Jesus, we need to go.”

But Jesus knows something the ruler is about to discover:

When you have authority over death, you are never too late.

3. Matthew 9:23–26 — Death Gets the Final Word Until Jesus Enters the Room

Matthew 9:23–26 ESV

23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

Verse 23

“And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion…”

By the time Jesus arrives, the house already sounds like death.

The mourning has begun.

The flute players are there.

The crowd has gathered.

Everything about the scene says:

This is over.

Nobody is waiting for recovery.

Nobody is expecting improvement.

Nobody is discussing treatment.

The funeral has begun.

Then Jesus speaks.

Verse 24

“Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.”

Jesus is not denying that she has physically died.

The entire account depends upon the reality of her death.

Rather, Jesus describes death as sleep because He knows how temporary her death is about to become.

Everyone else sees permanence.

Jesus sees something He is about to reverse.

And the crowd responds:

“And they laughed at him.”

Notice the contrast.

The ruler believes.

The woman believes.

The crowd laughs.

They know what death looks like.

They know this girl isn't asleep.

That is precisely why they laugh.

From their perspective Jesus' statement is ridiculous.

And from a purely human perspective, they're right.

Dead people don't get up.

But they are evaluating Jesus according to the limits of their own experience.

And that is always a mistake.

Application

We frequently determine what God can do by looking at what we can do.

“If I can't imagine a solution, there isn't one.”

“If I can't see a way forward, there isn't one.”

“If everybody else says it's over, it must be over.”

But the crowd is about to learn:

Our limitations tell us nothing about Christ's limitations.

Because He doesn't have any.

Big Idea

Never measure Jesus' power by your own limitations.

Verse 25 — Jesus Takes Death by the Hand

“But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand…”

Don't move past that too quickly.

He took her by the hand.

According to Old Testament purity regulations, touching a corpse brought ceremonial uncleanness.

But once again the normal direction is reversed.

Jesus touches the dead girl—

and Jesus does not become corrupted by death.

Death is conquered by Jesus.

With the bleeding woman, uncleanness could not contaminate Him.

With the dead girl, death cannot overpower Him.

Everything that normally spreads toward us—

disease,

uncleanness,

death—

runs into Jesus and begins moving in the opposite direction.

And Matthew says:

“…and the girl arose.”

No struggle.

No battle.

No ritual.

Matthew doesn't even record a spoken command.

Jesus simply takes her hand.

And death lets go.

This Is the Point of the Passage

Jesus isn't merely compassionate.

He is compassionate.

Jesus isn't merely a healer.

He heals.

But Matthew wants us to see something greater.

Jesus possesses authority over life and death itself.

Death is the boundary no human being can cross by his own power.

Medicine can delay it.

Exercise may postpone it.

Money can make us comfortable before it.

Funeral homes can dress it up.

Cemeteries can make it peaceful.

But nobody has ever negotiated death into surrender.

Except Jesus.

Big Idea

When Jesus takes hold of death, death has to let go.

Verse 26 — Power Like This Cannot Stay Hidden

“And the report of this went through all that district.”

Of course it did.

A girl was dead.

Now she is alive.

How do you keep that quiet?

Matthew ends the story not simply with a healed woman or a living daughter but with the expanding reputation of Jesus.

Because every miracle in these chapters is answering the same question:

Who is this man?

Disease obeys Him.

Demons obey Him.

Nature obeys Him.

Sin is forgiven by Him.

And now even death must surrender to Him.

Matthew is preparing us to understand that Jesus is more than a teacher worth hearing.

He is the King to whom everything ultimately answers.

Big Idea

A Jesus with authority over death deserves authority over your life.

BRINGING THE WHOLE PASSAGE TOGETHER

Look again at the movement of the story.

The ruler has a problem nobody can fix.

The woman has a problem nobody has fixed.

The girl has reached a condition nobody can reverse.

Then Jesus enters each situation.

A desperate father discovers Jesus isn't too late.

A suffering woman discovers Jesus hasn't overlooked her.

A mourning household discovers death isn't stronger than Him.

Matthew's message is unmistakable:

Bottom Line

Jesus has power where every human solution ends.

That does not mean Jesus promises that every illness in our lives will immediately disappear.

The woman eventually died.

The girl Jesus raised eventually died again.

These miracles are not promises that Christians will escape every cemetery.

They are signs pointing us toward something much greater.

Because later in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus Himself will die.

His hands will not be holding a dead girl's hand.

His own hands will be pierced.

His body will be placed in a tomb.

And once again everyone will believe:

“It is over.”

But the One who raised this girl will Himself rise.

And His resurrection will demonstrate once and for all that death is not stronger than Jesus.

This girl came back to mortal life.

Jesus rose never to die again.

And because He lives, death does not have to be the final chapter for those who belong to Him.

CLOSING — What Is Beyond You?

Maybe the most important question today isn't:

“Do you believe Jesus could raise this girl?”

Most of us already believe that.

The harder question is:

Do you trust the same Jesus with what you cannot control?

What have you already declared hopeless?

What have you carried so long that you have stopped expecting anything from God?

Where have you confused the end of your ability with the end of Jesus' authority?

The ruler teaches us:

Bring Him what you cannot fix.

The woman teaches us:

Trust Him when suffering has lasted longer than you wanted.

The dead girl teaches us:

Never confuse human impossibility with divine inability.

Because:

Jesus has power where every human solution ends.

CALL TO RESPONSE

But there is an even greater problem than sickness.

There is an even greater problem than suffering.

Sin separates us from the God who gives life.

And no amount of morality, religion, money, achievement, or effort can erase our guilt.

Eventually we must admit:

“I cannot save myself.”

And that is exactly where the gospel becomes good news.

The Jesus who has authority over disease and death went to the cross for our sins and walked out of His own grave.

So don't merely admire His power.

Submit to His authority.

If you have never come to Christ, believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Turn from your sin in repentance. Confess your faith in Him, and be baptized into Christ, trusting His saving work rather than your own ability.

Romans 6 connects baptism directly with Jesus' death and resurrection: we are buried with Him through baptism so that, just as Christ was raised, we might walk in newness of life.

And if you already belong to Christ but have been trying to carry an impossible situation alone, bring it back under His authority today.

You may not know what He will do.

You may not know when He will do it.

But Matthew 9 tells you who He is.

When medicine reaches its limit—

Jesus is still Lord.

When your strength reaches its limit—

Jesus is still Lord.

When hope feels exhausted—

Jesus is still Lord.

And even when life itself reaches the grave—

Jesus is still Lord.

Because Jesus has power where every human solution ends.