Journey Through Matthew: The Healer's Touch
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 18 viewsIn this passage we see two instances of Jesus healing people. What do they have in common? They all desired only to touch him. If we can only touch the hand of God, we will be healed.
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
It is good to see everyone out again this morning.
If you would like, start turning in your Bibles back to , this time to verse 18.
In just a few moments we are going to be reading and we are going to be talking about The Healer’s Touch.
If you were able to be here last week, you will recall that we talked about Sinners and Wineskins and how Jesus calls and uses the least likely of people.
And also how Jesus did not fit the mold of what the Jews were expecting.
All of this leading up to their rejection of Jesus and their plotting to kill him.
Now, this morning we are going to go forward just a bit to two instance where Jesus heals people.
And what is interesting is that these healings all take place immediately after this latest confrontation with the Jews.
It is almost as if Jesus is saying by his actions and not his words, “look I’ve told you who I am and what I am all about, now I’m going to show you.”
And it wasn’t the first time we have witnessed Jesus heal people, and it won’t be the last.
But with these healings there are many things that come out.
First as I mentioned, Jesus is not only saying he is the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus is showing them he is the Messiah, the Son of God.
He is doing things that absolutely none of them could do, and with all of these miracles, I would say none of them had ever seen before.
And in our passage, Jesus ratchets things up a bit.
He takes it to the next level.
And even though, these are two separate people, being healed in three different ways, there is one thing that all three have in common.
And it is not their righteousness or who they are or even where they are.
The one thing that they all have in common is the fact that it is all about Jesus’ touch.
And as we get into this, this morning, I’d like for us all to pay attention and see His touch.
And realize that healing comes when the healer touches us.
And in order for the healer to touch us we have to get the healer’s attention.
And to get his attention, we have to be in his presence.
So, let’s get into things this morning.
If you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you to stand with me as we read about The Healer’s Touch.
Again, we are in . Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
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.
The Ruler’s Daughter Part I
The Ruler’s Daughter Part I
So, here we have our first example of the healing touch of Jesus.
Matthew gives us the basics and tells us that . . .
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.
Matthew 9:18-
So, while Jesus was talking to them about the wineskins, that we discussed last week, this man comes up to Jesus.
Mark and Luke identify this ruler . . .
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”
22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet
Mark 5:35
Which in itself is a bit shocking.
Jarius was not only a “ruler” but he was a “synagogue ruler” meaning that he was a high ranking Jew.
He presided over the entire synagogue and here he was coming to Jesus, this man who the Jews had been relentlessly attacking and asking for Jesus’ help.
So, apparently Jarius got the message.
He knew who Jesus was and knew what Jesus was capable of.
And also, he was desperate.
Luke tells us that . . .
42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
Luke 8:
So, not only was she his daughter, she was his only daughter and she was only a child, 12 years old.
So, anyone who is a parent can relate to what this man was going through.
And it is in these types of times, that all the garbage of the world that goes on around us fades away and we know what is really important.
I have witnessed it time after time after time.
People go on with their lives, living just however they want, and when something happens that they have no control over or that they cannot fix what do they do?
When all else fails, THEN they cry out to God.
It is almost as if we expect God to be on standby for us all the time.
We keep Him in our back pocket till we need him.
Then when nothing else works, we give God a try.
Which the fact that we turn to God in the first place is not bad.
But the bad part is as soon as the crisis is past and things go back to “normal” what do we do?
Do we acknowledge God and change our ways?
Some do, but most go right back to the same old Godless life they were living before they begged and pled with God to intervene.
But on the flip-side of things, who is the first person to get blamed when something bad happens?
God.
Instead of having a relationship with God built on love and trust we try to get by with just using God to get what we want to blame God when we don’t get what we want.
And that is not how it works.
We don’t know why this little girl was sick and dying.
But we do know that her father recognized the One who could help.
Her father recognized Jesus for who Jesus was and went to him.
And the only thing Jarius asked Jesus to do was to come and put your hand on her, and she will live.
He knew that the touch of Jesus would heal his daughter.
But in order for Jesus to be able to touch her, first Jarius had to get in touch with Jesus.
He had to go to Jesus.
And the part we are not told is that Jarius would have had to have some level of faith in Jesus as well.
Why would he bother if he didn’t have faith?
And the point is our healing comes through the touch of Jesus.
Whether it is physical or spiritual, it has to come through His touch.
But before He can touch us, we have to be in touch, in tune with Him.
We have to trust Him and we have to put our faith in HIM.
And we must stop playing all of these games, waffling back and forth serving and following God only when it is convenient or only when we want God to give us something.
So, this guy is now in touch with Jesus and in response to his request . . .
19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Matthew 9
The Bleeding Woman
The Bleeding Woman
However, on their way they were cut-off by someone else . . .
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.”
Matthew 9:20
Now, Matthew gives us the short and simple summary of these events.
Again, we have a person who believed that if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.
Again, it is the hand of Jesus, the touch of the master that brings about healing.
But again, before he could touch her, she had to be IN TOUCH with Him.
And the Bible says she has been dealing with this issue for 12 years.
Not only for 12 years but also . . .
26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
Mark 5:26-
Does that sound familiar?
She had been to doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist, year after year.
Each time hoping that one would have an answer.
That one of them would offer her hope.
That just one of them would be able to heal her.
But it never happened.
Sure, they were treating her symptoms and helping her to survive.
But they had no cure for her disease.
They had no ability to actually heal her.
And to be fair to the doctors, they couldn’t heal her.
They were only human.
Doctors treat but God heals.
God is the one that does that.
And I am sure they tried and tried, but instead of getting better she grew worse.
And she grew more desperate and things seemed more and more hopeless.
Then one day she heard about this man named Jesus and thought “what if?”
“What if, he is the One?”
“What if he could heal me?”
“He says he can. I’ve seen him do it before.”
“If I could only touch his cloak, I KNOW I will be healed.”
She made her mind up that Jesus was her hope and that Jesus was her deliverer.
And when she made her mind up, nothing was going to stop her from getting to Jesus.
And it wasn’t easy to get to Jesus either.
Mark tells us that . . .
24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
And Luke says . . .
42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
Luke 8:
So, it is this huge crowd and she pushes through them to get to Jesus and when she did, she comes up behind him, touches his cloak and . . .
44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
It wasn’t two days, two weeks, two years.
Immediately, she was healed.
And even though she had only touched his cloak, Jesus knew . . .
30 At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
And his disciples thought he was nuts . . . .
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Mark 5:31-
She was afraid because she knew by touching Jesus she would have “defiled him” in the Jews eyes.
She was afraid he would be angry.
But he wasn’t.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
It wasn’t the cloak.
It wasn’t even her touching the cloak.
It was her faith and perseverance that healed her.
Which is where all healing comes from.
Faith and perseverance.
And many will say, “well this person had faith and they weren’t healed, they died.”
But I will tell you if they had faith, they were healed, we just can’t see it right now.
But if we have faith as well, one day we will.
Complete healing only comes in the next life anyway.
Any healing here is just temporary because if the Lord tarries, we will all die one day.
And only then will we realize total and complete healing.
The Ruler’s Daughter Part II
The Ruler’s Daughter Part II
However, remember Jesus is actually trying to get somewhere.
The Ruler’s Daughter Part II
The Ruler’s Daughter Part II
Remember, he is trying to get to Jarius’ house to heal his daughter.
So, after this incident . . .
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 5:35-3
And they continued on . . .
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.
Matthew 9:23-24
So, he was too late, she was dead.
And of course the other people thought he was crazy and made fun of him.
So, what does Jesus do?
Ruins a perfectly good funeral of course . . .
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.
Matthew 9:
Altar Call
Altar Call
So, here we have it, a father who had faith enough to believe in Jesus.
A suffering woman who had faith enough to believe in Jesus.
And that faith led them to seek out Jesus, and seek out his healing touch.
The question this morning is do we have the same faith?
Where does our trust and faith lie this morning?
Is it in the doctors?
Is it in others?
Is it in ourselves?
Or, is it in God?
When was the last time we sought out the touch of Jesus?
When was the last time we allowed Jesus that complete and total access to our lives?
This is what we need to examine today and we need to make a decision based on that examination.
Will we keep doing things the same old way or will we put our entire trust and faith in Jesus?
That’s what we have to decide today, what will that decision be?