Matthew 9:18-26

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 9

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

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. 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. 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.

This week we move on in Matthew’s Gospel where he continues to demonstrate to us Jesus’ divine nature, his total authority and power over every sphere of life, whether it be leprosy, fever, demonic oppression, or even the winds and the seas, Jesus gives us overwhelming evidence to his credentials as the Messiah. And today I think we’ll see that these two accounts will, by no means, fall short of Matthew’s intent to give continued evidence of Jesus’ heavenly identity.

In essence, he told them that because God was in their midst that his disciples had no reason to fast, but rather every reason to celebrate, for their Bridegroom was with them. And because of Jesus’ presence on earth the very patterns of religion, practiced by the Pharisees and John’s disciples, had, in a sense, become interrupted. In a very real sense his presence disrupted their normal patterns of religion and worship, and so they noticed that the normal patterns of fasting had ceased in the lives of Jesus’ disciples, and they wanted to know why.

But, this week we move on in Matthew’s Gospel to verses 18-26, where Matthew continues to demonstrate to us Jesus’ divine nature, his total authority and power over every sphere of life, whether it be leprosy, fever, demonic oppression, or even the winds and the seas, Jesus gives us overwhelming evidence to his credentials as the Messiah. And today I think we’ll see that these two accounts will, by no means, fall short of Matthew’s intent to give continued evidence of Jesus’ heavenly identity.

So let’s pickup there again in verse 18,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

So before Jesus even finishes his discussion with John’s disciples, a certain ruler comes in and kneels before him with a plea that Jesus would come and heal his daughter. This again, is one of those accounts of which we also have recorded in Mark and Luke’s Gospels.

Gospel

And we’ve already mentioned before that Matthew is often more brief in his records of these accounts, whereas Mark and Luke have often elaborated to a greater extent the details of these parallel accounts. As always, this is to our benefit as we seek to better understand the circumstances of the events surrounding Jesus’ life. Of course, we do this with the ultimate purpose of rightly understanding the teachings of our Lord, that we might obey him. And let us not forget, that our love for our Lord ought to compel us, to not only read the Scriptures, but to study them, that we might rightly obey him. This is why Paul tells Timothy in his second letter to him to, “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” () This should be desire of every Christian.

Synagogue Ruler

So, in light of this, let’s do our best to let Mark and Luke continue to further illuminate the circumstances of this story. Matthew tells us that a ruler comes in and approaches Jesus, in fact, the text tells us that this ruler kneels before him. Now, the Greek word here translated ‘knelt’ can also be translated ‘to worship’ or ‘to prostrate’ oneself before God. So Matthew tells us that this man, unlike many of his religious contemporaries, is compelled to kneel before Jesus, even to worship him. Now, we know that this ruler is a religious leader because the other Gospels tell us that he’s a ruler of the local synagogue, and that his name is Jairus.

Mark tells us that this ruler has a name, Jairus, and that Jairus is a ruler of the local synagogue. So here

And seemingly, this man’s desperate circumstances have compelled him to overcome any of his own pride and to humble himself before Jesus, and to plead for the life of his daughter. And what’s important for us to see, is how God regularly uses the hard and painful circumstances of this fallen world to goad us toward him, to drive us to him, because otherwise our pride is constantly puffing us up with beliefs of self-sufficiency, and self-righteousness, and our pride deceives us into thinking that we have no need of God, whether that’s in total, outright rebellion against him as an unbeliever, or whether that’s in the slightest resistance to him by one of his disciples.

Hard providence a goad

You see it’s hard and painful circumstances that are often what God uses to destroy all thoughts and beliefs of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. It’s circumstances like these that drive us to rely upon him. It’s why Jesus tells us that wealth can be a hindrance to entering the kingdom of heaven, because wealth can give us a false assurance of self-sufficiency, it’s why any kind of blessing can ultimately be a hindrance to us as Christians, because our pride slowly and subtly causes us to forget that all the blessings that we have are from God, and that we have them solely because of God’s infinite mercy, and we begin to believe that we’ve come by these blessing on our own, apart from God, we begin to forget the Giver and to worship the gift.

Some of us

When tragedy strikes or our physical health is brought into uncertainty, God ordains these things not to scare us, but to to drive us to himself, to take refuge in him. Our worry and anxiety should reveal to us that we are not trusting in our Lord as we ought, and our reaction should not be that of despair, but to realize that our Lord has ordained all of our earthly uncertainties to drive us to rely more certainly upon his hand of providence, his hand of care Do we rely upon our good health, our comfortable circumstances for peace? Or do we rely upon God? If our money, our health and our prosperity is taken from us how will we respond? What will our circumstances reveal?

So in God’s mercy he often sends us calamity and hardship, so as to awaken us from our self-sufficient stupor. And so it is I believe here that we also observe a man who is strangely not like his fellow religious leaders, who constantly find themselves opposed to Jesus. This synagogue ruler instead finds himself compelled to humble himself before Christ in the hour of his need, therefore in verse 19, we read that “Jesus rose and followed him.” I’m reminded of the Scripture that’s often repeated, “God opposes the proud but give grace to the humble.” ()

Woman with a discharge of blood

Now before Matthew finishes this story Jesus is interrupted in his journey. We read there starting in verse 20,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.”

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

We see, a women compelled by her suffering to reach out and touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment that she might be healed. She is aware of her need for Christ, she recognized, without hesitation, that he could heal her. Her action revealed a tangible faith toward Jesus, this is why she says to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” We read in the other Gospel accounts that this woman had suffered from her illness for more than 12 years, and that she had even suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, yet her condition had only grown worse. So, her response is to reach our to Jesus, just to touch the fringe of his garment.

And her humility elicits a compassionate response from Jesus. We read there in verse 22, that “Jesus turned, and seeing her said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” So Jesus not only heals this woman of her bleeding but commends her faith. He reveals that this is how he ought to be received. His people should understand their great need, both their spiritual and physical need, and to come to Jesus out of a humble reliance upon him. So, in the same fashion, we ought to remember that our prayers, our petitions, and our concerns are never a bother to Jesus. He never turned away those who humbled themselves before him, for this is why he had come, “to bring good news to the poor, …to bind up the brokenhearted, [and] to proclaim liberty to the captives.”

The relationship between faith and healing

Now I want to take some time to point out something very important. When Jesus says, “your faith has made you well,” he’s not saying that somehow the power or quantity of the woman's faith, in and of itself, made her well, but rather, what we’re meant to understand is that the blessings of God's kingdom came upon her because she looked to Jesus in faith for help. Her healing was a clear, visible manifestation of God’s kingdom setting up shop in the hearts and minds of God’s people. This does not mean that everyone who has faith in Christ will be instantly and unfailingly healed of all their infirmities in this present age. Jesus’ ministry on earth had a unique purpose, which was to give visible evidence of the kingdom’s inauguration in the hearts and minds of his people, and to point them ahead to the age to come when the consummation, or the fullness, of his kingdom would come in all it glory.

The transfiguration

You might recall the story that’s later recorded in of the transfiguration when Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain by themselves, and he’s then transfigured before them, his face begins to shine like the sun, and his clothes become as white light. Moses and Elijah appear out of nowhere and begin talking with him, and then a voice from heaven speaks and says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” In that moment Peter, James and John witness the unveiled glory of Jesus before their eyes and they fall on their faces in terror.

The kingdom of God

In like manner so it will be with the kingdom of God, during Jesus’ ministry we get undeniable proofs of its inauguration and presence on earth by the many signs and wonders performed at the hands of Jesus and his Apostles, but in large part the kingdom remains veiled in the hearts and minds of God’s people, until the end of the age when the kingdom will be unveiled in all it glory, the saints resurrected, and God dwelling bodily with his people, but until then, in large part, his people give evidence of his kingdom by their visible allegiance to their king, Jesus, of whom the world hates.

Health, wealth and prosperity gospel

And the reason I bring this up is because there are many who often twist scriptures like these to teach that if we just have enough faith God he will heal us of all our afflictions, as if faith is somehow the infallible key to unlocking health and wealth for the believer in this life, and that if we fail to be healed and prosperous that then we must just not have enough faith. And this just simply isn’t true. This type of teaching takes the emphasis off of Jesus and puts it on the gifts, and makes Jesus merely means to getting those gifts. You see, the kingdom of God is not about signs and wonders, and merely the wholeness of our bodies, but the kingdom of God is chiefly about its king, the kingdom is about Jesus. Make no mistake we will, one day, be delivered from this body of death, we will, one day, be fully delivered from the sin that so often entangles us in this age, but not yet, not yet.

When Jesus says, “your faith has made you well,” he’s not saying that somehow the power of the woman's faith in and of itself has made her well, but rather what we’re intended to understand is that the blessings of God's kingdom have come upon her because she has looked to Jesus for help. Many often twist scriptures like these to teach that if we just have enough faith God will heal us, as if faith is somehow the infallible key to unlocking health for the believer in this life, and that if we fail to be healed then we must not have enough faith. And this just simply isn’t true.

Professional mourners

Let’s continue there in verse 23,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

Now, on the outset part of this story is very foreign to us. Jesus continues his journey to the ruler’s house and he’s greeted by a caravan of flute players and mourners. At this time in history and in their culture it was customary to have professional musicians and mourners at someone’s death and burial. For those of us in modern, western culture this seems alien, but for this time and this place it was expected of every class of people to employ professional mourners at such a time.

While in our culture this isn't customary or normal, this shouldn't be altogether foreign to us. Whenever we watch a film, particularly films that are noble, true, and beautiful, films that are emotionally moving. We find ourselves moved to extreme emotion not simply by of the content of the movie, but we're usually, and often subtly carried along by an orchestra of music helping us to feel what it is we ought to feel in that moment. In similar fashion that's what we see here, musicians and professional mourners hired to help the family of the bereaved to mourn, to feel the gravity of the moment, and to express themselves more adequately, more deeply.

We actually see examples of this in the OT. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah, while grieving over the sins of Israel says this,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

17  Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;

send for the skillful women to come;

18  let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,

that our eyes may run down with tears

and our eyelids flow with water.

19  For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How we are ruined!

We are utterly shamed,

because we have left the land,

because they have cast down our dwellings.’ ”

The prophet Jeremiah, while grieving over the sins of Israel says this,

Sometimes we don’t feel as we ought, so things like music and in this case professional mourners are used to rightly direct the hearts of God’s people, to feel what they ought to feel, and express the emotions they ought to express.

Not dead, only sleeping

So what’s incredible about this point in the story is that this ruler’s daughter has died and the family has already brought in the the professional mourners and flute players. The setting at this point is grim and very tender and Jesus walks in and says, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” Let me say that again, “Go away.” Can you imagine their response? On one hand they’ve got to be offended but on the other hand we read that they laughed at him, “knowing that she was dead” (as it’s recorded in Luke’s gospel).

You see, to Jesus, through whom all things in heaven and earth exist, "death is no more final or irreversible than slumber" (RSB, p. 1686). While for us death is final, unavoidable, something that none of us can escape. For Jesus, death is not outside of his control, for Jesus it is no more difficult to raise one from the dead than to wake them from their sleep, that's the point. It’s at this point that Matthew’s vivid picture that he’s painted of Jesus’ divine credentials is most clear. Jesus equates raising a dead girl to life to waking someone up from a nap.

Not soul sleep

Not soul sleep

Now, throughout the Scriptures we read, that for God's people, death is analogous to sleep. Now some have believed this analogy teaches us that when we die that we enter into a sort of "soul sleep" until our resurrection, but this is not so. Rather, the analogy of sleep is intended to point us to the hope that we have of our own future resurrection, not to any so-called intermediate state. You see because of Christ, our earthly death, like that of sleep, will not have a lasting hold upon us, death will not have the final word. For the Christian, death, like sleep, is merely temporary. It is temporary because our Lord has the power over death. Which is precisely what we should see here in our text today.

The author of Hebrews writes this “that through death [Jesus] destroyed the one who has the power over death, that is, the devil, and delivered all of those, who through fear of death, were subject to lifelong misery.” As Christians we have no reason to fear death, because our Lord has the power over death, and through his own death he destroyed the one who has the power over death, that is, the devil. That’s good news!

Prayer