Jesus' Person and Our Faith

We are in the last of the three sets of three miracles in this little section of Matthew. We’ve seen the veil on Jesus person and authority sort of pulled back piece by piece, as we moved from teaching, to healing, to changing the weather, to deliverance from demons, to deliverance from sins, and now we have the final three accounts, and the peak of all these things, which we will find in the two responses that we see before we move on.

All of these miracles serve two purposes: they are evidence within themselves, they are amazing within themselves, they are interesting and appealing within themselves, and also, they are illustrative and allegorical. They really happened, they are true stories, but they teach us more than just knowing that they happened.

A few weeks ago, when Lizzy and I were on a little weekend getaway to a marriage retreat, we went together to an activity called an “escape room.”

If you’re not familiar with an escape room, it is an activity where you pay someone to lock you in a room with no apparent way out, and you have to use your reason, logic, and critical thinking skills to find clues and hidden codes, keys, and combinations to locks in order to open doors, and the doors don’t lead out, they lead to more codes and keys and combinations - and if you are successful, then you are rewarded with the joy of completion. And even if you are not successful, the owners are rewarded with the joy of having your money.

Anyway, in the sequence of this “escape room” which was actually a series of three rooms, we were stuck in this little hallway, and the next doorway was blocked by these slats which could only be removed if you found two keys to the padlocks that secured the top one in place.

Well, we succesfully found the keys, removed the slats, and set them aside - and you’re thinking, “ok, we’re done with that” - and we went on to the next puzzles and codes. Well, later on we were stumped - we could not figure out one of the lock combinations. We searched and searched but nothing made sense - then it dawned on us. We looked at that pile of slats, and sure enough, on the back side of them was information for that clue. We had to stack all of them back in place, and from the back side we were able to get our next clue.

All that to say, that is a little like what Matthew is doing here - he tells these stories, but he doesn’t want us to just breeze past them - he wants us to know that they are teaching things, they are revealing things, they are to be examined - and he sets them back in place, in order, in a certain sequence, to show us things.

The first three showed us things about Jesus’ mercy in reaching to the outcasts, the unclean.

The second three showed us the difficulty of discipleship, but how Jesus power transcends that difficulty.

These final three teach us something as well - they show us, again, Jesus authority and compassion - but they come together to teach us about the importance of faith. In all three of these miracle accounts, there are displays of faith, and then finally we see a display of doubt - lack of faith.

Faith is the bedrock of our relationship to God, along with repentance, it is the foundational element of our Christian experience - it is how we begin with Christ in salvation, and it is how we walk with Him each day.

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because you must believe a) that He exists and b) that he is worth seeking after.

In these accounts, Matthew wants us to know more than just that Jesus existed, and more than just that the stories are true - He wants us to know who Jesus is, and why we should follow Him.

Jesus’ displays of power, authority, and compassion point to this: He is worthy of our faith, and only faith in Him leads to new life.

He is worthy of our faith, our trust, our following - he is worthy of our faith.

Life from Helplessness - Vs. 18-26

If you remember where we left off last week, Jesus had just given those analogies about newness - new wine in old wineskins, new fabric patching an old garment, and with those analogies Jesus is sort of saying “everything is new.” And he does make all things new.

And with that idea of “newness,” in mind, maybe restoration, Matthew then tells us these stories about death and disease.

Matthew 9:18 ESV

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.”

A ruler - we read in parallel accounts that this was a man named Jairus - Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue. That was probably a position of keeping order of the worship in that synagogue. And the synagogue was sort of a center of life for these people.

So Jairus was a “religious” ruler, but there wouldn’t have been as much separation between the “religious” and the “regular,” the “sacred” and the “mundane” as we would classify probably today. For many of these people, their religion was everything about them.

So to say that Jairus was a religious ruler would not be a downgrade - it is safe to say that he was well-known, well-recognized, an upstanding and upper echelon member of society.

He came before Jesus and “knelt” - this word, again, is often used for worship. it is the same word used when the wise men knelt before Mary, Joseph, and Jesus after his birth. It is the same word used of the Leper who came to be healed. If it is not worship, it is extreme, utmost respect.

And if it is worship, this is the first time that we see an upper-class, well-established Jewish man bowing down to Jesus in such a way.

He comes in a time of need - of course - his daughter has “just died” as it reads, or perhaps, “has come to the point of death.” Mark and Luke tell us that she had not died quite yet, but died while Jesus and Jairus were en route. Either way, she was at a critical moment - and Jairus was helpless.

We will see this kind of helplessness again with the woman that appears in a few verses, but think of something. Given Jairus stance, given his class, his position in society, we can safely assume that Jesus wasn’t his first option - or his first choice. He had probably consulted doctors, physicians, friends, but he was brought to nothing, and that was the point where Jesus compassion and authority entered in.

It is interesting, because last week we were looking at the “sinners” right? The “Am Ha’Arez” or the commoners. And here, we are looking at a ruler - but all are brought to Jesus at a point of utmost need. We are all brought to Jesus at a point of utmost need. Eternal need. A need of life, and Jesus is the life-giver.

Well, they went immediately - Jesus rose with his disciples and followed. They went right there.

Matthew 9:20–21 ESV

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

Here is one of the most wonderful interruptions in the Bible. We don’t know the entire scene - from other accounts we know there were many people around. We don’t know if this woman had heard the conversation with Jairus, but we know she was intent - and she was desperate.

She had a “discharge of blood” for 12 years. This wouldn’t have been life-threatening necessarily, but it would have been debilitating in certain ways.

These are the parts of scripture we don’t speak about so much, but there are chapters in the Old Testament that regulated ceremonial cleanness for bodily discharges, both for men and women. Typically, there were washings that took place during a normal cycle of a woman’s life, but for this woman, the discharge never stopped - for 12 years.

So for 12 years, she was ceremonially “unclean.” This is why this interruption is so unique - because this man Jairus was a leader - at the center of Jewish life and Religion, while this poor woman had been excluded because of her condition for 12 years.

And we see her desperation as well - she wanted to be made whole! She had tried everything! She had spent all her living on doctors, physicians, and she was hopeless. There are times when physical life is ending, or threatened - like Jairus’ daughter - and then there are times when life is just difficult, when you are not in danger of death, but you feel a deadness inside - that is where this woman was. Excluded, hopeless, every day, longing, praying for a change.

Her hope was that if she only touched the “fringe of his garment.” Devout Jewish men wore what are called “prayer shawls” that had tassels that hung down. That’s probably what she was referring to.

Now, if we are perfectly honest, this sounds like superstition - and maybe there was some there. She didn’t know - she had no doubt heard of this Jesus, she probably didn’t want to hinder him. And she probably also didn’t want to “touch” his body, because that would have made him ceremonial unclean - but again, just like with the leper, Jesus’ compassion, his authority, and his fearless mercy override those questions.

Matthew 9:22 ESV

Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Daughter - a term of endearment, respect, a term of love - of compassion. There are two daughters in this story - Jairus’ daughter, and this daughter of God - both experience Jesus’ compassion and authority, and on both accounts faith is what comes in on one side of the equation.

Its not stated explicitly with the ruler, Jairus, but it is in his words - “if you lay your hand on her, she will live!”

With this woman, it was “if i could only touch the edge of his garment!”

And Jesus said, “your faith has made you well.” Now, we know, it was Jesus’ power that made her well - but faith was the human aspect. Faith was not a work, it was a disposition. In both cases, faith lead to action - Jairus had to humble himself to come find Jesus, and this woman had to risk being shamed for touching this man - but they believed, they had faith that Jesus could do it - and of course, he could.

Do you have faith in Jesus? Not simply, do you believe that he is real, but do you have this kind of faith? The faith that stakes your whole life and eternity on what He has said and done?

Matthew 9:23–24 ESV

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

These flute players were part of the ritual mourning prescribed in the Mishnah. Even the poorest of people were required to hire two flute players and one professional wailing woman. So presumably, at Jairus’ house, with his status, there were probably many more of these professional mourners and musicians, beside the family and friends who were actually mourning.

When Jesus said to them, “go away! she is not dead, but sleeping!” That was not a dismissal of the seriousness of death - Jesus knew she was actually dead. But he also knew that in but a few moments, their services would not be required.

You get a hint that he was speaking to the professional mourners here, because when he said that they laughed. Family members may have been taken back by that statement, but there wouldn’t have been any laughter. These who laughed were there to do their job, to make a living - but Jesus was there to restore the dead to living.

Matthew 9:25–26 ESV

But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

The girl arose - Matthew often shortens these miracles, condenses them to fit more in - but he is also often understated - this girl was just dead, and now she is living! She got up!

The mourners were put out of job on this day because of Jesus compassion and authority! The faith of Jairus was met in his Daughter’s resurrection just like the faith of the woman was met in her healing, and they were both met in the person of Jesus.

Jesus is worthy of our faith! Not faith in faith, not blind faith, not empty faith, but faith in the Son of God, the life-giver, the redeemer.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Life was hoped for, but not seen. Healing was hoped for, but not seen - but there was faith, faith in this Jesus who was proving who he was all along - and has proved it even more by himself rising from the dead.

Eternal life is hoped for, but not seen - forgiveness, joy, removal of guilt, redemption, restoration - these things are hoped for but not seen, that is, apart from Jesus. He is worthy of your faith.

Seeing from Blindness - Vs. 27-31

Matthew 9:27–31 ESV

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

So we have had a dead girl, and a chronically ill-woman healed.

These things, again, speak about the reality of the miracles - but they are also all analogies of what Jesus does. God still raises the spiritually dead to life, as we are told in Ephesians 2 that we are dead in our sins without Christ - and, he still opens our eyes to see.

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Was blind but now I see.”

there is a sense, biblically speaking, in which healing of blindness is the most important kind of miracle that Jesus performed. Now, all the miracles were miraculous - I mean, we just saw the dead raised to life!”

But in all the Old Testament, where many miracles were performed by the prophets, even dead raised to life, but never a blind person restored to seeing. Not one.

In other words, people had head of sick being healed, lepers being cleansed, even dead being raised - but nobody was hopeful that blindness could be restored.

There are no records of blindness being restored, but there are prophecies about it.

Psalm 146:8 ESV

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

Isaiah 42:6–7 ESV

“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 35:4–6 (ESV)

Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

A coming day, when the Lord would show up - and the eyes of the blind would be opened. Now, maybe they took that as allegory, maybe they took it spiritually - and it does have spiritual meaning, just like the dead being raised shows how we are spiritually raised to life.

But Jesus really did open the eyes of the blind, and he did it quite a few times! I believe it is the most often repeated type of miracle that we read about.

It is a messianic miracle - and Jesus is that Messiah, He is the Christ.

And there is another Messianic key in this healing, because the blind men call him “son of David.” We saw that in Matthew 1:1, Jesus is the “Son of David, the Son of Abraham”

Jesus, as King, fulfills that Davidic covenant that one from his household would always be ruling. Did these blind men see that Jesus was the Messiah? Maybe they had an idea, a clue - but either way, they had faith.

Jesus says nothing to them - but they keep following him. Its possible that Jesus kept quiet after they called him “son of David,” because that title could possibly have stirred up the idea that Jesus would be a political messiah - to overthrow Rome. That was not his purpose at this time, rather he came to seek and to save the lost.

Matthew 9:28–31 ESV

When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Again, here is that faith - “do you believe that I am able to do this?” Yes Lord!

Then he touched their eyes. According to their faith, it was done. Not, because they had enough faith - but, because they had faith. Their faith didn’t change Jesus ability - he had the power and authority - but their faith changed them, it changed their mindset, their disposition, they had a heart of belief and trust in Jesus.

And I ask again, do you have that faith? That faith in this Jesus who is so clearly the King of Kings, the Lord, the Redeemer? Is he your redeemer? Has he opened your eyes, has he raised you to spiritual life? He is worthy of our faith.

Jesus warns them - don’t tell anyone. Again, this could have to do with the fact that they were calling him “son of David!” Writers call this the “Messianic secret.” The idea that Jesus did not want a certain kind of fame spread about him, that he didn’t want to stir the wrong kind of ideas - the wrong kind of hope. He came on a Gospel-mission, not a political one. But, they couldn’t hold their tongues! And the message spread around the whole district.

Speaking from Faith or from Doubt - Vs. 32-34

Finally, and this closes this intense section of miracles that Matthew has put together, we see the restoration of a mute-man’s speech.

Matthew 9:32–33 ESV

As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

We have already seen demons cast out, a few weeks ago, but this one is a little different. This man’s demon caused his speech to stop. And everyone knew him as the mute man, because when he began to speak, everyone was amazed.

Matthew writes about this miracle in such a passing way that you almost lose the wonder of it - a man tormented by an evil spirit, for who knows how long, never able to speak to his family and friends - and now he is freed and healed!

Why is Matthew so quick with this? Because at this point, the point has been made! Jesus does have this power, he does have this authority, he is more than a mere man. He is worthy of our faith.

The crowds marvelled - and that is probably about the mute man, but it is symbolic of all these miracles - the crowds marvelled at Jesus because never - never - had anything like this been seen in Israel.

This forms a bookend of these miracles, because do you remember what jesus said about the roman centurion?

Matthew 8:10 ESV

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Never in all of Israel had any of this been seen. Not this kind of power, and not this kind of faith. And it can be found nowhere else - not this kind of power, and not the kind of faith that leads to life. Everyone has faith in something - but do you have this kind of faith in this kind of man, the God-man, Jesus?

But with all the faith that we have seen today, there is one final response, and that is not of faith, but of doubt.

Matthew 9:34 ESV

But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

And with this, the Pharisees further drive the nail in their own coffin of disbelief. They have accused Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving sins, but now, they commit blasphemy by attributing the power of God to demons, or perhaps even the Devil himself.

Notice, they could no longer deny that there was power there - they could not deny that Jesus works were real - but they could not believe He was the Son of God, the Messiah - they had to make that separation in their mind.

Even the demons believe, and tremble - but these Pharisees would not believe.

John 1:11–12 ESV

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

That is the question - after seeing all Jesus’ works, do you believe in Him? Not, do you believe that he existed, but do you believe He is the Savior, the Son of God, the Redeemer?

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Do I really have faith in Jesus?”

Have you ever asked someone else that question?

When you see these accounts in scripture, does it spark amazement and wonder and worship?

If you are a believer, Do you regularly run to Jesus in times demanding strength and help?

What in life is bringing you to the end of yourself that demands this kind of faith in this kind of person?

Jesus is worthy of our faith, and only faith in Him leads to new life.