Jesus Heals in Response to Faith

A look through Matthew 9

While doing my daily Bible reading today, it dawned on me that I haven’t made a post in four months now. That is far too long to go without analyzing the word of God and sharing it with all of you, so let’s shake off some of the rust and get back to it. I won’t make any promises that this will continue on a daily, or weekly basis, so pray that I garner up the discipline, courage and joy to share the Word more often with you all.

Last month, I accomplished a major milestone in my journey with God.

I finished the Bible from start to finish!

The journey through the Old Testament was far more exciting and gratifying than I would’ve previously imagined. The Old Testament continuously points to Jesus, which helps give you greater appreciation for God, His mercy and His faithfulness in fulfilling promises.

Since finishing, however, I have been a bit lost on where to pick up and continue my reading, so I have decided to read the Gospels from front to back, and finish through the New Testament completely for the second time.

Today led me to Matthew 9 where we begin with Jesus healing a paralyzed man and forgiving his sins, while simultaneously reading the minds of the Pharisees and shutting them down.

Later on, Jesus calls Matthew out of his tax collector booth and life of luxury, and we see Matthew with zero hesitation leave everything that likely made him feel comfortable, and follow Jesus.

Sidenote: I love how God orchestrates every single detail of our lives to fit in alignment with His call. However, we only realize this when we follow Christ and do not hesitate nor look back (Luke 9:62). For Matthew, being a tax collector, he had to be extremely detail-oriented and organized. This greatly aided him in writing the Gospel of Matthew, as it goes into greater detail than the other three Gospels.

After this, Matthew invites Jesus and his disciples into his home for a dinner party with other disreputable sinners, where we see another interruption from the player haters of the year in the Pharisees, who get shut down once again by Jesus in Matthew 9:12-13 (read it, then read this next sentence). Thank you Jesus for having this type of heart posture. Lord knows I need Your love.

Jesus then discusses fasting and the illustration of new and old wine skins. The wine skins illustration is something that I have never really understood completely, however, I believe He is talking about how His new covenant has arrived, and God’s people cannot continue doing the same traditions they have done in the past. In Jesus, God is doing a new thing aka new wine, which require new wine skins aka new way of living. I hope that’s the illustration here at least.

After this, we get to the context of today’s post.

Jesus healing in response to faith.

First, we see Jairus come to Jesus as his daughter has just died. It’s important to note that Jairus was a leader of the synagogue, and worked closely with the Pharisees. It would have been dangerous for his career to associate with Jesus, let alone express public faith in Him, however, desperation can cause us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do in different circumstances. There’s something about the sudden reality of death that causes us to call on God, and this is exactly what Jairus did.

While Jairus is leading Jesus back to his home, we see one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture.

“So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”

This is the ONLY time in all of the Bible where Jesus/God calls someone “Daughter.” Think about that, a disgraced woman, who had dealt with this chronic condition for 12 years, who had spent all she had in medical treatments that could not heal her, who was deemed “unclean” and expelled from society, mustered up the courage to come into town, to confront her shame head on, had the faith in Jesus that even the touch of His robe could heal her. That’s the type of faith that can move mountains. She had it. And Jesus recognized this, and in response to her faith, He healed her.

Following this, Jesus finally reaches Jairus’ home, where a noisy crowd was in the midst of playing funeral music, believing that there was no way for the dead girl to come back to life. This crowd laughed at Jesus when He said that the girl had just fallen asleep. While I want to laugh at these people for doubting Jesus, doubt is something that myself and many other believers struggle with when it comes to trusting the extent of God’s love and power. However, this is another reminder that God is a healer and in His Son, we see this.

“After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! The report of his miracle swept through the entire countryside.”

This isn’t the end of Jesus showing His miracle power in this chapter. Immediately following this, Jesus heals more people who had great faith in the Son of God.

“After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.” Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region.”

Only through Jesus can the dead come back to life, only through Jesus can the blind see, only through Jesus can chains of bondage be broken, and only through Jesus can the demonized be set free. We see one final illustration of this in the chapter.

“When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed.”

If you are in need of a miracle today, or if you have been stuck in bondage for some time now, seek Jesus. Have faith in Him as a healer. He can heal anyone, at any time, anywhere, for any purpose. He is just that good. Trust Him.

Have the faith today to believe that Jesus is who He says He is. Have the faith to know that what He promises will come true. Have faith in Jesus Christ, who is the true Son of God, the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, the End, the Way, the Truth and the Life. It’s only through Jesus that we can see God.

Do you believe that Jesus can make you see? Then have the faith that the blind men in Matthew 9 had, who after just one encounter with Jesus, were never the same again.

Do you believe that Jesus can make you clean? Then have the faith that the woman with the issue of blood had, who after one encounter with Jesus, had a new identity of being God’s daughter, and after years of torment, was finally made well.

The stories in the Bible are not some fairytale, but are real experiences that real people had with a real, living God that is still working in our midst today.

Trust Jesus.