Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew, (Matthew 9:18-22)

December 8, 2020

(Miracles of Jesus)

Question to be answered in this study

1. What is the name of Jesus last group of miracles?
2. What is the difference in Jesus’ final group of miracles than the first two groups?
3. What is the one thing required for healing in the last group of miracles that was not required in the first two groups?
4. What is a “Messianic miracle,” and how does it differ from other miracles?
5. What were the four Messianic miracles listed in Mathew’s gospel?
6. Was Jesus and His disciples breaking the law of God by eating during a regular fast? How do we know the answer?
7. In Jewish context, what is the meaning of “Ruler?”
8. What was the differences in scribes and rabbis and the synagogue ruler?
9. What was the responsibility of the ruler of the synagogue or the leader of the synagogue according to Luke 8: 41?
10. What is the miracle within a miracle recorded in Matthew?
11. How much faith does it take to be healed?
12. What is the connection between the miracle of the ruler and the woman with an issue of blood?
13. What is the practical application of the miracle of the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead and the woman with the issue of blood?
14. If God delays the help we ask Him for, what opportunities does it present to us today?

Introduction

Today in Chapter 9, we are moving into the final grouping of miracles Jesus performs in Galilee. This last group of miracles emphasizes Jesus’ power to restore. The miracles are similar to those in the first and second groups concerning healing and demon possession. The difference in this final group of the final three miracles is they constitute a distinct group. In all three of the final set of miracles, Jesus sets those free who are involved in a form of physical bondage. Also, in all three of these final miracles, faith is a prerequisite for receiving Jesus’ healing. Up until this time in Matthew’s Gospel, faith was never a requirement to receive healing.

As we review these three groups of miracles in Chapters 8 & 9, there is a clear message:

• Jesus is the healer.
• Jesus is the all-powerful one with authority.
• Jesus is He who restores all things.

To sum it all up, Jesus is the Messiah who comes to fulfill the law of the old covenant and offer salvation through Himself. He proves His identity beyond denial that He is the Messiah through the miracles He performs. Included in these three sets of miracles two are called “Messianic miracles,” one at the beginning of chapter 8, the healing of the leper, and one at the end of chapter 9, the raising of Jairus’ daughter. According to Jewish belief, four human conditions could be corrected only by God. The Messiah would perform these four miracles, called “Messianic miracles,” to prove that He was the Messiah. Below are listed these four miracles: 

• Cleansing a Leper
• Casting out a Deaf and Dumb Spirit
• The Healing of Birth Defects
• Raising the Dead

Today, we begin our study of the third and final group of miracles. Matthew chose these particular sets of miracles to make his point clear about Jesus and His claim to be the Messiah. To do this, Matthew avoided using chronological order, choosing instead those things from different moments to accurately describe Jesus and His Galenian ministry.

Before we begin with the first of these miracles, which Matthew records as a miracle within a miracle, let’s review the scene between Jesus, His disciples, and the Pharisees over the rules of the Mishnah. The Pharisees were accusing Jesus and His disciple of breaking the laws of the Mishnah by eating with sinners and failing to observe the Pharisees twice-weekly fast. Neither of these things was based on Scripture and were found only in the rules written in the Mishnah. Therefore, Jesus and His disciples were doing no wrong. As they were still discussing the matter, a desperate father arrived to ask for Jesus’ help:

Matthew 9:18, “While he spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, my daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.”

Matthew says that a ruler comes to Jesus and worships Him with a special request concerning his daughter. In the context of this writing, the word ruler has a special meaning. According to the Jews, a “ruler” was those who ran the local synagogue. Mark’s Gospel, tells us this man was named Jairus and was a synagogue official. During the time of Jesus, the role of teacher and synagogue official were separate. Scribes and rabbis were the teachers, and the synagogue ruler was the administrative leader. The ruler was personally responsible for ensuring that all religious activity in the synagogue was appropriately conducted. According to the Oxford Bible studies, “the ruler of the synagogue or the ‘leader of the synagogue’ (Luke 8: 41) was an official appointed by the elders to look after the building, its contents, and its arrangements for worship. Primarily, the ruler’s responsibility was enforcing proper worship practices in the synagogue.”

So, Matthew says this man knelt before Jesus, which is remarkable considering that posture was reserved for worshipping God by the Jews. Psalm 95:6 (KJV) says, “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” Unlike the Pharisees present on that day, this man recognized Jesus as the Messiah worthy of worship; this was also a display of his faith in Jesus, considering that he could have been charged for blasphemy and sentenced to death. The ruler seemed to understand that he couldn’t hold back his worship if he wanted Jesus to heal his daughter. He had to be willing to put everything on the line to worship Jesus, and he had good reason, for his daughter was dying, and he had faith Jesus could restore her to life.

According to Luke, Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old when she died. Jairus appeals to Jesus in a demonstration of great faith, and Jesus agrees to follow the man back to his house. However, as they go, something else happens, and this is our miracle within a miracle:

Matthew 9:19-22, “And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.”

Matthew’s account of the Jairus’ miracle is interrupted by the account of a certain woman. As they go, they were followed by a large crowd clamoring to get to Jesus, seeking for healing or whatever. Jesus’ disciples surround Him, trying to protect him from the unruly crowd. Then, from behind Jesus, comes this woman, trying to fight her way through the crowd to Jesus. She has had a hemorrhaging issue for 12 years; by law, she was considered unclean and was estranged from her family and friends all these years.

The woman finally approached Jesus, coming up to Him secretly without announcing herself, probably for two reasons. First, according to law, she knew the rabbis wouldn’t touch or speak with an unclean woman. Secondly, she was embarrassed or fearful of making her situation known to the crowd. She had tried everything and had spent all her money. But when she heard that the Messiah was healing everyone, she was determined to make her way to Him, believing that only by touching His garment would she be healed. In v.21, Matthew said she knew she would be healed if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. So, she is healed instantly.

What a tremendous blessing this woman received from the Master that day. This was more than just physical healing: 12 years she was unclean, now she is clean, after 12 years of isolation, she was restored to her community, able to live a useful life among friends and family. Still, more than anything, she was healed spiritually. Matthew v.22 says Jesus turned and declared she was healed. True, she was recovered from the time she touched Jesus. Mark and Luke say, Jesus sensed power had gone out from Him at that moment, which is why He stopped and turned around. Ironically, He learned about her healing after it happened. Jesus turns around and asks who touched me? The disciples had an answer for Jesus as we see in Mark’s gospel:

Mark 5:31 (KJV), “And his disciples said unto him, thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” Jesus explains He felt power leaving Him, so He wants to find who it was. Jesus depended on the power of the Holy Spirit during His time on earth to empower Him to accomplish His miraculous works. The Holy Spirit healed through Jesus in response to the faith of the woman.

Faith healers say their healing depends on the person’s faith seeking healing, and if they are not healed, their faith is not strong enough. The strength of our faith is not the issue; where we place the faith we have is what matters, that is, in the power of Jesus. It was not the amount of faith this lady had but her willingness to move on the faith she had and seek out Jesus. She acted out of faith in the promises of God’s Word, so the power to heal her was God’s alone. Most importantly, she believed what the Bible taught about the Messiah, and she willingly placed her faith in Jesus as that Messiah. The Gospel of Mark records that Jesus calls for this woman to confess him before the crowd:

Mark 5:30 (KJV), “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, who touched my clothes?” Jesus could have just kept walking because the woman had already been healed. His response demonstrates the importance of a public profession. After a short delay, the woman comes forward and confesses:

Mark 5:32-33 (KJV), “And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.”

What can we learn from the exchange between Jesus and the woman? First, the woman’s experience of healing is a picture of salvation. She was willing to place her faith in Jesus based on her knowledge of Scripture alone, even before she came face to face with Him. Likewise, Scripture teaches us that today a person comes the same way, faith-based on hearing the gospel news from God’s Word. We come to Him in faith and confess Him publicly “With the heart.” Unlike the other healings, this woman’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah is highlighted.

What is the connection between the miracle of the ruler and this woman with an issue of blood? There is a reason these two stories are intertwined. For one thing, they both involve a display of faith. We will see more about it in our subsequent study. But for now, we see that the Lord was using the woman’s faith to prepare the father of the dying daughter for his test of faith. We know that Jesus was on His way to heal the daughter, but because of the delay in dealing with the woman, the girl has died before Jesus arrived. Now the question is, will the father still have faith that Jesus can raise her from the dead? Will, the father give up thinking it is too late since his daughter is dead? That is where the healing of the woman comes in. This father witnessed how faith works as he saw with his own eyes the power of faith in the woman’s healing.

When they arrive at the ruler’s home, they receive the news that the girl has died. Now the father faces a test; can he draw on this lesson he has just witnessed to strengthen his faith? The answer is yes, for we know for sure that even though his daughter was dead, the ruler believed Jesus could heal her and bring her back to life. The truth to be learned: We understand the importance of placing our faith in God from the woman. From the man, we know that God prepares us to believe, without which it would be impossible.

What is the practical application of what we have seen in these two miracles today? The situations the woman and the ruler demonstrate how faith worked in their lives and how it works in our lives today. Exercising our faith in the Lord results in two essential actions: First, just as the woman and the ruler, we must place a complete trust that God is with us and is able and ready to work in our lives based on the promises of His Word.

The events that take place in our lives will reveal the outworking of God’s promises if we only believe and accept by faith. It will transform our lives in time, and we will learn to live in expectation of God’s work in our lives focused on eternity rather than the current events. Secondly, like the ruler, we are tuned in to learn the lessons God brings into our lives day by day to strengthen our faith in Him. We begin to recognize the sovereignty of almighty God as He works in our lives and all the things around us. We come to know that God appoints every trial and life disappointment. Sickness is an opportunity to become more dependent on the Lord.

If God delays His help, it is an opportunity to learn a faith lesson or develop patience. An impossible situation directs things away from self and is the opportunity to display great confidence in the Lord. Life’s tragedies are only tragic if we fail to learn the lessons God intended.

Please think about this during the coming week and determine if you are relying on God like this woman or this man who placed their faith in God, realizing that He was the only answer to their needs. Like the man whose daughter was dying, do you receive the faith lessons God brings you in everyday circumstances to grow your faith? Are you willing to trust God completely in all things?