Authority & Control Matthew 9:18-26
For the past two weeks we’ve seen how Mattew took events from Jesus life and pieced them together to prove Jesus is the Messiah. Matthew shows Jesus is God in the flesh by giving examples that Jesus has authority and control over disease, over nature, and over the supernatural. Each of these examples used by Matthew come from Jesus activities after his Sermon on the Mount.
Verse 18, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her and she will live.” Here is a man going through a pain and grief like no other. This man is in the deepest of mourning. He is mourning the death of a loved one, the loss of his daughter’s future, and the loss of the future he hoped to have with her.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Jesus let’s this man approach him. Jesus listens and shows his compassion for the man. Isn’t this what we all want from our Lord? We’ve seen before that Jesus isn’t lounging in God’s throne room, he’s here, he’s with you, listening to you, giving you his full attention, comforting you.
Last week we said Jesus has authority over nature. Verse 19, “Jesus got up and went with him.” The nature of all life is that it ends. Why go with the man if nature trumped the power of Jesus? By getting up and going with this man Jesus demonstrates his control over nature.
In Matthew 8 Jesus calms a storm, Matthew 8:26, “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Today again, Jesus gets up. Jesus gets up, Jesus is the lightening rod, the focal point, standing before nature to exorcise his authority over it. When we pray and ask Jesus for help, he doesn’t just sit there and wave his hand, he gets up to show his power over our troubles. He stands up to take on our sufferings face to face and head on. Jesus is a God that shows himself through his work, and in his work.
So now we see Jesus heading off with this man to see his daughter but then he gets approached by another; verse 20, “Just then a woman who had been the subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.”
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” For twelve years this woman has sought help from the priests, the doctors, she’s probably tried every folk remedy and suggestion, and nothing has helped her. As a woman who is bleeding, she is considered unclean. She is not supposed to be in public, she has basically been an outcast for the past twelve years. Do you think this woman is poor in spirit? She must be lonely and depressed. But she still saw Jesus as her savior; Verse 21, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
In our most dire condition; while we are still governed by habits, influences, pain, disease, godlessness, Jesus is close. We just need to see him for who he is, and we need to see what he can do for us; verse 22, “’Take heart daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed at that very moment.”
This woman is healed of her bleeding, but this story is about so much more. Matthew shows us through the healing of the man with leprosy, no matter how deformed our lives are due to sin, Jesus is there offering his grace. The Centurian with the sick servant shows that no matter our background or life, Jesus is there offering his grace. Today, this woman shows that no matter how much of our lives we have hemorrhaged out because of sin, Jeus is there offering his grace. All we have to do is believe in him, and if we ask for his healing we will be instantly healed, and our life will be restored.
On its surface this encounter explores Jesus’ authority over disease. Its deeper message is the hope we all have in Christ. His authority over sin. His ability to heal our souls from the effects of our sin. And his grace in restoring our spiritual life with God the Father.
Now we have Jesus arriving at the man’s house. His daughter is dead. There are a couple of layers here to unravel.
Our belief is that sin is produced when we make the decision to do what God tells us not to. Thou shall not steal, take something that is not yours, no matter how small, and it’s sin. A child is not mature enough in mind or spirit to make a conscious decision to go against God’s word, therefore their missteps are not held against them. As a child this girl is still seen as pure in heart by God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Even though this girl never came to know Jesus, Jesus is her salvation, giving her life.
Verse 23, “When Jesus entered the…house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes.” One of my Bibles says the people were in a state of commotion and wailing. Commotion is from the Greek word “thorubos,” meaning to clammer and make public disorder. Wailing comes from the Greek “alalazo,” It refers to a loud cry. By these reactions these neighbors, friends, and family, demonstrate mankind’s comfortability with death, an comfortability that stems in part from death’s great uncertainty. Into this fray enters Jesus. Verse 25, “After the crowd had been put outside…” The upheaval, the noise, the grief over this girl’s death was removed because Jesus was there. When Jesus is a part of our lives, death is not permanent. Death is not the end and there is no uncertainty in death. We close our eyes here and open them again to see the face of Jesus. We lay down here and stand again to embrace our Christ our Lord.
But Jesus puts the crowd out for another reason. When we face the most difficult times in our lives, we need to be with others of faith. It is not good to be with those who make a great commotion over our grief and pain. It is not good to be with those who ask, “Where is your God now?” “What did your faith and prayers do for you?” Jesus shows us what good our faith and prayers do; they restore our eternal life in heaven. During the darkest days of our lives, we need to be with those who will remind us of this. We need to be with those who will support us and lift us up to this.
In Like’s account of Jesus raising this girl he writes that Jesus brought into the room with him some of his disciples; Luke 8:51, “…he did not let anyone go in with him save Peter and James and John…” Peter, whose name means rock. In the New Testament, rock refers to the rock or stone tablets that God wrote the Commandments on, the law of salvation, the law none of us can follow perfectly. James, whose name means supplanter or replacer. John, whose name means God is gracious. Jesus bringing these three disciples with him when he restored this girl’s life, explains to humanity that the rock, the law of the old covenant, is replaced by the grace of God. By bringing these three disciples with him when he raised this girl, Jesus gives us a living demonstration of what Paul writes in his letters; Romans 8:2 “because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life, has set you free from the law of sin and death.” 2 Corinthians 3:6, “He has made us, as recipients of a new covenant – not of the law but of the Spirit; for the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
This short passage today is packed with layers and information. It demonstrates the truth Jesus speaks in his Sermon on the Mount, that the poor in spirit will enter the kingdom of heaven, that those who mourn can take comfort in God. It demonstrates that Jesus has authority and control over nature, over disease, and over the supernatural. Jesus being stopped on his way to the girl by the bleeding woman shows his concern for everyone. Through the girl’s father, who didn’t complain about the delay, we see patience. God works for us but it may not be on our timetable.
Jesus, through the young girl, shows us nothing can interfere with God’s plans for you.
The scene at the girl’s house tells us that in our life, especially during the hardest times of our life, surround yourself with those who will encourage your faith.
And by bringing Peter, James, and John when he restored this girl’s life, Jesus tells the world that through him the law that brought death has been replaced by the grace of God which gives eternal life.
God bless you all.
Amen.