Where Is Your Faith Matthew 9:18-26
Last week we looked at Jesus calming the storm that was about to drown the disciples as they traveled across the lake. During that episode Jesus asked his frightened disciples, “Why do you have so little faith?” These men knew Jesus, were constantly with him, and yet we see they didn’t understand.
Then when Jesus and the twelve get to the other side of the lake Matthew records Jesus performing a series of miracles to not only show his disciples the power of God but to show the power of God to the masses. Matthew records Jesus driving a legion of demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs. Then Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man. It’s important to notice that this man is not recorded as asking to be brought to Jesus, Matthew 9:2, “Some men brought to (Jesus) a paralyzed man, lying on a mat.” Jesus healed him not out of any great faith he had, but out of his compassion and the great faith of those with the man. Now through these accounts of Jesus healing a sick woman and raising a dead girl, Matthew shows us what can be done when one has a deep faith within themselves.
Just FYI, the word faith appears 514 times in the Bible. I wanted to tell you I went through the Bible and counted them but lying to you wouldn’t be very pastoral, I looked it up.
Hebrews 11:1 says this about faith, “Faith is what makes real the things we hope for.” Romans 10:17 says this, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Somewhere these two; the bleeding woman and the synagogue’s leader heard about Jesus and his message,
Verse 18, “…a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her and she will live.’” I found this interesting, a religious leader coming to Jesus and believing in him. The religious leaders have questioned Jesus authority, berated and criticized him, told him and the disciples to stop preaching and here one of them has a deep faith in Jesus.
John 3 records Jesus meeting Nicodemus and telling him, “You are Israel’s teacher…do you not understand these things?” (John 3:10) But here this man’s faith is so strong that verse 19 says, “Jesus got up and went with him.” Looking at this in respect to our lives it shows that it doesn’t matter what you once believed, or what group you belong to, or what your family is; have faith in Jesus and he is with you.
Notice Jesus went with the man. Earlier in Matthew 8 Jesus healed a Roman Centurion’s servant without going to the house, so why go now? Matthew uses the Centurion to show faith will garner Jesus action wherever you are. Here is a similar situation but the relationships are different. Imagine what this father is going through, Matthew shows us here that during the worst times in our lives Jesus doesn’t just act, he walks through it with us; he is right next to us. I can attest that during the worst event in my life I felt a very real physical presence next to me the whole time.
So now Jesus gets up and starts down the road when we’re told, “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, ‘If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.’” (Matt 9:20-21)
That is faith. I admit sometimes that is not me. I can be like, “Jesus, reduce the pain in my back so I know you’re working in me.” I have faith in Jesus as my savior but sometimes my prayers are more like ‘pay as you go’ prayers, “God, you do this and then I’ll give you a little more trust.” This woman doesn’t even want Jesus attention, she’s just touching the trailing edge of his robe as he walks by and she knows she will be healed.
This account is also in Luke’s Gospel and there are some differences. In Luke 8 it says there’s a crowd around Jesus and the woman is working her way through it. We know this woman is bleeding, so she’s not even supposed to be in public as she is considered unclean. Luke 8:44, “She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak and immediately her bleeding stopped.”
I remember when I was young our church was unlocked certain hours of the day and I was taught that if you needed God to intervene you needed to go get on your knees in front of the alter and pray. This woman shows that you don’t need to go to a specific place or wait for a specific time; you just have to approach Christ. Yes this woman approaches Jesus in the physical but the physical is not the central theme here, it is faith. We can have faith and approach Jesus spiritually, we can approach Jesus in our hearts and he will act.
Our readings verse 22, “Jesus turned and saw her and said, ‘Take heart daughter…your faith has healed you.” Jesus calls her ‘daughter.’ Here he speaks to her on behalf of the Father, he assures her she is accepted by God and is adopted into his family. Another translation says, “Daughter, be of good cheer…” When a person comes to Christ with real faith God immediately gives knowledge of adoption and comfort. When we have faith and believe God will act he releases us from our desperation, our spirit gives a sigh and dwells in a new found peace.
This isn’t just my opinion or me trying to read between the lines. As I’ve said before, to interpret the Bible you need to look to the Bible. Romans 8:15 helps us with our reading, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you can live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father.”
Now there is another difference between Matthew and Luke’s account and it has to do with the synagogue leader who Luke names Jairus. In Matthew it says Jairus daughter has already died. When he comes before Jesus he says “Come and put your hand on her and she will live.”
This man is going through probably the greatest tragedy in anyone’s life and he still is giving Christ his utmost faith and belief. Do we? Do I? I think there are times I like most people have a problem and ask God to help, and then say “Well that didn’t work out, you didn’t want to do that, could you consider doing this?” Eventually I might say, “God, I guess that it isn’t meant to be.”
Jairus shows his unwavering faith in Jesus ability to intervene despite the circumstances. When things don’t work out, instead of dismissing God with an “Oh well,” we should praise him simply because of who he is. Here we are shown that no matter how devastating the situation is, Jesus is still beside us.
In Luke’s version Jairus came to Jesus “because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” (Luke 8:42) In this version the situation is dire but not yet final. Again Jesus goes with him but then the bleeding woman touches his robe and it seems that Jesus gets sidetracked.
Jesus is delayed by his interaction with the woman, and then a servant comes and tells Jairus that his daughter has died. This news doesn’t stop Jesus as he goes to Jairus house anyway. In Luke 8:22 Jesus tells the crowd that the girl is not dead but only asleep. Scripture says the crowd laughed at him but Jesus goes in the house and raises the girl up. Here we’re given the same message as in Matthew, that even in the worst of life’s situations Jesus walks right beside us. But in Luke’s version we get two other messages as well.
One might think that Jesus stopping to talk to the woman delayed him enough that this girl succumbed to her illness. It can seem like at times Jesus is too busy to attend to our needs. Nothing can be further from the truth. It is not that Jesus doesn’t care about what we’re going through; it’s just that he acts in ways that bring God glory. In this case God’s glory comes from his intersession in what seems like a lost cause; and it demonstrates the unequaled power of the Living God. Also, Jairus faith in Jesus in the face of this devastating news is a great testimonial of his faith and trust in God. Last week I said that demonstrating your unwavering faith in god during the worst of your life is a greater testimonial of God to others than anything I can say.
By ignoring those that were laughing and placing his trust in Jesus Jairus shows all of us that we should ignore those who ridicule our faith and we should be steadfast in our trust in Jesus. I believe this also shows us that we should not let others prevent us from talking about our Lord because of their actions. There have been times in my life when I was in a group of people having a conversation and I mentioned my faith. The others started joking and criticizing me for it and I just stopped talking, I stopped participating in the conversation. God is the center of my life and I will no longer be quiet because someone else doesn’t believe.
One last difference in these two versions, In Matthew Jesus goes into the room with the girl alone; in Luke Jesus brings Peter, James and John with him, and I don’t think it’s just to have witnesses.
Peter, the rock, the law and its spiritual death; James, the supplanter, the changer; John, God’s grace and life in faith. Luke shows us through the participants and witnesses of this event the basic tenet of Jesus ministry. He gives us that which uplifts our spirits. Through these men Luke gives us the truth and hope of Jesus; that the death of the law has been supplanted and replaced by the grace of God through Jesus.
God bless you all, may your faith grow stronger.
Amen.