Whenever there are times of great crisis in the world the question is often asked, “where is God in all of this?” People want to see his hand in the world they want to know He is loving, and that He cares, that He is approachable. The reason why idols have been a part of false religions throughout history even until now is because they are at least something that a needy person can grab onto. It can be difficult at times as a Christian not having some thing or someone divine to physically grab hold of. But that does not mean we do not have a very concrete picture of God in the world.
We are getting back to the Gospel of Matthew this week and looking into the miracles that he records for us in 9:18-26. Matthew has been showing the various reactions to the miracles of Jesus and with this third set of three miracles, he begins to show the growing interest in the ministry of Jesus throughout the area into which Jesus is going to send His disciples like workers into a field ripe for harvest.
Matthew’s overall purpose in recording these miracles is the continued demonstration of who Jesus is. We saw Christ’s growing authority, from human afflictions like disease and deformity, to authority over the natural world, then the super-natural world, and then the greatest affliction of man, in the forgiveness of sin. All this to reveal Jesus as the promised Messiah who would bring in the Kingdom of God, building a case which no one can deny. As part of this revelation, Matthew is also making it clear that Jesus is more than a mere prophet, that He possesses authority on par with God Himself.
In fact, Matthew is making it clear that Jesus is God. He is God incarnate, God made manifest in human flesh that the disciples and those in need while He was on the earth could literally grab a hold of. “For in Him, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,” as Paul writes in Colossians 2. This morning we are going to read Matthew’s account of two miracles that happen in tandem that demonstrate exactly who Jesus is and how He is a perfect representation of our Heavenly Father. Let us read our passage for this morning.
“While He was saying these things to them, behold, there came a synagogue official and bowed down before Him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.’ And Jesus rose and began to follow him, and so did His disciples. And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, ‘If I only touch His garment, I shall get well.’ But Jesus turning and seeing her said, ‘Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.’ And at once the woman was made well. And when Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowed in noisy disorder, He began to say, ‘Depart; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been put out, He entered and took her by the hand; and the girl arose. And this news went out into all the land.”
In His heavenly wisdom, God ordained that these two miracles would happen simultaneously as they did. Matthew treats them as one account, both working toward the goal of further revealing the person of Jesus and His divine authority. These miracles reveal a great deal about Jesus with their similarities and differences. As we walk through this passage, I want to compare the two miracles to understand how, with two very different supplicants, with two very different approaches to Christ, both received very startling reversals in their situation, experiencing the response of Jesus to their requests and how these two very different people received a beautiful picture of the grace and love of God.
Let’s begin with the supplicants. There is little by way of similarities between the two. The first is the synagogue official. As is been the case with most of these accounts, Matthew does not give us nearly as much detail as Mark or Luke do. From there accounts we learned that his name was Jairus and that he was the chief synagogue official. The synagogues of Jesus’ time were run by a group of 7 to 10 elders of whom one was the chief, a first among equals. He was not necessarily the primary teacher, but he was responsible for planning all of the events, readings, schedules. He was the guy in charge. We do not know for certain whether or not he was a Pharisee, the Bible does not give us those details, but we do know that he would have been rubbing elbows with them on a regular basis.
On the other hand, we have the woman who had been suffering for 12 years from a hemorrhage of blood. We are not told her name, simply her unfortunate situation in life. The term that is used here is referencing a womanly discharge that was outside of her normal menstrual flows. To have survived for 12 years with his condition shows that her life was probably not threatened in the moment. Suffering from any illness or condition for 12 years with no end in sight would be reason enough to be desperate, but because of her condition, she would be recognized as ceremonially unclean. According to the Old Testament law, in Leviticus 15, any woman who had a discharge, whether other part of her regular cycle or not would be considered unclean. But more than that, any bed which she laid on or chair that she sat on would also be unclean and whoever touched to them would be unclean for the rest of the day.
In addition to suffering from this condition, the stigma and humiliation would be second only to something like leprosy. Anyone who was religious would be required to stay away from her, this would ostracize her from the community and perhaps even members of her own family. She would be excluded from the synagogue and the temple because she would contaminate anyone and everything she touched, rendering them unable to participate in worship. And we read in Mark’s account in Mark 5 that she had spent all she had trying to find a cure.
The two supplicants to Jesus in this account could not be more different. One was a religious official, at the head of society and likely financially well-off. The other was a penniless social and religious outcast. They had two things in common, the first was a desperate need for Jesus to intervene in their life. Nothing they could do would affect the situation they were in and they knew their only hope lay in this rabbi who had been preaching repentance and performing miracles.
The second thing that they had in common was a period of 12 years leading up to this point. Again, Matthew does not tell us here but in Luke’s account, and Luke chapter 8 we are told that Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old and was his only child. In the Jewish traditions a man’s level of blessedness before God was demonstrated in their wealth at in their children. Being a synagogue official indicates that he was probably financially well-off, but with only one child he would have cherished her immensely. On top of that, at 12 years old a girl was recognized as having reached womanhood. Jairus’ pride and joy, the light of his life for the past 12 years was about to go out and he was desperate. The woman in the story had been suffering for the same 12 years. Mark tells us that she had tried everything. Spent all that she had on physicians and cures but had only watched in utter despair as her condition only worsened over time.
The next comparison between these two is their approach. The way they came to Jesus reflected their very different conditions. We see that Jairus comes directly to Jesus while he is teaching and in front of a whole crowd of people. Jairus was not worried about what other people thought of him. He does not seem to be even afraid of losing face in front of the Pharisees who were being openly hostile to Jesus. And he came with an attitude of submission. We see in verse 18 that he came and “bowed down before Him.” That is the word proskyneo, that we keep seeing come up. To prostrate oneself, to bow down before, a sign of respect, honor, and worship. Jairus is willing to come boldly up to Jesus because of his position but at the same time he is not arrogant. His request to Jesus is not phrased as a question but rather a statement of fact, “my daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” His humility is shown in that he prostrated himself before Jesus, but the same time he is expecting a miracle and fully trusting that Jesus is capable of performing the act of resurrection that he is requesting.
The woman’s approach is the exact opposite, fitting her position in society. She did not want anyone, even Jesus to be aware of her approaching him. There was a crowd of people and she was trying to stay hidden within that crowd. I can picture her with a hood over her head so that the people of Capernaum who might have been aware of her condition would not be alarmed at her presence. She does not even want to fully approach Jesus, thinking to herself in verse 21 “if I only touch his garment, I will get well.” The phrase there, “for she was saying to herself,” would better be translated “she kept saying to herself.” “If I can just touch his robe I will get well; all I have to do is touch the edge and I will be fine; just one little touch, right on the corner.” Inching her way through the crowd. Timid, hidden, hoping. No public show of faith or worship like Jairus, but with an equal acknowledgment of Christ’s power and authority to heal her.
Both of them came in faith. Both of them came expecting Jesus to heal. Both came in desperation, recognizing that Jesus was the only one who could fulfill their hopes and expectations, who could get them out of the dire situation in which they found themselves.
What we see next is a reversal in both situations. Jesus causes the inverse of their approach. Jairus came in front of the crowd of people. In public, in view of everyone and we see in verse 19 that Jesus and the crowds were following them back to Jairus’ house. A goes even further than that. When Jesus arrives at the official’s house in verse 23 there are mourners and flute players. In the Jewish customs, mourning was not a solemn, quiet experience but a loud and noisy disorder that made manifest the emotional pain at the loss of someone close. It was required by Jewish custom that even the poorest people hire one professional wailing woman, who would shriek the name of the deceased and two flute players who were not playing soothing music but a noisy din. Being affluent, Jairus would likely have had several of both.
As Jesus approaches the house, he tells all of the mourners to leave because we see in verse 24 “the girl has not died, but is asleep.” Now was this girl just asleep? No, she was dead and everyone knew it, that is why they laughed at him and his statement. We see this euphemism for death he used many times in the New Testament. But its meaning is made especially clear in the account of Lazarus and John 11 when He says to His disciples that “our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I go, that I may awaken him out of his sleep.” He then had to explain to his incredulous disciples on that occasion that is reference to sleep signified actual death saying to them plainly “Lazarus is dead.”
But either way, where Jairus had come to Jesus in front of the crowd, and the crowds followed them, when Jesus finally made it to the house we read in Luke’s account that Jesus sent everyone away and entered the house with only Peter, James, John, and they deceased girl’s parents to witness the miracle.
On the other hand, the woman tried desperately to hide the whole ordeal. She was terribly embarrassed to be in public, let alone approach this renowned rabbi. She tried to sneak through the crowds and get a touch of Jesus’ garments , to not even bother him. But instead of letting this miracle go unnoticed by the crowds, we read in Mark and Luke’s account that Jesus stops everything and asks “who touched me?” And states to his disciples that he knew someone touched him because he was aware that power had gone out from him. He was not just a magician doing allusions and tricks, Jesus felt the power leave His person can go into someone else.
This reveals something very important about the truth of who God is. Divine power is not an impersonal cosmic force somehow detached from its sovereign source. God is personally engaged in every act of power from creation to redemption to this healing act. He feels it all, and for this woman, the personal expression of Christ’s power immediately healed her physical infirmity. And Jesus knew her spiritual condition still needs to be addressed, so he calls her out in front of the whole crowd of people. And this woman, trembling in fear finally falls down, as we read in Luke’s account, prostrating herself before him and explaining to everyone present her circumstances in life, why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.
There would have been many people in that crowd who knew this woman, or at least knew of her condition. After she explained what happened, all of them one of understood her desperation. Her need to be healed so that she would not have to suffer anymore, so that she would be allowed back into society.
It is worth noting a biblical principle that is not specifically addressed here, but the implications, and Christ’s desire to see the principal played out come through loud and clear. That is the principal stated clearly in Romans 12:15 that as the people of God we are to, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” The reason the Jews had the mourning customs that they did was so that the whole community would hear the racket being made and joined in the sorrows of the family who had lost a loved one. Mourning was a communal affair. At the same time, I believe that Jesus took this woman who had tried to remain hidden and made her healing public, announced it to the whole crowd so that they would be able to rejoice alongside this woman. To come to the end of 12 years of suffering, to be healed and restored to society is a cause for great celebration and no one should have to celebrate something like that alone.
God has ordered His church to be a family of the faithful here on earth, caring for one another, bearing one another’s burdens, and being that physical presence that is helpful and reassuring during times of difficulty, and a way of sharing the joy during times of celebration. We should be mindful of the pain and suffering in the world, but our first responsibility is to our family, our brothers and sisters in Christ and there should never be someone in our church who goes through a difficult time alone or who celebrates a joyous occasion alone.
Finally, we come to Christ’s response. These two people could hardly be any more different. One from the height of society, one from the very bottom. One who came boldly in front of the crowds, the other trying to hide from even Jesus himself. But the way Jesus responds in both cases is amazing and reveals just how wonderful a Savior he is.
It shows us first that Jesus is available. When Jairus came to Christ desperate for His help, there was no delay, Jesus immediately got up and began to follow him home. Jesus was willing to go where he was needed. Jairus did not need to go through some ridiculous process to come to Jesus he simply approached Him, bow down before Him, and laid his request out plainly. At the same time, the woman was able to reach Jesus, to grab the hem of His robe because Jesus was standing in the midst of a crowd of people. He did not seclude Himself away, hiding up on a mountain or in an ivory tower, He was in and among the people who needed Him.
Jesus’ response shows that he is in partial. Again, Jairus was the top of the religious and social ladder. One of the most important man in this community. The kind of person that any evangelist would be over the moon about converting. “If we convert him, if we get this guy then others will follow. He is power and influence and he would make a great addition to our team.” But Jesus does not see that, he sees a man in need and at the same time He stops to help this woman who is at the complete other end of society. Ceremonially unclean, financially destitute, an outcast, a woman. No one would bother with her, no one would seek her out. But Jesus highlighted her story as much as that of Jairus, and treats her with equal dignity, love, and respect.
We see in his response that Jesus is compassionate. When approached by Jairus, Christ immediately left with him to go to his house. When he arrived at the house, he sent away the mourners so that these desperate parents would not be distracted or worried. An immense growing of hope and confidence in the authority of Jesus over even death. When Jesus raises the girl from the dead, He gently takes her by the hand as if to wake up a sleeping child.
And with the woman, Jesus stops everything in order to minister to her. In a crowd of people he gives her his full attention and a caring and compassionate response “daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” It is our response that is reminiscent of his statement to the paralytic in 9:2 “take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” Here, Jesus calls her “daughter,” a caring and familial term while at the same time assuring her that there is nothing to fear.
What comes through most clearly in the response of Jesus to these two people, in desperate need is that Jesus is God. With just a touch of his garments, this woman was healed. All she had to do was get close enough to him to experience his authority over disease. There was no doubt in her mind, just a feeling that she had to get close to him. Jesus goes even further by demonstrating that he has authority over death itself. He has authority over sin, He has authority over its consequences, disease and death itself.
And he has the power to save. Mark records Christ’s response to the woman in a little more detail, “daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” In all three Gospels, they record the words “your faith has made you well.” But that statement is not focused on the physical recovery, it is translated from the word Sozo which means “to be saved.” Literally, the phrase is “your faith has saved you.” And Mark makes it all the more clear that there is more than just healing going on by going on to record “go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” “You have been saved and you have been healed.” Healed from what? Healed from the disease that ravaged her body and separated her from society for 12 years. That is the easy one, we must ask then “saved from what?” Saved from her sin. “Daughter, take courage; your faith has saved you.”
Jesus has authority over any disease, any illness, any virus, any condition; he has authority over death itself. But all of those are symptoms, symptoms of the curse of sin that is in the world and he is the only way that we can be saved out of it.
In these times of fear and suffering. When the world is undergoing universal quarantine with fear of sickness and death. We asked the question “where is God?” “How can we know God cares?” Jesus answers that question in John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Vs. 9 “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me.”
We have a God who is available, who desires that we bring our desires to him, who commands it. Phil. 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
We have a God who is impartial “there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” (Col.3:11) He calls the all to repentance without distinction and is willing to forgive any and all who will come before Him in faith with a broken and contrite heart.
We have a God who is compassionate. A heavenly Father who has called us out of darkness and rebellion, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him, and in Love, predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Christ Jesus according to the kind intention of His will.
We have a God who saves; who has sent His Son to purchase our freedom at the cost of His own blood. He made Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.