Matthew 9:20-22 A Woman Healed

And 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 will get well." But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well. [Matthew 9:20‭-‬22 NASB]

 The book of Mark gives more details of this incident.

"A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”" [Mark 5:25-34 NASB]

This woman was afraid. It wasn't that she was shy or timid, but she had a legitimate reason to be afraid. In the Jewish culture, any person with an issue of blood was considered unclean, and anyone they touched became unclean as well. It was her obligation to keep herself away from other people. Her unhealed hemorrhage gave her the same status as a leper.

Jesus had previously healed a leper by walking up to the leper and touching him. This case is different. Jesus didn't approach her. She didn't get his attention and ask to be healed. She tried to be secretive, by blending into the crowd, and brushing against him, as so many others were. Jesus was not fooled. He was aware of the difference between a casual touch, and the touch of faith. 

I'm only speculating, but I think that when Jesus said, "Who touched My garments?", he already knew the answer. The Bible says, "He looked around to see the woman who had done this." He knew where to look. I think His purpose was to give her the opportunity to publicly testify.

Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." [Matthew 10:32-33 NASB] 

Jesus gave this woman the opportunity to either confess Him or deny Him. In spite of her fear and trembling, she chose wisely and confessed Him.

She was healed the moment she acted in faith. The power of God flowed from Jesus the moment she touched Him. His words to her weren't for her healing, but for her comfort.

He called her "Daughter". She is the only one recorded in the Bible to be called "Daughter". Her flow of blood meant that she had been unclean, ostracized, and outcast for the last 12 years. Jesus' term of endearment demonstrated complete acceptance.

Jesus said, "go in peace and be healed of your affliction." She had already been healed, but now, instead of sneaking away, she can go with Jesus' blessing.

Matthew 9:18-26 Raising a Dead Girl

While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live." Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples....When Jesus came into the official's house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, "Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land. [Matthew 9:18‭-‬26 NASB]

Jesus repeatedly showed His contempt for the hypocrisy of the religious establishment. In this passage He demonstrates that He has compassion for the leaders of that establishment. It was a synagogue official who came to Him. When Jesus saw the man's pain and humility, He responded with grace. There was no reprimand nor vindictiveness. He might have said, "It is you religious leaders who are persecuting and denying me. And now that you have a need, you come to Me?" He didn't say anything like that. He simply got up and followed the man.

As for the official, he demonstrated great faith. He said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live." How many of us dare to ask Jesus to raise the dead? And of those, how many pray in faith that Jesus will actually do it? He didn't ask Jesus if He could do it. He made his need known to Jesus and said, "she will live."

Jesus responded at once and came to the official's house. Notice the mention of flute players and a noisy crowd. These were probably paid mourners. It was the custom of the time to pay for people to mourn a death. Even the very poor paid for mourners. The minimum was "two flute players and one wailing woman". As a synagogue official this man would have been wealthier, so he had a crowd. their lack of true sympathy was revealed by their reaction to Jesus. They began laughing at Him. They went from weeping and wailing to scornful laughter in the blink of an eye.

Even as He responded with grace toward the grieving father, he responded with scorn toward the hypocritical "mourners". Just as He drove the merchants and money changers from the temple, so he drove the professional mourners from the home of a grieving family.

Then He did what the official asked of Him. "He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up."

Jesus didn't go around raising dead people. But He responded to this father's faith, and raised his daughter.

If you need a miracle in your life, don't hesitate to ask Jesus, just because you've never seen it done before. Jesus is God. All things were made by Him, and He has the power of creation. Pray in faith that the God of creation will do mighty things in your life.

Matthew 9:14-17 Fasting

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.  But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.  Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." [Matthew 9:14‭-‬17 NASB]

 For a practice that seems to dominate much of religious life, there is very little instruction about fasting in the Bible. Jesus told us that we should do so privately, and not to be seen. We have today's passage, and the rest must be discerned from a very few examples.

In the Old Testament, fasting was an act of mourning and repentance, seeking God's mercy. It was a show of humility.

In the New Testament, the Pharisees made a very public show of fasting twice a week. They were very proud of their humility. The disciples of John the Baptist followed the example of their leader who preached that people needed to humble themselves and repent. They were still operating under the Old Covenant.

Jesus taught that it was inappropriate for His disciples to mourn, or to fast since fasting was an outward sign of mourning. Mourning when you are joyful is like patching an old garment, or putting new wine in an old wineskin. It is inappropriate and has no value.

We have three examples of fasting in the New Testament. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness in preparation for His public ministry. Interestingly, there is no record of the disciples fasting after Jesus' death (although they did go fishing).

There are two passages that mention fasting in the book of acts. The first is in chapter 13. There were prophets and teachers gathered in Antioch. "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." [Acts 13:2-3 NASB]

In the second instance, Paul and Barnabas were visiting a number of churches that had been established. "When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed." [Acts 14:23 NASB]

Under the New Covenant, we no longer fast as a sign of mourning, because through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Bridegroom (Jesus) is always with us. However, the believers in the book of Acts followed the example of Jesus in that they fasted as a preparation for ministry. 

If you feel an urgency to fast, then do so, but make sure your motivations are pure. We don't mourn the absence of Jesus, because He is with us. Fasting so that your prayers will be answered is not appropriate. God hears our prayers and knows our needs. He answers our prayers because He loves us, not because we have coerced Him, or shown ourselves to be "spiritual" by fasting.

If you are seeking direction, fasting will not make God speak to you, but it may focus your mind so that you are more able to hear Him. 

When preparing for works of ministry, it is appropriate to fast. When the disciples failed to cast out a demon, Jesus instructed them, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” [Matthew 17:21 NASB] This confirms that fasting is not only appropriate, but an important part of preparing for ministry.

I confess that I don't know how fasting affects our spirit, because the Bible doesn't explain it. I can infer that fasting prepares your spirit to commune with God. He is always there, and always available to us, though we may not always give Him our attention. Fasting is not for God, but for ourselves. It is not to convince Him, but to prepare ourselves.

Matthew 9:9-13 Eating With Sinners

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.  Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, " It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire  compassion , and not sacrifice ,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." [Matthew 9:9‭-‬13 NASB]

Religious people today are not much different than they were 2000 years ago. I don't know very many Christians who would sit down and eat with an abortion provider. And it's in the news that Christians are denying service to gay people. Not only that, they are receiving awards from other Christians for their denial of service. This is not the example that Jesus set.

Consider who Jesus ate with. Tax collectors of the time weren't like the IRS who have to go through a legal process to get your taxes. The tax collectors of Jesus' time were considered even worse than Gentiles. They were traitors. They collaborated with Rome in the oppression of Israel. Their methods were heavy handed. They didn't only sit in an office waiting for taxes to come in. Rather, they forced their way into peoples homes and took what they wanted. They didn't typically limit what they took to taxable goods, but took the best items out of the home for their personal gain.

Tax collectors were the most despised people in Israel, even more than the Romans. Jesus sat and ate with them, and called one of them to be his disciple.

If Jesus followed the example of many modern Christians, He would have picketed the tax collector's booth, and called him out to his face by calling him a traitor, and an evil man. And the gospel of Matthew would not exist.

By showing them acceptance and love - not judgement - Jesus was able to win the hearts of the lost.

"Sinner's" in this context refers to irreligious Jews. In the church today, they would be comparable to non-Christians. The level of their sin is irrelevant, whether they were thieves and carousers or "good" people going about their business. They were not worshipers of God.

We too, were sinners before we came to Jesus. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." [Romans 5:8 NASB]

Personally, I am very glad that I met a Christian who was willing to spend time with me -  a non-Christian. It was through his acceptance of me, and his example that I came to know Jesus as my Lord.

Instead of judging the world, let's accept it for what it is; lost and in need of a Savior. The world is sick and needs the Physician.

Matthew 9:1-8 Healing and Forgiveness

Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city.  And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."  And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home."  And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. [Matthew 9:1‭-‬8 NASB]

Jesus continues to shake up the religious establishment. By this time people were used to the idea that Jesus was a healer. But when Jesus saw the paralytic, he went beyond healing and said, "your sins are forgiven." 

The result was predictable. Whenever a religious person sees something he doesn't understand or agree with, it is labeled "blasphemy".

Jesus defends Himself against the charge of blasphemy by demonstrating His authority. The same one who says, "Your sins are forgiven" also says, "Get up, and walk."

Some religious people today accept that Jesus heals sins, but deny that he can or will heal physical infirmities.

Jesus has authority to forgive sins and to heal. At no time has Jesus abrogated that authority. Don't believe it when people say that God no longer heals.

When I was a young Christian, an older man stuck his face two inches from mine, and said in a very angry voice, "Healing is of the devil!" As a young believer, I didn't know a lot, but I understood enough to know that this couldn't be true.

The Bible says, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." [Acts 10:38 NASB]

I never read a verse that said that the devil went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by God. I did read, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." [John 10:10 NASB]

Somehow, the tradition got handed down that says that healing and miracles were limited to Jesus and the original twelve apostles. I'm reminded of Jesus' words, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition....thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down." [Mark 7:9-13 NASB]

As for the continuation of the healing power of God, Paul taught about gifts given to believers in the church. "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit....For to one is given....gifts of healing by the one Spirit," [1 Corinthians 12:4-9 NASB]

And James instructed the church, "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him." [James 5:14-15 NASB]

Satan may be the "god of this world" but he has no authority in the kingdom of God. Jesus has all authority. And if He can forgive your sins, then He can heal your body. When Jesus uses His authority to heal your body, He brings glory to God.

Matthew 8:28-34 Demonic Knowledge

When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, "If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." And He said to them, "Go!" And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region. [Matthew 8:28‭-‬34 NASB]

The first thing I see in this passage is that demons may have more spiritual insight than humans. Even though they feared Him, they recognized Jesus as the Son of God.

A similar incident happened to Paul. "It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment." [Acts 16:16-18 NASB]

You will encounter many people in life who are "spiritual". Many of these will talk about God, and identify Jesus as the Son of God. They will come in the guise of believers. Remember the warning, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." [James 2:19 NASB] Jesus was speaking of false prophets when he said, "“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’" [Matthew 7:22-23 NASB]

I believe that there are psychics in this world who are con artists who are very good at reading the subtle clues given off by their marks. I also believe that there are real psychics who are in league with a demon that gives them knowledge and spiritual insight. It's easy to spot a psychic when they hang a "psychic readings" sign in a window. It's harder when they come into the church claiming to have a gift of prophecy or words of knowledge.

Their purpose in doing so would be to sow confusion and discord within the church. Don't simply accept a person as a "gifted man of God" simply because he can show signs and wonders. Look at the fruit of his life. Listen to his words. Do they divide or unite? Do they injure or heal? Is the gospel he preaches true and pure from the Bible, or does it seem "off"? 

Jesus responded to the demons by casting them out. I am not, of course, implying that you should cast demons out of everybody who's theology you disagree with.

Don't by taken in by somebody just because they seem to have spiritual knowledge. A godly person may have spiritual knowledge because of the Spirit of God that lives in him. A worldly person may have spiritual knowledge because of demonic influence. The difference lies, not in the accuracy of the knowledge, but in the truth of the message. As Jesus said, "“You will know them by their fruits." [Matthew 7:16 NASB]

Matthew 8:18-22 The Cost of Following Jesus

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.  Then a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead." [Matthew 8:18‭-‬22 NASB]

Jesus proved Himself to be contemptuous of religious practices of the day. I believe He is just as contemptuous of our religious practices today.

Jesus' response when He saw a large crowd was to give the order to leave the crowd behind, and go to the other side of the lake. He never set out to draw a crowd, and was happy to leave it behind. Churches today measure their success by the size of the crowd attending their services. Church growth seminars and conferences exist for pastors. I have attended these seminars, and can tell you that the emphasis is not on winning the community for Christ, so that they fill the church. They emphasize programs and orders of service. Music leaders are given formulas for how to conduct an effective "worship" service.

Pastors of mega-churches are held in high esteem. They must be very blessed by God to have so many followers, right? Don't count on it. A charismatic speaker who tells people what they want to hear will most often draw bigger crowds than the man of God telling people what they need to hear.

Then there's the way Jesus recruits followers. He doesn't make it easy. In evangelical churches, it is common to end the service with a call for salvation. Typically the pastor will say something like "With every head bowed and every eye closed, if you want to follow Jesus today, raise your hand. Don't worry, nobody is looking." This is not a call for public testimony or commitment.

I want to see people get saved as much as anybody, but I sometimes think we make it too easy. If you count the number of people who have raised their hand for salvation in the last year, the local church would not be able to hold them all. There should be no empty seats. So where did they all go?

I think many are like the scribe who came to Jesus. Making an emotional decision, they say, "I will follow you." Then reality sets in. The heavens didn't open up for them in glory. They weren't instantly blessed with abundance and riches. In short, nothing got better. Jesus dealt with the scribe by saying, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Perhaps we should make it a little harder. Let people know that there is a cost to following Jesus. Jesus promises trials, tribulations, and persecution for those who follow him. It doesn't make for a good sales pitch, but if they count the cost before they commit, they are less likely to be disillusioned by reality.

Some others are like the disciple who wanted to bury his father. In the idiom of the time, this didn't mean that his father was dead, and he needed to go dig a grave. I meant that he would put off following Jesus while he took care of his father. That could be a year or twenty years - the meaning is the same. Some make an initial commitment (remember that this was a disciple who came to Jesus), then the responsibilities of life intrude. They have to choose between commitment to the world and commitment to Jesus. Jesus said, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead."

I bless soul winners. I bless the pastors and ministers who give a call for salvation at each service, inviting people to know Jesus. I invite these wonderful people to consider the tactics of Jesus when dealing with new recruits. They don't need a sale pitch. It is the Holy Spirit who draws them. What they need is education. Let them know that it is not always easy being a Christian, and that once they are committed, they need to be fully committed to Jesus. Then they need follow-up so that they know where to go from here.