Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 6

 

This week in Matthew 9 is about faith.  Three separate needs expressed to Jesus before He finally asks His question...

 ...and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

 

First, the things that were asked about.  A death in the family.  A decade-long health problem. Blindness.  Are your problems on a par with these?  Maybe yours are; mine, Praise God, are not, right now.  And yet, people had come to Him, believing He could make a difference.

Second, how they asked the boons.  I mentioned this in a Better Part post:  They didn't come asking, "Remove this..."  They placed the faith AHEAD of the situation...

Mat 9:18  While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 

Mat 9:20  And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment,
Mat 9:21  for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." 

 

 Mat 9:27  And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David."

As in many times with Jesus, if we look backwards, we gain insight.  Jesus's mercy comes first this way.  I am currently reading through Job, and it struck me this trip through that God INITIATED the discussion of Job with Satan.  Job's catastrophe didn't start without God's mercy, and that mercy led him to a deeper understanding of God- THAT is the goal.

And that mercy led the woman to action- she reached out to Jesus.  A minor thing, almost unnoticed- but He notices every prayer.  If we look at another version of the story, we see this more clearly:

Mar 5:28  For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well."
Mar 5:29  And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Mar 5:30  And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?"
Mar 5:31  And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'"
Mar 5:32  And he looked around to see who had done it.
Mar 5:33  But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
Mar 5:34  And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

His Disciples couldn't perceive the touch, they thought it impossible to determine; but Jesus knew all along.

Finally and firstly, we come to the ruler- and what does he do?  He KNEELS in humility before Jesus, and then expresses to Him that he knows Jesus rules even over death.

 ...and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

 

Lastly, let's look at the reactions.  Not those of faith, but of unbelief.  The ruler's family and friends had no faith; so prior to Him even acting, they rejected Him...

Mat 9:23  And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
Mat 9:24  he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 

 

We saw how, when Jesus had acted almost unnoticed, the Disciples (and the rest of the crowd) failed to perceive it.  And when he brought sight to the blind, we see one more part to the story...

Mat 9:30  And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it."
Mat 9:31  But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Mat 9:32  As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
Mat 9:33  And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."

And here, as Jesus healed not the physical body but the spirit...

Mat 9:34  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons." 

 

Those who choose to reject Him will always find a way to excuse it; whether their excuse is one a reasonable unbeliever would make (like laughing at Him because the child WAS dead), or the most illogical available ("He casts out demon BY demons").  But those who step out faith-first might just receive something special.