Matthew 9:18 – 10:15

Thursday Evening Bible Study

November 9, 2006

Matthew 9

:18-26 Daughters healed

:18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."

ruler – Mark (5:22) and Luke (8:41) tell us that his name was Jairus. He was a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum.

Jairus comes to Jesus believing that Jesus can raise his daughter from the dead. That’s pretty amazing.

:19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

:20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.

As they make their way to Jairus’ house, Jesus is interrupted.

twelve years – Luke tells us that Jairus’ daughter was also twelve years old. Coincidence? Maybe. Significance? I don’t know.

touchedhaptomai – to fasten one’s self to, adhere to, cling to; this isn’t just a casual brushing, but an intentional grabbing.

Mark tell us that she had spent all her money on doctors, but nobody could help her (Mark 5:26).

There seems to be a sense of desperation here. She has tried everything else, and nothing else has worked.

Her condition made her unclean. Having a “flow of blood” made her unclean. Her condition cut her off from other people.

the hemkraspedon – the extremity or prominent part of a thing, edge, skirt, margin; the fringe of a garment; in the NT a little appendage hanging down from the edge of the mantle or cloak, made of twisted wool; a tassel, tuft: the Jews had such appendages attached to their mantles to remind them of the law

Jesus apparently followed the Law of Moses:

(Num 15:37-41 NKJV) Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, {38} "Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. {39} "And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, {40} "and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. {41} "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God."
These “tassels” sewed onto the garment were to be reminders to the people of God’s commandments. Their purpose was to remind the people to obey God.
Jesus thought it was important to live a life of obedience to God.

(John 8:29 NKJV) "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

Jesus even seemed to connect a sense of God’s presence with Him with His obedience to God.

Perhaps we need things in our lives to remind us to obey God.
This is what the woman grabbed. She tugged at Jesus’ obedience.

:21 For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."

Some teachers talk about a “point of contact”. Sometimes we need something physical to touch in order to help release our faith and trust in the Lord.

Calling for the elders to anoint you with oil can be like that. The oil is nothing magical. The elders are nothing magical. But there can be that thought in a person’s heart, “I just know that as soon as the elders put the oil on me I’ll be healed”.

:22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.

Both Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus felt power (KJV – “virtue”) going out of Him and asked His disciples who had touched Him.

made wellsozo – to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction; the Greek in all three places (vs. 21,22) uses the word “saved”

Her faith saved her.

Lesson

Effective fervent prayer

This woman’s prayer was pretty effective.
She was desperate.
This wasn’t a half-hearted little prayer. She NEEDED help.
She pushed through the crowd to touch Jesus.
Even though she was “unclean”, she didn’t let anything stop her from touching the hem of Jesus’ garment.
Sometimes we have so many things distracting us in life. We think we can “multi-task” everything. Some things are better done as “uni-tasking”, and I think that sincere, fervent prayer is one of those things.

Sometimes when I’m on the phone with someone I will do things like checking my e-mail or straightening up my desk.

But there are some phone calls with certain people that are simply too critical and too important to be multi-tasking and I’m learning to turn my computer off and just sit and listen.

I think that we need times of prayer like that. I think it’s great to be going through your day and pray all the time, but there are times that out of respect of the thing you’re asking and out of awe and reverence for God that we learn to sit quietly and pray.

She clung to Jesus
She got a firm grasp on the hem of His garment.
I think these are great illustrations of what intercessory prayer ought to be about.

We get back to the story of Jairus’ dead daughter.

:23 When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,

In those days how much a person was loved was measured by the noise level at the funeral. The louder the wailing, the more valuable the person. Some folks even hired “professional” mourners who knew how to make lots of noise.

:24 He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him.

:25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

:26 And the report of this went out into all that land.

Jesus raised a girl from the dead.

Lesson

Get them to Jesus

We’re going to continue to see Jesus do amazing, wonderful things.
I think that as the disciples are watching Jesus do all these things, they are finding out more and more just what Jesus can do.
The key to miraculous things is not you learning to “perform” a miracle, though God may indeed want to do a miracle through you.
The key is getting the person to Jesus.
The disciples realized this even after the resurrection. Peter and John healed the lame man in the temple (Acts 3) “in the name of Jesus Christ”. They were horrified later when people wanted to pat them on the back because they knew that it wasn’t in them to heal anybody – it was JESUS.

:27-31 Blind healed

:27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"

Son of David – this is a title of Jewish royalty, a descendant of King David. Jesus was in the lineage of David. He was the Messiah.

:28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."

:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Lesson

Faith in God’s ability

An important part of prayer is faith
(James 1:2-8 NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, {3} knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. {4} But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. {5} If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. {6} But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. {7} For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; {8} he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Our faith is “tested” in our trials. Peter writes (1Pet. 1:6) that our faith is refined in our trials.

When we go through trials, we should ask God for wisdom. God wants to give us lots of wisdom (“liberally”).

But when we ask, we should ask in “faith”.

When we doubt in our requests, we’re “up and down” on the roller coaster of life.

Faith gives us stability – trusting God in the storm gives us stability.

Jesus healed the blind men “according to” their faith.
They were willing to trust in someone or something they did not see (a definition of faith)
Faith is what pleases God.
(Heb 11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

An element of faith is not just believing that God exists, but believing that He is a “rewarder”, that He is “able” to do what you ask.

This was an element of Abraham’s faith, knowing that God is “able”:

(Rom 4:19-22 NKJV) And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. {20} He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, {21} and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. {22} And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."

The circumstances in Abraham’s life looked pretty bleak. But he didn’t focus on the circumstances, He focused on God’s abilities.

:30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."

:31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

:32-34 Dumb healed

:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.

:33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"

:34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

The Pharisees were claiming that Jesus was using satanic power to heal people.

:35-38 Pray for workers

:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

:37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

There’s a lot of work to be done before Jesus comes back.

:38 "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Lesson

An increase in ministry

There’s an interesting progression here in the growing of Jesus’ ministry.
1) He did ministry
vs. 35 – He taught, preached, and healed.
2) He saw the need (vs. 36)
(John 4:35 NKJV) "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

I think that some folks aren’t very stirred up to serve the Lord because they never lift their eyes “up”.

Some folks are too focused on their own needs to realize that there is a need out there.

In college I was a part of Campus Crusade for Christ. We were encouraged to “get a vision” for the lost. We were encouraged to go to the top floor of the tallest building on campus and just spend time looking out at all the people.

3) He was moved with compassion. (vs. 36)
Even though we saw Jesus leave the multitudes earlier, it wasn’t because He was bothered by them. He has compassion for people.
You know you’re “lifting up your eyes” the right way when you are moved with compassion on what you see.
4) He prayed.
He didn’t just tell His followers to pray, but He prayed Himself.

(Luke 6:12-13 NKJV) Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

He even spent the night in prayer. But it didn’t stop with just prayer

5) He discipled others and sent them.

{13} And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

Jesus had been calling men to follow Him. After spending the night in prayer, He chooses twelve of them and sends them out on their first little “mission trip”

Jesus spent three years pouring His life into these twelve men. When He was gone, they were going to be leading the church.

Jesus didn’t just preach sermons and then snuck out the rear door. He hand picked specific men to follow in His footsteps.

Matthew 10

:1-4 The Twelve called

:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

Jesus shared His authority with His disciples. Authority flowed from the Father to Jesus, but Jesus entrusts His authority to His disciples.

:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

Of these four, Peter, James, and John were considered the “inner three”. Not all disciples were “equal”, but the inner three spent more time with Jesus than the others.

:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Except for Peter and John, we really know very little about what these other men did.

Illustration

Memo to: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafter's Shop, Nazareth

From: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem

Subject: Staff Aptitude Evaluation

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer but also have arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both register a high score on the manic depressive scale. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and had contact in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and innovative. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success in your new venture.

Lesson

It doesn’t take much

Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that God can only use handsome, beautiful, smart, charming people.
Yet in reality, it seems that Jesus picked a bunch of ordinary guys – some might say “losers”.
(1 Cor 1:26-29 NLT) Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. {27} Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. {28} God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, {29} so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
(1 Cor 2:1-5 NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when I first came to you I didn't use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God's message. {2} For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. {3} I came to you in weakness--timid and trembling. {4} And my message and my preaching were very plain. I did not use wise and persuasive speeches, but the Holy Spirit was powerful among you. {5} I did this so that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom.
When you feel God tugging on your heart to do something, don’t think that you aren’t good enough to do it. You just might be what God is looking for. God wants to use inadequate people so that the world would see that it wasn’t us, but it was Him at work.
On Tuesday I was at a Pastor’s meeting and sat at lunch with a retired general from the Israeli army. He talked about the miraculous way that God has rescued the Jewish nation since it’s rebirth in 1948. He talked about the battle of Gideon with the Midianites and how God had Gideon choose the men who lapped up the water in a certain way. He pointed out that it wasn’t the way they drank their water that counted, it’s that God used a method to pick the smallest army possible to go against the Midianites. God did this so that when the victory happened, God would get the credit.
And that’s why sometimes God chooses to use us.

:5-15 The Twelve Sent Out

:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.

:6 "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The initial outreach was to be limited to the Jews. These were the people that the Messiah first came to – His own people. It wasn’t until after they fully rejected their Messiah that the message was allowed to go out to us pagan Gentiles.

Romans 11 talks about how branches were broken off so we might be grafted in. The loss for the Jews was salvation for us.

:7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

:8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

freely – Jesus didn’t charge the disciples anything to get what He had given them. They shouldn’t charge either.

I think that some times the church has lost this concept of “grace”. We’ve been given so much – we also ought to learn to give.

:9 "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,

:10 "nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

They were going learn some lessons of faith.

It’s not bad to be prepared for ministry. It’s not wrong to pack your bags for a trip.

But sometimes we need to learn “faith” – we need to learn to trust God in the situation of the moment and not just trust in our suitcase.

:11 "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.

:12 "And when you go into a household, greet it.

:13 "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

The ancient blessing was “Peace be with you”. If the home they stayed at was open to the gospel, then God’s blessing would be on them.

:14 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

A.T. Robertson: {Shake off the dust} Shake out, a rather violent gesture of disfavor. The Jews had violent prejudices against the smallest particles of Gentile dust, not as a purveyor of disease of which they did not know, but because it was regarded as the putrescence of death. If the apostles were mistreated by a host or hostess, they were to be treated as if they were Gentiles.

Lesson

Sometimes you need to move on.

There can be a place where a person simply is not open to you and the gospel, and you shake off whatever dirt they’ve splattered you with, and move on.

:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!