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.
touched – haptomai – 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 hem – kraspedon – 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 well – sozo – 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!