Matthew 9:18-31
Faith in the King
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Heb. 11:6 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.
Pray
Intro
√ Faith
Faith is the currency of heaven.
Our possessions and money are of no value to God!
Faith is what moves the heart and the hand of God to work on behalf of those who love Him and seek His blessings.
The Bible tells us that faith pleases God, brings the sinner into the family of God, apprehends God’s power in our lives, and earns us rewards in eternity!
But what exactly is faith?
We know that it is more than simply believing that God exists, for James tells us that even the demons believe in God…
…yet, they don’t have the kind of faith that pleases God!
Well, in verses 18-31 we have the record of three miracles that Jesus did, which give us a wonderful lesson on faith.
If we’ll look closely at Matthew’s record we’ll come to discover what faith is, how it works, and hopefully be encouraged to express faith in our own life!
Faith in the King!
Ap. We need men and woman of faith today
God is moving in these last days and will use any who step out in faith and make themselves available to His service.
The expressions of faith (vs. 18-21)
Matt. 9:18 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.”
Matt. 9:19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
Matt. 9:20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.
Matt. 9:21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”
√ The expressions of faith
In these first few verses we’re introduced to two people, a man and a woman, who both express faith in Jesus the King to meet their most desperate need.
According to Mark and Luke the man is named Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue in
He comes to Jesus on behalf of his daughter who has just died.
The woman is un-named in all of the Gospels.
She comes to Jesus seeking a healing for herself because she has been bleeding for the last 12 years!
Of interest to us regarding the lesson of faith is that both people came to Jesus with their needs, that is, faith must have an object.
1) Faith must have an object!
Specifically, Biblical faith that pleases God is faith in the Person of Jesus Christ because only Jesus has the power and authority to minister to our deepest needs!
Note that Jairus says to Jesus…
“Come and lay your hand on her and she will live.”
Vs. 18
While the woman said to herself…
“If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” ~ Vs. 21
The point is that both recognized that Jesus had the power to meet their needs.
They placed their faith in Him because they recognized that He had the power and authority to meet their need.
Ex. No such thing as “faith in our faith”
You’ll sometimes hear people on TV say, or you’ll read in books on faith that you have to have…
“Faith in your faith”
…as if faith is a spiritual principle or law that operates independently of God.
That simply isn’t true, worse, it isn’t Biblical!
The Bible tells us that the faith that pleases God and moves His heart and hand is faith in Him!
Heb. 11:6 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.
Note that the object of the faith described by the author of Hebrews is God.
Just as the object of Jairus’ faith, and the faith of the woman with issue of blood is Jesus!
So, the first lesson of faith is that our faith must have an object, that object is Jesus Christ!
2) Faith is active
While it is true that God is the One who does the miracle, we’re reminded that to apprehend the miracle requires something of us…
…action!
We see that Jairus left his home to find Jesus and bring Him to his daughter.
He also expressed his faith verbally declaring that he was confident that Jesus could bring his little girl back to life.
The un-named woman left the privacy of her home to seek out Jesus and was sure that if she could just touch His garment that she would be healed.
The important lesson of faith for us is that God works in the lives of people who express their faith with action!
Ex. Peter on the water
Before Peter could walk on the water he had to get out of the boat on his power.
Remember, Jesus invited Peter out, but He didn’t pull Peter out of the boat!
Look at all the “heroes of the faith” listed in Hebrews 11 and you’ll find that they all expressed their faith with action that God rewarded!
Ex. Eric Liddle – had to run to get the gold!
So, faith that pleases God and moves His heart and hand is faith that is active.
3) Faith doesn’t require a donation!
You’ll find there is one glaring distinction between the faith that we read about in scripture and the faith taught be the false teachers of our day…
…the recipients didn’t have to pay for their miracle!
Jesus didn’t ask either of these people to demonstrate their faith by offering a…
…”seed faith” gift to His ministry!
Jesus didn’t remind them that God won’t bless them if they come to Him with empty hands…
…not bringing their “Passover offering”.
In fact, you won’t find a single example where Jesus of His disciples ever ask for, or receive a gift, to perform a miracle!
So, don’t send your money to the charlatans on TV!
God isn’t for hire, Jesus doesn’t require a donation to work in your life. He does miracles in our lives simply because He loves us!
Ap. Express your faith
Jesus wants to work in and through each of our lives.
He desires to minister to your greatest needs…
…but He won’t force you to receive His blessings!
His work in our lives is a product of our faith, faith in Him, and faith that is demonstrated by action.
Effects of faith (vs. 22-26)
Matt. 9:22 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.
Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,
Matt. 9:24 He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.
Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
Matt. 9:26 And the report of this went out into all that land.
√ The effects of faith
Matthew now records the effects of the faith of Jairus and the un-named woman…
…both gals are healed!
The woman’s bleeding stops.
The dead girl is brought back to life!
It is interesting to note the different effects of the miracles that Jesus did.
Two very opposite people find common ground at the feet of Jesus.
Jairus was a leading Jewish man ~ she was an anonymous woman with no prestige or resources.
He was a synagogue leader ~ her affliction kept her from worship.
Jairus’ daughter had been healthy for 12 years, and then died.
The woman had been ill for 12 years and now was made whole.
Jairus’ need was public ~ the woman’s need was private (only Jesus knew).
But in both cases Jesus honored the faith expressed and met both their needs.
Ap. The effects of faith
One of the beautiful effects of faith in Jesus is that His work in our lives brings people of very different backgrounds and experience together.
It would have been easy under the burden of Jewish legalism for Jairus to view the anonymous woman with distain.
To see her as a “sinner” and under the judgment of God.
Yet, his own crisis brought him into contact with the woman at the feet of Jesus and they shared forever a special link because of the work of Jesus in their lives.
Reminds us that the effect of faith in our lives ought to produce the same compassion for other people that Jesus had.
So, the effect of faith is that Jesus meets our greatest needs and brings us together in Him.
The essentials of faith (vs. 27-31)
Matt. 9:27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Matt. 9:28 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.”
Matt. 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Matt. 9:30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”
Matt. 9:31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
√ The essentials of faith
I include this last miracle in our study because it captures the essentials of faith, giving us if you will a review of the vital elements of faith.
1) Their faith had an object
I like Jesus’ interaction with these two men because He asks them to identify the object of their faith!
“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” ~ vs. 28
Reminding us that faith must have an object, Jesus!
Ap. Positive thinking doesn’t work!
These two guys would never have received their sight if they just “hoped” they would be healed! Only Jesus can…
Raise the dead
Stop a flow of blood
Bring light to blind eyes
So, Biblical faith is faith in the Person of Jesus.
2) Their faith was active
Matthew tells us that these men followed Jesus right into the house where He was staying!
Not an easy task for a blind man!
Reminding us that the faith that God honors is active!
3) Their faith was effective
The evidence of their faith in Jesus is proven because they received their sight.
Note that Jesus touched their eyes and said…
“According to your faith let it be to you.” ~ vs. 29
Just as He had said to the woman…
“Your faith has made you well” ~ vs. 22
And as He encouraged Jairus…
“Do not be afraid, only believe!” ~ Mark 5:36
The point is that God’s power was released in their lives as a result of their faith in Jesus!
Ap. Don’t limit Jesus by a lack of faith
People often ask me why we don’t see miracles today, perhaps it’s because most of us don’t exercise the kind of faith that these people did.
We find that even in the same era that Jesus did these miracles that there were other places where He did none!
When Jesus visited His boyhood home of Nazareth we’re told…
Matt. 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Not because Jesus lacked the power, authority, or desire to do miracles there…
…rather, it was a lack of faith on the part of the people!
Ex. Siobhan’s lost puppy
Close
√ Faith
Heb. 11:6 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.
Faith is the currency of heaven. Faith is what moves the heart and the hand of God to work on behalf of those who love Him and seek His blessings.
The Bible tells us that faith pleases God, brings the sinner into the family of God, apprehends God’s power in our lives, and earns us rewards in eternity!
What area of life is the Lord calling you to express faith in?
Do you believe that Jesus can do it?
Do you believe that Jesus will do it?
Are you ready to put your faith into action?
Remember, it’s not the strength of our faith that matters, it’s faith in a strong Savior!