Motley Crew
December 16, 2007
If I am not here be nice to Doug.
Signed, Pastor Eddie
Read Matthew 9:18-26
1. What does verse 18 say about the faith of the ruler?
2. What does verse 19 say about Jesus?
3. What do both of these verses say about your faith?
4. Obviously, there are other people who bumped into Jesus along the way – why weren't they changed?
5. What kind of effort did this lady have to put forth to come to Jesus in this way?
6. What does verse 22 say about Jesus?
7. What is going on with the flute players and the noisy crowd?
8. I wonder if they were still laughing after verse 25?
9. Some have said the girl was only in a coma – how would you answer?
10. Let's go spread the news!
Motley Crew
December 16, 2007
If I am not here be nice to Doug.
Signed, Pastor Eddie
Read Matthew 9:18.26
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18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. |
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. |
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. |
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20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." 22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment. |
25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' " 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." |
43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45"Who
touched me?" Jesus asked. 46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." 47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Footnotes:
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23When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26News of this spread through all that region. |
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" 36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
37He
did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the
brother of James. 38When
they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a
commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He
went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and
wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But
they laughed at him. |
49While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more." 50Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." 51When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. 52Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep." 53They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" 55Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. |
We began with prayer.
1. What does verse 18 say about the faith of the ruler?
He had great faith. He was willing to humble himself before Jesus because he knelt. He loved his daughter. He understood Jesus' great power.
Jarius, the ruler, had a similar understanding of the position and power of Jesus as did the Centurion whose servant needed to be healed.
Being a ruler in the synagogue, he was the exception among his class in recognizing the power of Jesus. Coming to Him would have involved great potential for loss of professional respect among his peers, and even his position in the synagogue. The Greek word for his “kneeling” before Jesus was προσεκυνει (prosekunei). The interlinear Bible at StudyLight.org had this text concerning the meaning of the Greek word:
to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence
among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication
used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank
We also looked at the accounts in Mark and Luke.
2. What does verse 19 say about Jesus?
He had incredible compassion. See Matthew 9:36.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matt. 9:36 (NIV).
We talked about how frequently we see Christ's compassion, especially in relation to His healing, physically and spiritually.
3. What do both of these verses say about your faith?
I need to grow in mine. I want to trust Jesus for everything – including miracles!
We are a work in progress.
It was noted that Luther wrote that baptism was not just an event, but an act that marked the beginning of a life-long process of coming to God through Jesus. The Holy and Blessed Sacrament of Baptism, 1519 (Vol. 35 of Luther's Works and in other public domain collections of Luther's sermons).
4. Obviously, there are other people who bumped into Jesus along the way – why weren't they changed?
No faith.
Or perhaps they weren't looking for healing, not knowing that they needed to be healed.
Perhaps they were changed at a later time in their life journey.
5. What kind of effort did this lady have to put forth to come to Jesus in this way?
Incredible effort! She was weak from loss of blood. She was an outcast because she was continually ceremonially unclean. She risked embarrassment or worse from coming out to Jesus in this way. She was quite a lady.
She was desperate for healing.
We discussed some of the implications of Luke 8:45. “But Jesus said, 'Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.'" I can't conceive of how Christ would have experienced that feeling.
“He was conscious of the forthgoing of His healing power, which was not--as in prophets and apostles—something foreign to Himself and imparted merely, but what He had dwelling within Him as "His own fulness." Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871.
“The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.” The NET Bible.
“In this section the author uses a term for being healed (Grk “saved”) that would have spiritual significance to his readers. It may be a double entendre (cf. parallel in Mark 5:28 which uses the same term), since elsewhere he uses verbs that simply mean “heal”: If only the reader would “touch” Jesus, he too would be 'saved.'” The NET Bible. Thus, in this case, the healing was both physical and spiritual.
“According to the ceremonial law, the touch of anyone having the disease which this woman had would have defiled the person touched. Some think that the recollection of this may account for her stealthily approaching Him in the crowd behind, and touching but the hem of His garment. But there was an instinct in the faith which brought her to Jesus, which taught her, that if that touch could set her free from the defiling disease itself, it was impossible to communicate defilement to Him, and that this wondrous Healer must be above such laws.” Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871.
6. What does verse 22 say about Jesus?
He loves to see people with faith! He loves to heal. He is not only able to help – He is willing to help.
As we have seen repeatedly, His healing is instantaneous, never delayed.
Again we see His great compassion.
One member talked about seeing (experiencing) the Keeners at an Irish wake some years ago. The practice, especially in New Orleans, of bands that accompany the coffin was also noted. It was observed that these can be ways of dealing with grief, especially when the death of the loved one was sudden and unexpected. It was also pointed out that our society can be unrealistic about how long the grieving process takes.
A
website about Irish wakes included this: “Keening
is a form of wailing, crying, and speaking. It is usually done in
Gaelic. As one keener begins to quiet, another intensifies. It is a
combination of crying and talking with the deceased. If the family is
short on those who can perform this ritual there are those who do it
professionally.” The full article is at
http://www.helium.com/items/1660155-irish-expressing-grief
7. What is going on with the flute players and the noisy crowd?
They were paid professionals. See also Jeremiah 9:17. They were found among Jews and Pagans alike. Remember the woman crying for Jesus on the road to Calvary. See Luke 23:27-28. I wonder if they expected to be paid?
“This
is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;
send for the most skillful of them.”
Jeremiah 9:17.
“A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.'” Luke 23:27-28.
The women who were wailing for Jesus were probably expressing their actual feelings of grief, rather than being professional mourners who expected payment.
8. I wonder if they were still laughing after verse 25?
Nope!
9. Some have said the girl was only in a coma – how would you answer?
Neither Matthew nor Jesus would like to the readers. The ruler had money and the best of medical care and his report to Jesus is that she is dead – not in a coma. Lastly, even if she is in a coma – how powerful is Jesus that she instantly came out of a coma and got up the moment He touched her hand.
How often have seen seen Jesus' healing in the last few chapters, and always instant healing – as was the case with Peter's mother-in-law – never delayed. He heals with just a touch or just a word.
10. Let's go spread the news!
Because of various conflicts, the group decided to postpone the visit to N.C.C. to a later date (to be determined).
We closed with prayer.
Note: Due
to Christmas, it was thought that there would be no Motley Crew next
week, Dec. 23.
If that changes, Doug said that he would call or
email everyone.
Additional Learning Sources:
W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor's Greek Testament. Volume 1. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1900). Available at Google Books. All works by W. Robertson Nicoll.
The Greek Interlinear
Bible (PDF).
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/mat9.pdf
The
Greek Interlinear Bible
and Lexicon at
Study Light:
http://www.studylight.org/isb/ and
http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/
The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).
Matthew Henry's
Concise
Commentary, 1706, 1811.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew9.htm
Matthew Henry's
Complete Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew9.htm
John Gill's
Exposition
of the Bible, 10 Volumes,
1746-1766;
1816.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew9.htm
Robert
Jamieson,
A.R.
Fausset,
and David
Brown,
Commentary
Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible,
1871.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew9.htm
Other Additional
Resources are linked from this web page:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/prayer_and_study_resources.htm#Additional_Resources