Visionary faith from people of various walks of life win healing from Jesus. A leader requests, an unclean woman reaches out to touch him, blind men recognize Jesus as Messiah and the demon possessed man requires help from friends.
Overview
Matt 9:18-34; Matt 20:29-34; Mark 5:21-43; 10:46-52; Luke 8:40-56; 18:35-43
Objectives
Bible passage
Visionary faith
- Leader – Requested
- Woman – Reached
- Blind men – Recognized
- Demon possessed man – Required help
Results of faith
Christ’s Commission
Faith window levels then and now
Which faith window level are we at?
Discussion
Objectives
To understand:
- That faith that “heals” is faith that “saves”
- Jesus seeks permanent spiritual vision and healing more than temporary physical healing
- How to enlarge our vision and our faith
Bible Passage
Matthew 9:18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Bible Passage (Cont'd)
Matthew 9:23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
Bible Passage (Cont'd)
Matt 9:32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
Visionary Faith
Jairus: Requests for touch – Jesus raises his daughter
Woman: Reaches out to hem of garment – received healing
Blind men: Recognize the Messiah – Jesus restores sight.
They believe:
- Beyond their vision (at that time)
- Christ is Messiah
Christ perceives: Healing beyond physical
Jairus Requested
He
- Bowed before Jesus
- Believed his touch could raise dead
Woman Reached
Let it be done according to your faith – not the healing, but the vision. They were already acquiring spiritual vision, with that, physical vision was given
Blind men recognized
She:
- Was unclean – could not touch or be touched.
- Silently touched hem of garment Jesus called her “daughter your faith has made you whole”.
Faith made them "whole"
“Your faith has made you well/ saved/ whole” (common phrase) – whole, saved, given you life (other meanings)
.. “the idea of saved was not present in the 14th century Wycliffe version, which is the oldest English Bible which concentrated on the word saaf. This means the person is safe and secure from any spiritual or physical harm…
The Syriac says that her life-force was restored to a full state”.
Demon Possessed Man Requires Help
Matt 9:32-34 talks about two categories of people in serious difficulty:
- the demon possessed man and
- the spiritually blind pharisees.
Neither could help themselves. Jesus could help one, the other were largely beyond recovery – particularly due to repeated hardness of heart.
Results of faith
- Daughter raised from death
- Wholeness received
- Sight restored
- Speech and senses restored
- Christ’s word spread
What areas do we need to be raised, receive, be restored? Commit them with silent prayer in faith.
Christ’s commission
The commission of Jesus is to heal the sick, open blind eyes, set free prisoners, raise the dead, etc. (Isaiah 61:1,2). This also has a spiritual accent which Matthew highlights earlier in the book.
Christ’s demonstrates physical healing as a sign that he is the messiah and capable of spiritual healing – it is a means, not the end
Faith window Levels then (faith increases bottom to top)
Faith window Levels now (darker is less visibility more faith)
The struggle
Are we at the wrong faith window seeking partial healing?
Many leaders use healing as a bait
Christ did not come only to heal, he came to save, to make whole.
Food for thought
What happens if you get healing in each of these areas?What connection do you see
between them?
- Physical Healing
- Mental Healing
- Emotional Healing
- Spiritual Healing
References
1. http://charlesasullivan.com