#1251 Matthew 9 Part 4 Just Sleeping

 

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district. Matthew 9: 18-26 ESV

Matthew 9: 18-26 Sickness and Death

A ruler came in and knelt before Him - From Mark and Luke's accounts of this incident we learn that the ruler's name is Jairus, and that he is a religious ruler, a synagogue leader. Kneeling before Jesus is a sign of submission, of worship. This is a huge step for a man of that position, even the curious Nicodemus came by night, avoiding the crowds, but this man's mission is too urgent, and His posture seems to indicate that he believes. Luke reports that this is the man's only daughter.

…22A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet 23and pleaded with Him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around Him.… Mark 5: 22-24

40When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. 41Just then a synagogue leader named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Him to come to his house, 42because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him,… Luke 8: 40-42

But come lay Your hand on her and she will live - I know what You can do, but will You, will You just come and touch a dead person? By the letter of the law this is a disgusting request, to touch the dead, unless the touch gives life. This man knows that what he is asking is humanly impossible. He left his daughter dying, why? Because he had nothing in himself to fix this, the answer lay outside of him. This is an incredible thing to ask, some of the Scribes even taught contrary to the Resurrection, those Sadducees did not believe in it. It is not something you see every day, someone touching a dead person and them coming back to life; it doesn't follow the science.  

While He was saying these things to them - What things? (Mt 9:11-17) In context the 3 preceding illustrations about the truth that he had come not to reform Judaism, which had become bad news of works righteousness, but to replace it with the good news of righteousness by grace through faith. As Spurgeon says "Our Lord had better work to do than to be talking about meats and drinks, feastings and fastings: he is soon clear of that debate. The battle of life and death was raging, and he was needed in the fray. Sorrow comes even to the families of the excellent of the earth. A ruler of the synagogue and a believer in Jesus has such sickness befallen his daughter that she is at death’s door, and is probably by this time actually dead. But the father has a grand faith. Even if she be dead, Jesus can restore her with a touch. Oh, that he would but come! He worships the Lord, and pleads with him: “Come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.” Have we such faith as this? After centuries of manifestation, is Jesus as well trusted as in the days of his flesh? Have we not those among us who have not yet learned the happy blend which we see in the ruler’s conduct? He came to Jesus, he worshipped him, he prayed to him, he trusted in him." - Precept Austin

And Jesus rose and followed him - Okay, how played down can you get. The anticipation of that man, the disciples, everyone else who has been listening to Him preach. The gospels of Mark and Luke include that there was a large crowd, but Jesus stops everything and quietly follows this man to his house. There is a precedent for this in the OT, and for those that don't take the stories of Elijah and Elisha literally, well, Jesus is about to provide a visual for them. 

MacArthur - Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion who believed that He could heal the man’s servant by simply saying the word. “Truly I say to you,” Jesus said, “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel” (Mt. 8:9–10+). But Jairus even believed that a touch of Jesus’ hand could raise his daughter from the dead. His faith also surpassed that of Martha, who believed Jesus could have kept her brother Lazarus from dying but gave up hope once he was dead (John 11:21). Even when Jesus said, “Your brother shall rise again,” she thought the promise could only be fulfilled in “the resurrection on the last day” (Jn 11:23–24). With such great faith in Jesus’ power to restore life, it is hard to believe that Jairus did not also trust that Jesus was as able to forgive his sins and raise him to spiritual life as He was able to raise his daughter to physical life. (MNTC-Mt) - Precept Austin

A discharge of blood for 12 years - This makes her continuously ceremonially unclean, as according to the law. Jesus is on His way to save a girl who is 12, the time of womanhood then, and there is a woman who has been sick for 12 years. This is something that was probably easily treatable back then, but as Luke, who was a physician, points out, it was at the time not curable. 

MacArthur- The stigma and humiliation of such a hemorrhage were perhaps second only to those of leprosy (Read Lev 15:25-29+). Such affliction was not uncommon, and the Jewish Talmud prescribed eleven different cures for it. Among the remedies, most of them superstitious, was that of carrying the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen bag in the summer and in a cotton bag in the winter. Another involved carrying around a barleycorn kernel that had been found in the dung of a white female donkey. (MNTC-Mt) - J Mac

…43including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her. 44She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”…

…46But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.” 47Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice, came trembling and fell down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched Him and how she had immediately been healed. 48“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”… Luke 8: 43-48

If I only touch His garment, I will be made well - She doesn't even want to trouble Him, but she believes, and she acts on it. 

MacArthur on fringe - According to biblical requirements, Jewish men were to “make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments” and “put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue” (Num. 15:38; cf. Deut. 22:12). The threads of the tassels and cords were woven in a pattern that represented faithfulness and loyalty to the Word of God and holiness to the Lord. Wherever a Jew went, those tassels reminded him and testified before the world that he belonged to the people of God. Consistent with their typical hypocrisy and pretension, the Pharisees lengthened “the tassels of their garments” in order to call attention to their religious devotion (Matt. 23:5). In much later times, persecuted Jews in Europe wore the tassels on their undergarments for the very opposite reason—to avoid identification and possible arrest. Modified forms of the tassel are still sewn on the prayer shawls of orthodox Jews today. - J Mac from Precept Austin

Take heart daughter - Matthew skips some portions that we find in Luke, and we see that Jesus did not at first know who touched Him, but He knew that power had gone out from Him. So much was He set upon doing the will of the Father, walking in that, so here we see the Father healing someone. 

…18Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these.… John 5: 18-20

Your faith has made you well - Okay, so remember, she is a perennial outcast, that is now clean, and this goes even further. The word for well here is sozo, and this is the greater gift, look at how this word translates:

Here is MacArthur's note (SEE ALSO HIS FOLLOWING DISCUSSION UNDER "SOZO") on the parallel phrase (your faith has made you well) in Luke 8:48+ - The phrase made you well translates a form of the verb sozo, which is the common New Testament word for salvation. This same phrase in the Greek text appears in Luke 7:50+, where it clearly refers to salvation from sin. It is also used in Luke 17:19+ to describe one of the ten lepers who returned to worship Jesus. While all ten were healed, he alone was saved. Further, the Lord’s calling her daughter indicates that He received her as a child of His kingdom (John 1:12+). She was restored, physically, socially, and spiritually through the grace and personal power of the Lord Jesus Christ. - Precept Austin

Saw the flute players and crowd making a commotion - The girl is definitely passed now, this is the mourning squad. Mourners would come out in great procession, they even had women back then who were hired mourners, great at projecting grief at great volume. This was customary, and so Jesus would appear to be late to the party, but in time for the wake.

Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping - Oh boy, imagine being one of His disciples, especially Thomas, "Lord, can't you see they are in mourning?" He quietly left with the man earlier, but then stops to talk to a woman that touched His garment. Just like the time with Lazarus, Jesus is no hurry, He came here to heal, dead or not, it makes no difference to Him. 

And they laughed at Him - Probably a lot of people heard about His other healings, but this is outside the realm of hope. Not for the girl's father though. Remember this when you tell others about the hope that is in you, when you teach them about Christ and they laugh at you, have compassion for them, because Christ was laughed at too. I didn't take Him seriously as a young man, I didn't realize He could actually change me.

…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.… Isaiah 53: 2-4

He went in and took her by the hand - He touched a dead person, and she came to life, so now all the theology of the crowd, the scribes and the Pharisees, it's all shattering around them. Sadly, they will grab whatever adhesive they can find and try to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but the world has just been turned upside down. 

…49While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.” 50But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51When He entered the house, He did not allow anyone to go in with Him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother.… Luke 8: 49-51

…41Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk around. She was twelve years old, and at once they were utterly astounded. 43Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.… Mark 5: 41-43