Wednesday Pentecost 18

October 7, 2009

As I continue my reading in the Gospel of Matthew I begin today with verses 18-26 where Jesus is met by a man whose daughter has died. One would think that this would have kept the man away from Jesus, for what can a man do for someone who has died? But Jesus is not just a man, He is also God in human flesh. So the man comes and asks Jesus to touch his dead daughter so that "she will live." On the way to the man's house a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched His garment. She thought that if she just touched Him she would be healed. But Jesus is no magical talisman. He turns and says to her, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well." You see, it was not the mere touch but the faith that Jesus had the power to heal her that makes her well. Finally Jesus reaches the house of the dead girl. He goes in takes her by the hand and she arises. Jesus clearly demonstrates His power over death in this episode. Why then would He die on the cross? Because He came to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all of humanity's sin.

From there Jesus moves on and encounters two blind men who ask Jesus for mercy. Jesus asks them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" This gives us the key that we need to understand Jesus' miracles. He heals people who believe that He is able and willing to do good things for them. He performs miracles for those who believe that He is the Son of God. He is not some performing artist but He is the Savior of the world come into it to set it free from sin, death, and the devil.

After the blind men are healed and sent away Jesus meets a demon oppressed man who cannot speak. After Jesus again demonstrates His power and authority over the demons the man is able to speak and everyone wonders, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." This is exactly the point that Matthew is trying to make by recording all of the healings Jesus did during His earthly ministry. Never has there been someone like this in all of human history. Jesus did incredible things, taught incredible truths, made incredible claims about Himself. Ultimately everyone must ask themselves, "Who is this Jesus? Is He the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds?" or "Is He just another man, delusion, but brilliant?"