What I wouldn’t give to have a day with Jesus as he walked this earth. They were amazing times! Amazing teachings! The great thing is that we can take ourselves to those days by simply picking up a Bible reading it and imagining that day as if it were today. I want to take you back to one of those days depicted in the Gospel of Matthew 9:18-30.
Here we are given a glimpse of a day in the life of Jesus. And during this day we hear about three amazing and miraculous healings – a girl, a woman, and two men. Each is healed from a different illness, and each is healed in a different way. But with all three, Jesus is directly involved.
The first is a ruler of the synagogue from Capernaum – a leader in the community. He is grief stricken that his twelve year old daughter has died. According to Luke his name was Jairus and he of course has heard Jesus teach – possibly knows him since Jesus had taught many times in Capernaum and certainly in the synagogue. Jairus had also witnessed many miracles or at least heard of many miracles of Jesus. Most recently a boy from the village of Nain was raised from the dead.
So he seeks Jesus out – he’s desperate. He says something revealing his incredible faith: "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." Later Jesus arrives at the home where all the neighbors and relatives are grieving. They laugh when Jesus says that she is just sleeping. They know she is dead and that’s the end. There is no faith in their hearts. So Jesus sends them out, takes her by the hand and calls her to arise.
The second healing involves a very different person – a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve long years. That was not just irritating but it separated her from society. She was unclean meaning that she was not allowed near the temple or the synagogue. She must touch no one and no one can touch her. While Jairus was experiencing the joy of his daughter and life in his home for twelve years, we have all those years that this woman was grieving alone. No husband, no children, no connection with the fellowship of believers. It was a very lonely life.
In a moment she sees Jesus passing through the crowd. She has heard him teach and preach. This is her chance. And in faith she reaches out from the ground and grabs the tassel from the corner of his robe. Jesus feels the power released from him to heal her but doesn’t know who it is. Jesus asks who touched him. She confesses her faith that if she touches only his garment she will be well. And Jesus affirms: Your faith HAS made you well!
The third healing is that of two blind men. They too are desperate. They will follow Jesus wherever he will go. They see him along the way and follow him from the home of Jairus all the time crying out “Have mercy Son of David!” This was the special title they give to Jesus of Messiah. He’s not just a teacher but the Savior of the nation.
They follow and follow all the way to the home where Jesus is staying and finally when inside the house, Jesus confronts their faith: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Hearing their faith, they are healed by his touch.
These are three amazing and wonderful and different stories of healing but what binds them together? Faith. Each is an example of the power of faith and teaches us the great treasure that is right in front of us every day. Do you realize how much faith changes our lives and the world around us? What do we learn about this great treasure of faith?
1. The first lesson about faith is this: faith is the key that releases the power of God. The opposite is true as well: a lack of faith limits the power of God.
Notice first of all what Jesus tells this woman who has been healed of her flow of blood in verse 22: “Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well."” And also notice what he says to the blind men in verse 29-30: “Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened.”
It was clearly their FAITH that healed them both. It was also faith that the synagogue official had. All of them had absolute confidence that Jesus not only could but would heal. From their statements there was no doubt.
And that is the key for the work of God throughout the Gospels. Somehow God’s power is linked with faith. In fact, if there is not faith – his hands are bound. When Jesus was in Nazareth, his home town, he spoke in the Synagogue but people rejected him as the Savior. He was just the hometown boy. And so his ministry there was also very limited: Mark 6:5-6 “And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”
Why are there so few miracles today? Why don’t we see what happened in the Gospels and in the book of Acts? Why do we refer to the days of miracles as “Bible times”? Jesus said John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
Why don’t we see that? Because we live in a time in which there is little faith. We believe only in that which we can touch, see, and measure. For the most part, we don’t really believe in the power of God as they did.
2. But there is another lesson about faith which is good news for us: we have a source of faith which is the Word of God.
I’ve read these stories of healing many many times and am amazed at their faith. We wonder if those people were just born that way? Did they have a greater religious inclination? Were they just more spiritual? No they weren’t any different in their doubts than we are. But what made them different than others was the fact that they received the teaching of the Word of God.
You see we’re not born with faith. It’s not a talent or ability that some have and some don’t although it does seem easier for children to believe than adults. Faith comes from outside of us. Just as Jesus told the story of the farmer who planted the seeds in the soil and the plants grew up – so God plants in our heart the Word of God which results in faith that grows and produces fruit.
If you have your Bible turn back with me to Matthew five. Now if you have a red letter Bible you can see that chapter five is all red, so also are chapters six and seven. This is the sermon on the mount. Hundreds of people sat and listened to Jesus teach. And what happened? It was planted in their souls! Faith was produced. They trusted in Christ. They believed he was Messiah, Lord, miracle worker. Their hearts were transformed.
And look at the result…
• A leper kneels before him having faith that Jesus can heal him…and he does (8:2ff)
• A Centurian’s servant healed – from a distance. Greatest faith of all time! (8:5-13)
• Many others (8:16)
So also with each of these three stories of healings we just read. Their faith didn’t come from nowhere. It was planted by the Word of God. They had heard Jesus teach. They were open to God’s Word and it produced faith.
Romans 10:17 says: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” It’s no wonder that so few are saved and so few are seeing the miraculous working of God today. Because if the Word of God is rejected, faith will NOT be planted.
Today the Word is attacked left and right as just a book, just stories and fables, unreliable, one of many classics. And if we throw out the Word and do not receive it, how will God touch our souls? Beware! Return to the Word that is able to heal your souls, plant faith and release the power of God today!
3. A third lesson about faith is concerning the power of faith – Faith is a work not of man but of God.
Just as we’ve seen that faith comes from the Word of God, so also the power of faith is not in ourselves but in the power of Jesus Christ and it is to him that glory is given. Look at the two blind men that follow Jesus to his home. They call him Son of David – in other words, Messiah. They say the right things and yet what they say needs to match what they believe in their heart. There are many that say one thing but believe something completely different.
So Jesus tests their faith – “do you believe that I am able to do this?” In other words, “You believe that I am the Messiah, the king. But do you believe I am God? That I have power? And their answer? “YES, we do!” There is no doubt.
But what I want you to see here is that this is the power of JESUS. It’s not just some magical ability of these men. The miracles that come from faith are God’s power alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Salvation or any other miracle that happens through faith is a work of God’s power alone. It gives no credit to us, or to any other person but gives glory to the Lord of the universe – God Almighty.
4. Fourthly, we can learn the lesson that faith releases to God all the impossibilities.
The greatest impossibility is the salvation of a lost soul. We are born self-centered, self-seeking. We are born living for the flesh and in the world. And yet God does a miracle through the Word and touches our hearts. He creates faith and brings us to confession of sins and faith. We trust in Christ alone and are totally righteous through Him. God takes the soul that is long lost and far from God and transforms that life!
Jesus spoke of the impossibility of a rich man being saved is like a camel going through a needle. And then he said this: “But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."” (Mt 19:26)
“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt 17:20)
When Mary was told that as a virgin she would bear a son the angel told her: “For nothing will be impossible with God." (Lk 1:37)
To the father of the boy possessed by demons Jesus told: “All things are possible for one who believes." (Mk 9:23)
Do you see the common theme here? Faith is simply releasing all of our burdens, all of our fears, all of our impossibilities into the hands of God because we cannot deal with them. We cannot do ANYTHING. We are totally helpless. But God can do the impossible. Faith lets everything go out of our hands and into his hands because he can handle it. We can trust him.
But the main question concerning any miracle is this: is Jesus being glorified. He is to be lifted up and praised above all. Miracles are not self-serving. They are not just to give us what we want but to give the Lord praise.
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A parable is told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.
He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said,
With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks cannot go!
There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish!
With these wings we no longer need walk through life.
We can soar high in the sky!
Shouts of Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation.
The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming,
With our wings we can fly through life!
WE......CAN.....FLY!!!!¨ More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response.
Every duck loved the service.
In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher....
and then they left the church and waddled all the way home.
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Let’s not be a duck congregation that waddles home! Let’s listen to the Word, soak it up, receive it, let your heart be filled with the truth of God’s promises. And then walk it in faith.
Are you daily opening your heart to the message the Lord has for you? It WILL transform you and you will be transformed into his likeness and a vessel of his power.
Do you NEED the Lord or are you self-sufficient? People in these stories couldn’t live without him. They were desperate. Are you desperate enough to take and receive everything he says to you? Only then will you be able to receive the great treasure of faith that will grow in your heart!
