So this morning I felt like reading through the ninth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, and it is fully loaded with great verses for meditation. Sometimes when I read verses that are very familiar, I have to slow down and really read and think about what I am reading, otherwise I just skim over the words, because I know them so well, and potentially miss something. This morning I noticed something I hadn't seen before, or thought about before. Here are the verses that caught my eye - Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 NIV:
[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."
[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."
What stopped me this morning was what the synagogue leader said to Jesus in verse 18 - "My daughter has just died. But come and put you hand on her, and she will live." When I read those verses I started wondering if Jesus was already known for His raising of dead people, or if this was a moment where we see the gift of extreme faith in action? Basically I wanted to know why this guy had the idea to ask Jesus to raise his daughter from the dead.
So doing a little research and quickly breezing over the earlier passages in Matthew (Chap 1-8) we see Jesus doing several awesome healings and deliverances, but no mention of Him raising anyone from the dead. We know there were a few times in the Old Testament where God worked through one of the Prophets to raise someone who had died. In 2 Kings 4:8-37 Elijah restores the Shunammite's son to life after he had died, and this is probably the best example. Anyway, since there is some previous scriptural precedence it may not be quite so surprising of a request, but there is no doubt that this was an infusion of faith from the Father. To have the certainty to approach Jesus, and make such a request required great faith.
Think about the family situation and practice of grieving that was prevalent at that time. I am not super familiar with their practices, but we can tell something by reading the rest of the story. They get to his house and there is a crowd of people, a noisy crowd, likely wailing and weeping, people playing pipes, etc. I can just imagine how his wife felt when he took off to find Jesus, leaving her with the ensuing crowds. I can imagine the crowds wondering where the father of this child had gone? The man, left everything and everyone, regardless of the customs, and went to find Jesus! Maybe he had heard Jesus was back in town, for this took place in Capernaum, which was where Jesus moved once He started His public ministry. Reading the verses closely, it is possible that he found Jesus in Matthew's house, and that would be interesting since it was clear that there were many sinners present (Matt 9:10) and to enter there could cause the synagogue leader to be unclean, but apparently he didn't care.
Anyway, we see that Jesus responds immediately, and his disciples do as well. They begin making their way to his house, and a woman gets healed on the way by touching Jesus' cloak. I love that at a critical time like this, where they are likely hurrying to the man's house, Jesus stops and interacts with the woman who touched him. He always has time for the one. Anyway, back to the story of the dead girl, Jesus confronts immediate unbelief at His statement when he enters the crowd, which, when you think about it, was to be expected. The people knew she was dead, they had all seen death before, they knew what it looked like and smelled like, and the girl was clearly dead, not asleep. I think the Lord, actually kind of enjoyed that setting because it was so clear that He had worked an astounding miracle. The people (other than the girls father) had absolutely no faith for what Jesus was about to do, and thus when Jesus did it, it was that much more impactful. It was such a significant miracle that news of that specific incident spread throughout all the region. I can just imagine the faces on all the people when the father and mother brought the girl outside, alive and well! That must have been fun!
So back to the original theme - the gift of faith that the man was operating in to go find Jesus. It is clear that the Father was stirring this faith in the man, and he responded to this faith that was rising up in him. He likely had a thought enter his mind, 'if I can just find Jesus, he can come and lay his hand on my daughter and she will live!' or something like that. Rather than rejecting such an apparently foolish thought in the face of his daughter's death, he responded and began seeking Jesus. He left his home, the rest of his family, and the growing crowd of people and set out, driven by the hope this thought had instilled in him. When he sees Jesus he just blurts it all out, and his faith and hope are hanging out there for everyone to see. He wasn't concerned how strange it might have sounded. He wasn't worried if it was Jesus' will or not. He probably didn't stop to make sure his hair and everything was in order. Nope, He just went right in and professed his faith, and requested very specifically what he wanted Jesus to do. He was clearly motivated by his own emotions and love for his daughter, but he was also just as clearly operating in the gift of faith, for there was no doubt or question expressed in his words to Jesus.
Jesus immediately responds, and as I wrote previously, once He moves the outcome is already known. He didn't say, "well let me give it a try." As soon as He started walking towards the man's house the miracle was as good as done. He knew the Father's will and was on His way to fulfill it.
So, my encouragement this morning is to pray for two things, the gift of faith and the response of Jesus. With either of these we know the outcome will be in perfect alignment with the Father's heart and will. The gift of faith is to help us push past our own experience and knowledge into the unknown areas that the Father wants us to explore. He calls us into that place, not to frustrate us or disappoint us, but to see how much He loves us and how great He is. We can be confident that if we have such a God inspired gift of fait that the Lord plans on fulfilling the hope it instills - because the thought and hope came from Him in the first place.
Lord, I pray that You will pour out the gift of faith to all of us who are in need.
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