January 29, 2010
Central Truth
Jesus desires to be our shepherd through all of our needs.
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
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 1 9:22 Greek from that hour 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.
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
How exciting was it to read this passage and to watch person after person being healed by Jesus? In this passage we saw five people healed after having a direct encounter with Jesus. It was like watching a home run derby, with Jesus just knocking it out of the park again and again. There is no doubt that the physical needs He was meeting were huge—death, blindness, bondage. But the spiritual needs He was meeting were even greater.
The synagogue official (and his daughter!) were obviously impacted by Jesus bringing the daughter back to life. But that act was also a tremendous encouragement to the official's heart. In his role, he would have been surrounded by other so-called Jewish leaders who repeatedly denied Jesus as Messiah and yelled "Blasphemy!" to Jesus' face. Those words may have been echoing in the official's head as he approached Jesus to ask Him to heal his daughter. But Jesus proved to the official who He was and healed his doubting heart.
The bleeding woman was suffering from a serious physical ailment. Unfortunately, this ailment also brought her a great deal of public and personal shame in her culture. Jesus healed not only her physical body, but also addressed the shame she must have felt by saying, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." (Matthew 9:22) What a boost to her faith self esteem!
As for the two blind men, not only did Jesus give them sight, He also used this act to encourage the men in their faith in Him. Finally, in the case of the possessed man, Jesus healed him of his physical inability to speak, but also freed him from his bondage so that he could come into a relationship with the Healer.
Jesus wants to meet our physical needs, but He also has a deep desire to meet our spiritual needs. While it is often hard for us to see past our physical and emotional needs, we can know that we have a Good Shepherd who desires to be our healer, protector, and leader.
1. Where are you focusing too much on your physical needs and neglecting to pray for your spiritual needs?
2. How has your faith been strengthened by God working in your life?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What was Jesus going through all the towns teaching about (verse 35)?
2. What is the GOOD NEWS?
3. Is there someone in your “town” with whom you can share the GOOD NEWS today?