Daily Devotional For Friday, February 2, 2024

Well, we are still making our way through Matthew’s Gospel looking at the first nine miracles Jesus did. We have broken miracles 7 & 8 into 3 parts in order to keep it shorter, readable and digestible. Miracles 7 & 8 take place almost at the same time. So, let’s go back to our text and read it in Matthew 9:18-26, "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” (ESV).

Jesus had been approached by the supreme chief synagogue ruler named Jairus to heal his 12-year-old daughter.  As Jesus begins to travel to Jairus’ house, two things happened. First, a woman with a 12-year menstrual hemorrhaging issue. We saw previously this would have made her ceremonially unclean and anyone around her. She would have been ostracized, shunned and excluded from even her own family and husband based on the Old Testament Law we read yesterday in Leviticus 15:25-27 and Numbers 15:38-41.

After she was healed healed (saved) both physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually,  Jesus pointed out her unbelievable faith. Then we read in Matthew 9:23, “And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion” (ESV). Just as soon as the first miracle took place and ended, Jesus immediately because we read previously that when Jairus was on his way to Jesus, his daughter was so sick she was closed to dying. When Jairus got to Jesus, he learned his daughter had died. 

For Jairus at least, time is of the upmost important. In those days, when someone died, it was a big attention getter. People hired flute and lyre players and paid mourners. Yes — paid mourners. By time Jairus and Jesus get to Jairus’ home, all of these extras are there to bring loud and noisy disorder sounds to the daughter’s death. In our Western mindset, this seems strange. We enter a funeral home or a person’s home who has lost a loved one and we are quiet. We whisper — they yelled.

Jewish funerals involved 3 distinct ways of expressing grief and lamentation: (See John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 85).

1. First, family members would tear or rip their garments. It could not be just a simple tear. Jewish cultural law on this had 39 — yes — 39 different regulations and forms this could be done. In addition, the tearing was to be done standing up and directly over the the heart of the mourner — in this case the father and mother. The tear had to be large enough to put a fist through it. Once done, they were required to sew up the tear with large stitches to coverup any body parts. This way, for the next 30 days, anyone seeing the mourner would know they were in mourning due to the sewn up and stitched tear.
2. Second, to express their grief they were required to hire professional women mourners, who could loudly wail the name of the one who had just died. Sometimes, they would also interject names of other family members who had died in the past. This would intensify the grieving as old grief was added to new grief. Even the poorest Jew was required to have at least two paid flute players .
3. Third, they were required to hire professional musicians — mostly flute players. Like the loud wailing paid women mourners — these flute players would bellow out loudly sounds from their flutes that reflected the emotional trauma and discord of those grieving. It was a funeral on steroids.

Well, you can just imagine how big of a show this was for the highest and most wealthy paid religious leader in the city. The intent was to symbolically get the deceased to hear all of this loud chaos from their grave. We see that when Jesus arrived and saw all of this, He was not amused. Look at Matthew 9:24, He said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at Him” (ESV). Jesus was greatly annoyed at all of this. To ask all these paid mourners and musicians to leave would have upset them because there went part of their pay. 

Jesus affirmed that the little girl was not dead, but sleeping. All these paid people laughed at Him. The Greek New Testament word translated as “laugh” is [καταγελάω, katagelao] and it refers to the hard, haughty laughter of those who gloat over a foolish act or statement by someone to whom they feel superior. 

That their weeping could so quickly turn to laughter, even mocking laughter, betrayed the fact that their mourning was a paid act and did not reflect genuine sorrow. They were not at all sorrowful the girl’s life had been cut short had died. They were sorrowful their pay was cut short. It also showed their complete lack of faith in Jesus to heal and give life back to the girl. Jairus believed in Jesus. The woman with the 12 year issue of blood believe Jesus could heal her of her issue, but not those seeking financial gain at the girl’s funeral did not believe Jesus could raise her from the dead.

Jesus’ term “sleeping” was a recognition that the girl was dead just like He knew Lazarus was dead. Look at John 11:11, “After saying these things, He said to them, `Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him’” (ESV). With all the crowed gone, Matthew 9:25b says, “He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose” (ESV). 

Mark’s Gospel adds some other details. Read Mark 5:36-41, “But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, `Do not fear, only believe.’ (37) And He allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. And they laughed at Him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with Him and went in where the child was. (41) Taking her by the hand He said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, `Little girl, I say to you, arise’” (ESV). Luke’s Gospel adds this detail in Luke 8:55, “And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And He directed that something should be given her to eat” (ESV). 

What Matthew is doing here through al these 9 miracles is proving to his Jewish readers that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Jews had been taught all their lives that when the Messiah came, He would be able to heal sicknesses, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. You have to think that after raising this girl from the dead, news of this had to spread quickly. For the believer, we no longer have to fear diseases, demons, deformities, and not even death. We can rejoice even in these because we know Jesus has conquered all of these for us. 

Every day, preachers all around the world preach at funerals. We do our best to console and comfort. Here is an interesting fact. There is not one sermon in the Bible of Jesus preaching a funeral. In fact, each time He showed up, He brought the dead person back to life. Meaning that even death itself has to submit to there voice of Jesus. 

For some reason, Jesus wanted to keep the eyewitnesses of His miracles to a small number. He didn’t gather crowds, stand on a high platform, and draw attention to Himself prior to healing as all these paid mourners and musicians were doing. Rather, He tended to heal behind closed doors, with just a handful of people present. This explains why Jesus waited until He entered the house where He was staying before acknowledging the cries of the blind men. When Jesus went in, the men didn’t bother to knock—they walked right in behind Him. After the healing, news spread quickly for obvious reasons. 

Please do not misunderstand me here. Death can shock us. It can come at our family and friends when we least expect it. And that loss is real. That pain is real. That grief is real, but what is also real for the believer is 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV).

I have told my family, that when my times comes, throw a huge party because I am now at home in heaven. No wailing. Just celebration. I really like how Chuck Swindoll wraps this up (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights, “Matthew 1-15,” p. 180).

Questions To Consider

1. Have ever been waiting for a doctor to come out of a critical surgery with news, only to learn from his staff that he is being delayed.? If so, how did you feel?
2. Jesus did did a lot of teaching on many topics, yet He never did a funeral. When He did show up at one, He raised that dead person. What would you love for Jesus to show up for you and why?
3. Unlike the paid mourners and musicians, who were making all kinds of noisy, chaotic, and loud wails, laments and music. Jesus dismissed all of them to have a very small quiet group. Why do you think Jesus did this?
4. A shocking death can knock of us for a loop. The sudden death of a loved one can be like a blow to the head. In this story, Jairus knew his daughter was very sick and close to death. Which do you think is easier to bear: a slow death of a loved one or a quick death and why?
5. For the Christian, do you think the funeral of a Christian should be more of a celebration or more of a crying experience and why?
6. If miracles happened every day, we would not call them miracles, but “regulars.” The struggle we have with reading the Bible is it seems miracles are happening on almost every page, but they are not. Have you ever experienced a miracle or know someone who has? What was it and what was the finally result? Was the focus more on the miracle itself or on giving God the glory for it?
7. There is a lot of “near-death” stories being shared. People say they died and went to heaven or even to hell. If heaven, they saw God or people they knew. If hell, sometimes they say it was dark, hot, and burning. Some say their spirit or soul left their body and hovered in the room, letting them see their dead body. What do you think about all of these stories and why?

Scripture to Meditate On: Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, there are times I live and act as if You have absolute power over everything and then there are times I do not. Please forgive me. Lord, I want to have the kind of faith that Jairus had and the woman with the issue of blood had. I do not want to be at the mercy of life, circumstances and people. Please help me live in such a way that others see that “I am more than a conqueror through Christ” (Romans 8:37).  In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you, PK!