Daily Devotional For Wednesday, January 31, 2024

“Good morning! And in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night," No, this is not The Truman Show. Ha! Well, we have been making our way through Matthew’s Gospel and how he shares nine miracles Jesus does at the start of His ministry. The first miracle was when Jesus healed a leper in Matthew 8:1-4. The second was when Jesus heals a slave child of a Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13. The third miracle was when Jesus healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law in Matthew 8:14-15. The fourth miracle Jesus did was when He calmed the storm when the disciples were out fishing in Matthew 8:23-27. The fifth miracle Jesus did was casting out demons from two demon-possessed men and caused the demons to enter a herd of pigs. The pigs in a frenzy went over a cliff in Matthew 8:28-34. The sixth miracle Jesus did was forgive the sins and healed a paralytic in Matthew 9:1-8. We took two days to look at this one. 

Today we get a “two-for” in looking at Jesus' seventh & eighth miracles.  Jesus is asked to do a healing and while on the way, He does another. We see this in Matthew 9:18-26. So, we get miracles 7 & 8. Read the following Scripture of these miracles 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).

No matter who we are. No matter how much money and wealth we have. No matter how popular we are, death eventually comes for all of us. To me, the worse kind of death is the death of child. It is pain and grief I wish no parent ever had to experience. This is why having a personal relationship to Jesus Christ helps us get through those dark days when self-help motivational tapes or discs will not. Having Christ as we cry helps us in the crisis of being in a cemetery while we bury a child. 

Mahatma Gandhi said this in his earlier years: “I am unable to identify with orthodox Christianity. I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being, and I find solace in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount....I must confess to you that when doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita” http://www.onlinedarshan.com/minds-on-hinduism/index.htm.)

As death seemed inevitable, Mahatma Gandhi said this in his old age: “My days are numbered, I am not likely to live very long – perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in fifty years I find myself in the slough of despond. All about me is darkness; I am praying for light” (https://www.gracebibleny.org/setting_your_interest_things_god_matthew_162128).

Facing death makes a huge difference in our lives. Since Mahatma Gandhi had rejected the light of Christ is whole life, he had to live and die in that darkness that had enveloped him. In another story, John MacArthur tells this story:

“A Turkish watchmaker decided to build a special grave for himself that had an eight-inch window on top, an electric light, and a button beside the window connected to an outside alarm. In case he was accidentally buried alive and managed to revive, he could press the button to summon help. He instructed his friends to leave the light burning for seven days after his death and to turn it off only if they were sure he was actually dead” (John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 9,” p. 74).

Why is there sickness and death? — SIN. This was not God’s intention from the beginning but we messed it up and continue to keep messing it up. Jews had been taught for centuries that when the Messiah came, He would be able to heal and even raise the dead (see Isaiah 30:26; 35:5–6; 53:5; Mal. 4:2). Jesus had already proved He could do all of this and word began to spread quickly about His supernatural power. 

John MacArthur shares this story also: The Canadian scientist G. B. Hardy one time said, “When I looked at religion I said, I have two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death, and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death? I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty. And I said, There is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, Did He make a way for me to do it? And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, ‘Because I live ye shall live also’” (John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 9,” p. 75).

Now to our seventh miracle. We learn more information about this man in Mark 5:22, “Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing Him, he fell at His feet” (ESV). And Luke 8:41, “And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored Him to come to his house” (ESV). We learn his name — Jairus. And we learn his position — he was a ruler in his local synagogue. The Greek New Testament word used here for “ruler” is [ἄρχων, archon]. Mark’s Gospel gives us a little more information about his position. 

In Mark’s Gospel, Jairus is called a [ἀρχισυνάγωγος, archisunagogos]. He is not just the ruler, Jairus was the highest ranking Jewish official in Capernaum. In our culture, Jairus was Chief Justice of the His Supreme Court, not just a justice. Jairus would have been responsible for administration and operation of the synagogue. He supervised the worship services and oversaw the work of the other elders, which included teaching, adjudicating disputes, and other such leadership duties. This means he would have been over all scribes and Pharisees in his city as well.

Jairus took several risks in coming to Jesus. First, since opposition to Jesus had already started growing, Jairus would have know he would be criticized and possibly lose his position of power. But when your child’s life is hanging in the balance, fatherhood takes precedence over being a ruler. Second, the text says he came and kneeled before Jesus. 

This was another huge risk. The Greek New Testament word used for “kneel” here is [προσκυνέω, proskuneo] and it means “to worship” (see also Matt. 4:10; John 4:21–24; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev 4:10). The act involved prostrating oneself before the honored person usually face down on the ground, and/or kissing his feet in that position, and/or kissing the hem of his garment, or the ground in front of him. No matter what other religious leaders or the people  thought, he didn’t care. All he cared about was his daughter. 

Matthew leaves out some details that both Mark and Luke give us. For example, read Mark 5:23, “. . .  and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live” (ESV). His daughter was not yet dead. See Luke 8:42, “. . . for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying” (ESV). She was not yet dead. It is later in Mark 5:35 we read this: “While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (ESV). He first came to Jesus for healing of his daughter. Once he was with Jesus, he got word she had died. Now he was asking for a huge miracle — resuscitation from the dead. 

Another detail we are given is that his daughter is 12-years-old. In a Jewish culture, she was considered a woman. Jewish boys were considered to be a man at the age of 13-years-old. Yet, Jairus did not see her as a woman, but as his little girl who still deserved a life to live. What had been a bright light, now was a burned-out one. So, what first brought Jairus to Jesus was a genuine need — the healing of his daughter. Then his need went from healing to resuscitation from the dead. Jairus had no other resources or helps available to him on the scale he was asking.

So, this then reveals his second need in coming to Jesus. His hope Jesus would help and his faith Jesus could do the impossible. If you have been following along, this is amazing to me because Jesus had done some pretty incredible miracles but He had not yet raised anyone from the dead. The fact Jairus had faith that Jesus could, shows what desperation can do to us. He simply asked that Jesus do this in verse 18b, “. . . My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live” (ESV). If you remember, Jesus marveled at the faith of the Roman Centurion. Unlike the religious leaders of His day, Jesus did not have attendants, servants nor a hierarchy of intermediaries. We will finish this tomorrow as this is joined with Jesus’ eighth miracle.

Questions to Consider:

1. Do you care what people think of you and your relationship to Christ?
2. How desperate are you to get to Jesus? Why do you think many people, even some Christians, are more desperate for Jesus to heal themselves or someone they love than to appreciate He has already healed them of their greatest illnesses — sin and death?
3. Do others see your desperation?
4. When you come to worship as Jairus did before Jesus, do you hold back or do you praise and worship God with everything in you? Why or why not?
5. Have you ever had a need so desperate that you only turned to God for help? If so, what was it and what happened?
6. We all known parents, even Christian parents, who have lost children through death. Jesus healed Jairus’ daughter. How would you answer their question of: “Why did Jesus heal Jairus’ child but not mine?” Or “Why did Jesus keep my child safe? Does He not love my family as He loves other families?” What I have learned in these situations is that “pat answers” will never release this kind of emotional pain.
7. Everyone, including the other religious leaders saw Jairus bow down and worship Jesus. Do people see you at work, or at school or in your home doing this? How?

Scripture To Mediate On: Romans 5:8, “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (ESV). 

Prayer to Pray: “Dear Jesus, it is so easy for me to see You at times as a kind of genie in a bottle. I tell you what my needs are and then I expect You to answer them or fulfill them. Please forgive me for seeing You that way. Jesus, I want to say thank You for helping me of my worst illnesses — sin and death. If You never did anything else for me, this is enough. I know You love me and when You do not answer my prayers the way I desire, I will still trust that You know that is best for me in spite of what the situation or other may say or do. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!"