HEAL - God's Heart for Healing in MatthewParaugs

Two Healings

Today’s passage had two healings. First was Jairus, a synagogue ruler who knelt before Jesus as a desperate dad seeking help for his daughter. Jairus said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Can you imagine having a loved one die, yet still believing this man Jesus could bring them back? Jairus’ faith was so strong that he believed Jesus could bring his daughter back to life.

While this is going on, a woman who had been suffering with bleeding for 12 years scrambled to touch Jesus in a large crowd. She believed that if she just touched his cloak, she’d be healed. So inching her way into the crowd, she touched him and at that very moment she was healed.  

But here’s the interesting part of the story. Jesus was walking and surrounded by people crowding up on him and pushing against him, yet he noticed the faith-filled touch of this one woman on his cloak. The woman was reaching for a very important part of Jesus’ clothing. Scripture tells us that she touched the hem of his garment. This was a significant part of Jesus’ cloak where a tassel or “tzitzit” hangs, and represented God’s authority and reminder of His commandments. 

Although many people were crowding around him and touching him, it was when the woman touched him, that Jesus actually felt his power released. There was something different about her touch. Her desperate act of faith is what caught his attention. He said to her, “Your faith has healed you.”

Both the woman and Jairus were desperate for healings. Their situations both seemed hopeless, yet they still sought out Jesus as the only one who could change their fates. And Jesus saw their great faith and granted their individual requests. The scripture reading ends with Jesus bringing Jairus’ daughter back to life.  

Questions:

1. Are you in a desperate situation for healing? 

2. What did you learn from Jairus or the bleeding woman as they sought Jesus ?

3. What did you learn about Jesus from this story?