Matthew 9 Part 2 focuses on two intertwined miracles that reveal how faith, compassion, and obedience work together in the kingdom of God. Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood and raises the ruler’s daughter, demonstrating that faith must act and, at times, step out for the first time. The passage calls believers to trust God beyond comfort, minister with words and hands, and be moved with compassion as preparation for the greater works coming in Matthew chapter 10.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
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Scriptures used in this lesson:
Matthew 9:18, Mark 5:23, Luke 8:42, Matthew 9:18-19, Matthew 9:20-21, Mark 11:22-23, Romans 10:17, Romans 12:6, Matthew 9:22, Mark 5:30, Acts 1:8, Matthew 9:23, Mark 5:38, Matthew 9:24-25, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, Matthew 9:26, Matthew 9:27, Matthew 9:28-31, Matthew 9:35-38, Psalm 102:18,
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Finishing Matthew Chapter 9 and Preparing for Chapter 10
This is the last half of Matthew chapter 9, and I am determined to finish it. Someone joked this morning that the odds were against us, but I said chapter 9 is history. I want to move on because I am excited about chapter 10, where the disciples are sent out. Essential issues are coming that will challenge how we think, possibly even requiring a new theology and philosophy. But for now, we are still in the section on miracles.
Two Miracles Intertwined: Healing and Resurrection
Verses 18-26 address two miracles occurring simultaneously. One is the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, and the other is the raising of the ruler’s daughter. The parallel passages are found in Mark 5 and Luke 8. What stands out to me is how Matthew condenses this account into only nine verses. Mark and Luke give much more detail. Matthew consistently does this. He condenses miracle stories but expands major teaching sections, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Olivet Discourse. This shows me what Matthew is focused on.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Matthew is interested in the King and the kingdom. He is intent on proving to Israel that Jesus is the Messiah, that He has come, and that He will return. In verse 18, Jesus continues to speak about fasting and the bridegroom when the ruler approaches Him. Last week, we identified Jesus as the bridegroom, and in this context, He is the bridegroom of Israel. I know we do not yet have the full understanding of this, but there is something real and fresh there. I believe God is opening this up to us, and what we are seeing is only the beginning.
The Ruler’s Request and Jesus’ Response
Matthew 9:18
While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
The King James text identifies the man as a ruler, a term meaning one who is first in rank or authority. Lexicons explain that he was a ruler of a synagogue, which tells us he was a Jew, not a Gentile. Other translations describe him as a rabbi, an elder, or even the president of the synagogue, which suggests he may have functioned much like a pastor. All of this shows he was an essential and respected leader within the synagogue.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
The synagogue system was similar to our own religious structure. Cities had many synagogues, each with its own teachers and leaders. In this setting, one of those rulers ran to Jesus, fell before Him, and worshiped Him, saying that his daughter was dying or already dead.
That scene can be easily compared to today, when a pastor from another church might come running for help in a crisis. I believe that will happen when we genuinely seek the kingdom of God and signs and wonders begin to follow. When that happens, other leaders will come, and that is how unity is formed.
Ministry, Unity, and the Call to Arise
This brings me to Ephesians 4, where Scripture says God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to bring the body into unity and maturity. Those ministries still exist today, but the real question is whether they are truly working toward unity. I have had to examine my own calling and ask whether I am striving not only for maturity, but also for unity in this city. If I am faithful to my calling, unity must be part of it.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
What I want you to see is this: we must keep seeking first the kingdom of God and allow signs and wonders to mark our lives. When we do, people will recognize who we are and seek our help. Someone has to arise and shine, and if it is not us, it will be someone else. The ruler in this story came to Jesus with a desperate need, asking Him to lay hands on his daughter. Jesus ministered in two ways, by His words and by His hands. That is the same way we are called to minister today, through the words of life and the laying on of hands.
Parallel Gospel Accounts
Here is what Mark and Luke say.
Mark 5:23
23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
Luke 8:42
42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Here again, we see how much Matthew condenses the story. In Mark and Luke, Jairus approaches Jesus, and on the way to his house, the woman with the issue of blood interrupts their journey. While Jesus is ministering to her, servants arrive and announce that the daughter has already died. Matthew shortens all of that and says the ruler comes and says his daughter is now dead.
The First Recorded Resurrection and the Call to Step Out
No matter how you look at it, the situation is serious. Whether the girl is dying or already dead, Jesus knows before He ever arrives that death is involved. The ruler asks Him to come and lay His hands on her, which shows that he has already observed how Jesus ministers. He has seen that Jesus works through both His words and His hands, and that understanding is beginning to spread.
I believe this kind of ministry is contagious. When people see others laying hands on the sick and praying, they begin to understand and want to be part of it. That is what Jairus had seen. He recognized how Jesus ministered and trusted Him to do the same in his situation.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Up to this point in our study, Jesus has not raised anyone from the dead. When you compare all the Gospel accounts, this moment marks the first recorded resurrection He performs. Jairus was asking Jesus to do something He had not yet done. That is what makes this moment so striking and significant.
Matthew 9:18–19
18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
Up to this point, there is no record of Jesus raising anyone from the dead. To our knowledge, this would be the first time. Yet when Jairus made his request, Jesus did not hesitate or excuse Himself by saying He had never done this before. He arose and followed Jairus to his house, showing the heart of a servant who responds in obedience.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
The Principle of the First Time
What I want to draw from this is that stepping out always begins with a first time. This was the first time Jesus would raise the dead. In the same way, there was a first time He laid hands on someone, healed the sick, cast out a demon, prophesied, taught, preached, and moved in the gifts. Because He was fully man as well as fully God, every act He performed had a beginning point.
God is saying the same thing to us today. We are called to arise and step out into areas we have never entered before. If we stay in our comfort zone, we will remain stuck and never see greater works. The resurrection of the dead, the healing of the lame, and the full expression of the Spirit’s power all require a first step of obedience.
Too often, we are asked to undertake something new, and we hesitate rather than move forward. Yet growth in ministry demands that we move beyond where we are now. God even uses provocation, just as Hannah was provoked, to stir us to action (1 Samuel 1:6-7). When we see others walking in blessing, it should awaken holy desire within us. I want to see the miracle-working power of God right here, and that means we must move as Jesus moved and walk through every step He walked in the gifts of the Spirit.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Jesus did not suddenly raise Jairus’s daughter without preparation. He moved into that moment step by step. To become like Jesus, we must learn to get up and move when the Holy Spirit prompts us. This is not about responding to human pressure, but about obeying God’s leading. At the same time, when leadership calls us to act, there are moments when it is simply time to get up and move.
The Disciples and the Challenge of Faith
I also began to consider the disciples who accompanied Jesus. They had never seen anything like this before. Jairus was asking Jesus to raise a dead child, and that had not yet happened to anyone by Jesus. I can imagine their hesitation and their thoughts as they followed Him, wondering whether they had heard correctly and hoping that people would not think they were strange.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
That image brings it home. If someone came to me and asked me to come raise their daughter from the dead, how many would be willing to get up and go with me? It puts the issue in a different light. There will be a first time for this, just as there was for Jesus. When that moment comes, we cannot refuse simply because we have never done it before.
The passage then returns to the woman with the issue of blood. She had suffered for twelve years, yet she believed that if she could only touch His garment, she would be made whole.
Matthew 9:20–21
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
I want to move quickly through this section. Different translations describe the woman’s condition as severe bleeding or a hemorrhage lasting twelve years. Matthew gives very little detail, while Mark and Luke provide a much fuller account. What we do know is that she suffered for twelve years, spent all her money on doctors, and only grew worse. Luke, a physician himself, even says she was beyond healing and considered incurable.
According to the law in Leviticus, she was ceremonially unclean. Anyone she touched would also be unclean. That explains why she did not touch Jesus directly but instead reached for His garment. There was no magical power in His clothes. Her faith was the key. She believed that if she could touch His garment, she would be healed.
That faith began within her. She formed a plan and spoke it “within herself.” Faith always begins within and grows like a seed. That seed must be nurtured, exercised, and cared for if it is going to grow. Faith works like a muscle. The more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Speaking Faith and Miraculous Power
The idea of naming and claiming has been criticized, sometimes rightly, when taken too far. Yet when it is adequately understood, it expresses a powerful truth. Many of Jesus’ miracles were activated when people spoke in faith. Saying something releases spiritual action. Jesus will tell this woman that her faith made her whole, and the same principle is reiterated in Mark 11:22-23.
Mark 11:22–23
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
This passage points back to Jesus cursing the fig tree. The next day, the disciples observe that it has dried up from the roots, and Peter draws attention to it. Jesus responds by saying to have faith in God, or as some margins read, the faith of God (Mark 11:12-14, 20-23). That statement opens the door to understanding different kinds of faith, especially miraculous faith that activates God’s power. Jesus explains that speaking in faith, without doubting, releases results. Words matter because they activate faith and connect us to the power of God.
Growing in Faith and Understanding God’s Purpose
I want to pause briefly on faith, even though I do not spend much time teaching it anymore. That is why I do not camp on faith teaching. I understand it and can teach it well, but it was yesterday’s word for me. Today I am focused on the kingdom of God and the dominion of Jesus Christ. That is the fresh word I want to live in and teach.
When I look again at the woman’s faith, I ask what kind of faith she exercised. It was not salvation faith. It was not fruit-bearing faith. She was not seeking fruitfulness or spiritual growth. She activated a different kind of faith, a miraculous faith, the kind that reaches into God and draws healing power into real life.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
What she was seeking was miraculous faith, the God-kind of faith that makes a person whole. This is the faith connected to the most holy place. The outer court represents salvation faith, and the faith described in Galatians speaks to fruitfulness. Beyond that is a deeper faith in which you hold on to God and refuse to let go until you receive what you are believing for (Genesis 32:24-26).
That is the faith she exercised. She had lost confidence in her money and in her doctors. She was incurable, and God was all she had left. The diseased woman believed Jesus could do more than improve her life or make her fruitful. She believed He could heal her, and she believed He would. Her faith was miraculous faith, and she acted on it.
Faith, Testing, and Transformation
This kind of faith helps clarify a common struggle. The real question is never whether God can do something, because He can do anything. The issue is whether He will do it. God can move any mountain, heal any disease, or change any situation. Doubt is not about His ability, but about understanding His purpose.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Sometimes there is a blockage, and learning why it is there becomes today’s lesson. God often withholds what we ask for because He is working on us. If He gave us everything immediately, we would never change. Tests shape us, and when handled correctly, they make us more like Jesus by forming His nature in us.
That understanding has changed how I see faith. It has become personal and real in my life. I do not condemn anyone else, but I have learned something through this process that has helped me. Faith cannot be borrowed from someone else. God is using both suffering and waiting to change our nature, and that is the same truth I keep coming back to, no matter how many ways I say it.
Faith, Resistance, and Growth
The Lord is working on us and changing us from glory to glory. He is conforming us to His image, and real change occurs only through resistance. Without resistance, nothing grows. A muscle will never strengthen unless weight is applied, and faith works the same way. Resistance produces growth, and that principle applies directly to faith.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Faith is simple. We are not to have faith in our faith, but faith in God. The real question is never whether God can do something. The question is why it is not happening. After praying, speaking the Word, resisting the devil, and standing firm, if the issue remains, it may not be the devil at all. It may be God working to show us something more profound.
If we stop blaming the devil for everything and humble ourselves before God, we can ask what He wants to teach us through the situation. When we do that, change can finally take place. As long as we refuse to learn and keep shifting the blame, growth will never happen.
Faith Grounded in the Word
Our faith is centered in God Himself. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the object of our faith is Jesus Christ. He is our intercessor, mediator, and Lord. Faith is activated by hearing the Word, believing it, and exercising it. The issue is not God’s ability. The issue is aligning our faith with His purpose and responding rightly to what He is doing in us. Romans 10:17 says,
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We need a regular and consistent intake of the Word of God. That means reading it, listening to it, and allowing it to activate us. Faith cannot grow without the Word going in. Many Christians have strong opinions about the Bible, yet they do not know what it actually says. They cannot locate books or verses, but they still argue positions without having put anything into themselves.
Faith, Gifts, and Proportion
Faith must be exercised according to the Word. When the Word is absent, faith has nothing to work with. That is why Scripture connects faith directly to the Word and to the gifts God gives. Romans 12:6 shows that faith operates in proportion, and that proportion grows only when the Word is consistently received and applied.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Romans 12:6
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
This is a foundational principle of faith and of how the gifts operate. Everything we do in the kingdom works by faith, including salvation and spiritual gifts. The more we exercise faith, the easier it becomes. Faith grows the same way a muscle grows. Repetition develops strength and ability.
I used the example of lifting a heavy object. At first, it is difficult, but the more you do it, the stronger you become. The same thing happens with spiritual gifts. When I first began to prophesy, I might only receive a word or a short sentence. As I continued to step out, that gift began to flow more freely. Over time, that spiritual muscle was exercised, and now I sometimes have to stop myself.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
This principle is scriptural. Gifts are given according to grace, and prophecy operates according to the proportion of faith. At first, faith may be small, but as the gift is exercised, faith increases. That pattern applies to all the gifts. Faith works by the Word going in, then returning through obedience and action.
Jesus Affirms Faith and Releases Power
This brings us back to the woman with the issue of blood.
Matthew 9:22
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole. It was not His garment that healed her. Her faith was the activating force, and from that moment she was made whole.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Mark 5:30
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Mark tells us that Jesus felt virtue leave His body when the woman touched His garment. That word virtue is dunamis, the same word we get dynamite from. It speaks of force and miraculous power. Jesus was aware that real power flowed out of Him and brought healing to her.
Dunamis Power Given to the Church
That same word appears in Acts 1:8. Just before His ascension, Jesus spoke to His disciples and told them they would receive power – dunamis. He was promising the same dunamis power that flowed through Him. It is the power that heals and transforms.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Acts 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Jesus made it clear that this power would come when the Holy Ghost came upon them. That happened in Acts chapter 2. The power that operated in Jesus was not meant to stop with Him. It was given to His church, His bride, through the Holy Spirit.
People sometimes focus on outward signs like speaking in tongues, but God already knows what power we have. That is not how I determine whether someone is walking in dunamis. What matters is the reality of faith at work. Jesus told the woman that her faith made her whole, and all translations emphasize the same point. Her faith healed her.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Faith Focused on God, Not on Itself
This shows how faith operates. It was not the garment that healed her, because there was no magical power in it. Her faith activated the dunamis power of Christ. Faith itself does not carry power; it connects to the One who does. The key question is what our faith is focused on. We are not to have faith in our faith, but faith in God.
Faith works like a connection that releases power already present within us. When healing does not occur, the issue is not a lack of power but rather an understanding of what is blocking its release. Faith can be seen, just as Jesus saw faith in others. In this story, the woman was instantly healed because her faith was activated correctly.
Arrival at the Ruler’s House
After this, the scene shifts as Jesus arrives at the ruler’s house.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Matthew 9:23
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
He encounters the mourners and the surrounding noise, setting the stage for what follows.
Mark 5:38
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
Mourning Customs and the Power of Life
This background comes from writings on the manners and customs of Bible lands and explains how people mourned at death in the East. At the moment of death, a loud cry or wail would go up. That sound alerted the entire city and all the relatives that death had occurred. From that point, the mourning process was initiated, and emotions were openly and intensely expressed.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Burial usually followed very quickly, often the same day. Many believed that the spirit of the dead person hovered near the body for about three days. That belief helps explain the reaction when Jesus arrived after Lazarus had been dead for several days. Martha and Mary assumed it was too late, but Jesus declared that He is the resurrection and the life. Time makes no difference to Him. Whether it is one day or thousands of years, when He speaks, life responds.
Because people believed the spirit could hear the mourners, they hired professional mourners to wail loudly and appropriately. When Jesus entered the ruler’s house, He encountered this scene of noise and wailing. He told them to leave, saying the girl was not dead but sleeping. They mocked Him, but once the crowd was put out, He took her by the hand, and she arose.
Life Confronts Death
Matthew condenses the story to the minimum. The parallel passages in Mark 5:38-42 and Luke 8:51-55 provide greater detail, with Mark offering the most.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Mark 5:38-42
(This account includes the mourners, Jesus putting them out, taking the child by the hand, and commanding her to arise, with added detail about her age.)
Luke 8:51-55
(Luke records Jesus entering the house, dismissing the mourners, taking the girl by the hand, calling her spirit to return, and her immediate restoration to life.)
Matthew 9:24–25
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
Death mocked life in that moment, and it still does. When Jesus entered the room filled with noise and mourning, death seemed to be in control. He removed everyone associated with that atmosphere and brought only a few disciples with Him. Then He took the girl by the hand and raised her up. Life confronted death, and death was exposed as the enemy.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Death as the Final Enemy
I want you to understand that this is grounded in Scripture. Death is not permanent. It is an enemy that will be destroyed and placed under the feet of the church. There is a generation that will overcome death. I am not going to teach that fully here, but I want you to see it clearly so you can study it and understand where this is headed.
1 Corinthians 15:24-26
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
This passage points to the end, when the kingdom is delivered to God the Father after all rule, authority, and power have been put down. The purpose of the kingdom and of the church is the restoration of authority. Jesus must reign until every enemy is placed under His feet. The final enemy to be destroyed is death, and Scripture makes clear that death is an enemy that will be overcome.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
A Generation Created for Praise and Victory
This also connects to Psalm 102:18, which speaks of a future generation. That generation will be created for the Lord and will declare His praise. I believe there is a people who will walk in this victory, and they will see death brought into subjection as part of God’s redemptive purpose.
Psalm 102:18
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
This passage speaks of a future generation that will be written about and created to praise the Lord. God looks down from heaven, hears the groaning of the prisoners, and releases those appointed to death. That people will declare the name of the Lord in Zion, the church (Hebrews 12:22-24), and give Him praise in Jerusalem.
I believe there is such a generation. I pray it is this one, but if not, I believe we are laying the foundation for it. There will be people of faith who release those appointed to death. They will go to places like Jairus’s house, take the daughter by the hand, and speak life. The damsel will arise. The damsel is the church, and there is a people who will overcome death.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
The Church as God’s Instrument
When this truth is finally grasped by the church and no longer dismissed as heresy or foolishness, God’s glory will spread throughout the land. Overcoming death will not happen outside the church. It must occur within it.
The church is God’s instrument for the kingdom of God in the earth today. To overcome death, we must be part of what God is doing through His body. That is the only way this victory will come.
Matthew 9:26
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
I’d suppose so! And it will again when the church moves into its full potential and begins raising the dead.
The Healing of the Blind Men
The healing of the blind men introduces a critical thought as we move toward the final section. I would like to turn our attention to Matthew 9:27.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Matthew 9:27
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
Son of David and the Timing of the Kingdom
During a time of prayer, I shared something I believe I was hearing from the Lord. I sensed that God wants His church involved in the political realm. I believe the fresh word is for a people to arise, not necessarily from the top down, but from the bottom up. A foundation must be laid first, and then influence can rise and affect the whole system. I am careful with how I say this, but I believe that is what the Lord is speaking.
This moment connects directly with where I believe we are today. The blind men called Jesus the Son of David, but He did not respond to that title and continued walking. When they followed Him to the house, I began to question why He ignored that address and what it meant.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
In His first coming, Jesus came as the Son of God and the Son of Man. He came as the mediator between God and humanity, the head of the new covenant, and the Lamb who would die to redeem mankind. He did not come to establish a political government at that time. Because of that, He did not acknowledge the title Son of David, which is a political title for the Messiah.
The term “Son of David” refers to kingship and government. Jesus did not come in His first advent as a ruling king, but He will come that way in His second coming. When He returns, He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords, establishing the government of the kingdom of God. That is my belief, and I am careful to say that clearly.
As His coming draws nearer, I believe His bride becomes more active in governing and influence. The church rules with Him and learns how to govern. This is why I think there is growing interest in political matters and why I sense God drawing His people into that arena.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Matthew 9:28-31
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
Faith and the Healing of the Blind
Of course, Jesus healed the blind men. He used his hands and his words – “According to YOUR faith be it unto you.” We’ve covered the aspects of faith earlier. It was their faith that healed them. Jesus instructed them to “See that no man know it.” The Lord had to know that it would be impossible. They were blind! Now they could see. It’s not like no one would notice. So, of course, “When they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.”
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Compassion and the Harvest
I then see Jesus looking over the people with compassion. Like the vision in Revelation where the bride is shown, I see Him viewing the world and declaring that the fields are white for harvest. Because of that, He calls us to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into the field.
Matthew 9:35–38
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Being Moved with Compassion Today
As I studied the word compassion, it spoke deeply to me. It means being moved from deep within, a yearning that arises from the innermost part of a person. When I picture Jesus, I see Him looking over the crowds and being moved in that deep place. The multitudes came to Him broken, sick, oppressed, and hurting. I believe He felt that pain so deeply that it moved Him to tears.
The crowds have not changed. When I look at our congregation, our city, and our world, I still see sickness, cancer, broken homes, broken hearts, and people bound by darkness. As God grows us and prepares us to be used by Him, I believe He wants us to be moved with that same compassion.
I experienced this personally when we visited a young man named Eddie in the hospital who was dying of cancer. As we prayed for him, something deep inside me was stirred. I was overwhelmed with compassion, and tears came, as I believe they did for Jesus. Nothing prophetic was happening, and nothing was being revealed about death. I was moved by compassion, and it affected me deeply.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
I long to enter situations like that with greater authority, but until then, compassion must guide us. The crowds remain broken and dying, and we should never become hardened to that reality. Jesus ended this section by telling us to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into the field.
A Call for True Laborers
There is no shortage of religious activity or hype, but there is a shortage of real ministry. Many claim to serve the Lord, but most are driven by opportunity, position, or gain. As a result, the people are left wandering without a shepherd. My prayer is that God will raise up true ministry in Lafayette, Walker County, and the surrounding areas. I want us to pray that God will send honest laborers who will raise people up into maturity and lead them into the fullness of Christ.
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
Matthew 9 Part 2 How to Move Beyond First Times
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