God Conversation

Matthew 15:22-28

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment

The Woman

The woman is said to be from Syria Phoenicia (Mark 7:26).

Jesus treats the Canaanite woman strangely. It is out of character. She pleads for her daughter. He ignores her.

This poor Canaanite woman steps in front of him – desperate for healing, she pleads for her daughter. Jesus ignores her. Walks past.

She is desperate, she refuses to be snubbed. As he passes by she continues to shout, persisting in her request – healing for her daughter.

The Canaanites hated the Jews and were in turn hated by them. Jews referred to the Canaanites - as dogs.

Jesus reaction

"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." As if to say: The Jewish people, my people, are my first concern.

She will not take silence for an answer: She kneels before Jesus: “Lord help me.” She is desperate, persistent and powerless. “Lord help me”.

Jesus still refuses her, even goads her. “It is not fair to give the children’s bread to dogs”. She refuses to take offence. In fact, she outwits Jesus. She is his teacher. In effect she says: Call us what you like, I don’t care: “Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.”

The Healing

She overwhelms him. “Woman you have great faith!” She breaks through his silence, his belittling of her people, challenges Jesus in her need. “Woman you have great faith. Be it done for you as you desire”Her daughter was immediately cured.

The work of Jesus is no longer limited to the Jews but reaches out to non-Jews as well. “Go and make disciples of all nations…”

She comes to Jesus in faith

This Canaanite woman is a model of faith.

Jesus frequently tested people to prove their intentions, often through response questions or challenges

Jesus was testing the faith of the woman and teaching an important lesson to His disciples.

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Matthew 14:15-21 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus’ Compassion

Jesus had compassion for the people who followed him and healed the sick and infirm among them

At the end of the day, the disciples wanted the crowd to go away because it was getting dark. But then Jesus said to them, let the people remain and instead give them some food.

The resources

They had only five loaves of bread and two fish. (This miracle is also known as ‘the miracle of the five loaves and two fish’ for this reason.)

Jesus asked the bread and fish to be brought to him, before telling the crowds of gathered people to sit down upon the grass.

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and looked up to heaven, blessing them, before breaking the food. Then he gave the food to the disciples, who in turn gave it to the crowds of people.

At the end of the day

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of leftovers. The number of those who ate was ‘about five thousand men, beside women and children’ (Matthew 14:21).

The ‘feeding of the five thousand’ is the only miracle performed by Jesus which is recorded in all four gospels: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14.

This isn’t the only time that Jesus performed such a feat. For there is another similar miracle, the ‘feeding of the four thousand’, which is performed with seven loaves of bread and a ‘few’ fish. This one appears only in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-9, which is perhaps why it’s less well-known.

Nothing We Face Here on Earth Is Too Big for God

Jesus is big enough for any of our expectations, and he uses other people to bless others, and ultimately, it shows Jesus’ compassion for His people.

He surpassed expectations. He is ultimate. This means that Jesus provides every need and He exceeds. We are reminded about this in the passage John 1:3, as stated, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

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Matthew 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.

The Man

We see  Jesus healing and removing a demon from a person that was both blind and mute

The reason for his condition appears to have been oppression by a demon. Demons, as shown in the New Testament, can sometimes cause disabilities in their victims.

Jesus immediately solves the man's problem by healing him, likely by casting the demon out. Suddenly the man can see and speak.

The crowds

Following this healing the crowd is amazed and impressed.

Satan has a way of making every life miserable he comes into contact with. In mercy, Jesus heals.

The viewers of the miraculous were overwhelmed – quite literally beside themselves with amazement and wonder. They knew healings like this had to be the handiwork of God.

the crowds began to question: "Could this be the Son of David?"

Reaction

This will lead to something more than a denial of a miracle. Rather than expressing doubt that this was a supernatural event, the Pharisees will accept that it's miraculous. However, they are so hardened against God that they'll insist the power comes from Satan (Matthew 12:24)

Jesus took the Pharisees nonsensical accusations and showed them for the foolishness that they truly were.

Proverbs 3:30 Do not accuse a man for no reason--when he has done you no harm

Do you need deliverance?

Jesus makes the obvious point that kingdoms cannot stand which are divided against themselves. The common end to divisions is desolation. If you need deliverance make up your mind about Christ!

There is no greater power that can heal completely but Jesus. Seek the Father’s Will for your life, embrace the Holy Spirit and become a child of God.

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

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Matthew 12:10-13

And a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

Jesus “went into their synagogue"

“Behold, there was a man which had his hand withered.”

That word “behold” is a sort of note of exclamation to draw attention to it

The Man

he was a very humble, obscure, insignificant individual, probably very badly off and in great poverty, because he could not work as his fellow craftsmen could, but not a man of any rank, or learning, or special intelligence

It was his right hand which was withered, the worse of the two for him, for he could scarcely follow his handicraft or earn his bread.

His being in the assembly was in itself nothing very remarkable. I suppose he had been accustomed to go to the synagogue as others of his townsmen did; yet the Holy Spirit takes care to mark that he was present

it likely that he was there with the intention of asking for healing, he was there to be taught… to listen to what Jesus had to say, to be part of the gathering that had assembled for teaching.

notice THIS MAN’S OBEDIENCE

The teaching came before the healing

In most well-known stories of Jesus healing teaching comes before the miracles

what these stories teach us is that everyone is equal when it comes to Jesus’ teaching; he came for all, to share the Good News with all, for everyone to respond to him.

The Miracle

Jesus told the man to stretch out his hand, and his hand was healed.  There is a metaphor for us all there too.  By stretching out our hand in welcome, in love, to everyone, we are doing what Jesus would have us do

This command was addressed, then, to a man who was hopelessly incapable of obeying. “Stretch forth thine hand.” As a general rule when a thorough paralysis, not a partial one, takes place in the hand it seizes the entire member, and both hand and arm are paralyzed.

That stretching forth of the hand was entirely an act of faith. It was not an act of sense. As a matter of sense and nature the man was powerless for it. He only did it because his faith brought the ability.

the healing was manifest; it was also immediate. The man had not to stand there a long time, but his hand was straightway healed

If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed

Notice that all of the healings of the Lord Jesus were permanent and total. There is no partial healing or temporary healing when Jesus does miracles.

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John 5:1-9

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

The pool

The Pool of Bethesda was “in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate” (John 5:2), which places it north of the temple

During Jesus’ time, the Pool of Bethesda lay outside the city walls

The name of the pool, “Bethesda,” is Aramaic. It means “House of Mercy.”

The first person into the pool after the stirring of the water “was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted” (John 5:4). The Bible does not teach that this actually happened

On the day that Jesus visited the Pool of Bethesda, there was a man there who “had been an invalid for thirty-eight years”

Are You Waiting for God?

How long do we live with trouble before we’re on our knees, asking God for healing of any sort—physical, emotional, or spiritual?

The miracle of this story is that even though the lame man thought and behaved in a typical, self-defeating way, Jesus noticed him and healed him.

The Miracle

Jesus swept aside all superstition and bypassed altogether the need for magic water with one command: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:8)

The man was instantly cured, and “he picked up his mat and walked” (verse 9). The man did not need quicker reflexes or beneficent angels or enchanted water. The man needed Jesus.

Superstition and false belief can keep you stuck in your healing process but Jesus will set you free

Reactions

Amazingly, not everyone was happy about the man’s miraculous healing. The day Jesus healed the man at the poolside happened to be a Sabbath

As the man left Bethesda, the Jewish leaders saw him carrying his mat, and they stopped him: “It is the Sabbath,” they said. “The law forbids you to carry your mat” (John 5:10). The man told them that he was simply obeying orders: “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’” (verse 11)

The reaction of the Jewish leaders shows that, no matter how much proof God provides, there will be some people who refuse to see the truth.

The Pool of Bethesda was the focus of a local legend about healing, but Jesus showed that faith in legends and superstition is misplaced. In contrast, faith in Jesus Christ—the One who can heal with a simple word, the Savior who can forgive any sin, the true Master of the “House of Mercy”—is never misplaced.

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Matthew 9:32-33 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

The Messiah

In Matthew 9, Jesus healed a paralytic, two blind men, and a mute man

the Old Testament highlights the healing of the lame, the blind, and the mute as signs by which to recognize the promised Messiah

Isaiah 35:5–6“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert”

Matthew 11:4–5“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them”

Demonic oppression

someone brings in a demon-oppressed man who is mute

the demon oppressing the man was causing him to be unable to speak.

Demons were understood as a fact of life in Jesus' day.

Jesus could simply order them to leave

The Authority of Jesus

This passage highlights and authenticates Jesus’s authority and power. In supernaturally restoring life, sight, and speech Jesus is providing evidence that he is who he claims to be.

Do you have any need of restoration today?

Your Response

Some people respond to Jesus with belief

But, predictably and tragically, others respond with unbelief

Do you believe that he is able to do this? To do what? To bring the restoration he’s promising.

Hebrews 1:1–3a  God revealed himself in his creation, he revealed himself through his prophets, he revealed himself through his word, and most perfectly, he revealed himself in his Son, Jesus Christ

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Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”“Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

The Question

According to the Gospel account, as Jesus continues his journey after raising the daughter of Jairus, two blind men follow him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

Jesus asks the two blind men seeking healing, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

If faith is present, miraculous healing will occur according to God's will

A person of faith receives preferential treatment, and in fact, faith is so important to God that His Word declares,

What is essential to healing?

Hebrews 11:6

Without faith it is impossible to please Him

Faith opens the door for divine blessing; its lack closes the door

Matthew 9:29

Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you.

Double miracle

The Jews thought of blind eyes as "shut," and seeing eyes as "open." Jesus removes two men's blindness—they can now see and comprehend what was once closed to them

Psalms 119:18

Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.

Spiritual blindness has only one remedy: Jesus Christ dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus healed the blind men, proving that He was indeed the Son of God with powers beyond anything a mortal man could have

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Luke 8:43-48

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

The unnamed woman

This is a woman who has suffered for 12 years from a certain kind of bleeding; it is often translated as “hemorrhaging.”

She has visited many doctors and healers, and none of them has been able to heal her. She got worse.

According to jewish law she is she is considered “unclean.”. She lived in isolation and would have been known for her uncleanliness.

Note this story of the woman with the issue of blood is found in three of the gospel texts and has slightly different description in the side details.

God is moved to action by our faith, even when He’s in the middle of doing something else!

The Daughter of Jairus

The larger story begins with Jesus being abruptly greeted by a synagogue leader, Jairus, who falls at Jesus’s feet imploring him to heal his little daughter who is at the point of death.

Later Jesus tells the girl, “Talitha cum,” which is Aramaic for “Little girl, get up!” Immediately, the girl gets up and walks around.

Godly coincidences

Both victims of illness are female and ritually unclean, one as a result of death and one as a result of hemorrhage

both represent the significance of the number twelve in Jewish tradition (the twelve years of hemorrhage and the twelve-year-old girl)

both are regarded as “daughters” (the little girl being Jairus’s daughter and the woman who is addressed by Jesus as “Daughter”).

Healing by touch

Jesus stops, turns, and asks, “Who touched my clothes?”

An act of touch restores both women to new life even as those surrounding them lack understanding

You can reach out to Jesus in times of pain and heartache

We can’t “steal” a miracle from God

Jesus could have healed the woman and kept on walking to His original destination. Only He and the woman would have known what had taken place. But He didn’t do that. Jesus stopped what He was doing and acknowledged the result of this woman’s faith

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Matthew 9:18-26

While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. 20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. 23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.

Jesus can raise the dead to life

Jairus

Jairus was a ruler in the synagogue of Capernaum

Jairus in the Bible was the father of a 12-year-old girl whom Jesus raised from the dead

He humbled himself before Jesus, falling down at His feet

The woman with an issue of blood

As Jesus walked with Jairus a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his robe, saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed”

Tomorrow we will see what happened...

The Miracle

Jesus entered the room where Jairus’ daughter lay. He took the dead girl by the hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise

Immediately, the girl’s spirit returned (Luke 8:55), and she got up and began walking around (Mark 5:41). Everyone was “completely astonished” (

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

12 years

the daughter of Jairus was twelve years old—the same number of years as the woman in the crowd had suffered from her infirmity

Jesus calls the woman He healed “Daughter” (Luke 8:48)—the only time He calls an individual that

The story of Jairus in the Bible is really a miracle within a miracle, with two “daughters” and two stretches of a dozen years.

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Matthew 9:1-8

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

The place

His own city: This must mean Capernaum

Jesus’ miracles were not primarily calculated for crowd effect. Instead they were primarily done to minister to the humble needs of humble people

Other Gospels (in Mark 2 and Luke 5) explain how the man was brought to Jesus. Because of the crowds, his friends lowered him down to Jesus through the roof.

Jesus saw their faith

Jesus saw the faith of his friends, not of the paralyzed man himself

It was evident that they had the faith to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus and their faith was active enough to take apart a roof and lower the man down before Jesus.

The man's greatest problem

Jesus told him, Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven!

As bad as it is to be paralyzed, it is infinitely worse to be bound and lost in your sin.

sin is the root from which all our evils come.

forgiveness is more important than bodily healing

The most important thing Jesus came to do was to deal with sin not sickness

The reaction of the religious leaders

some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?”

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”; then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

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