This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 16 October 2022. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.
‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ That is the question Pontius Pilate later puts to the crowd in 27:22. It comes at a pivotal point in the book. In Matthew 27, Jesus is standing trial, falsely accused of crimes carrying the death sentence, and so Pilate and the crowd are confronted by a clear choice. They must decide what they will do with Jesus, this one who is being called the Messiah. Will they crown him as their lord and king? Or will they send him to a cross? ‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ However, while Matthew doesn’t explicitly ask this question until chapter 27, it is the question that I think he is implicitly asking his readers the whole way through the book. Long before we get to Pilate and the crowd that day, we too realise that we also have a choice to make. We too must decide what we are going to do with Jesus. That is the ultimate question that our passage this evening puts before us. As spend time considering who Jesus is and what he can do, Matthew is challenging each of us here tonight, whether it is for the first or the 100th time, what will you do with this Jesus?
On Sunday evenings recently, we have been working our way through this section of Matthew covering chapters 8-9. A few weeks ago we saw the whole book can be divided into sections that alternate between story and sermon. That is, we are told the story of Jesus’ life and ministry for a few chapters, before then switching to a section of sermon, a record of Jesus teaching, and then Matthew switches back to story again. Story, sermon, story, sermon, the whole way through the book. For example, you will remember that chapters 5-7 was a sermon section, often known as the Sermon on the Mount. However, now, in chapters 8-9, we have switched to story, as Matthew tells us about Jesus’ healing ministry. And yet, this section will soon come to an end. If you look forward, you will see when we cross over into chapter 10 next week, we begin a sermon again, as Jesus teaches his disciples about their mission.
As a result, our passage this evening, 9:18-34, is the final act in this part of Matthew, one last cluster of miracles that brings this current section of story to its end. As in the first half of chapter 9, Matthew again records three of Jesus’ interactions. And yet, as we shall see, each story not only contains one miracle, but two miracles. This triplet of stories is actually a triplet of doubles: first Jesus heals two women, an older and a younger (9:18-26); then Jesus heals two men (9:27-31), both being blind; and finally, Jesus deals with two problems (9:32-34), for the man there is both demon-possessed and mute. This section of Jesus’ healing ministry closes with three double miracles: two women, two men and two problems.
Just as when a rock band at a concert turn their volume up for the final chorus of their final song, it seems that Matthew likewise, through the multiplication of miracles, turns the volume up as he closes this section. It is clear that Matthew also wants to go out with a bang! And we will see that he uses this increased volume, to underline the themes we saw earlier in the section, all the truths that we have covered in the last two chapters. Our passage this evening not only brings this part of Matthew to a close, it brings it to a climax. Here we have a great crescendo. All the same truths as before, but displayed here in greater, expressed in even louder ways. We see three great truths in these three stories: (1) The Greatest Demonstration of Jesus’ Authority (9:18-26); (2) The Greatest Declaration of Jesus’ Identity (9:27-31); (3) The Greatest Division in Jesus’ Popularity (9:32-34).
1. THE GREATEST DEMONSTRATION OF JESUS’ AUTHORITY (9:18-26)
If you have been a Christian for a while, this story is likely familiar to you. It is a great example of Jesus’ power and compassion for those in need, and so it is hardly surprising we find the story in Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, what is surprising, is the version of the story we have here in Matthew is rather flat when compared to Mark and Luke. Matthew shortens the story, the version in Mark 5 is three times longer. And in doing so, he actually removes many of the most dramatic details. For example, Mark goes to great length to tells us all about this woman with the bleeding problem, explaining that over the last 12 years she has used up all her money going to doctor after doctor, looking for healing, but has only got worse as a result. Mark shows how desperate this woman is, highlights that Jesus as her last and only hope, and so teaches us Jesus can do what no other has ever been able to do for her. And yet, Matthew tells us none of this, he simply states in 9:20: [READ].
It is the same for the daughter of this ruler. Mark says he is called Jairus and tells the story in a way that leaves us on the edge of our seat, for when Jairus goes to Jesus, Mark tells us his daughter has not yet died, and so Jesus’ journey becomes a race against time, as he tries to get there before she dies. And when he doesn’t, our despair is dramatically transformed into delight, for Jesus is still able to heal her by raising her from the dead. However, do you see here in Matthew 9, all this drama has been dulled down. In 9:18, Matthew tells us the daughter dies from the very beginning, and so sucks all that suspense out of the story. Matthew and Mark tell the same story, but do it in different ways.
If Mark 5 is the novel version, full of all the ups and downs. Matthew 9 is the newspaper version, focusing on the basic facts. If Mark 5 is how an actor might tell the story: full of drama. Matthew 9 is more like how an accountant might tell it: slightly dull. No offence to the accountants! This makes sense, given Matthew was a tax collector. Mark is all interested in the plot. But Matthew simply wants to get to the point. And we will see this again and again in his book. Matthew and Mark may both be the same genre, both Gospels, and yet as we read them we must recognise they have been written by different authors with different styles.
So, what is the main point Matthew wants us to focus on? Well, it is that Christ’s authority is so great, he not only has power over disease, but even over death itself. We see this so clearly in the story, don’t we? When the woman with a bleeding problem comes to Jesus, and he heals her, it is in many ways similar to what Jesus has done before. The woman suffers from a disease, which seems to be a menstrual bleeding condition. It is a disease, like leprosy, that means that she is defiled. For under the Law, blood, including menstruation, was a symbol and reminder of death. And as we heard a few weeks ago, to have any contact with death, was to become defiled in the Old Testament, for death was a reminder of our rebellion, a symbol of sin against God. And yet, as with the leper in Matthew 8, we again see that Jesus is able transform this woman with a touch, cleanse her from her defilement, make her whole and well. It is another great demonstration of Jesus’ authority. And yet, the greatest demonstration of Jesus’ authority is still to come. For when Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house, he comes into contact not with a disease that defiles through a sign of death, but with death itself. Do you see how Matthew is turning the volume up? Showing us just how great Jesus’ authority really is. O yes, Matthew may strip out many of the dramatic details, and yet he focus on the most dramatic detail of all: for what is more remarkable than someone coming back from the dead?
When Jesus arrives at the home in 9:23, we see the funeral for the girl has already begun. The pipes and noisy crowd we read of there were part of the traditional mourning procession. A modern equivalent might be to turn up at the house and see that a hearse is already sitting in the driveway. In 9:23, Jesus is literally gate crashing the girl’s funeral! Here we see a wonderful illustration of what Jesus said when he was discussing fasting back in 9:14-17: for he explained that now he has come, the funeral is cancelled, the time of mourning is at an end. And yet, he announces this to the crowd in a rather strange way, for he not only tells them to go away, but also explains in 9:24, "The girl is not dead but asleep."
Given the announcement of the girl’s death in 9:18, and a funeral that is taking place, this can’t mean that the girl is still alive. No, she really is dead. And yet, from Jesus’ perspective, she may as well be sleeping. For his authority is so great, his power is so vast, that he can raise this little girl from the dead as easily as waking a child from their sleep. We see this in 9:25. How does Jesus go about raising this girl? We read he ‘went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.’ That’s how a parent wakes a child from their nap, isn’t it? Goes in, takes them by the hand, helps them up. And friends, that is all Jesus needed to do to give this girl life. Jesus raises someone from the dead as easily as waking someone from sleep. That is how great his authority is.
If you are with us this evening and you are not a Christian, you have not yet turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, do you see here just how great Jesus’ authority is? That he not only has power over disease and demons, as we see elsewhere in Matthew 8-9, but he even has power over death. What greater way is there for Jesus to demonstrate his power than to raise someone from the dead? Of all the problems we face as human beings, surely death is the greatest? Centuries of medical and scientific advancements have enabled us to extend the span of our lives, and yet ultimately, all that we have done is delay the day of our death by perhaps a few years. But Jesus. Jesus overcomes death as if it is an afternoon nap. Jesus raises this girl from the dead as if it was nothing more than a little sleep. Further, as we read at the start of our service, Daniel 12:2 explains that waking this girl up from the dead is not a one time event for Jesus, for there is coming a day when Jesus will raise us all from the dead! Jesus is the cosmic alarm clock! He is the one who, with a single cry at the end of time, will break open every grave, crack open every coffin, and raise all who sleep in the dust of the earth to life. Friends, could you imagine a greater power than that? Greater authority than being able to bring back all the dead from all the ages of this earth and summon them to stand before you for judgement.
And yet, even more amazing than this, the Bible tells us that Jesus can not only raise others from the dead, but he can even raise himself from the dead. For that is how the book of Matthew ends. After Pilate and that crowd decided put him to death on a cross, after Jesus suffered God’s punishment for the sins of all those who will believe in him, Jesus’ body was taken and laid in a tomb. He really was dead that day, yet he may as well of been sleeping. For, on the third day, he got up just as easily as you and I got out of bed this morning. Friends, Jesus’ authority is so great, he can not only raise others from death, but he can also raise himself. And in this raising of the little girl, we have the greatest demonstration of Jesus’ authority we have seen so far.
2. THE GREATEST DECLARATION OF JESUS’ IDENTITY (9:27-31)
For many this second story may seem almost as familiar as the first. For the Bible tells us that Jesus healed the blind more often than any other group. And this can sometimes make us a bit complacent when we read a story like this. Of course, we know it is still a miracle, but it can seem like one of the more ordinary ones. However, as I was studying it this week, any such complacency was shattered as I started to consider a simple question: Where else in the Bible do we see someone healing the blind?
As I thought about that, I started to realise that while healing the blind is the most common of Jesus' miracles, we never hear of anyone else ever doing it in Scripture. Of course, in the Old Testament, we hear of all kinds of other miracles, we even have prophets who occasionally raise the dead, like Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4. However, we are never told of anyone else who gives sight to the blind. Indeed, the only times such healings are mentioned in the Old Testament is in prophecies about the coming Messiah. For example, that is what we heard in our reading earlier. Isaiah 35:4 promised, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come... he will come to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.’ Isaiah 35 sets out a checklist of miracles that the Messiah is going to perform when he comes, and in Matthew 8-9 we see that Jesus ticks every box. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who performs every one of those miracles in Isaiah 35. He can not only unstop the ears of the deaf, cause the lame to leap and the mute to shout for joy. But he can also, unlike anyone else before him, open the eyes of the blind. And he doesn’t just do it once or twice, but it becomes his most common miracle. What no one else has ever done, Jesus does all the time. This story of the two blind men isn’t just another miracle. It is the greatest declaration of Jesus’ identity we have been given in this whole section of Matthew. It is the capstone in the case for Jesus being the Christ, the final piece of the puzzle that proves he is the Messiah.
Such a conclusion is confirmed by the blind men’s words there in 9:27. Did you notice what they said? Read with me: [READ]. We must not miss what they say, skim over it as if ‘Son of David’ is something Jesus is called all the time. No, they are the first people to give Jesus this title in Matthew. And its significance shouldn’t be overlooked. Son of David is a clear reference to the Christ, the Messiah, the king that God promised he would give his people.
If you don’t know what that title means, it refers to Israel’s greatest king, David, and the promise that God made to him in 1 Samuel 7. There God promised to take David’s son, that is the Son of David, and establish his throne forever. The Son of David was to be the eternal King, the one who rules over God’s people forever. O these two men may have been blind, but they see exactly who Jesus is. They know that no man has ever healed the blind before, that only the promised Messiah can restore their sight, and so, after hearing about how Jesus has performed all the other miracles that the promised Messiah was able to accomplish, they come crying, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’ It is the greatest declaration of Jesus’ identity so far. For both the title they use and the transformation they experience declare he is the Messiah.
Friends, here we see that Jesus is the Messiah. The king that God promised would rule over his people forever. And yet, we see even more than this, for we also see what kind of messiah, what kind of king, Jesus really is. We have seen how our passage makes clear that Jesus has authority. And yet, we see not only that he has great power, almighty authority, but how he uses it. Jesus has the power to raise the dead, and yet he uses it not to crush countries or capture nations. No, he uses this great power, to raise a little girl back to life, acts with his almighty authority when he hears the heartbroken pleas of a grieving father. We see here too that Jesus has power over all disease, and yet he does not use this to strike down his enemies or threaten his opponents. No, he uses it to touch the eyes of these two blind men so they can begin to see, perhaps for the first time ever in their lives.
I’m sure some of you have seen videos of that happen. Videos of children who through medical intervention or new technology have been able to hear or see or communicate for the first time. The joy and delight that they experience at being able to finally understand what colours are, or hear their parents voice, or express how they are feeling, it can be overwhelming to watch those remarkable videos. And yet friends, see here that this is what Jesus uses his great authority for. He uses it to restore, to heal, to fix all the ailments of this fallen world, to undo all the brokenness that exists on this earth. That is the kind of king he is. He is not only a Messiah, but he is a merciful Messiah. The kind of Messiah who hears two blind beggars crying out in the street for mercy, and so takes them aside, touches their eyes, makes them see. O friends, as we read this passage, we not only get to see how great Jesus is. We also get to see how good he is. Is this not the type of king you would want? A king of kindness. Is this not the type of lord you would want to follow? A lord of love.
If you are a Christian here this evening, have you forgotten what kind of Saviour you have? Like some of these miracle stories, is it so familiar to you, that you forget just how amazing Jesus really is. Well, if so, see here once again that you have a merciful Messiah. Christian, if you are struggling with sin right now, succumbing to temptation, caught in Satan’s trap and can’t find a way out, struggling to even find the strength to want a way out, do you see here that you can come to Jesus? That no matter what you have done, that there is mercy and grace to be found at the feet of Jesus.
Or maybe you are labouring hard in his work, feeling worn out by your responsibilities in his church, burdened by all the people to be cared for, the jobs to be done. If so, see here you do not serve a hard task master, you do not have a cruel king who treats his servants like slaves, but instead have a merciful master, one who cares for both our bodies and souls, who delights to use his power to restore and refresh and renew those who come to him and ask.
Or maybe you are suffering with sickness tonight. If so, Christian, do you see that you can cry out to him. Friend, Jesus hears the cries of those who suffer. It may have been 2000 years, but Jesus has not grown deaf. He still hears our cries as clearly as when he heard those cries of the two blind men that day in Galilee. Christian, come and pour your heart out before him, cast your cares on him, cry out for mercy, tell him your situation and how overwhelmed you are by your sickness, and as you do so, know that Jesus will hear you. That Jesus will heal you.
Now many of you know firsthand that this healing may not happen this side of death. You have watched Christians suffer and die from different diseases. Some of you are currently walking that long, dark, difficult road yourselves. In the end, we don’t know why God chooses not to heal everyone instantly, why he may not heal you friend whenever you cry out to him. And yet Christian, do you see here in our passage that you can be sure he will heal you one day. The kingdom of this king is one in which there will be no blindness or lameness, no disease or death. Jesus heals all his people from all their illnesses and all their infirmities.
It may be that he heals you in this life, as was the case with the woman who Jesus heals after she has suffered for 12 years with a bleeding condition. Or it may be that he heals you when he raises from the dead. That was the case for the little girl, wasn’t it? It was only after she had suffered and died that Jesus healed her through resurrection. However, while the timing of our healing is unclear, the certainty of our healing is not. As we read in Isaiah 35:10, on that last day, when our eternal king has set up his everlasting kingdom, all his people will enter Zion singing together. Christian, no matter what happens to you between now and then, you can know that on that day, God has promised everlasting joy will crown your head. That gladness and joy will overtake you, and that all sorrow and sighing, all sickness and suffering, will flee away forever. All because of Jesus is our merciful Messiah.
3. THE GREATEST DIVISION IN JESUS’ POPULARITY (9:32-34)
As we close, we come to our last story, this final double miracle. And instantly we see that Matthew focuses far less on the event itself and far more on its effects. The healing of this demon-possessed mute man is covered in just a verse, as Matthew quickly moves on to describe its impact on the crowd. Here a minor theme in the previous two stories becomes the major theme of this final story.
Did you notice that all the other healings in our passage were supposed to be private, and yet ended up becoming public? The bleeding woman came secretly in 9:20 but is discovered. Jesus removes the funeral crowd from the home before raising the girl in 9:25, and yet in 9:26 we read that news of it still spreads all across the region. The same is true for the blind men, for they are healed privately in a house, and Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone about it in 9:30. And yet, again in 9:31, news of this healing spreads all over the region. Jesus is starting to become a local celebrity, gaining more and more publicity, and we see here that this eventually results in a division in his popularity.
On the one hand in 9:33, Matthew says that the crowd, who once laughed at him back in 9:24, are now ‘amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."’ Those who once mocked now marvel. They correctly observe that such healings have never happened in Israel. No one has ever opened the eyes of the blind, and even the resurrections of Elijah and Elisha took place in Gentile lands, outside the boundaries of God’s people. The question for them is no longer ‘does Jesus has authority to do such things?’ The question is now how he has this authority. Where does it come from. And as the crowds ponder this question, we see that one group has already come up with an answer. In 9:34 we read: [...].
‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ I said at the start that this is the overarching question that this passage, this section, the whole book of Matthew, asks each of us. And here we are given one possible answer. When these religious leaders are confronted by the authority and identity of Jesus, we see they try to explain it all away. They refuse to come to what is the clear and obvious conclusion that Jesus really is the Messiah. No, instead they decide to try and explain it all away by saying he is actually sent by Satan rather than God. When confronted by the reality of this great demonstration of Jesus’ authority, and this great declaration of Jesus’ identity, these religious leaders refuse to accept the obvious conclusion and decide to try and explain him away.
What about you? If you are not a Christian here tonight, how do you explain all of this? Young people, each week you hear us teach and talk all about who Jesus is and what he can do. As we close tonight, can I ask you, what do you make of him. What are you doing with Jesus who is called the Messiah? You can’t just ignore him. Historically it is undeniable that he existed. You can’t just stick your head in the sand when it comes to Jesus. He is the most influential figure in the history of the world. You can’t just ignore all of this. So how are you going to explain it? What are you going to do with Jesus? Are you going to take the path of these religious leaders, try and explain him away with a half-baked answer that make no sense all.
Or are you going to accept what is the clear and obvious conclusion, that he really does have this authority, that he really is the Messiah. O our passage may close with an example of Jesus being rejected here by the religious leaders, but don’t you see that there is a better way, a better way for you to respond. For throughout our passage we see men and woman, adults and children, the blind and the bleeding, the needy coming to him in faith, believing that he is who he says he is, trusting that he can save them. Friend, do you see that if you come to Jesus like that, if you take him to him to be your Lord and Saviour, then he will heal you, he will save you. He died on the cross and rose again from the dead in order to save all those who repent of their sin and believe in him. Will you do that? Will you take that step of faith this evening? For if you do, if you come to Jesus, you will find him to be as great and as good as our passage says. You will find that he will save you from your sins, he will heal you and raise you up from sleep on that last day, that you too can join his people in that joyful procession, as we enter into an eternity where all sorrow and sighing flees away.
ALEXANDER ARRELL