Matthew 9:23-26

Matthew 9:23-26

And after Jesus came into the house of the ruler, and after seeing the flute players and the crowd which had caused an uproar, He said, “Withdraw away from here, for the girl did not die but rather she sleeps.”  And they made fun of Him.  But when the crowd was being cast out, after entering, He held onto her hand and the girl was being raised.  And this report went out into that whole countryside.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus is ridiculed.  He is made fun of!  Here are more people who are making fun of God’s Messiah.  Of course, I can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t have been in their camp.  After all, if I saw a dead girl and then a man came by and said that she was really alive, I’d probably think that it was the man who had issues and not me.  So I can’t really judge the humanity of these people, because I’m not convinced I’d be any different.  So if nothing else, this story should be a reminder to us that sometimes God’s hand just doesn’t look like what we think the natural laws say it should look like.  If we don’t keep an open mind to God, we could easily find ourselves ridiculing the very hand of God at work.  That should be a sobering lesson.

When has your humanity gotten in the way of seeing God at work?  Why are we as human beings so susceptible to missing the other-worldliness of God?

Second Thought:

Jesus was ridiculed.  He could have gone away.  He could have abandoned this place and walked on to greener pastures.  But He didn’t.  Being mocked by human beings is just part of His job.  For Jesus, being mocked by human beings is a small price to pay when given the opportunity to be obedient to the call of the Father.  What a great example that He sets for us.  He does not let the opinions of the human beings around Him prevent Him from being obedient!

Why is this such an incredible demonstration of obedience?  Would you have had what it took to pass through the lines of ridicule and still be obedient without feeling bitterness or resentment to what you’d been called to do?

Third Thought:

The report spreads.  Jesus raised a girl from the dead.  How could word not get out?  Let’s not forget that the girl that was healed was the daughter of a ruler of the people.  This is a significant man who has just experienced this personal miracle in his family.  Many people would know his name.  Many people would know the importance of the fact that it happened because the ruler sought out Jesus.

Have you ever heard a neat story of God’s power or a story of some miraculous event?  How do you react to such news?  Why is it natural to want to pass along such a story?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 9:27-31