Text: Matthew 9:18-26

Title: Jesus the Lord of Life

Date: 7th March 2021 / Danang Vision English Church

Introduction

There are many miracles in the Bible. This should always be

remembered, especially when we read the miracles performed by
Jesus. It is a revelation of God in a miracle. In the miracles Jesus
performed, there is always a message he wants to tell us. In today's
text, there are two miracles that Jesus performed. It is a miracle that
saved the daughter of one official and a miracle that healed a
woman with bleeding. What are the gospel messages in these two
events?

Body

1. Message of the new wine bag

First of all, in order to understand this passage well, it is
necessary to know where this event took place and what kind of
people were there. In verse 18, “While Jesus was saying this...”
Notice that Jesus was teaching to someone when this incident took
place. We knew that they are disciples of John the Baptist in Verse
14. And they asked Jesus this question. “How is it that we and the
Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" To this question Jesus
answered. “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is
with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken
from them; then they will fast.” (v15) This predicted the event that
Jesus would be crucified. And Jesus said this important word. “New
wine is put into a new wineskin.” When new wine is put in an old
bag, the bag bursts, the wine pours out, and the bag is ruined.
There is some connection between these words and today's miracle
events. What is new wine here? It is the work of salvation that Jesus
will accomplish on the cress. Jesus came to this earth as new wine.
So we need a new wineskin to hold the new wine. In order to solve
the ultimate problem of mankind, sin, it was not possible to be done
by repairing the old bag. He himself had to be torn like wine on the
cross. An old bag (old testament thinking) can not contain this
Gospel. A new bag, (New Testament Thinking) was needed. What is
new bag looks like? The coming two miracles will explain about it.

2. The death of an official daughter

Verse 18, “While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before
him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your
hand on her, and she will live.”
The official here is introduced in Luke's Gospel as "Jairus, the
leader of the synagogue." His daughter is only 12 years old. The
synagogue leader is a respected person in the Jewish community. 12
is the age at which a girl is now recognized as a woman capable of
giving birth to babies in Jewish society. There is a spiritual meaning
here. 'Jairo' here represent the people of Israel. Israel, who was
chosen by God (a descendant of Abraham), reached the age to give
a birth, but she became sick and died. It tells the spiritual condition
of the Israelites.

On what grounds did Jairo believe that a dead daughter could live?
Perhaps he remembered the case in which Elijah in the Old
Testament saved one widow's daughter. Here is a desperate situation,
and there is a man who came to Jesus by faith out of that despair.
How did Jesus respond to this?

Application) Is your life full of sadness now? You have believed in

Jesus and grow up and (are) now the age to give birth to life, but
are you sick and dying? So how can you live and become a
life-bearing Christian?

Verse 19, Jesus ‘got up’ and went with him. (에게이로 in Greek) The
Lord ‘got up’ after hearing the news of a death. He got up to save a
12-year-old girl who suppose to bear the fruit of life. He “raised up”
to give life to the people of Israel.
What must be done for solve out our problem? We must call on the
Lord and wake him up. Jesus, the Lord of life must got up and come
to us. Lord! Wake up and wake our dying soul! Lord! Wake up and
heal sickness of our heart! Lord! Wake up and give us the power to
give birth to life!
Did anyone follow Jesus at that time? “The disciples went too”(v19)
The disciple refers to the church today. The church must follow the
Lord in saving lives.

3. The faith of a woman with bleeding.

Another healing incident occurs on the way to the official's house.
One woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched Jesus'
clothes. The number 12 years appears again with the age of 12. We
need to understand of the number 12. The number 12 in the Bible is
the number of fulfillment. The twelve tribes, the twelve disciples, and
the twelve gates of heaven are all twelve. If 12 is the age a girl can
produce, then 12 years of bleeding is a condition in which all hope
has disappeared. Mark 5:26 “She had suffered a great deal under the
care of many doctors and she had spent all she had, yet instead of
getting better she grew worse.”
Not only she was broken her body and money, but she was also
broken mentally. She was quarantined by everyone. The bleeding
woman is an unclean woman in Jewish community. Book of Leviticus
said that bleeding (monthly period, give birth) women are unclean.
(Unclean for a week of birth) In the Jewish community, where blood
is considered unclean, this woman was a completely isolated person
like a corona patient today. She was unable to enter the temple of
God. She couldn't even go to her family or friends. This
Non(Un)-contact life is trying to make contact by faith now. How
hard was her life in quarantine for 12 years? We had a hard time
quarantine for just two weeks, can you imagine 12 years of
quarantine? This woman's last hope is to touch the hem of Jesus.

There was a very strong desire. That desire was something no one
could stop. “She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be
healed.” (v. 21) That longing saved her life. And she was saved. Here
were also two conditions. Desperate situation. And one who came to
Jesus with great hope.
Application) Do you have a desire and passion for the Lord? Do
you act with that passion? Or you are just staying there? No matter
how passionate you are, it is meaningless if you do not act. There is
healing and comfort only for those who run. Only those who act can
hear these voices. “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.”
Even on that day, only one woman who ran with enthusiasm among
the large crowd was saved. Don't let your faith arises within you
(get) sleep.

4. The officer's daughter alive

The ruler's house where Jesus arrived was already playing the
music of sorrow. There were experts in mourning for death, flutists.
They represent the people who pretend to be sad and receiving
money, the world who cry without love today. They all laughed when
Jesus said that his daughter was sleeping. The people of the world
laugh when we say 'Jesus is the Lord of life'. Jesus made them all go
out and took her daughter's hand and raised her up. “He took her
by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little
girl, I say to you, get up!"). (Mark 5:41) Get up, dead! Wake up and
conceive life again! Wake up and shine the light of the Gospel to the
Gentiles!

Conclusion

The Lord was touched by a bleeding woman and became unclean.

The Lord was willing to become unclean among crowd, and He saved
the lives of the unclean. And in the official's house, he touched the
dead girl and made himself unclean. (Numbers 19:11, Anyone who
touches a dead body will be unclean for a week.) He himself willing
to became unclean. The cross is most unclean things for Jewish
people. They believe that ‘those who hang on the tree are cursed’
(Gal. 3:13). But through that uncleanness he saved dead lives. He
gave life to mankind, who are dying from sin, or who are already
dead spiritually. He gave up the holy heavenly glory and came to
this unclean and sinful world. He became a friend of the unclean
while eating with them. And he changed the unclean ones to become
"holy."
I remember a book I read a few days ago. It is Mark Train's book
[On Truth and Lies]. There was a moving passage from the book,
which I wrote down. “Take your soul at risk for someone else's soul.
How valuable it would be if you could save the soul of a loved one,
even if your soul could not be saved! ”
Are you willing to get your hands dirty to save someone's life?
Wouldn't it be worth getting a little dirty if you could save others?
In that way, the Lord came deeply into our world. He did not come
with the law, but with the new wine of sacrifice and love. And he
put his own blood in that wineskin. This is the gospel.
(Book) The man's act of resurrection to Siberia. 카츄샤의 영혼을 살리
기 위해 시베리아 유형을 따라가는 네흘류돌프.

This incident made a turning point in my life. It was an event in a

novel, but I experienced a new life through it.
The Lord is still looking for this new wineskin today. He is looking
for a new wineskin that can sacrifice his time for other souls. Not
old wineskin which throws away when one is sick and ignore to help
when the one is unclean. New wineskin who is willing to make his
hand dirty for lost soul. He can contain the blood of Jesus on the
cross. May God make you new wineskin!!