Second Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Reverend Michael J. Moffitt
June 7, 2026
The Intentional Love of Christ
Text: Matthew 9:18–26
One of the most glorious aspects within the stories of Jesus’ ministry here on earth is that they often revealed a deeper understanding of the real need of a person as opposed to the most obvious. For a long time I have considered the stories of the healing of the ruler of the synagogue’s daughter and the woman with the issue of blood found in Matthew 9:18–26, Mark 5:21–43 and Luke 8:40–56.
This may sound weird but this week I thought about these stories I began
imagining them through the lens of an attorney making a case proving the
divinity of Jesus Christ in a court of law. I consider these two stories as absolute
proof that Jesus Christ is Lord. We’ll begin with the ruler of the synagogue (Jairus
according to Luke’s account). Matthew 9:18,
While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Some translations write that Jairus bowed down and worshipped Jesus. The
Greek word is proskyneō which is a pretty strong word that at the very least
would indicate that he bowed down before Jesus like he was royalty, which
would still have been discouraged in the Jewish culture. At the very least it would be idolatry or worshipping a false god.
Either way Jesus received this offering which would have been blasphemous if
Jesus had not Himself been God. In other instances in the New Testament where
such worship is offered to a human like Cornelius bowing down before Peter in
The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Psalm 50:1 Acts 10:25–26 or the Apostle John bowing down to an angel in Revelation 22:8–9, it is always immediately refused.
But with Jairus I suspect that he had heard many stories about this itinerant
teacher who was causing such a stir throughout Israel, Judea, and even Samaria.
I think he was taking the chance that Jesus was really who he appeared to be. So
he falls on his knee imploring this godly man, possibly the Messiah.
“My daughter has just died but come and lay Your hand on her and she will
live.” This man was taking a real chance in possibly losing his job or worse. He
risked his life because Jesus was already suspected by the religious leaders for being a false prophet and a blasphemer.
Of course we now know that Jairus did the right thing in coming to Jesus, but
his faith is small in comparison to the Roman centurion of Matthew 8:5–13.
The Jewish ruler thought it essential that Jesus personally come touch the little
girl, while the centurion understood Jesus had the authority to heal with a word, even at a great distance.
Either way, Jesus rose and followed him when suddenly the woman with an issue
of blood for 12 years arrives on the scene. It’s important that we consider the
seriousness of this poor women’s plight. In Leviticus 15:19–33 there is a detailed
account concerning when a women has an issue with her blood either because of
her menstrual cycle or not. Either way she is unclean and everything she touches is
unclean. It’s very specific and would have been a life of misery for her.
Mark 5:21–43 and Luke 8:43–48 give a much fuller account of this miracle, but
Matthew’s account is enough to show the compassion of Jesus and the fact that
His power was not magical. Here we simply see the power of God responding to the faith of those who seek Him.
But I want to share a portion of Mark’s account to get an idea of the women’s desperation. Listen to Mark 5: 25–34,
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve
years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent
all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard
the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched
his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made
well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her
body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself
that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd
and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him,
“You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched
me?’”And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before
him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your
faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.”
Because this woman’s condition was embarrassing because she was ceremonially
unclean and would be condemned for touching Jesus or even being in a large
crowd pressing in all around her, she wanted to do this secretly. She would not
openly ask Jesus to be healed, but she thought “If I only touch his garment I will
be made well.” Luke account in Luke 8:44, “She came up behind him and touched
the fringe of his garment and immediately the discharge of her blood ceased.”
Numbers 15:37–41 commanded every Jewish man to have fringes (tassels) on
the corners of their outer garment. These fringes were four tassels of blue worn
to identify a Jew as a Jew, and as member of the chosen people, no matter where
he was; and it was meant to remind a Jew every time he put on and took off his clothes that he belonged to God.
This also shows us that Jesus dressed like other people of His time. He obeyed
the law and rightly since he was the law giver as well as the one who came to
fulfill the law. (But that’s another sermon.) He felt no need to distinguish Himself by the clothes He wore.
To the best of our knowledge, there was no promise or pattern that touching the
garment of Jesus would bring healing. It seems that the woman believed this in a
somewhat superstitious way. Yet even though her faith had elements of error and
superstition, she believed in the healing power of Jesus and His garment served
as a point of contact for that faith. There are many things that we could find
wrong with this woman’s faith. Yet her faith was in Jesus; and the object of faith
is much more important than the quality or even quantity of faith. Charles Spurgeon wrote,
She was ignorant enough to think that healing went from him unconsciously;
yet her faith lived despite her ignorance and triumphed despite her bashfulness.
When Jesus saw her he said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in
peace and be healed of your disease.”
This woman hoped to receive something from Jesus without drawing any
attention to herself or her embarrassing problem. Jesus insisted on making public
notice of her, and He did this for good reasons.
• He did it so she would know that she was healed, having heard
an official declaration of it from Jesus. Because of the nature of her
problem she had probably not been to a synagogue for 12 years.
Because of Jesus now she could be around anyone and would be
welcome to come and worship. Jesus was restoring her life within the Jewish community.
• He did it so she and everyone who was all around might know
why she was healed. It was by her faith and not because of a
superstitious touch in and of itself. The tassels revealed that the
wearer was a Jew, one of God’s chosen people but they had no healing properties in themselves.
• He did it so that she would know that she never needed to hide from
Him. He wasn’t offended by her stealth but was himself blessed to
see her faith in him. Rather than be someone who was breaking the
law concerning cleanliness she was now completely cleansed and
was set free from her bondage of the previous 12 years.
• He did it so that He could bless her in a special way, giving her an
honored title that we never see Jesus give to any other: daughter.
It’s likely that her own family had cast her out and she was a loner
and poor due to spending all she had on doctors to no avail.
• Lastly I think Jesus did it so that the ruler of the synagogue would
see the power of Jesus at work and therefore have more faith himself for his daughter.
Now let’s head back to the story of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue and his daughter. Matthew 9:23–26,
And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and
the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not
dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had
been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
And the report of this went through all that district.
These mourners had been hired to be the official announcement that a death
had occurred. This was the custom of the day but to me they offered a vulgar
and pretentious display of mourning without having any grief one way or the
other. It was merely a job. You’ll notice how quickly they went from mourning to
laughter when Jesus told them the little girl was not dead but merely sleeping.
Although this was a custom, on the other hand they were well acquainted with
grieving families and probably had plenty reason to believe that Jesus was wrong.
In many cases it was a religious leader who pronounced that someone was gone.
Mark 5:41–43 gives us a little more of the picture of what happened next.
Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha Cumi,” which means, ‘Little
girl,’ I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began
walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately
overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one
should know this and told them to give her something to eat.”
In both of these stories there is an aspect that would be readily apparent in that
time and where they took place, but maybe not so much in our day and time.
In the first part of Matthew 9 the Pharisees questioned the disciples as to why
their Master would be sharing a meal with tax collectors and sinners. In all four
Gospels there are stories where Jesus is asked why his disciples and even himself
break the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat.
(Boy, my mother was really big on that one.)
So imagine the problem that would arise when Jesus allowed a ritually impure
and unclean woman to touch him. The law taught that he was now ritually
unclean, as well as all those who had been around her. Or how about when
Jesus touches the hand of a corpse—he contracts ritual impurity under the law
(Levitivus 15:19–33; Numbers 19:11–12).
Of course we might argue that Jesus contracted no uncleanness in actuality;
as in the case of his contact with sinners, the influence went from him to them
rather than the reverse (Matthew 9:11–13). Yet in the eyes of those present, he
has assumed the status of uncleanness. Rather than panicking Jesus even invites
public attestation of the touch. He is willing to touch us in our brokenness that
we might be made whole. Each of the synoptic gospels share stories of Jesus not
just healing the lepers but even embracing them.
He shows a deep love and empathy for those who are wounded and
marginalized. Jesus’ compassion broke societal norms, showing His willingness
to engage with and heal those who were the rejects of a very callous and often godless culture.
Remember that this was a world where women were nearly always second-class
citizens. Yet these examples fit the rest of Jesus’ ministry and teaching. It was the
socially powerless person who most readily embraced him.
In Jesus teaching there was room for everyone who realized their need for the
grace of God, and not just for salvation but that they might be restored to the
person they were created to be.
Earlier I mentioned thinking about these stories from the view point of an
attorney arguing the case for the divinity of Jesus Christ. In the stories we
considered today it was Jesus who healed the woman with the issue of blood and
who raised back to life the daughter of a ruler in the synagogue. That in itself
would be a strong case for the divinity of Jesus. Only God could have accomplish
those healings.
But the truth is that each of these people would eventually die and were certain to
have bad things happen to them, especially if they ended up being a Christ follower.
I believe that the greater claim to divinity happened to each person who
encountered Jesus, not just as healer of the body but the one who offers to help
us deal with the issues of life.
• The woman who was healed of the issue of blood was restored
to the place of dignity and to a life that had been taken from her
because of uncleanness, something she had no control over.
• The young girl was likely raised up to a greater life than previously
experienced and her parents to a life of greater faith in the Messiah
who had done these things for them.
• If Jairus and his family followed Jesus Christ they would probably
experience how the early church grew but he may have lost his job
as the ruler of the synagogue.
The greatest claim to the divinity of Jesus Christ is not the amazing miracles that
he performed but in the love he showed to those who he encountered. He saw
their outward physical need, but more importantly he also saw the need of their
heart, and he allowed them to see the compassion of His heart—the heart of God.
This morning it’s likely that many here are struggling with doubt about God’s
love for you. I would love to talk with you about that. After the service there will
be prayer ministers up here to talk with and pray with you.
