More of Jesus' Healings, Facts for 9-13 Year Olds

Categories: Jesus (Healings)

• Going forward in Matthew’s gospel, readers will see how Jesus puts his words of the Sermon into action. 
• He continues in Chapters 8 and 9 with accounts of Jesus’ great works of healing. 

Jesus Calms Storms

• In the first story, Jesus and his disciples are in a boat.
• “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.”  
• Such storms are common on the Sea of Galilee because it lies in a deep basin with hills all around.  Sudden winds often sweep down from the heights upon the lake.
• Jesus, however, is fast asleep and unaware of any danger. 
• Such undisturbed, peaceful sleep is totally opposite to the storm raging about.
• The disciples, however, are fearful and wake him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
• It must have been a dangerous storm to frighten such good fishermen.
• Jesus replies, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” 
• “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves.”
• The word for rebuke, literally, means “be muzzled.”  It’s as if the storm is a wild animal that needs to be tamed. 
• The response is immediate. The storm got muzzled: “and it was completely calm.”
• The men are amazed and ask, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
• The word “amazed” suggests reverential awe. 
• Yes, they have already seen healings, but never have they seen anything like this. 
• It is very likely they are so moved because they are fishermen and have seen the ways of the sea, the wind, and waves.
• They wonder, “Who is this?” Even the forces of nature obey him.
• It is the question that Matthew wants everyone to think about.
• They realize that Jesus is not just a preacher of God’s word, a healer of the masses.  Now, he has demonstrated his mastery over nature. 
• It also serves as a parable, showing that nothing can withstand the touch of Christ.
• The disciples probably have time to think about this as they continue on their journey across the lake. 
• They also fade into the background for the next story. 
• When they arrive at the other side, they are in Gentile (non-Jewish, pagan) territory, in the region of the Gadarenes.
• Jesus decides to get out in a place where any self-respecting Jew believed he would quickly become polluted, contaminated, and unclean just by being there.
• Two men who have been sent away from society because they are not in their right minds come up to Jesus.
• They ask, “What do you want with us, Son of God?”
• But they don’t even wait for Jesus to answer. They simply give up.
• Even though these men seem scary and powerful, they are made powerless before Jesus. 
• Jesus says one word, and the men are healed, in their right minds.
• But the people of the town ask Jesus to leave. They may be afraid of Jesus’ power, not realizing he can free them, too.
• Jesus leaves and crosses back over, coming into his own town. 

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

• Next, Jesus heals a paralyzed man, a man who cannot walk.
• It is presumed that Jesus is back in Capernaum.
• “Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat.”
• In Jesus’ day, most people slept on mattress-like pads on the floor.
• Thus, the mat would be a sort of pallet or stretcher that could be carried without too much difficulty.
• When Jesus sees their faith, he says to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
• This is the first time where the faith of those seeking healing has been mentioned. 
• One might argue that “faith” has been present all along. 
• Those who have looked for Jesus had faith that they would be made whole. 
• Here, the action of these people is an expression of their “faith.”
• Jesus praises them for it by saying to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 
• Here, the forgiveness of sins is mentioned. We might have expected a word of healing at this point.
• But, in fact, there is a close connection between sin and sickness in Jewish thought.  
• A famous rabbinical (religious teacher) saying proclaims, “There is no sick man healed of his sickness, until all of his sins have been forgiven him.” 
• Jesus has come to heal both the sick and the sinner. 
• In this healing, Jesus begins from the spiritual side, with a word of forgiveness. 
• Bodily healing will be a natural effect. 
• But nothing happens yet. Why is that?  Perhaps it is because...
• Some of the teachers of the law say to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
• These are the scribes, the ones who have been trained to interpret the Law. 
• They are the ones who usually speak in the synagogues (which are like churches).
• Technically speaking, blasphemy is speech that is hurtful to the honor of God.   
• What about Jesus’ statement could be hurtful to God’s honor? 
• From the scribes’ point of view, Jesus has claimed the power to forgive sins as his own. 
• According to the teachers of the law, this is something that only God can do; therefore, Jesus has made himself equal to God. Hence, he has blasphemed. 
• But Jesus is simply stating a spiritual fact. 
• It is not, however, just a word of assurance: “Don’t worry, God will forgive you.”
• It is a word of truth: “God has forgiven you. You are whole.” 
• Jesus knows the difference, and he knows what the scribes are mumbling. 
• Knowing their thoughts, Jesus says, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?”
• These evil thoughts are most likely directed toward Jesus.  The scribes hope to expose him, injure him, and ultimately destroy him.
• So, Jesus issues a strong challenge.  “Which will be easier to do—tell the man his sins are forgiven, or to tell him to get up and walk?”
• It is very easy to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” Who would know?  How could they check if his sins were forgiven? 
• Anyone could say those words. 
• In the eyes of the scribes these words are blasphemous. 
• On the other hand, they know that telling the man to get up and go home, would be easy to check. He would either get up or he wouldn’t. 
• So pulling that off would be quite hard. 
• It’s harder to say the one that can be seen and checked. 
• But if someone can do the “harder” thing that can be seen, surely they can also do the “easier” one.
• Jesus decides to do both.
• With that, Jesus states, “I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” 
• Jesus uses this term as a way of referring to himself.  It’s a way of saying, “I.”
• It has the sense of someone expressing humble obedience to God. 
• And Jesus states that it is this man, the humble, obedient man, that has authority to forgive sins. 
• So he says to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
• On cue, the “man got up and went home,” demonstrating that he’s completely healed.
• He doesn’t even give thanks; he just leaves.
• Imagine the stir that caused! 
• Again, the scribes say nothing.  One can only guess at their reaction. 
• When the crowd, on the other hand, sees this, they “are filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.”
• While the scribes remain speechless, the crowds praise God.
• Because the man was healed, the scribes have to accept his healing as evidence that he was also forgiven, and they have to accept Jesus’ right to make such a claim. 
• If Jesus’ words are true, they cannot be blasphemous. 
• This would not have been an easy conclusion to accept. 
• Clearly, Jesus is a force the scribes will have to reckon with, and they will be watching him. 
• According to them, he is dangerous and a threat to the entire religious institution. 
• By now they are all wondering just who is he, acting in such a way, completely outside the parameters of religious life.
• Matthew devotes the remainder of his Gospel to answering that question.
• So who is Jesus to you?