Sermon Recap | June 22, 2025

The Book of Matthew reveals Jesus as someone who not only preached powerful sermons but actively entered into people's lives. After delivering the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demonstrated his teachings through practical actions - healing the sick, touching the untouchable, and transforming lives.

Matthew, the tax collector turned disciple, brings a unique perspective to his gospel. His meticulous mind is evident in how he documents Jesus' lineage and his focus on financial themes throughout his writing - from the temple tax found in a fish's mouth to parables about laborers receiving different wages.

What makes Matthew's story remarkable is his transformation. Once consumed by money and self-interest, he became completely devoted to serving God. His very name means "gift of God," and he lived out this identity through his ministry.

This transformation reminds us that we too have a unique identity and calling. We were "fearfully and wonderfully made" with God's purpose in mind. When we encounter Jesus and surrender our lives to Him, we experience a renewal of our minds and hearts that changes how we view the world and our place in it.

Matthew's gospel carries several distinctive characteristics:

• It shows that Jesus sees what others don't - He recognized value in Matthew when others saw only a despised tax collector
• It emphasizes that Jesus saves beyond our expectations
• It highlights Jesus' mission to reach the "uttermost" - those considered furthest from God

Matthew's central theme is that Christ fulfilled the scriptures and prophecies. He quotes the Old Testament 65 times, more than any other gospel writer, and presents the most Hebrew-focused perspective of Jesus, referring to Him as "Son of David" eight times.

In Matthew's account, we see Jesus healing in various ways. Sometimes He initiates the healing by touching people. But in Matthew 9:18-26, we encounter a different pattern - someone who touches Jesus and receives healing.

This passage tells two intertwined stories: a synagogue leader whose daughter has died, and a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. While Jesus is on His way to help the synagogue leader, the woman approaches Him from behind.

"Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.'"

This woman had suffered for 12 years with a condition that made her ceremonially unclean according to Levitical law. Luke's account adds that she had spent all her money on physicians, but no one could heal her. In desperation and faith, she believed that simply touching Jesus' garment would bring healing.

When the woman touched Jesus' cloak, something remarkable happened. Jesus felt power go out from Him and asked, "Who touched me?" Despite the crowds pressing against Him, Jesus distinguished between casual contact and the touch of faith.

"Take heart, daughter," Jesus told her, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed at that moment.

Jesus didn't treat her as an intruder or imposition. Instead, He called her "daughter" - a term of endearment that acknowledged her as a beloved family member. In a crowded space, Jesus focused on the one person who reached out in faith.

This story teaches us that Jesus can focus on us individually amidst all the chaos and noise of life. Like a baseball pitcher who "clears the mechanism" to focus on the batter, Jesus clears away distractions to connect with those who seek Him in faith.

Some believe that Jesus only healed during His earthly ministry and that miraculous healing ceased after the early church was established. But this "cessationist theology" raises important questions: When did God's heart change? When did His arm grow shorter?
The truth is that God's heart has never changed. His power remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. People still need healing - not just physical healing, but healing of anxiety, family relationships, workplace concerns, and broken hearts.

Matthew 9:35 tells us: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."

Jesus modeled what He calls His followers to emulate. We are to be carriers of God's compassion in a world that desperately needs healing and hope. In a politically charged atmosphere where voices often yell at each other, we're called to be ambassadors of Christ who bring His presence into every situation.

Matthew's gospel portrays Jesus as a worker of miracles - phenomena that cannot be explained by natural laws. These miracles point to God and reveal Jesus' identity and God's will.

Throughout Matthew, we see Jesus calming storms, casting out evil spirits, curing lepers, healing the blind, deaf, mute, and paralyzed, and even raising the dead. These weren't just symbolic acts; they were demonstrations of divine power.

Some people acknowledge Jesus as a good teacher but strip away His miracles. Thomas Jefferson famously created his own version of the Bible by cutting out all supernatural elements. But if we don't believe in the Jesus who works miracles, what Jesus do we believe in? How much can that Jesus really do for us?

As preacher Clarence McCartney said, "The Gospels which tell us that Jesus walked by the sea, also tell us that he walked on the sea." The Jesus of the Bible is both fully human and fully divine - capable of understanding our struggles and performing miracles to meet our needs.

The stories of healing in Matthew challenge us to reach out to Jesus with intentional faith. Many people "brush up against" Jesus by hearing about Him or talking about Him, but without the intent to experience His power. True faith means reaching out like the woman with the issue of blood, believing that Jesus can and will meet our needs.

This week, consider these questions:

• What burden have I been carrying that I need to bring to Jesus?
• Am I approaching Jesus with casual contact or with the touch of faith?
• Do I truly believe Jesus can heal and transform my situation?
• How can I be a carrier of God's compassion to others who are hurting?