THE ULTIMATE HEALER
- Key Verse
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
READ TODAY'S PASSAGE-
READ THE CHAPTER
Central Truth
Jesus desires to be our shepherd through all of our needs.
Reflections
How exciting was it to read this passage and to watch person after person being healed by Jesus? In this passage we saw five people healed after having a direct encounter with Jesus. It was like watching a home run derby, with Jesus just knocking it out of the park again and again. There is no doubt that the physical needs He was meeting were huge—death, blindness, bondage. But the spiritual needs He was meeting were even greater.
The synagogue official (and his daughter!) were obviously impacted by Jesus bringing the daughter back to life. But that act was also a tremendous encouragement to the official's heart. In his role, he would have been surrounded by other so-called Jewish leaders who repeatedly denied Jesus as Messiah and yelled "Blasphemy!" to Jesus' face. Those words may have been echoing in the official's head as he approached Jesus to ask Him to heal his daughter. But Jesus proved to the official who He was and healed his doubting heart.
The bleeding woman was suffering from a serious physical ailment. Unfortunately, this ailment also brought her a great deal of public and personal shame in her culture. Jesus healed not only her physical body, but also addressed the shame she must have felt by saying, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." (Matthew 9:22) What a boost to her faith self esteem!
As for the two blind men, not only did Jesus give them sight, He also used this act to encourage the men in their faith in Him. Finally, in the case of the possessed man, Jesus healed him of his physical inability to speak, but also freed him from his bondage so that he could come into a relationship with the Healer.
Jesus wants to meet our physical needs, but He also has a deep desire to meet our spiritual needs. While it is often hard for us to see past our physical and emotional needs, we can know that we have a Good Shepherd who desires to be our healer, protector, and leader.
Discussion Questions
1. Where are you focusing too much on your physical needs and neglecting to pray for your spiritual needs?2. How has your faith been strengthened by God working in your life?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What was Jesus going through all the towns teaching about (verse 35)?
2. What is the GOOD NEWS?
3. Is there someone in your “town” with whom you can share the GOOD NEWS today?
Courtney Vorel
January 29, 2010 12:12 AM
Thanks for tuning into the spiritual impact of each encounter in this home run derby of healing. Loved it!
Robert M
January 29, 2010 05:12 AM
What a great encouragement and reminder that I need to see past my emotional and physical needs to my needs spiritually. Appreciated your devo Stephen
Kasi
January 29, 2010 07:11 AM
Really enjoyed today's passage and lesson. I have a question about verse 30. Why did Jesus warn the healed blind men not to tell anyone- and why just them? Was he using the old "reverse psychology" or was there really some reason they were not supposed to tell anyone about what had just happened? And, if that is the case, how could people who knew them NOT know that they had been healed? Thanks!!
Johnny
January 29, 2010 08:31 AM
Great Stuff Stephen. Love the homerun dirby analogy...and He is still hitting em out of park today changing lives in amazing ways. Watermark has been blessed and is a living example. Thanks for all you and Lauren do!
Sue Bohlin
January 29, 2010 09:03 AM
What struck me about today's passage was the Lord's question in verse 28: "Do you believe that I AM ABLE to do this?" He didn't ask, "Do you believe I WILL heal you?" As someone who used to wrestle with the healing passages in the gospels, wondering how to appropriate the stories as ironclad promises I could claim to "get my healing" (read: manipulate God), I appreciate the simplicity of Jesus' question: "Do you trust My loving heart to do what is best for you, as you trust My ability as God to release My power into your body and, more importantly, into your life?" It was best for Him to heal the hurting people in today's reading; it is best for Him to withhold it from me and from so many others because of the "something better" He has for us instead. "No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Ps. 84:11) If He's withholding, it's not a good thing *for us*.
Bart
January 29, 2010 09:54 AM
Thanks for the reminder to pray for my spiritual growth first... Have a blessed day!
Lindsay
January 29, 2010 10:10 AM
Thanks, Stephen for the great devo today and the practical application of our Great Physician and Good Shepherd. Randy and I are consistently blessed by your (and Lauren's) leadership in our community group.
Bill
January 29, 2010 10:10 AM
C.S. Lewis called it "The Problem of Pain" and deals with it about as well as anybody. It is a little hard to get a Mother who has just watched her baby die to believe that God has "something better" for her. Can he heal the Mother of her pain and heartache? Absolutely. Can he bring triumph from this death? Yes, certainly. But does he have "something better" for the Mother? I'm not sure about that. Why can't we just admit we don't understand why sometimes God heals and sometimes He doesn't. Alan Redpath says nothing comes to us that has not been filtered through the hands of God.(Paraphrased) I try to let that be enough. We, or at least I, too often get sidetracked with why when I should really focus on Who.
Marni
January 29, 2010 05:02 PM
Great devotional! To address your question, Kasi, I've heard it explained that Jesus wanted His actions to speak for themselves. In the last passage we read (Matthew 9:5-6), He said : "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." By showing that He had the power to heal people physically, He was demonstrating His authority to forgive sins.
Jacob Dodson
January 31, 2010 12:56 AM
Great devotional. I love how in each case it points out the person's faith, and Jesus responds everytime as he does for us. I've had the same question as you Kasi. Jesus does this many times in his ministry, telling people not to tell anyone of his miracles. In Mark 1:45 he cures a man of leprosy and tells him not to tell anyone, but the leper spreads the news anyway. Then it says that because of this Jesus "could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places." So maybe this could be the reason.
jay Burns
January 31, 2010 09:33 AM
Stephen great devo and it stirred great and thoughtful comments. as a physician it serves as an ever present reminder that we treat physical illness but I need to be ever watching for the opportunity to address the spiritual needs of my patients...that healing is eternal. Tell your beautiful wife, on the inside and out, I said hello! Hope you guys are well. Jay