Today’s text offers God’s sevenfold promise to Abram which unfolds into land, descendants, and blessing.
- I will make you into a great nation.
- I will bless you.
- I will make your name great.
- You will be a blessing.
- I will bless those who bless you.
- Whoever curses you I will curse.
- All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
At seventy-five Abram was being involved in a great deal of luggage, possessions, and many people. It didn’t seem easy for him to travel to a new land God will lead, but he immediately responded to God’s call. His move indicated his faith and showed us a pilgrim who refused to be bound to a comfortable lifestyle simply because he had accumulated the things of this world. In accordance with God’s call, Abram headed into Canaan. In alien surroundings, he would have faced cultural differences and religious opposition. God stated to him, “To your offspring I will give this land.” God gave the land not just to Abraham but to his offspring.
Here Abram built his first altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. The first thing Abram did when he arrived in the new land was worshiping God. We see the first witness to the true God in the land of Canaan. Abram had to give up everything he had known all his life to begin all over again in a new world. It must be a challenge that probably required greater faith and commitment. Today’s text offers Abram’s greater faith and commitment to the God who had called him.
God led Abram out of his situation with only the promise and blessing that Abram would become a great nation. From this godly man we learn to step out on faith. God gives and leads us the faith to believe in the triumph of righteousness, no matter how dark and uncertain the world is. May our faith be seen in our lives and ministries.
God seeks us and initiates the call to relationship with him. God’s call itself doesn’t make us immune to difficult situations and unexpected tests. However, God always has better options than the ones we have considered. May we obey God even when we don’t understand why he asks us.
In many Christian’s lifestyles, we often see a decision to begin and a hesitancy to finish. It was not probably an easy one for Abram to leave Haran and dash off after an experience of God’s call. However, it would have been more difficult to keep going through famines, conflicts, and a variety of tests and struggles. How many times Abram must have been tempted to quit. However, he believed in God’s consistency and showed his consistency. As he remained faithful to God’s call, in our all circumstances, may we hold to the meaning of God’s call and to the belief that God will see us through to the achievements he wants. We can be faithful because we believe in the faithfulness of Christ.
Although Matthew 9 includes miracles, the emphasis is not only on the physical healing, but also on Jesus’ authority to forgive sin. It showed Jesus violating a cultural taboo by associating with a tax collector. Jesus invited Matthew, a tax collector, to become one of his closest followers.
Matthew placed his own conversion in the middle of chapter 9. It seems that he saw this as one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. It was not a miracle through physical healing, but one of miracles of rescue of a person from the darkness and the forgiveness of sinners.
Jesus showed unconditional acceptance and forgiveness and manifested the authority of his word turning sinners into disciples. When Jesus called Matthew, he gave up the wealth and privilege of his position, accepted Jesus’ “Follow me” invitation, and became a Jesus’ disciple. It was a key turning point of his own life and caused the spiritual restoration.
In those days, eating together was the natural form of social intimacy, but no sinner was welcome at a righteous person’s table, and no righteous person would consider eating at a sinner’s table. However, Jesus visited Matthew’s home and ate with many other sinners. He displayed his unconditional acceptance once again by participating in this meal.
In verses 12 and 13, Jesus broke people’s limited understanding and confronted the hypocrites and their self-righteousness. In today’s text, Jesus portrayed himself as a doctor and defended his association with the tax collectors and sinners by their own self-awareness regarding their spiritual illness and their hunger for his healing.
Jesus was aware of the faults of the sinners with whom he ate, but his mercy caused him to withhold judgment and gave opportunities to be transformed. The Pharisees were not truly righteous, but they saw themselves as such. While they were proud and unmerciful, the sinners were aware of their sin and hungered for forgiveness. When Jesus said, “for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”, Jesus’ disciples responded to his call, received his forgiveness, and moved on toward maturity. Jesus is not only the healer of the physical body, but he is also the healer of spiritual wounds.
Jesus had performed all his healing miracles on people who were living. This is the first time in Matthew where he healed and raised a dead girl. The dead girl was a synagogue’ ruler’s daughter. The official believed that Jesus’ touch would bring her back to life because he was confident in Jesus. He showed reverence for Jesus, recognized him as a prophet from God, and knelt before him.
When touching a dead body was considered uncleanness, Jesus made his way to heal a dead girl and met another threat to his ritual purity. Although a woman did not even want Jesus to know she had put him at risk, Jesus detected her presence and touch. When a bleeding woman went to Jesus for help and touched him, Jesus showed compassion toward the woman’s need, healed the sick woman, and expressed affirmation for her faith. Jesus acknowledges that her faith is the agency of her healing.
After the healing, Jesus responded by restoring the official’s daughter to life. When Jesus raised the dead girl by taking the hand, she got up. Both the touch and the word of Jesus were instrumental in her healing. This news of a miracle spread through all that region. We can see Jesus’ authority and power over life and death here. May we recognize the authority of Jesus in our lives.
Jesus has absolute authority and power to heal physical diseases and spiritual illness. May we follow Jesus and his compassionate example in our attitude and actions toward others. Jesus can work miraculously in our lives when we depend on him. Jesus is not only the healer of the physical body, but he is also the healer of spiritual wounds. May we seek healing and restoration of our wounds from Jesus the healer.
In Jesus’ healing, he saw the faith of the synagogue’ leader and the bleeding woman, knew all their needs, detected all situations, and healed and restored them. He pointed out the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of the Pharisees and healed and restored those who needed help with love and mercy.
Jesus comes to those who are in need and recognizes that they are in need. In Jesus’ healing, faith is a restorative agent and a graceful gift from God. No matter what our circumstance, the healing Jesus provides and the acceptance Jesus offers are available to all who believe and all of us. May we experience the healing and restoration Jesus provides in our lives by faith.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)