The People That Jesus Healed and Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole
The next person was the centurion’s servant which is found in Matthew 8:5- 13- Verses 5-10, 13 states- And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come and he cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
The next person is Peter’s mother-in-law found in Matthew 8:14-15- Matthew 8:15 says And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
Matthew 8:16-17 says that when the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Now I am going to Matthew Chapter 9.
In Matthew 9:2-8- Jesus healed the man sick of palsy. Matthew 9:2 says And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven. Matthew 9:6-7 says- But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he rose, and departed to his house. After this Jesus taught the Pharisees, publicans, and sinners.
Matthew 9:18 says that while he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus rose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
But as he was making his way to the ruler’s, who we know as Jairus, house, the woman of our lesson comes in Matthew 9:20-22- And behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment; For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Mark 5:24-34 and Luke 8:43-48 gives more accounts of her experience stating that she went to many physicians that could not heal her. Mark and Luke states that Jesus felt the virtue go out of him after she touched his garments. Luke says she came trembling after Jesus asked who touched him. But they all agree on these words spoken by Jesus, Thy faith hath made thee whole. I would like to focus on these words. Thy faith hath made thee whole!!
Hebrews 11:1 states that, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:3 says that through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:6 says that, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. I can see this woman’s faith in these scriptures This woman had a challenging/ seemingly impossible situation. But through her faith, she received her healing. However, it was not easy. But how did her faith make her whole? Well, there is a formula to her faith. It involves hearing, speaking, seeing, thinking, and acting.
The first part of this formula that I will discuss is hearing. Mark 5:27 says when she heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. I can imagine that this woman heard many times about how Jesus healed people from leprosy, demons, palsy, and fever. She must have thought if he can do it for them surely he can do it for me. This is a testament to the Romans 10:17- Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. As she heard these things her faith was built! However, she could only focus on the healings she heard about. She could not listen to her friends and family telling her- you may have to live with this for the rest of your life or Girl, I heard that Sarah had that 15 years and she eventually died of it so don’t get your hopes up! She did as I Corinthians 2:5 says- That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
This woman also had to speak In Mark 5:28, She declared the end of her faith from the beginning by declaring If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. She had to speak her healing into existence. I can imagine as she made her journey to Jesus, she had to keep speaking these words. I can imagine her singing (if the Clark Sisters were there during her time) as she made her journey to Jesus, I’m looking for a miracle. I expect the impossible. I feel the intangible. I see the invisible. The sky is the limit to what I can have. Just believe and receive it. God will perform it today. I expect a miracle every day. God will make a way out of no way! Just believe and receive it. God will perform it today! She could not say one minute, I don’t know if he will. I don’t why I’m making my way to Jesus. I know it happened for everyone else but it may not happen for me. She had to keep speaking these words- If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole!!!
She also had to keep her thoughts together. In Matthew 9:21, she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. As Proverbs 23:7 says for as he but in this case she thinketh in her heart, so is she.
What she heard, what she spoke, and what she thought gave her the evidence of the healing not seen. This affected her vision and how she saw herself. She had to see herself healed before she even touched his garment. As Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. She was walking by faith and not by sight(not by how she felt, not by how people were looking at her, not by what the doctors told her, not by the amount of people that were in her way, not by anything in the natural realm) as II Corinthians 5:7 tells us. Her faith dictated to her what she saw (which was in God’s power and the spiritual realm).
With how she saw herself, what she spoke, what she heard, and what she thought. It moved her towards her healing. James 2:20 says But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? She took action- she got dressed, she walked, she pressed, she pushed, she bowed/bent, she reached, she touched, and she faithed (because faith is an action word).
All of these helped her to keep what little strength she had as she made her journey to Jesus for her healing. She was building herself up on her most holy faith as Jude 1:20 states. She had to hold fast the profession of her faith without wavering as Hebrews 10:23 states and she had to keep her confidence as Hebrews 10:35 states. What she listened to, what she spoke, what she thought, how she saw herself, and what she did all had to be consistent with one another. She could not think positive and speak negative, listen to the naysayers, keep seeing herself sick, and just sit at home hoping for her healing to come. Using this faith formula with consistency, her faith made her whole. This is proof of Hebrews 11:6. Her faith pleased Jesus, therefore, he called her Daughter. She was diligent and He rewarded her with healing. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible!! This woman now has a powerful testimony. There are others that Jesus healed where Jesus said Thy faith hath made thee whole. These words can be found again in Mark 10:52(blind man) and Luke 17:19(10 lepers).
Faith is powerful! So I ask you today- What is an impossible/challenging situation that you are facing? You can do just like this woman and use this formula to see the end of your faith as I Peter 1:9 states.
