Faith that Rises in the Crowd

From the War Room

Read Matthew 9 on Bible.com

There are moments in our journey where faith must push through the crowd — through noise, opposition, even self-doubt — to reach the hem of Jesus’ garment. In Matthew 9, the landscape is alive with movement: a paralyzed man lowered before Jesus, a tax collector leaving his booth, a desperate woman reaching in secret, and two blind men crying out for mercy. It’s a tapestry of faith colliding with grace.

This chapter reveals not only the power of Jesus to heal, but the heart of His mission: to forgive, to restore, and to call sinners into fellowship. The same power that spoke “Take heart, your sins are forgiven” now speaks into our own paralysis — spiritual, emotional, or physical — and bids us rise.

Walking Through the Chapter

Matthew 9 moves quickly, but there’s an intentional order to the scenes:

Forgiveness and Healing of the Paralytic (9:1–8)

Jesus doesn’t start with the man’s legs; He starts with his heart:
“Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” The teachers of the law accuse Him of blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins. Jesus heals the paralysis to prove an even greater reality: the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

For our readers, this frames everything else in the chapter — every physical miracle points back to the deeper miracle of forgiveness.

Calling of Matthew and the Table of Sinners (9:9–13)

Matthew is called right out of his tax booth, mid-shift, mid-compromise. Jesus not only calls him; He then sits at Matthew’s table with “many tax collectors and sinners.” The religious leaders protest, but Jesus answers with Hosea 6:6:

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice… For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Here we see Jesus as the Physician of the soul, drawing near to the very people others avoid.

Question About Fasting – The Bridegroom and New Wine (9:14–17)

John’s disciples are confused: why aren’t Jesus’ disciples fasting like they are? Jesus answers with wedding language — this is a season of Presence, not mourning.

Then He speaks of new cloth and new wineskins: the life He brings can’t be forced into brittle, old religious frameworks. We fast now not to earn God’s favor, but from a place of longing for the Bridegroom’s presence.

The Dying Daughter and the Bleeding Woman (9:18–26)

A synagogue leader kneels before Jesus: “My daughter has just died. But come and put Your hand on her, and she will live.” On the way, a woman with twelve years of bleeding reaches for the fringe of His cloak, believing, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Two stories weave together: a public leader and a hidden sufferer, both desperate, both reaching. Jesus calls the woman “daughter” and restores her, then takes the dead girl’s hand and simply says, “Get up.” In one movement, we see that Jesus not only heals sickness — He pushes back death itself.

Two Blind Men and a Mute Demoniac (9:27–34)

Two blind men follow Jesus indoors, crying, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus asks, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” and heals them according to their faith.

Then a man who cannot speak because of a demon is brought to Him; Jesus drives the demon out, and the man speaks.

The crowd marvels, but the Pharisees respond with hostility: “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.” Matthew shows us a dividing line: the same miracles that invite faith also expose hardened hearts.

Compassion and the Harvest (9:35–38)

The chapter closes with a sweeping summary: Jesus goes through all the towns, teaching, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. When He sees the crowds, He is moved with deep, gut-level compassion because they are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Out of that compassion comes a commission:

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”
Matthew 9 doesn’t just show what Jesus can do; it prepares us for what He will send His disciples to do in chapter 10.

Let’s Dig Deeper

The Bridegroom and the Fast

As the disciples of John approached Jesus with sincere confusion — “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” — they were witnessing a shift in covenantal rhythm. Fasting had long been a sign of mourning, repentance, and longing for God’s presence. Yet standing before them was the very presence they had been longing for.

Jesus’ answer reframed the entire practice:

“How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15)

He wasn’t abolishing fasting; He was redefining it. The disciples’ abstention was not neglect but recognition — a celebration that the long-awaited Messiah had come. When He later departed, fasting would again find its place — not as empty ritual, but as intimate yearning for the Bridegroom’s return.

Jesus follows with a pair of parables — the unshrunk cloth on an old garment and new wine in old wineskins — both illustrating a simple but radical truth: the new life He brings cannot be contained within old forms. The kingdom He ushers in demands renewal — new hearts, new mindsets, and new vessels to carry His Spirit.

For us, fasting is no longer about external discipline alone. It becomes a living expression of longing — a physical echo of spiritual hunger. When we fast now, we’re not trying to earn favor; we’re making room for fellowship. It’s our soul saying, “Come, Lord Jesus — fill what only You can satisfy.”

Context Note – Who Were “John’s Disciples”?

When Matthew writes that “John’s disciples came to Him” (Matthew 9:14), he’s referring to the followers of John the Baptist, not the Apostle John.
These men had been shaped by John’s message of repentance — they fasted, prayed, and waited for the Messiah. Their question to Jesus wasn’t antagonistic; it was honest confusion.

John’s ministry had prepared Israel’s heart for the coming King through repentance and humility. But now, the King Himself had arrived, and the tone had changed from mourning to celebration.

Jesus’ answer about the bridegroom gently revealed this transition: while John’s disciples fasted in longing, Jesus’ disciples feasted in the presence of the One they longed for.

Application: Our seasons of fasting now are not about earning favor but renewing hunger for the Bridegroom’s return — a longing for deeper communion until we see Him face-to-face.

Life in the Presence of Death

When the synagogue leader knelt before Jesus saying, “My daughter has just died. But come and put Your hand on her, and she will live” (Matthew 9:18), we witness one of the purest expressions of faith in all Scripture. He doesn’t beg for comfort — he believes for resurrection.

This father, Jairus, had no precedent for what he asked. Resurrection wasn’t something people casually expected; it belonged to the final day, the age to come. Yet faith compelled him to reach into eternity and pull that promise into the present. Jesus went with him — not because the girl was special, but because faith always moves Him toward the brokenhearted.

When Jesus entered the house, the mourners laughed at Him. That laughter still echoes today whenever hope confronts despair. But Jesus took the girl’s hand and said simply, “Get up.” The same words that called light out of darkness and life out of dust now summoned a child back from death.

This moment is more than a miracle; it’s a sign of the kingdom. Death is not the final authority where Jesus reigns. He doesn’t merely heal the sick — He reverses the irreversible. For Matthew’s readers, this miracle foreshadows the cross and resurrection to come: a foretaste of the day when every “little girl” — every life cut short, every dream buried, every faith gone cold — will rise at His word.

Our takeaway: Faith doesn’t deny death; it refuses to let death define the story. In every lifeless place, Jesus still whispers, “Get up.”

Context Note – Who Was the Synagogue Leader?

Matthew identifies the man who approached Jesus as “a synagogue leader” (Matthew 9:18) — his name, given in Mark and Luke, is Jairus.

A synagogue leader (Greek: archisynagōgos) wasn’t a priest, but a respected layperson responsible for the order of worship, the reading of Scripture, and the upkeep of the synagogue. In first-century Jewish society, such a man carried honor, influence, and deep religious devotion.

For someone of his standing to kneel before Jesus was extraordinary. It showed both humility and desperation — a public confession that the authority of heaven rested not in ritual or rank, but in Christ alone.

Equally remarkable is Jesus’ response: He touched the dead girl’s hand. Under Mosaic law, contact with a corpse made a person ceremonially unclean (Numbers 19:11). Yet Jesus’ purity was not defiled; rather, His holiness reversed death’s corruption. What was once untouchable became the vessel of resurrection.

Application: True faith bows low, even when reputation is on the line. And when Jesus touches what seems lifeless — a dream, a relationship, a soul — it doesn’t contaminate Him; it transforms us.

Prophetic Roots

Every act in Matthew 9 echoes the promises of the prophets:

• Isaiah 35:5–6 – “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” Jesus’ healings fulfill this messianic vision of restoration.
• Hosea 6:6 – “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Quoted directly by Jesus when challenged for dining with sinners, this is a prophetic call to heart-based righteousness.
• Psalm 103:2–3 – “He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” The divine pairing of forgiveness and healing unfolds perfectly in the paralytic’s story.
• Daniel 7:13–14 – The Son of Man title Jesus uses carries authority both to forgive sin and to reign — a theme Matthew emphasizes repeatedly.

With prophecy fulfilled and compassion revealed, Matthew 9 now invites us to see ourselves within these encounters.

Reflection for the Week

Matthew 9 is a mirror of the human condition: brokenness meeting restoration. The paralytic could not move, yet his friends’ faith carried him. Matthew sat comfortably in compromise, but Jesus’ call broke through the weight of worldly success. The bleeding woman, isolated by law and shame, risked everything for one touch. The blind men refused silence.

Each encounter is a different posture of faith, yet all are met with compassion and authority. The common thread: Faith is not passive. It moves, reaches, follows, cries out, and holds on.

The heart of the chapter beats strongest in verse 36: “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This is the pulse of the Gospel — not just miracles, but mercy; not just calling, but compassion.

Jesus ends the chapter with a commissioning: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Every healing becomes an invitation — a call to rise and join the labor of love that restores others.

Journal Prompts

1. Where in your life have you been “paralyzed,” waiting for someone to lift you before Jesus? Who are your faith-friends that help you move when you can’t?
2. Like Matthew, what comfort zones or identities might Jesus be calling you to leave behind?
3. The woman with the issue of blood reached in faith even after twelve years of disappointment. What area of your life requires that same persistence?
4. How does compassion move you to action when you see others “harassed and helpless”?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You see me when I am unseen, and You know the burdens that keep me still.
Give me faith that moves — faith that reaches through the crowd, faith that endures rejection, faith that calls others into Your healing presence.
May I live as one forgiven, healed, and sent.
When You look upon my generation and say, “The harvest is plentiful,” let me answer, “Here am I, send me.”

Amen.

Word Study

Word Study 1: Compassion (σπλαγχνίζομαι / splagchnizomai)

Scripture: Matthew 9:36

Original Language: Greek – splagchnizomai (from splagchna, meaning “bowels” or “inward parts”)

Theological Insight: This verb describes a deep, visceral compassion — not mere sympathy but a gut-felt movement of mercy. It’s used almost exclusively of Jesus in the Gospels, revealing divine empathy rooted in His very being.

Devotional Depth: Christ doesn’t pity from afar; He feels within Himself the ache of those who suffer. Every time you hurt, His compassion moves — not abstractly, but personally.

Reflection: How can you reflect Christ’s splagchnizomai toward others this week?

Prayer: Lord, teach me to feel what You feel, and to move where compassion leads.

Word Study 2: Faith (πίστις / pistis)

Scripture: Matthew 9:22 – “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.”

Original Language: Greek – pistis, meaning trust, belief, confidence, or conviction.

Theological Insight: Pistis is not mere intellectual belief but active reliance. It’s relational — faith in someone, not merely about someone.

Devotional Depth: The woman’s healing was not earned but received through trust. Her action demonstrated belief that Jesus was not only able, but willing.

Reflection: Where can your faith become movement this week?

Prayer: Lord, deepen my pistis until my belief becomes bold obedience.