Our paragraph topic is: (Christ raises the ruler's daughter to life) Part 1.
Christ now arrives at the rulers house. He has seen the woman with the hemorrhage and cured her. The ruler has asked Christ to come to his house. In the previous verses the ruler told Christ that his daughter has just died. He asks Christ to come to his house saying, "But come and lay thy hand upon her, and she will return to life." St Matthew writes nothing about the faith of the father. He tells us nothing about how the father came to the conclusion that Christ could restore life. He only tells us that the ruler came to Christ, made this statement, and Christ decided to follow the ruler to his house.
Now up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ has not performed such a miracle as restoring life to a person that is dead. He has healed the sick, cleansed the leper, cured a paralytic, made whole a woman with issues of blood, cast out demons, and various other miracles. But he has not, up to this point, brought someone back to life that has been declared dead. So the fact that the ruler makes a statement of belief is noticeable. The ruler tells Christ that if he would lay his hand upon his daughter he knows that she will return to life. This statement is not stated with doubt. It is not stated with fear. It is stated with certainty, the knowledge of certain outcome without disbelief. So Christ went with him. And strangely enough his disciples went also, as Matthew relates to us. They, knowing what miracles Christ had performed, wanted to see this one. They wanted to know that he could give life to the dead. They wanted to see what would happen.
When Christ arrived at the house of the ruler, he found mourners and flute players proclaiming the death of the child. He found the funeral directors ready to take her away. He found the family and friends of the child weeping because of her death. He found Death and his minions present at the site. They, knowing the physical signs of death knew that she was dead. But the giver of life arrived and he wanted them gone. So Christ says to them, "Begone." He spoke to the demons of Death first, casting them away from the bedside of the child. Then he speaks to the mourners saying, "The girl is asleep, not dead."
For those who do not understand his words, he spoke as if the girl was not dead. Christ spoke as if she was merely taking a nap. And in his view she was doing just that. He spoke to Death and told it to begone. He spoke to Death and told it to leave the girl untouched. He spoke to Death and banished it from taking the soul of the girl. He spoke to the crowd and told them that the girl was sleeping. He spoke to the ways of the people and told them that they did not understand. He spoke to the possessed hearts of the people and told them to take their unbelief and leave. The people in the crowd were blind to what was about to happen. The word had spread about Christ and the miracles that he performed, but they were blind. The crowd did not know him. So when he spoke to their unbelieving blinded hearts, they laughed. They ridiculed him. They scoffed at him. They made fun of him. They spoke as though he was crazy. Yet they did not know the giver of life was among them.
Christ wants to come to us today to restore life. He wants to come to us today to bring anew that which has been taken away. He wants to speak to death and say, "Begone." Yet we do not believe. Yet we do not know him. Yet we laugh at him. Yet we doubt him. Yet we scoff and ridicule his name. Many have said that he does not exist. Many believe in no God at all, calling themselves atheist. Many use science as a means to explain away and rationalize that there is no God. Many laugh and proclaim that those who do believe are fools and idiots. Yet he came to restore life. Yet he came to give life to those who are asleep. What reason do you have for not accepting the life that Christ gives?
Christ now arrives at the rulers house. He has seen the woman with the hemorrhage and cured her. The ruler has asked Christ to come to his house. In the previous verses the ruler told Christ that his daughter has just died. He asks Christ to come to his house saying, "But come and lay thy hand upon her, and she will return to life." St Matthew writes nothing about the faith of the father. He tells us nothing about how the father came to the conclusion that Christ could restore life. He only tells us that the ruler came to Christ, made this statement, and Christ decided to follow the ruler to his house.
Now up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ has not performed such a miracle as restoring life to a person that is dead. He has healed the sick, cleansed the leper, cured a paralytic, made whole a woman with issues of blood, cast out demons, and various other miracles. But he has not, up to this point, brought someone back to life that has been declared dead. So the fact that the ruler makes a statement of belief is noticeable. The ruler tells Christ that if he would lay his hand upon his daughter he knows that she will return to life. This statement is not stated with doubt. It is not stated with fear. It is stated with certainty, the knowledge of certain outcome without disbelief. So Christ went with him. And strangely enough his disciples went also, as Matthew relates to us. They, knowing what miracles Christ had performed, wanted to see this one. They wanted to know that he could give life to the dead. They wanted to see what would happen.
When Christ arrived at the house of the ruler, he found mourners and flute players proclaiming the death of the child. He found the funeral directors ready to take her away. He found the family and friends of the child weeping because of her death. He found Death and his minions present at the site. They, knowing the physical signs of death knew that she was dead. But the giver of life arrived and he wanted them gone. So Christ says to them, "Begone." He spoke to the demons of Death first, casting them away from the bedside of the child. Then he speaks to the mourners saying, "The girl is asleep, not dead."
For those who do not understand his words, he spoke as if the girl was not dead. Christ spoke as if she was merely taking a nap. And in his view she was doing just that. He spoke to Death and told it to begone. He spoke to Death and told it to leave the girl untouched. He spoke to Death and banished it from taking the soul of the girl. He spoke to the crowd and told them that the girl was sleeping. He spoke to the ways of the people and told them that they did not understand. He spoke to the possessed hearts of the people and told them to take their unbelief and leave. The people in the crowd were blind to what was about to happen. The word had spread about Christ and the miracles that he performed, but they were blind. The crowd did not know him. So when he spoke to their unbelieving blinded hearts, they laughed. They ridiculed him. They scoffed at him. They made fun of him. They spoke as though he was crazy. Yet they did not know the giver of life was among them.
Christ wants to come to us today to restore life. He wants to come to us today to bring anew that which has been taken away. He wants to speak to death and say, "Begone." Yet we do not believe. Yet we do not know him. Yet we laugh at him. Yet we doubt him. Yet we scoff and ridicule his name. Many have said that he does not exist. Many believe in no God at all, calling themselves atheist. Many use science as a means to explain away and rationalize that there is no God. Many laugh and proclaim that those who do believe are fools and idiots. Yet he came to restore life. Yet he came to give life to those who are asleep. What reason do you have for not accepting the life that Christ gives?
