PT-2 "Jesus Was Powerful" (Matt. 9:23-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/8/2021 9:18 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 “Jesus Was Powerful”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Matthew 9:23-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “23 When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24 He said, "Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 This news spread throughout all that land.”

 

            We ended our last SD by looking at the first of three prescribed ways of expressing grief and lamentation at Jewish funerals.  Today we want to continue by first looking at the second and third ways.

 

            The second way of expressing grief was by the hiring of professional woman mourners.  These women would loudly wail the name of the person who had just died.  This may have expressed grief but not sure what it would do to those friends of the one who had died.  These women would also intermingle the names of other family members who had died in the past. We can see that this would cause sorrow to be intentionally intensified as the memories of old grief were added to the new ones.  Every tender chord was touched, and agony was magnified with loud shrieks, wailing, and groanings.  After learning about what they did I am thankful for the way it is done in our family when someone has died and that is to remember the good things about the person, and if they are believers knowing that they are with the Lord.

 

            The third and last way of expressing grief involved the hiring of professional musicians, which were for the most part “flute-players,” who, like the hired mourners, would play loud, disconcerting sounds, meant to reflect the emotional discord and confusion of grief.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The Talmud declared that ‘the husband is bound to bury his dead wife and to make lamentations and mourning for her according to the custom of all countries.  Also the very poorest among the Israelites will not allow her less than two flutes and one wailing woman.’  Reflecting such ‘customs of all countries,’ the Roman statesman Seneca reported that there was so much screaming and wailing at the death of the emperor Claudius that some onlookers felt Claudius himself probably heard the noise from his grave.”

 

            We have mentioned that Jairus was certainly a man of wealth and this would mean that there were many women wailing and many flute-players playing loud depressing music.  Jesus comes in and says “Depart; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.”  When Jesus was saying “depart” He was giving a command, and not a request.  Peter would do the same thing years later after Dorcas had died and the Lord was going to use Peter to raise her back to life.  This is found in Acts 9:40 as far as the command to have people leave.

 

            I have to say that Jesus surprised these professional mourners and they were seemingly upset as they began to laugh at His saying that she was not dead, but asleep.  After all these were professional mourners and they knew a dead person when they saw one.  Perhaps they had heard of Jesus’ miracles, and perhaps not, but if they did they certainly did not believe He could raise this little girl from being dead.

 

            MacArthur writes “Jesus knew the girl was dead, just as He knew Lazarus was dead when He said to His disciples, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep’ (John 11:11).  As He explained to His incredulous disciples on that occasion, His reference to sleep signified actual death—though it was temporary—and not ‘literal sleep.’  Jesus then ‘said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead’ (vv. 13-14).”  Looks like we will conclude this story in our next SD as we must look at what happened when Jesus came into the room with the little girl and her parents.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Learning that not only is Jesus powerful, but He uses His power as He sees fit to use it and when He wants to use it.  One of the ways He is using His power is holding this world together as seen in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that Jesus will use me to do powerful things for the cause of Christ.

 

6/8/2021 9:46 AM