Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. Verse 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. Verse 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Verse 12But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Verse 13Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
Verse 18While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." Verse 19And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Verse 20Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, Verse 21for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." Verse 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. Verse 23When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Verse 24he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Verse 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Verse 26And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Devotion
Can the incurable be cured – even death itself? Today see Jesus curing a woman’s disease and raising a young girl from the dead. What’s up? It must be the foretaste of the miracle yet to come, Christ’s own resurrection.
Death is a blunt fact – inevitable, the end. But on Easter something changed. The creator of the universe started over again. Just as he brought order out of chaos that first time, he did it again on Easter morning when he raised Jesus from the dead. God made it possible for there to be a new kind of human being, “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
So take a deep breath and dive every day into the new life you have in Christ. Rejoice in it with all the enthusiasm of a person who has just been raised from the dead.
Prayer
O Lord, may the news of Christ’s resurrection continue to fill us with vision and energy. Where there is heaviness of heart, give lightness of spirit, that your children may rejoice in the marvelous life of the new creation. Amen.