Jesus Is Greater Than Death

Jesus is greater than death. If nothing else, the Gospel demonstrates that Jesus has mastery over death. From the raising of Jairus’s daughter, the widow’s son, Lazarus, and of course his resurrection, death holds no power over him. If we believe this, then why do we ever doubt His power? Why do we not always pray with confidence that He not only hears our prayers but will also answer them? Why do we allow worry, anxiety, or fear to take hold of us so powerfully? Consider that as we look at this Gospel.

Jesus Is Greater Than Death

Gospel - Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,

knelt down before him, and said,

"My daughter has just died.

But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."

Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him

and touched the tassel on his cloak.

She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."

Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,

"Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you."

And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official's house

and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,

he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping."

And they ridiculed him.

When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,

and the little girl arose.

And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Scriptural Analysis

Matthew presents two healings, intertwined into a single narrative, that offer a view of Jesus’s teachings on mercy and sacrifice. God shows mercy to two people: a woman in need of healing and a young girl who passed away. For Jesus, mercy ranks higher than the observance of the Jewish ritual purity laws that could make one unclean and prohibited from worship in the temple. In this case, it is the law around contact with a corpse as well as contact with a woman who is bleeding.

The official is unnamed in Matthew, but identified as Jairus, the Capernaum synagogue leader, in the other Synoptic Gospels. He approaches Jesus just as the man with leprosy did. The faith exhibited by Jairus is intense. His daughter has passed away, and yet he believes Jesus can heal her with a simple touch of his hand.

On the way to the home of Jairus, a woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years seeks out Jesus. She believes a simple touch of Jesus will heal her. Her disorder was likely a menstrual issue that resulted not only in her physical ailment but also in social Isolation. Jewish law forbade anyone from touching a person with hemorrhages lest they become ritually unclean: unable to participate in temple worship. This means she also was unable to participate in temple worship.

Her touching even Christ’s tassel on her cloak would have been disturbing. According to the law, this would have made Jesus ritually unclean. From Jesus’s perspective, this woman demonstrated remarkable faith. He lovingly looks at her and tells her to take courage, calling her "daughter," and assures her that her faith has saved her. For he knew that as she touched him, power went out of him. Instead of being defiled by the woman, the divine power of Jesus transforms her. She is physically healed, which also makes her ritually clean.

Jesus then arrives at Jairus’s house. He found flute players and a crowd gathered there. These were professional mourners hired, per the Jewish custom, to mourn the death of the child. He sends them out, saying that the girl has not died, but she is merely sleeping. For Jesus, death is not the last word. It is likened to sleep, as there will eventually be a resurrection for all of us. In restoring Jairus’s daughter to life, Jesus demonstrated his power over death. He did not become ritually unclean by grabbing her hand, but instead raised the child from the dead.

Daily Application

Life throws a lot of stuff at us, and if we allow it to, the things it throws our way can get to us. It can make us worry and become stressed. We begin to focus so much attention on all of the challenges of life that we forget the most important thing of all. We are sons and daughters of a loving and merciful Go: a God who has conquered death.

Purchase The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

Of course, this all depends on the assumption that the Gospels are accurate: that we can rely on the testimony presented there. In his book, The Case for Christ, author Lee Strobel presents the arguments given for the historical reliability of the Gospels. There are six arguments in support of the reliability of the Gospels.

1. Eyewitness Testimony - The Gospels were written by eyewitnesses or men associated with eyewitnesses.

2. Alignment with Ancient Biographical Standards - The Gospels adhere to the traditional writing styles of ancient biographies.

3. Early Church Endorsement - The early Church treated these writings as authoritative.

4. Historical Evidence - There is extra-Biblical evidence in support of the events outlined in the Gospels.

5. Timeframe - The Gospels were written relatively soon after the events occurred.

6. Internal Evidence - The Gospels are written in a style that is more historical and less fictionalized.

There should be no doubt in our minds that the events of the Gospel occurred and that Jesus has mastery over death.

Since Jesus has mastery over death, it also means that He has mastery over life: the events of our lives that cause us so much heartache and stress. Now, I am not suggesting that we are idle passengers on this journey and should hand everything over to God and do nothing. If a storm blows through and the shingles blow off our roof, then it would be wise to put a tarp over the roof and to patch the hole eventually.

However, our faith in Christ means that when the inevitable crises of life come, we do not panic or fret over them. We do our part to address them, but we trust in the Lord. We know that all things occur because he allows them, and through these events, if we allow him to work, we will grow in holiness and virtue. So when the storms of life come, do your part to find shelter, but do not be afraid. Do not let your heart worry or the stress consume you. Jesus is greater than death. Surely he is greater than any crisis that comes your way.