Lessons from Matthew 9: Joy
When was the last time you were surprised by joy?
Maybe you received an unexpected note in the mail, an unwarranted gift, a welcomed but unexpected phone call. Or maybe you ran into someone you hadn’t seen in some time.
I was surprised by joy on Thanksgiving Day when my father-in-law asked me to say the blessing. I could count on one hand the times we had acknowledged God through prayer in 30 years.
My daughter was surprised by joy when her boyfriend’s grandfather, who had been very sick and hospitalized several times, had everyone go around the room and say something they were thankful for. He began by saying he was thankful to be alive and with his family.
Many were moved to tears. Several shared they were grateful for God’s Word and our ability to read and share the gospel openly. One thanked God that her cancer had been eradicated.
To my daughter’s surprise, her boyfriend shared that he was thankful for his family. He was also thankful for his recently renewed relationship with his 3-year-old son. Then lastly he shared that he was grateful for my daughter and how God had used her to bring his family together again.
And one aunt said that though this was a rather small family gathering compared to most, it seemed to be one of the most meaningful.
Surprised by joy.
Whenever God is in the middle of something, we too can be surprised by joy.
Jesus had just exercised His power and authority over disease, disaster, and demons. The townspeople, however, were not at all embracing Him as the promised Messiah. Instead, they rejected Him and pleaded with Him to leave their region.
Now we move into Matthew chapter 9. We discover opposition from the Jewish leaders for the first time, an opposition that will grow to the point at which they will scheme to have Jesus crucified by the Gospel’s end.
In this chapter, Jesus’s opponents accused Him of 1) blasphemy, 2) living with tax collectors and “sinners” and 3) a lack of piety. They thought He lacked such things as goodness, faithfulness, godliness, holiness, or devoutness. Basically everything they themselves were guilty of.
In our next study we will see how they accused Him of working His cures by the devil’s power. We’ll also see others who were surprised by the joy of receiving Jesus’s healing, not only physically, but more important, spiritually.
Terri Hamman
Faith & Fitness Coach