March 6th, 2005: Kimber
Kauffman, Senior Pastor of College Park Church, continued his series of Matthew
by working through the exegesis of Matthew 9:18-34. The four healings – the
ruler’s daughter, the elderly woman, two blind men, and demon-possessed mute –
provide a brief glimpse of the newness that Jesus brings (v. 17). Kimber
emphasized that all of these people had imperfect faith, and yet, they found
healing in Christ because of his
perfection.
1. Jesus was no respecter of persons. He was comfortable among the unclean
and the outcasts just as much as he was in the house of a ruler.
a. As we look at the life of Christ, what is he trying to teach us about the
way we place price tags on people, giving a higher value to those with a
greater status or title?
b. How did Jesus become “all things to all people” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:21-23), and
how can you imitate Christ’s example in your own spheres of influence?
2. The story in Mt. 9:18-34 includes a variety of unique characters. The
ruler was a powerful man who went to Jesus as a last resort to solving his
problems. The elderly woman had a superstitious understanding of God and
healing. The mourners had no faith in Jesus. The blind men cared more that
Jesus was going to be King of Israel than be the Savior of the world. The mute
man relied on the faith of his friends to bring him to Jesus. The crowds were
amazed (or entertained), but left unchanged. The Pharisees attributed Jesus
work to the devil. And the disciples merely followed along and took all the
events in.
a. Which character best reflects where you are in your walk with Christ? If
you were a part of the story who would you be?
b. In light of where you find yourself in this story, (1) what is
encouraging about the life of faith you are living and (2) how should you feel
challenged to grow in your walk with Christ?
3. Pastor made an intriguing point in regards to the fact that there were
many people who saw Jesus’ miracles or even touch up against him, yet walked
away from the event without placing authentic faith in him.
a. What does this fact tell us about the nature of faith? If seeing God in
the flesh doing a miracle isn’t enough to generate true faith, what is?
b. What about now? How many people come to church in order to see a sign
from God or be entertained by religious theatrics but just walk away from the
service still unchanged? What is sobering about this thought?
4. Kimber noted that, in the end, there are only two kinds of people in the
world: those who think Jesus is foolishness and those who think he is wise.
a. How should this fact change the way you view people? How might this serve
as a litmus test in evaluating advice or ideas?
b. What does it look like to life a life that believes Jesus is wise and the
wisdom of the world is folly?
5. What is one thing you need to take
away from this sermon (and discussion) and implement into your own life?