06/03/2026
Please join us this Thursday, June 4th for Bible Study. The lesson is below!
Faith That Opens the Door: Healing in
Matthew 9:9-26
A Study Guide for Personal Reflection and Small Group Discussion
1. Overview
Matthew 9:9-26 weaves together three distinct stories — the calling of
Matthew, the dinner with tax collectors and sinners, and two miraculous
healings. On the surface, these appear to be separate episodes. But a
single thread runs through all of them: faith. Not perfect, polished, or
fully-formed faith — but real, fragile, need-shaped faith that opens the door
to transformation and wholeness. As you work through this study, pay
attention to what kind of faith each person brings to Jesus, and what Jesus
does in response.
Notes:
2. Primary Scripture
Read Matthew 9:9-26 in full before beginning this study. You may also wish
to read the parallel accounts in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56 for
additional detail, particularly regarding the name of the synagogue leader
(Jairus) and the fuller narrative of the two healings.
3. Part 1 — When Jesus Calls (Matthew 9:9)
Matthew was not simply an unpopular civil servant. He was a Jew who had
aligned himself with Roman occupation, collecting taxes — and often more
than required — from his own neighbors. He was considered ritually
unclean, socially disgraced, and spiritually compromised. Yet Jesus 'saw'
him — a deliberate, purposeful look at a man defined by his worst choices.
Matthew's response is immediate: he gets up and follows. This is where
healing begins — not with a miracle, but with a call and a response. Faith,
even in its earliest and most fragile form, is the first step toward
transformation.
Notes:4. Scripture: Matthew 9:9
"As 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.
"
5. Reflection: Matthew's Faith
Matthew's faith was responsive — he rose when called. He did not know
everything about where the road was going. He simply moved from sitting
to standing, from the tax booth to the road behind Jesus. Consider: Are
there areas of your own life where Jesus may be calling you to rise and
follow, but you have remained seated? What would it look like to take that
first step, even without certainty about what comes next?
6. Notes — Part 1
Use this space to record your thoughts, questions, or observations from
Part 1.
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Notes:
7. Part 2 — Who Needs a Doctor? (Matthew 9:10-13)
Matthew throws a dinner party, and Jesus reclines at table with 'many tax
collectors and sinners.
' In first-century Jewish culture, table fellowship was
a declaration of relationship — to eat with someone was to be identified
with them. The Pharisees see this as a violation of religious boundaries.
Jesus responds by quoting Hosea 6:6 and declaring his mission plainly: he
has come to call sinners, not the righteous. A physician does not wait in a
clean room for healthy patients. Healing in its fullest sense — not just
physical, but social and spiritual — requires going to where the broken are.
Notes:8. Scripture: Matthew 9:12-13
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means,
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
' For I have
come to call not the righteous but sinners.
"
9. Background Scripture: Hosea 6:6
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather
than burnt offerings.
"
10. Reflection: The Dinner Table
The people at Matthew's table were not simply spiritually lost — they were
socially broken, cut off from the religious community that gave life its
meaning. Jesus comes to them as a physician. Notice that the Pharisees,
in their questioning, are also reaching for something — but they have not
yet found the faith to receive what is being offered. Consider: Are there
people in your community that religious respectability has taught you not to
see? How might Jesus be calling you — or your church — to cross those
boundaries?
11. Notes — Part 2
Use this space to record your thoughts, questions, or observations from
Part 2.
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Notes:
12. Part 3 — Don't Be Afraid, Only Believe (Matthew 9:18-26)
Two healings are woven together in this passage. A synagogue leader
(named Jairus in Mark and Luke) kneels before Jesus in desperate grief —
his daughter has died. On the way to the leader's house, a woman who hashemorrhaged for twelve years reaches out secretly to touch the fringe of
Jesus' cloak. Twelve years of bleeding meant twelve years of ritual
uncleanness, exclusion from worship, and social invisibility. Jesus turns,
sees her — the same word used when he saw Matthew — and declares
her healed. Then he enters the leader's house and raises the girl. In both
cases, faith is the hinge. Neither person had certainty. Both reached out
anyway.
Notes:
13. Scripture: Matthew 9:20-22
"Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for
twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for
she said to herself,
'If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.
' Jesus
turned, and seeing her he said,
'Take heart, daughter; your faith has made
you well.
' And instantly the woman was made well.
"
14. Scripture: Matthew 9:18
"While 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.
'"
15. Reflection: Two Kinds of Faith
Jairus's faith was urgent and public — he knelt openly before Jesus and
pleaded. The woman's faith was quiet and hidden — she asked for nothing
more than to touch the hem of a garment. Neither faith was polished or
certain. Both were enough. Consider: Which of these figures do you most
identify with right now? Are you bringing something to Jesus with urgency
and desperation, or are you reaching out quietly, in private, hoping a small
act of faith might be sufficient? What does it mean to you that Jesus turned
and saw both of them?
16. Notes — Part 3
Use this space to record your thoughts, questions, or observations from
Part 3.
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Notes:
17. Part 4 — Faith as the Common Thread
Each person in Matthew 9:9-26 brings a different kind of faith. Matthew's
faith is responsive. The dinner guests' faith is receptive. Jairus's faith is
urgent and desperate. The woman's faith is quiet and hidden. None of
these is a portrait of polished theological confidence. All of them are fragile,
partial, and shaped by need. And yet in every case, that imperfect faith
opens the door to transformation. Importantly, Jesus does not require
anyone to clean up before receiving his attention. He meets each one
exactly where they are. John Wesley called this prevenient grace — the
grace that goes before us, already at work before we even know we are
seeking God. Faith does not manufacture healing. Faith receives what
grace is already extending.
Notes:
18. Personal Inventory: Which Figure Are You?
The sermon invites us to hold this passage up as a mirror. Spend a few
minutes with this question: Which figure in Matthew 9 do you most
recognize yourself in today?
• Matthew — settled into familiar patterns, waiting for an unexpected call?
• The dinner guests — grateful simply to be at the table?
• Jairus — bringing something to Jesus in urgent desperation?
• The woman — reaching out quietly, hoping a small act of faith is enough?
Write your reflection below:
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19. Additional Notes
Use this space for any further thoughts, questions, or insights from your
study.
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Notes:
Scripture References
Matthew 9:9
"As 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.
"
(NRSV)
Matthew 9:12-13
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means,
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
' For I have
come to call not the righteous but sinners.
"
(NRSV)
Matthew 9:20-22"Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for
twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for
she said to herself,
'If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.
' Jesus
turned, and seeing her he said,
'Take heart, daughter; your faith has made
you well.
' And instantly the woman was made well.
"
(NRSV)
Matthew 9:18
"While 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.
'"
(NRSV)
Hosea 6:6
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather
than burnt offerings.
"
(NRSV)
Mark 5:21-43
"Parallel account of Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman, including Jairus's
name and additional narrative detail.
"
(NRSV)
Discussion Questions
For personal reflection or group discussion
1. Matthew rose and followed Jesus immediately, with no recorded
hesitation. What do you think made that possible? What does his response
suggest about the nature of faith at its earliest stage?
Your thoughts:
2. The Pharisees were troubled by Jesus eating with tax collectors and
sinners. In what ways might religious communities today draw similar
boundaries — perhaps without realizing it? How does Jesus' response in
Matthew 9:12-13 challenge those boundaries?
Your thoughts:
3. Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 —
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
' What is the
difference between mercy-shaped faith and sacrifice-shaped faith? Where
do you see each of these at work in your own spiritual life?Your thoughts:
4. The hemorrhaging woman approached Jesus from behind, in secret,
hoping simply to touch the hem of his cloak. What does her story reveal
about the kinds of faith Jesus honors? Have you ever experienced a
moment of quiet, hidden faith that God met in an unexpected way?
Your thoughts:
5. Jairus was a synagogue leader — a man of religious standing — who
nonetheless knelt before Jesus in desperation. What does it take for
someone in a position of religious authority or social respectability to
become truly desperate before God? What might that look like today?
Your thoughts:
6. The sermon suggests that Jesus meets each person exactly where they
are — without requiring them to clean up first. How does this shape the
way you think about your own approach to God? How might it shape the
way your community welcomes others?
Your thoughts:
7. John Wesley's concept of prevenient grace holds that God is already at
work in us before we even begin to seek him. Where do you see that idea
reflected in the stories of Matthew 9? Where do you see it in your own
story?
Your thoughts:
8. Which of the four figures — Matthew, the dinner guests, Jairus, or the
hemorrhaging woman — do you most identify with in this season of your
life? What would it mean for you to take the next step of faith from where
you currently are?
Your thoughts: