Scripture Daily

Context No. 56 of 4322 · Matthew

Context · Reflection

Matthew 9:23-28: in context

23When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him. 25But when the crowd was sent out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26The report of this went out into all that land. 27As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” 28When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.”

A synagogue official has come to Jesus saying his daughter has just died, and asked him to come and lay a hand on her. This passage is the arrival at the house, and it opens on a scene that would have been immediately familiar: flute players and a crowd making noise. Professional mourners were part of a funeral in that world, and even a poor family was expected to hire flutes and wailing women. The noise is the proof that the death is real and publicly acknowledged.

Jesus tells them to clear out, because the girl is not dead but sleeping. They laugh at him. These are people whose job is death, standing in a house where they have already assessed the situation. Once the crowd is put out he goes in, takes her hand, and she gets up.

Then two blind men follow him down the road shouting for mercy, calling him son of David, and he does not answer them in the street. He waits until they come indoors and asks them one question first: do you believe I am able to do this? He asks the men who cannot see him whether they believe, while the professional mourners who could see everything only laughed. Which am I being right now, the one who assessed the situation correctly and laughed, or the one who kept following and could not see?

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