Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Matthew 9:18-26), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• Why is it remarkable that the ruler approaches Jesus, kneels before him, and expresses confidence that Jesus can raise his daughter from the dead? Why do Very Important People have a hard time humbling themselves before Jesus and expressing their dependence on him? Would you be confident that Jesus’ mere touch could raise your loved ones from the dead? Why or why not?

• Both the ruler and the woman who has been hemorrhaging for 12 years seek Jesus’ help at the cost of his becoming unclean, since uncleanness is transmitted (spiritually, somehow) through personal contact. Both would impose severely upon Jesus, but rather than recoiling in religious disgust, Jesus welcomes the imposition. It is a great imposition upon him to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness through his atoning sacrifice. How do you feel about imposing upon Jesus for his gracious blessing? Is it possible to be a Christian without imposing upon Jesus? What are some other ways we impose upon Jesus, perhaps without even realizing it? What indications do we have in the Scriptures that Jesus welcomes our imposition?

• In both the healing of the woman and the resurrection of the little girl, it is Jesus’ life and power and cleanness that is transmitted. He came into the world to take our diseases and our sins upon himself, and to share with us his righteousness and his Spirit. We receive the blessings of this exchange through faith in Jesus. One of the greatest blessings of being in a spiritual relationship with Jesus is sharing in his resurrection. He is willing, he is able, and he has promised to raise us from the dead to eternal life with God. Why is that hard to believe? Do you believe it? What difference does that make for you as you think about your own death? How about when you think of the death of loved ones? When people realized what Jesus had done in raising the little girl from the dead, they told everybody about it (v. 26)… Would you tell someone about Jesus having raised people from the dead, about how it demonstrates his love and goodness and power?