Who Is This Man, Jesus? / Matthew 9:14-26

The Great Trilemma

In 1860, a Scottish preacher by the name of John Duncan published for the first time what became known as the trilemma—this three-decision process of trying to figure out who this Jesus was. Years later, Watchman Nee wrote about the trilemma, but C.S. Lewis took the argument and made it something you are probably familiar with. It asks and answers the question: when Jesus claims to be God, is He a lunatic, a liar, or is He Lord?

That trilemma became a powerful apologetic for Jesus being the King of kings and Lord of lords. The argument went something like this: if He claimed to be God—which He did multiple times—yet in fact He was not, He must have been a madman or a lunatic. Second, if He is neither God nor a lunatic, then He has to be a liar, deceiving others by His lie. And third, if He is neither of these—not a lunatic nor a liar—then He must be God.

It is a great way of walking someone through the question: what kind of man is He?

What Kind of Man Is This?

We have been asking this question for centuries: what kind of man is He? As we continue looking at the miracles through the Gospel of Matthew, we are in Matthew chapter 9. But this question really echoes all the way back from chapter 8, verse 27: what kind of man is this who calms the winds and the waves with a word?

Matthew 8:27 (NASB)

The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’

What we find is that this question is asked again and again throughout chapters 8 and 9.

In chapter 8, verse 28: what kind of man is this who takes us to the other side of the tracks, into the Decapolis where “those people” live?

Matthew 8:28 (NASB)

When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. [They were] so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.

In chapter 8, verse 32: what kind of man is this who can set the oppressed free with the single word, “Go,” releasing a man from demonic bondage?

Matthew 8:32 (NASB)

And He said to them, ‘Go!’ And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.

In chapter 9, verse 3: what kind of man is this who can heal a paralyzed man and forgive his sins?

Matthew 9:3 (NASB)

And some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This [fellow] blasphemes.’

In chapter 9, verse 11: what kind of man is this who dines with tax collectors and sinners, and then tells the religious leaders, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice’”—God’s unconditional, unchanging, unending love?

Matthew 9:11 (NASB)

When the Pharisees saw [this], they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’

What kind of man is this? He is the kind of man who embodies perfectly the heart of God. That is this Jesus whom we see starting in verse 14 of chapter 9.

Up to this point, we have seen two main groups interacting with Jesus and clashing proverbial swords with Him: the Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of the day, and the scribes, who were the ancient experts in the Old Testament text. But in verse 14, another group approaches Him: the disciples of John.

Matthew 9:14 (NASB)

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’

Now, when you see that, you have to ask: who is John? Because about thirty dudes are named John in your Bible! Here in verse 14, it is speaking specifically of the disciples of John the Baptist. You have seen him before. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. He was the one who in John 1:29 cried out, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29 (NASB)

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ’Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

He is the one who baptized Jesus, and if you remember, tried to prevent Him at first, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” When it comes to answering the question of what kind of man Jesus is, John the Baptist had the right answer. He knew who Jesus was. But John had disciples following him.

John is a fascinating figure in the grand narrative of Scripture. When you finish the Old Testament, the book of Malachi leaves you with very little hope except the promise that one day a forerunner will come to make straight the way of the Lord. Then there is silence for four hundred years. When Jesus arrives on the scene, Matthew 3:3 connects John the Baptist as that very forerunner.

Matthew 3:3 (NASB)

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ’THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’’

In fact, in Matthew 11, Jesus goes so far as to say, “If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” The very one the Old Testament said to watch for—John was the guy.

Matthew 11:14 (NASB)

’And if you are willing to accept [it], John himself is Elijah who was to come.

Not an Accessory: New Wine, Fresh Wineskins

John has gathered disciples, and now they are trying to put Jesus in a category. They are asking the same question everybody else is asking: what kind of man is He? Because He is punking the religious leaders, silencing the scribes, and drawing massive crowds. Who is this guy?

So in verse 14, they lean in and ask, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” In other words, “I thought You were religious!”

Keep in mind, John most likely came from the Essene community. The Essenes were a religious faction that lived primarily by the Dead Sea at Qumran. If you are familiar with the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is the community we think John may have been connected to. We think that for a number of reasons—not least of which is that he was out in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey, baptizing people at Bethany beyond the Jordan, right near where that community lived. The Essenes were deeply committed to ritual washings, ceremonial cleansing, and strict rule-following as an expression of devotion.

So John’s disciples—rule-following, dot-the-i, cross-the-t Jewish men—say, “Look, the Pharisees fast, and we fast, but Your guys don’t. Time out. I’m confused. If You’re a religious teacher, why aren’t Your guys fasting?”

Look at how Jesus answers in verse 15:

Matthew 9:15 (NASB)

And Jesus said to them, ’The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

He gives an illustration. In our context, you do not show up to a wedding reception wearing black and mourning. That is not what a wedding reception is for! If the bride and groom are there, it is on. People are doing the worm and whatever other dance makes you pull a hamstring—it is on! We celebrate! Once the bride and groom leave, then things change. Jesus is saying, “I am here right now. Because I am here, we celebrate. One day I will be taken away, and then they will fast. But while I am here, we are having a party.”

Jesus goes on to tell them that He is not some accessory these Jewish men can just snap onto their existing faith. He is not like a set of chrome rims you buy for your truck. He is not an upgraded leather package you add to pimp out your ride. He is not an add-on. In fact, you cannot simply add Him on.

Matthew 9:16-17 (NASB)

’But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. ‘Nor do [people] put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.’

He says, “You cannot just patch Me onto what you already have. I have come to change the game completely, not to be an accessory to your system.” He is not a lunatic, He is not a liar—He is the Lord of lords. He will not merely merge Himself into your religious routine; He will completely reinstall the entire system with Himself as the supreme authority.

An Unprecedented Interruption

While Jesus is explaining this, look at verse 18: “While He was saying these things to them…”

Matthew 9:18 (NASB)

While He was saying these things to them, a [synagogue] official came and bowed down before Him, and said, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.’

This dude shows up. That is a polite way of saying someone interrupts Jesus mid-sentence. While Jesus is teaching that you cannot just add Him to an old system, a man steps forward. Who is he? Matthew calls him a synagogue official.

Mark and Luke’s accounts affirm this, and it is fascinating. Jesus is teaching in Capernaum. What do we know about the synagogue in Capernaum? It was the best of the best—the Harvard of its day. Imagine you are a Jewish rabbi teaching on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and the ruler of the prestigious Capernaum synagogue comes and interrupts you.

If you were a Jew in the crowd that day and you saw that official walking up, you would think, “Oh, it’s on. He’s going to shut Jesus down.” You would brace for a fight. But instead, this man falls on his face and bows before Jesus. The crowd had to be thinking, “Wait, what is happening? Why is our synagogue official bowing down before this teacher? What kind of man is this?”

We learn from the other Gospels that this man’s name is Jairus. Jairus is in a desperate predicament. He says, “My daughter has just died—come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” Mark and Luke tell us she was at the point of death, sinking fast.

Jairus comes to Jesus, falls down, and worships Him because he knows what kind of man He is. Do not miss the sheer boldness and humility of what just happened. It was unheard of for a high-ranking religious official to bow before Jesus and say, “If You just come and lay Your hand on her, she will live.” It is an urgent, high-stakes request. Time is of the essence.

Jesus, who perfectly embodies the heart of God, gets up and follows him, calling His disciples along because He is about to show them something profound.

Matthew 9:19 (NASB)

Jesus got up and [began] to follow him, and [so did] His disciples.

Desperation in the Crowd

At this moment, the city of Capernaum was in total commotion. In this little fishing village, everything had been flipped upside down. Massive crowds were swarming Jesus.

Just before this, He had been teaching in a packed house where friends had to tear a hole in the roof to lower a paralyzed man down to Him. Jesus healed the man and forgave his sins, walked outside, and called Matthew—the local tax-collecting scoundrel—to follow Him. Matthew left the most lucrative tax booth in the region, threw a massive party with all his shady friends, and Jesus sat right in the middle of them, doing life with them and calling them to repentance. The religious leaders were losing their minds over it: “He eats with tax collectors and sinners!”

Now Jesus is down by the shore, surrounded by crowds so thick He can barely move, and the chief synagogue official drops to his knees in worship. The people have no category for this. Jairus pleads, “If You just lay Your hand on her, she will live.” Jesus says, “Let’s go.”

On the way to Jairus’s house, something remarkable happens. Luke mentions that Jairus’s daughter is twelve years old. That detail matters, as you will see in a moment.

Jesus is pressing through the crowd. The Gospel of Mark tells us the crowd was crushing in on Him. He is walking like a celebrity without a security team, people pressing against Him from every side. Lurking in the distance is a woman sneaking in, trying desperately to get close enough just to touch Him.

Matthew 9:20-21 (NASB)

And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, ‘If I only touch His garment, I will get well.’

Think about this juxtaposition: you have a twelve-year-old girl from a respected religious family who is dying, and her father says, “If You lay Your hand on her, she will live.” And you have an unclean woman who has been slowly dying for twelve years, who says, “If I can only touch His garment, I will be made well.”

What kind of man is this? He is either crazy, He is a liar, or He is truly the Lord of all.

Healing in His Wings

This woman is in an awful, desperate state. Mark and Luke record that she had suffered greatly under many doctors, had spent everything she had, and instead of getting better, she only grew worse.

Under Jewish law, because of her chronic bleeding, she was permanently ceremonial unclean. If a woman had her normal monthly cycle, she was set apart as unclean, and after seven days she would bathe and be pronounced clean on the eighth day. But this woman had been bleeding continuously for twelve years.

That meant twelve years of isolation. She was cut off from her family, cut off from worship at the temple or synagogue. Everything and everyone she touched became ceremonially unclean. She could not work, could not contribute, could not embrace the people she loved. She was exhausted, broke, isolated, and completely alone.

And she comes sneaking up behind Jesus, thinking, “If I can just touch His garment…”

Why did she believe touching His garment would heal her? In Malachi 4:2, the prophet writes, “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”

Malachi 4:2 (NASB)

’But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

That phrase, “sun of righteousness,” is a title for the Messiah. And the Hebrew word translated as “wings” is kanaph. Throughout the Old Testament, it is also translated as “corner,” “border,” or the hem of a garment.

It is the exact same word used in 1 Samuel when David crept up on King Saul in the cave and cut off the kanaph—the corner or edge—of Saul’s robe. Deuteronomy 22:12 instructed Jewish men to make tassels on the four corners (kanaph) of their garments.

Deuteronomy 22:12 (NASB)

’You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

This woman believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah who had healing in His kanaph—in the borders of His garment. She did not believe the fabric itself possessed magical power; she believed the One wearing the robe was the Messiah, and if she could just reach Him, His power would heal her. She fought her way through the crushing crowd and touched the fringe of His cloak.

Mark tells us that immediately her bleeding stopped, the fountain of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Can you imagine that moment? After twelve years of suffering and isolation, you touch His robe and instantly know everything has changed.

Luke’s account is incredible. Jesus stops in the middle of the surging crowd and asks, “Who touched Me?” The disciples look at Him like He has lost His mind: “Master, the crowds are pressing in and crowding You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ The whole city is bumping into You!”

Jesus says, “No, someone touched Me intentionally; I felt power go out from Me.”

Then the woman, realizing she cannot remain hidden, comes forward trembling. Look at verse 22:

Matthew 9:22 (NASB)

But Jesus turning and seeing her said, ‘Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.’

Jesus looks at her and says, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.”

Does that phrase sound familiar? Back in Matthew 9:2, Jesus said the exact same words to the paralyzed man: “Take courage, son.”

Matthew 9:2 (NASB)

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’

He looks at this woman who had been an outcast for twelve years, who had lost everything, who carried immense shame, and He tenderly calls her “Daughter.” He tells her, “Take courage. Take heart. Be restored to life, to community, and to joy. I’ve got you.” And at once, she was made completely whole.

A Delay, a Crisis of Belief, and Life from Death

What a breathtaking moment. But remember, this is a story inside a story. Jesus was on His way from Point A to Point B. Point A was the seashore where He was teaching. Point B was Jairus’s home where a twelve-year-old girl was dying.

Put yourself in Jairus’s shoes for a moment. You risked your reputation and faced potential public humiliation by falling at Jesus’ feet. You begged Him, “Please come, my daughter is dying!” Jesus agreed, and you were rushing toward your home—code three, lights and sirens—and suddenly Jesus stops to have a conversation with an unclean woman who has been sick for twelve years.

Can you imagine the crisis of belief Jairus must have felt? In that culture, people viewed sickness as a sign of sin, asking questions like they did in John 9: “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jairus might have been thinking, “Who cares who sinned? Get this woman out of the way! My little girl is dying right now! Jesus, we had a deal—hurry up!”

While Jesus is still speaking to the woman, messengers arrive from Jairus’s house. Luke 8:49 captures the heartbreak: “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

Luke 8:49 (NASB)

While He was still speaking, someone came from [the house of] the synagogue official, saying, ‘Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.’

When Jesus overhears, He turns to Jairus and says, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.”

They arrive at the house, and Matthew 9:23 picks up the scene:

Matthew 9:23-24 (NASB)

When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, ‘Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.’ And they [began] laughing at Him.

Jesus sees the flute players and the noisy crowd of professional mourners. He tells them, “Leave, for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they laugh at Him. They mock Him. They are thinking, “Have You lost Your mind? We know what a corpse looks like. She’s dead! If You hadn’t gotten distracted on the road, maybe she’d still be alive. You’re too late.”

Look at verse 25:

Matthew 9:25-26 (NASB)

But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land.

Jesus clears the room. He walks in, takes the dead girl by the hand, and she simply gets up.

Mark says the people were utterly astonished. Luke says they were completely amazed. No kidding! What a day’s work: teaching the crowds, healing a woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage simply because she touched His robe, and then walking into a home, taking a dead girl by the hand, and raising her back to life.

Lord of All

What kind of man is this? He is either a lunatic, He is a liar, or He is the Lord of all.

The crowds wrestled with that question then, and people are wrestling with that exact same question today. You talk to people and they say, “I don’t know, this whole Jesus thing… I’m just not sure I can buy into it.”

What more do you need? This man fulfilled every prophecy spoken about Him. He lived a sinless life, loved the unlovable, healed the sick, and gave sight to the blind. He went to the cross and died in our place to pay for our sins. He conquered death, walked out of the grave, and ascended to the right hand of the Father. Everything He said has come to pass.

He is not crazy. He is not a deceiver. He is the Lord of all.

The beauty of the Gospel is that the same Jesus who raised that girl and healed that woman centuries ago is alive and doing the exact same work today. We serve a living, risen Savior. The Gospel tells us that apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead in our sins. Yet by faith in His name, Jesus reaches into our deadness, takes us by the hand, and brings us to life.

I do not know where you stand today in your relationship with Jesus, but I encourage you to wrestle honestly with that trilemma. Is He a lunatic? Is He a liar who tricked millions of people across centuries? Or is He truly the Lord of all who brings life from the dead and relentlessly loves those who are far from Him?

Scripture declares that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Out of His immense love, He invites you today to place your faith in Him and step from death into life. You may not be physically in a grave, but apart from Christ you are spiritually dead. By His grace, God makes us alive together with Christ, giving us hope, healing, purpose, and joy.

Take courage. Take heart. The Lord of all is still saving the dead today.

Let’s pray.

Father, I am so grateful for stories like this that remind us not just of what You did back then, but of what You are still doing right now. You are not a lunatic, and You are not a liar. You are the Lord of all. You claimed to be God because You are God. You healed the sick, freed the oppressed, and raised the dead—and You have invaded our lives with that same resurrecting power. You found us despite our brokenness and saved us by Your grace alone.

I pray for anyone here who is still wrestling with that question, not yet sure what to do with Jesus. May the evidence of Your transforming power in the lives around them show them that You are real, and that You still save. Just as the news about Jesus spread across the region of Galilee, would the testimony of Your grace spread through our lives into every neighborhood. We give You all the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.