by
Stan Feldsine (www.tojesusbeallglory.com)
In
the preceding chapters, we have the birth of the King. The genealogy
verified Jesus's descendancy in line to the throne.
Matthew
then validates who Jesus is by identifying
specific
Messianic prophecies Jesus fulfilled.
John
and Jesus then subsequently announced that the King was present which
meant that the Kingdom was at hand.
In
Jesus' first public ministry, he presents the character and standards
for the Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount.
The
sermon is now followed by the presentation of the King to the people.
The King begins by authenticating His Kingship with miracles of
healing and is recorded in Matthew 8 and 9.
Matthew
8:1-4 - Jesus Cleanses a Leper
Mat 8:1-4
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed
him. (2) A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." (3)
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing,"
he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cleansed of his
leprosy. (4) Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell
anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses
commanded, as a testimony to them."
During
the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount a large crowd had gathered to
hear Jesus speak. As He made His way down the mountainside, the crowd
followed Him. As He makes His way, He performs several healings.
The
first healing He performs on His way to Capernaum is for that of a
leper. Lepers were required to live outside the cities.
Lev 13:45-46
"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let
their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry
out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' (46) As long as they have the disease they
remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the
camp.
Num 5:1-4
The LORD said to Moses, (2) "Command the Israelites to send away
from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge
of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.
(3) Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so
they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them." (4)
The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just
as the LORD had instructed Moses.
This
person bowed to Jesus in an apparent attitude of worship. It is not
known how he might have known about Jesus, but from somewhere he had
developed faith and belief that Jesus would heal him if He willed it.
There was no doubt on the leper's part that Jesus COULD heal him,
only whether or not He WOULD heal him.
Jesus
was becoming famous for His healing and that fame may have reached
the man.
Mat 4:23-25
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease
and sickness among the people. (24) News about him spread all over
Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various
diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those
having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. (25) Large
crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region
across the Jordan followed him.
Jesus
of course was willing, and reached out and touched the man in
compassion, and with mercy did heal him immediately. Jesus showed
that divine love was superior to Mosaic injunctions against touching
lepers. It should be noted that Jesus did not consider the man
sinful, needing forgiveness of sins in order to be healed, but He
only considered the man unclean. Leprosy was not a sin, just a
disease.
Jesus
told the man not to tell anyone of the healing, only to go and make
an offering at the temple according to the law.
Lev 14:1-4
The LORD said to Moses, (2) "These are the regulations for any
diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they
are brought to the priest: (3) The priest is to go outside the camp
and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin
disease, (4) the priest shall order that two live clean birds and
some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to
be cleansed.
Read
Lev 14:1-32
for the entire portion of the law regarding cleansed lepers.
As
it turns out, the man could not contain himself and began telling
everyone about what had happened, resulting in Jesus being unable to
enter towns openly. It seems likely that the reason for Jesus telling
the man not to tell people about his healing was to ensure he did not
get distracted and fail to present his testimony to the religious
leadership, and to prevent the crowds from either inundating Jesus or
perhaps turning against Him.
Mar 1:44-45
"See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself
to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your
cleansing, as a testimony to them." (45) Instead he went out and
began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no
longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet
the people still came to him from everywhere.
The
healing of the man with leprosy was a precedent. Although the Mosaic
Law provided regulations for the possible healing of a leprous
person, they had never been implemented, for never before had their
ever been a case of someone with leprosy being healed.
Till
now, the Jewish people had been hearing of and been following after
Jesus in great crowds. There was no indication that they believed
Jesus to be the coming Messiah, only that He was a person who had a
teaching and healing ministry, and they wondered by what authority
Jesus spoke these things. The healing of the leper though was another
matter. Could Jesus actually be the Messiah?
Mat 7:28-29
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed
at his teaching, (29) because he taught as one who had authority, and
not as their teachers of the law.
The
religious leaders of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees had not been
paying much attention to Jesus. By sending the healed man to the
priests to confirm his healing, Jesus was placing this precedent
setting healing of leprosy square in the seat of the religious
leaders calling them to investigate what Jesus was doing.
He
wanted them to make a decision about the Kingdom. Either Jesus was
the King, or He was not. With such a unique healing in evidence,
Jesus could no longer be ignored. It is a result of this healing of
the Jewish man with leprosy that drew out the religious leaders to
begin paying attention to Jesus. The investigation of the religious
leadership begins with the healing of the leper.
Luk 5:17
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law
were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and
from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to
heal the sick.
Matthew
8:5-9 - The Centurion's Slave Healed
Mat 8:5-9
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for
help. (6) "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home
paralyzed, suffering terribly." (7) Jesus said to him, "Shall
I come and heal him?" (8) The centurion replied, "Lord, I
do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word,
and my servant will be healed. (9) For I myself am a man under
authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he
goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do
this,' and he does it."
With
the healing of the centurion's servant, Jesus shows that He is "no
respecter of persons". He is willing to heal a leper as well as
someone in societies elite, a centurion's slave.
Luke
records that the centurion actually sent Jewish elders to bring the
request to Jesus. The centurion was apparently well respected by the
Jewish elders, as they spoke highly of the centurion.
Luk 7:1-5
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were
listening, he entered Capernaum. (2) There a centurion's servant,
whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. (3) The
centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and heal his servant. (4) When they came to Jesus,
they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you
do this, (5) because he loves our nation and has built our
synagogue."
According
to Luke, the centurion did not want Jesus to be troubled to come to
his house, he claimed that he was not worthy of having Jesus come to
his house. All he needed Jesus to do is just say the word from where
He was. The centurion was showing a level of faith greater than that
of the Jewish religious leaders, and Jesus was amazed. And of course,
Jesus healed the servant from a distance.
Luk 7:6-10
So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the
centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble
yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. (7)
That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But
say the word, and my servant will be healed. (8) For I myself am a
man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,'
and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant,
'Do this,' and he does it." (9) When Jesus heard this, he was
amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I
tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."
(10) Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found
the servant well.
It
is notable that Matthew's and Luke's accounts differ in whether or
not the centurion met Jesus himself or sent Jewish Elders to do that.
Rather than thinking of this as a contradiction, this can be seen as
normal inspiration, where Matthew's focus is on the contrast between
Israel's unbelief and the centurion's belief. The manner of the
meeting was not important to Matthew, whereas Luke had a different
focus. This would be a normal difference between witnesses seeing and
recording the same event.
Matthew
8:10-13 - Faith and the Kingdom
Mat 8:10-13
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such
great faith. (11) I say to you that many will come from the east and
the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (12) But the subjects of the
kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (13) Then Jesus said to the
centurion, "Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would."
And his servant was healed at that moment.
What
Jesus heard was the centurion's faith. The centurion believed God, he
was humble enough to feel he was not worthy that Jesus come under his
roof (Jesus would have disagreed), he did not need Jesus to come to
His home because he believed Jesus could heal from afar. This
demonstrated a significant faith on the part of the centurion, and
amazed Jesus, because His own people Israel did not demonstrate such
faith.
This
again demonstrates the inclination of the Jewish leaders to reject
change and hold to status quo. They were comfortable in their
religion, and didn't want their perks and egos disturbed by Jesus and
His Messianic Kingdom. They believed their genealogical descendancy
from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a sufficient source of salvation.
Again
Jesus makes a reference to the Messianic Kingdom, stating, "many
will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at
the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven".
The Jewish leaders would have been aware of the prophecies speaking
of this feast.
Isa 25:6-9
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food
for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the
finest of wines. (7) On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that
enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; (8) he will
swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the
earth. The LORD has spoken. (9) In that day they will say, "Surely
this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the
LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his
salvation."
Isa 65:13-14
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "My servants
will eat, but you will go hungry; my servants will drink, but you
will go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to
shame. (14) My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but
you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of
spirit.
Jesus's
reference to a gathering from the east and the west is a reoccurring
detail throughout scripture.
Psa 107:2-3
Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story-- those he redeemed
from the hand of the foe, (3) those he gathered from the lands, from
east and west, from north and south.
Isa 43:5-6
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from
the east and gather you from the west. (6) I will say to the north,
'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my
sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--
Isa 49:12
See, they will come from afar-- some from the north, some from the
west, some from the region of Aswan."
Mat 24:30-31
"Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then
all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. (31) And
he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to
the other.
While
some will be gathered in and accepted in the Kingdom, some will be
rejected and thrown out. Those being thrown out are those that
believed that they would be allowed entry into the Kingdom by virtue
of being sons of the Patriarchs while rejecting the Messiah Jesus. A
"place of weeping and gnashing of teeth" is a common
reference to hell.
Because
of the centurion's faith, Jesus healed the servant instantly at that
moment.
Matthew
8:14-17 - Jesus Heals and Delivers Many
Mat 8:14-15
When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law
lying in bed with a fever. (15) He touched her hand and the fever
left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. (16) When evening
came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove
out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. (17) This was to
fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up
our infirmities and bore our diseases."
After
healing the centurion's servant, Jesus arrives at Peter's house,
where Peter's mother-in-Law lay sick. Having compassion on her, Jesus
reaches out and heals her. Her healing was instantaneous and
complete, allowing her to immediately get up and begin serving the
guests she had in her house.
Many
were brought to Jesus in the evening so that He could heal them, and
He drove out evil spirits and brought healing to all of the sick. It
is worth noting that there is a distinction between illness and demon
possession. Illness is a result of our fallen world while demon
possession is a result of sin. Demons were told not to reveal the
identity of Jesus, not something you would do with an illness.
Matthew
points out that all this healing and delivering ministry of Christ
was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53.
Isa 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by
his wounds we are healed.
Matthew
8:18-22 - The Cost of Following Jesus
Mat 8:18-22
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the
other side of the lake. (19) Then a teacher of the law came to him
and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
(20) Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but
the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (21) Another
disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my
father." (22) But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the
dead bury their own dead."
Among
the religious leaders investigating the ministry of Jesus, was one
who believed, and offered to follow Jesus. Jesus, instead of
welcoming him into the circle of disciples instructs him in the
difficulty he would encounter should he do this. Jesus was not
rejecting the man, but rather was just informing him of difficulties.
It is possible the man became a follower, and perhaps may have been
one of the 70 sent out as detailed in Luke chapter 10.
Luk 10:1
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by
two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
Another
man came to Jesus but seemed more hesitant. Rather than dropping
everything to follow Jesus, the man wanted to go take care of
business. In this case, scripture does not indicate whether of not
the mans father was already dead or not, but either way, the man was
demonstrating a priority of family matters above kingdom matters.
Jesus's
statement stating in hyperbole that the dead should bury the dead is
understood as "let the spiritually dead bury the physically
dead". The point again being that kingdom matters should take
priority over earthly matters.
Matthew
8:23-27 - Jesus Calms the Storm
Mat 8:23-27
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. (24)
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept
over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. (25) The disciples went and
woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
(26) He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was
completely calm. (27) The men were amazed and asked, "What kind
of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
The
revelation to the people of who Jesus is continues. Through many
healings Jesus is showing that He is indeed the King of the Messianic
Kingdom. Slowly, the people are coming to this realization.
The
disciples receive a revelation now and are amazed that Jesus calmed
the storm. "What kind of man is this"? they asked. They too
were beginning to realize that this Jesus could be the Messiah.
Jesus
questioned the disciples faith, saying they had "little faith"
because of their fear of the storm.
How
is our faith? Are we moved by the storms of life?
Remember
this storm from a few weeks ago?
Mat 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(25) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. (26) But everyone who hears these words of
mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. (27) The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a
great crash."
The
Psalmist speaks of storms.
Psa 55:5-9
Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. (6) I
said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and
be at rest. (7) I would flee far away and stay in the desert; (8) I
would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."
(9) Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see
violence and strife in the city.
Matthew
8:28-34 - Jesus Heals Two Men With Demons
Mat 8:28-34
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two
demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so
violent that no one could pass that way. (29) "What do you want
with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to
torture us before the appointed time?" (30) Some distance from
them a large herd of pigs was feeding. (31) The demons begged Jesus,
"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." (32)
He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the
pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and
died in the water. (33) Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the
town and reported all this, including what had happened to the
demon-possessed men. (34) Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus.
And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
The
man (men) saw Jesus, ran to Him, and shouted at the top of his voice.
What do we find according to this passage?
Mar 5:6-7
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in
front of him. (7) He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do
you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God's name
don't torture me!"
Luk 8:28
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the
top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the
Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"
We
find that the demons believe that Jesus is unquestionably the Son of
God. "Son of God" is the Messianic title for Jesus. The
title reflected the divinity and Kingship of Jesus, and while the
people were just beginning to figure this out, the demons were well
aware of who Jesus was.
The
demons in the man questioned Jesus about the time for their torture.
They are expecting this time to arrive, but arrive in the future. The
demon in the man implored Jesus not to torture them before their
time. That time is the final judgment at the end of the Messianic
Kingdom. Satan and his demons, along with the AntiChrist and the
False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire. This is followed by the
Great White Throne Judgment where all unbelievers are judged and see
the same fate.
Rev 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning
sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They
will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
So
the "day of their torment" had not yet arrived, and
instead, the demons are cast into a herd of pigs. These demons who
brutally tormented those they possessed where cowards in front of
Jesus and their coming torment.
Jesus
dealt with the demons with brevity. "Go". How sure are we
of our words when dealing with spiritual matters?
The
area this event occurred in was predominantly Gentile. Their reaction
to this event was to ask Jesus to go somewhere else. They were not
concerned with the men, nor did they rejoice that they were freed,
rather, they were concerned about their livelihood and the loss of
their pigs.
They
may have also been fearful that this man Jesus might just be a more
powerful demon than those Jesus cast out.
