THE POWER OF THE KING
Text: Matthew Chapters 8-9
Our Focus Text: Matthew 8:1-17
As we have proceeded into the Book of Matthew we have seen:
1.) The Person of the King (Chapters 1-4)
2.) The Principles of the King (Chapters 5-7)
3.) We will now see the Powers of the King (Chapters 8-12)
If a King has no "Power" to accomplish His Will, what good are His Principles?
There are ten miracles mentioned in Chapters 8-9 but they are not in chronological order.
Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to present Jesus as the King. Matthew uses these words to present Jesus Christ as the "Divine" King, the Jehovah of the Old Testament who had truly come to His own. To them He offers the kingdom and as we will soon see, they will reject Him and receive Him not. They actually say that these miracles were done through Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.
"THIS IS THE SIN OF BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT"!
Christ will then break off His relationship with "His Own". We will talk more of this later.
We should ask our own selves, Why did our Lord perform miracles? If we look at our own Pastors we should see that they minister to the whole person. God is concerned about our temporal well being as well as our eternal happiness.
This not to say that our Pastors do miracles because that ended with the Apostles!
Christ Jesus ministered to the individual, a one on one relationship, that should be learned by all His followers.
Christ Jesus performed miracles to prove His claim of being the Messiah of Israel.
It makes me wonder what these false healers are trying to prove in our day.
The Bible says:
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Christ Jesus said he would fulfill everything written about Him:
Isa 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
We can see that we are also foolish to not believe in the miracles of Jesus Christ our Lord:
Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
Christ Jesus also presented a saving truth to the people with His miracles. These miracles were "Sermons in Action".
What Christ did not do.
Jesus did not do a miracle to draw a crowd. Faith cannot be based on miracles.
OUR FAITH MUST BE BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD!
Jesus Christ exercised great power. His power is not limited.
Jesus had the power to change this world and he showed that power when He walked on this earth. The Healing power of Jesus is greater than any disease, but in each case if "faith" was not shown there would have been no healing.
It is a misinterpretation of scripture to teach that spiritual salvation will always result in the reversal of physical disease!
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mat 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Matthew was a publican, a tax collector. He was hated by all Jews. Can it be by chance that he begins with a miracle of Jesus to the outcast of society. Lepers, Gentiles and women were considered out cast by many Jewish people.
The women of the middle east still suffer unduly in our day.
Many Pharisees would begin their day praying "I give thanks that I am a man not a woman, a Jew not a Gentile, a free man and not a slave."
They used that word "I" much to often. There is only one "I" and that the great "I Am" of the Bible.
The term "leprosy" (including leper, lepers, leprosy, leprous) occurs 68 times in the Bible—55 times in the Old Testament (Hebrew = tsara’ath) and 13 times in the New Testament (Greek = lepros, lepra).
In the Old Testament, the instances of leprosy most likely meant a variety of infectious skin diseases, and even mold and mildew on clothing and walls. The precise meaning of the leprosy in both the Old and New Testaments is still in dispute, but it probably includes the modern Hansen’s disease (especially in the New Testament) and most all infectious skin diseases.
References to leprosy have a different emphasis in the New Testament.
They stress God’s desire to heal. Jesus freely touched people with leprosy. While people with leprosy traditionally suffered banishment from family and neighbors, Jesus broke from the tradition. He treated the leper with compassion, touching and healing them.
We also know that leprosy is in "type" and a description of sin:
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Those filthy rags would be rags used to wrap up the leper!
By understanding the leper we can understand more how God sees sin:
Lev 13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
Sin is deeper than the outward skin!
Lev 13:18 The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,
Sin spreads!
Lev 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
Lev 13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
Sin defiles!
Lev 13:52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
Sin is fit only for the fire!
When Christ Jesus touched this leper, He took his leprosy away but in "type" it is a picture of how He takes our sin away:
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We can also notice that the ability of Christ to heal was not questioned but only Was He Willing To Heal?
1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
We can tell that Lord Jesus was willing and still is!
Christ Jesus commanded this man not to tell other but to go to the priests. (Levitcus 14). We find that this man did not obey the Lord but he told everyone what the Lord had done.
Mar 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
There is another way to look at this healing in typology:
Leprosy was the most hated disease in the Bible! It had no remedy. The Holy Spirit has made leprosy a "type" of sin as we have shown. Only Jehovah could heal this disease.
Num 12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
Num 12:11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Num 12:12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
We know that leprosy represents sin but here it represents Israel.
The Bible says:
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
So in "type" we see Israel's Messiah, Jehovah-Jesus
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
As Christ Jesus cleansed this leper He would have also cleansed Israel at this time had they not rejected Him.
The Lord sends this leper to the priests by the law of Moses but this was proper until the death, the burial and resurrection of our Lord, when all believers are delivered from the law.
This day will come again to the nation of Israel when the King will ask His remnant to come unto Him:
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Mat 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
Mat 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mat 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mat 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
We have previously discussed that Capernaum was a military town so it would not be unusual to see a Roman centurion. A centurion was an officer over a group up one hundred men. We do not find any centurion mentioned in the Bible that was not a gentleman or a man of high character.
This is the very first time we see a centurion in the Bible. They had a great sense of duty to Rome and to those that served under them. This particular centurion had learned to love Israel and the God of Israel. He had built a Synagogue for the people of this area. He evidently had a high regard for Christ Jesus and believed in His divine authority. It was not that Christ could heal his servant but rather would Christ heal this servant. Once he realized that Christ Jesus was willing to heal this man with the palsy (paralysis), then it was not neccessary for Jesus to travel to his home but to only say the word.
This centurion realized that Christ Jesus had the power of God and therefore all He had to do was say it was so and it would happen!
This is what the God of creation can do and no one else!
Look at this centurion:
1.) He was a man of war.
2.) He was a Gentile.
3.) He was a man of limited authority.
4.) But He was a man of great faith.
It was his great faith in Christ Jesus that allowed this miracle to happen.
This is an early indication that the Jews would not believe but that the Gentiles would believe on Christ Jesus.
What was the greatest statement of the centurion?
"I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only"
He understood that Jesus Christ was indeed God in the flesh. The Jews till this day have not come to this conclusion along with most others of this world.
When we read verse 11 it can be said that Jesus was referring to the fact that many Gentiles would join with"Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" but without faith in the saving power of Christ none of their physical descendants would join them. Those that heard the kingdom offered by Christ and then rejected it would exclude themselves from this new kingdom.
They would forever live in the darkness of hell (the outer darkness, out side the light of the Lord God Jehovah)
Remember in the first miracle, the cleansing of the leper, stands for Jehovah among His people Israel.
Here now we see Christ who is absent and heals not by His touch but by His Word. This was a reminder that the spiritual position of the Gentiles "were far off".
Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
In this next miracle we will see that Christ will enter back into the house of Israel.
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
Mat 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
Mat 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
In the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, we see a type of what will happen on the Second coming of Christ after the fulness of the Gentiles come in.
This sick mother is a type of Israel.
It would be good to point out that Jesus Christ knew Peter was a married man yet he still was chosen as an Apostle. The sanctity of marriage was approved by Christ even to the ministers of God. Some religions do not allow the minister to marry. We can see that this did not come from Jesus Christ nor the Bible.
Women did not hold a high position in Israel at this time of Jesus. Though this seems a minor miracle we can see that a blessing in the home can lead to a blessing in the entire community.
Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Mar 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
Mar 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
Matthew said that this time in the life of Jesus was a fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah:
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
We can see that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life and not with His death.
We can also see Jesus did not give His life for our sickness nor our griefs.
He did give His life for our "SIN"!
1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Sin and sickness may go together at times, since sickness is a consequence of Adam's sin:
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The Bible says:
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3 [Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases];
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
God has not obligated Himself to heal all disease BUT He has said He will forgive all sin and to save all that will believe on Him.
*****Again this closes out our lesson but we will try to highlight the remaining of chapters 8 and chapter nine:
(Verses 18-22)
We see the first time the phrase "Son of Man" is used in the Bible.
Because the opposition to the message of Jesus was low at this time, there were many who wanted to be His disciples.
They would not pay the price!
Jesus Christ was saying to this scribe to let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead.
In other words it is much better to preach the Gospel of Jesus in hope of salvation for the spiritually dead than to wait on you earthly father to die and to bury him.
This was not disrespectful and we must have our priorities right in the work of the Lord.
(Verses 23-27)
We will see that Christ Jesus never missed an opportunity to train His disciples.
Jesus was asleep because He was at perfect peace in the will of the Father. This is a lesson for all of us for this is exactly what the disciples should have done. They should have been in perfect peace, they had the Lord Jesus right in the boat with them.
They did not but chose instead to question if God really cares for us. Matthew shows in these verses the little faith of the Jew as compared to the great faith of the Gentile centurion.
(Verse 28-34)
In these verses we see what Satan can do for a man. He robs man of his sanity and his self control, fills him with fears, and robs a man of his family and friends.
We can see what society does for this man in Satan's control. Society can restrain him, isolate him, and threaten him but society cannot change this man.
Only Jesus can set us free!
Notice the prayers:
1.) The demons prayed to Jesus to allow them to go into the swine, which they also drove crazy.
2.) The citizens prayed for Christ Jesus to leave them alone.
3.) One of these that was possessed by these devils after being saved by Jesus, prayed to be allowed to be a disciple, but Jesus knew that he had such a great testimony and needed for him to be a witness in his home town.
This is what we are asked to do upon being saved, be a witness first to our family and friends!
We can also see that the demon world has faith in Christ and is well aware of their future:
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
We can see that the souls of these two men were much more important that the lives of those two thousand pigs!
(verse chapter 9:1-8)
What we see here is not only the faith of friends but we see that in the eyes of God sin is the greater evil to a man. This scripture does not say that all sickness is caused by sin nor does it say that forgiveness of sin will bring about physical healing also!
We already know God will sometimes heal every sickness except the last sickness or injury that takes us home to Heaven.
(Verse 9:9-17)
The call of Matthew:
Because Matthew was a tax collector, he was considered unclean and unfit to fellowship in Jewish society. He was under great financial obligation to Rome but we can see that he considered the authority of Jesus Christ to be greater than that of Rome. We can see he immediatly made a public showing of his relationship with Christ by having public feast.
Jesus came to save sinners and He made Himself available to them all (whosoever)!
If you are righteous in your own eyes, you will never accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior!
We see a picture of the ministry of Jesus:
1.) The Physician: to bring Spiritual healing to the sinner.
2.) The Bridegroom: to bring Spiritual joy to the lost.
3.) Christ Jesus did not come to patch us up but to make something new!
4.) Christ came to give Spiritual fulness.
Judaism cannot be filled with the New Wine of the Gospel.
Law and Grace will not mix!
(Verse 9:18-19, 23-26)
Jarius was a devout Jew, a leader of the synagogue, but he knew none of his faith in those things could help him. Even though Satan tried one more time to kill her, Jesus has the power over all life. We must learn to trust Jesus no matter our circumstances.
(Verse 9:20-22)
This woman had spent all the living she had on the doctors of her time. She was in despair and had no hope. By Jewish law her disease made her unable to be cleansed.
She was hopeless in this world!
We are all hopeless, with out the Lord Jesus Christ!
That hem referred to the tassels on the prayer shawl of Christ. By Jewish tradition a prayer shawl had 613 tassels around it's hem. One tassel for ever law given to them by Moses. This reminded them that they were God's people.
We can see that Jarius may have lacked faith so Jesus gave him the example of this woman who knew she only needed to touch the Hem of this garment.
It is not how strong our faith is that counts, IT IS TO WHOM THAT FAITH IS IN, THAT REALLY COUNTS!
Our faith must be in Jesus Christ Our Lord and in His Word!
(Verse 9:27-34)
Blindness is a "type" of Spiritual ignorance and unbelief:
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; [lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed].
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Every sinner must be "born again" before he can see the things of God:
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
There is a difference in sickness and the work of Satan and his demon world:
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 [Heal the sick], cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, [cast out devils]: freely ye have received, freely give.
Every believer must be careful to grow spiritually or he can damage his spiritual vision:
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 [But he that lacketh these things is blind], and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
We see that the religious leaders of that time could not explain all the miracles of Jesus the Messiah, so they said His power came from Satan:
This is the Sin of Blaspheming the Holy Spirit!
We know that God had given His Spirit freely to Christ Jesus:
Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
All people had witnessed the miracle healing power of Christ. They had rejected not only the testimony of Christ but also the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
This the unpardonable sin! We will discuss this further in chapter 12.
(Verse 9:35-38)
We have seen that not only was Christ Jesus a healer but He preached the Word of God and taught the Old Testament as truth as He went. He was in the flesh so He could not do all the work alone. He needs others to help Him.
This is why the time was spent training disciples. Christ Jesus expects each and everyone of us to be His disciple and be busy about the Master's Business.
Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Let's Pray!
Text: Matthew Chapters 8-9
Our Focus Text: Matthew 8:1-17
As we have proceeded into the Book of Matthew we have seen:
1.) The Person of the King (Chapters 1-4)
2.) The Principles of the King (Chapters 5-7)
3.) We will now see the Powers of the King (Chapters 8-12)
If a King has no "Power" to accomplish His Will, what good are His Principles?
There are ten miracles mentioned in Chapters 8-9 but they are not in chronological order.
Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to present Jesus as the King. Matthew uses these words to present Jesus Christ as the "Divine" King, the Jehovah of the Old Testament who had truly come to His own. To them He offers the kingdom and as we will soon see, they will reject Him and receive Him not. They actually say that these miracles were done through Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.
"THIS IS THE SIN OF BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT"!
Christ will then break off His relationship with "His Own". We will talk more of this later.
We should ask our own selves, Why did our Lord perform miracles? If we look at our own Pastors we should see that they minister to the whole person. God is concerned about our temporal well being as well as our eternal happiness.
This not to say that our Pastors do miracles because that ended with the Apostles!
Christ Jesus ministered to the individual, a one on one relationship, that should be learned by all His followers.
Christ Jesus performed miracles to prove His claim of being the Messiah of Israel.
It makes me wonder what these false healers are trying to prove in our day.
The Bible says:
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Christ Jesus said he would fulfill everything written about Him:
Isa 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
We can see that we are also foolish to not believe in the miracles of Jesus Christ our Lord:
Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
Christ Jesus also presented a saving truth to the people with His miracles. These miracles were "Sermons in Action".
What Christ did not do.
Jesus did not do a miracle to draw a crowd. Faith cannot be based on miracles.
OUR FAITH MUST BE BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD!
Jesus Christ exercised great power. His power is not limited.
Jesus had the power to change this world and he showed that power when He walked on this earth. The Healing power of Jesus is greater than any disease, but in each case if "faith" was not shown there would have been no healing.
It is a misinterpretation of scripture to teach that spiritual salvation will always result in the reversal of physical disease!
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mat 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Matthew was a publican, a tax collector. He was hated by all Jews. Can it be by chance that he begins with a miracle of Jesus to the outcast of society. Lepers, Gentiles and women were considered out cast by many Jewish people.
The women of the middle east still suffer unduly in our day.
Many Pharisees would begin their day praying "I give thanks that I am a man not a woman, a Jew not a Gentile, a free man and not a slave."
They used that word "I" much to often. There is only one "I" and that the great "I Am" of the Bible.
The term "leprosy" (including leper, lepers, leprosy, leprous) occurs 68 times in the Bible—55 times in the Old Testament (Hebrew = tsara’ath) and 13 times in the New Testament (Greek = lepros, lepra).
In the Old Testament, the instances of leprosy most likely meant a variety of infectious skin diseases, and even mold and mildew on clothing and walls. The precise meaning of the leprosy in both the Old and New Testaments is still in dispute, but it probably includes the modern Hansen’s disease (especially in the New Testament) and most all infectious skin diseases.
References to leprosy have a different emphasis in the New Testament.
They stress God’s desire to heal. Jesus freely touched people with leprosy. While people with leprosy traditionally suffered banishment from family and neighbors, Jesus broke from the tradition. He treated the leper with compassion, touching and healing them.
We also know that leprosy is in "type" and a description of sin:
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Those filthy rags would be rags used to wrap up the leper!
By understanding the leper we can understand more how God sees sin:
Lev 13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
Sin is deeper than the outward skin!
Lev 13:18 The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,
Sin spreads!
Lev 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
Lev 13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
Sin defiles!
Lev 13:52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
Sin is fit only for the fire!
When Christ Jesus touched this leper, He took his leprosy away but in "type" it is a picture of how He takes our sin away:
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We can also notice that the ability of Christ to heal was not questioned but only Was He Willing To Heal?
1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
We can tell that Lord Jesus was willing and still is!
Christ Jesus commanded this man not to tell other but to go to the priests. (Levitcus 14). We find that this man did not obey the Lord but he told everyone what the Lord had done.
Mar 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
There is another way to look at this healing in typology:
Leprosy was the most hated disease in the Bible! It had no remedy. The Holy Spirit has made leprosy a "type" of sin as we have shown. Only Jehovah could heal this disease.
Num 12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
Num 12:11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Num 12:12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
We know that leprosy represents sin but here it represents Israel.
The Bible says:
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
So in "type" we see Israel's Messiah, Jehovah-Jesus
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
As Christ Jesus cleansed this leper He would have also cleansed Israel at this time had they not rejected Him.
The Lord sends this leper to the priests by the law of Moses but this was proper until the death, the burial and resurrection of our Lord, when all believers are delivered from the law.
This day will come again to the nation of Israel when the King will ask His remnant to come unto Him:
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Mat 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
Mat 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mat 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mat 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
We have previously discussed that Capernaum was a military town so it would not be unusual to see a Roman centurion. A centurion was an officer over a group up one hundred men. We do not find any centurion mentioned in the Bible that was not a gentleman or a man of high character.
This is the very first time we see a centurion in the Bible. They had a great sense of duty to Rome and to those that served under them. This particular centurion had learned to love Israel and the God of Israel. He had built a Synagogue for the people of this area. He evidently had a high regard for Christ Jesus and believed in His divine authority. It was not that Christ could heal his servant but rather would Christ heal this servant. Once he realized that Christ Jesus was willing to heal this man with the palsy (paralysis), then it was not neccessary for Jesus to travel to his home but to only say the word.
This centurion realized that Christ Jesus had the power of God and therefore all He had to do was say it was so and it would happen!
This is what the God of creation can do and no one else!
Look at this centurion:
1.) He was a man of war.
2.) He was a Gentile.
3.) He was a man of limited authority.
4.) But He was a man of great faith.
It was his great faith in Christ Jesus that allowed this miracle to happen.
This is an early indication that the Jews would not believe but that the Gentiles would believe on Christ Jesus.
What was the greatest statement of the centurion?
"I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only"
He understood that Jesus Christ was indeed God in the flesh. The Jews till this day have not come to this conclusion along with most others of this world.
When we read verse 11 it can be said that Jesus was referring to the fact that many Gentiles would join with"Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" but without faith in the saving power of Christ none of their physical descendants would join them. Those that heard the kingdom offered by Christ and then rejected it would exclude themselves from this new kingdom.
They would forever live in the darkness of hell (the outer darkness, out side the light of the Lord God Jehovah)
Remember in the first miracle, the cleansing of the leper, stands for Jehovah among His people Israel.
Here now we see Christ who is absent and heals not by His touch but by His Word. This was a reminder that the spiritual position of the Gentiles "were far off".
Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
In this next miracle we will see that Christ will enter back into the house of Israel.
*****Our Text:
Mat 8:14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
Mat 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
Mat 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
In the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, we see a type of what will happen on the Second coming of Christ after the fulness of the Gentiles come in.
This sick mother is a type of Israel.
It would be good to point out that Jesus Christ knew Peter was a married man yet he still was chosen as an Apostle. The sanctity of marriage was approved by Christ even to the ministers of God. Some religions do not allow the minister to marry. We can see that this did not come from Jesus Christ nor the Bible.
Women did not hold a high position in Israel at this time of Jesus. Though this seems a minor miracle we can see that a blessing in the home can lead to a blessing in the entire community.
Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Mar 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
Mar 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
Matthew said that this time in the life of Jesus was a fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah:
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
We can see that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life and not with His death.
We can also see Jesus did not give His life for our sickness nor our griefs.
He did give His life for our "SIN"!
1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Sin and sickness may go together at times, since sickness is a consequence of Adam's sin:
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The Bible says:
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3 [Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases];
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
God has not obligated Himself to heal all disease BUT He has said He will forgive all sin and to save all that will believe on Him.
*****Again this closes out our lesson but we will try to highlight the remaining of chapters 8 and chapter nine:
(Verses 18-22)
We see the first time the phrase "Son of Man" is used in the Bible.
Because the opposition to the message of Jesus was low at this time, there were many who wanted to be His disciples.
They would not pay the price!
Jesus Christ was saying to this scribe to let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead.
In other words it is much better to preach the Gospel of Jesus in hope of salvation for the spiritually dead than to wait on you earthly father to die and to bury him.
This was not disrespectful and we must have our priorities right in the work of the Lord.
(Verses 23-27)
We will see that Christ Jesus never missed an opportunity to train His disciples.
Jesus was asleep because He was at perfect peace in the will of the Father. This is a lesson for all of us for this is exactly what the disciples should have done. They should have been in perfect peace, they had the Lord Jesus right in the boat with them.
They did not but chose instead to question if God really cares for us. Matthew shows in these verses the little faith of the Jew as compared to the great faith of the Gentile centurion.
(Verse 28-34)
In these verses we see what Satan can do for a man. He robs man of his sanity and his self control, fills him with fears, and robs a man of his family and friends.
We can see what society does for this man in Satan's control. Society can restrain him, isolate him, and threaten him but society cannot change this man.
Only Jesus can set us free!
Notice the prayers:
1.) The demons prayed to Jesus to allow them to go into the swine, which they also drove crazy.
2.) The citizens prayed for Christ Jesus to leave them alone.
3.) One of these that was possessed by these devils after being saved by Jesus, prayed to be allowed to be a disciple, but Jesus knew that he had such a great testimony and needed for him to be a witness in his home town.
This is what we are asked to do upon being saved, be a witness first to our family and friends!
We can also see that the demon world has faith in Christ and is well aware of their future:
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
We can see that the souls of these two men were much more important that the lives of those two thousand pigs!
(verse chapter 9:1-8)
What we see here is not only the faith of friends but we see that in the eyes of God sin is the greater evil to a man. This scripture does not say that all sickness is caused by sin nor does it say that forgiveness of sin will bring about physical healing also!
We already know God will sometimes heal every sickness except the last sickness or injury that takes us home to Heaven.
(Verse 9:9-17)
The call of Matthew:
Because Matthew was a tax collector, he was considered unclean and unfit to fellowship in Jewish society. He was under great financial obligation to Rome but we can see that he considered the authority of Jesus Christ to be greater than that of Rome. We can see he immediatly made a public showing of his relationship with Christ by having public feast.
Jesus came to save sinners and He made Himself available to them all (whosoever)!
If you are righteous in your own eyes, you will never accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior!
We see a picture of the ministry of Jesus:
1.) The Physician: to bring Spiritual healing to the sinner.
2.) The Bridegroom: to bring Spiritual joy to the lost.
3.) Christ Jesus did not come to patch us up but to make something new!
4.) Christ came to give Spiritual fulness.
Judaism cannot be filled with the New Wine of the Gospel.
Law and Grace will not mix!
(Verse 9:18-19, 23-26)
Jarius was a devout Jew, a leader of the synagogue, but he knew none of his faith in those things could help him. Even though Satan tried one more time to kill her, Jesus has the power over all life. We must learn to trust Jesus no matter our circumstances.
(Verse 9:20-22)
This woman had spent all the living she had on the doctors of her time. She was in despair and had no hope. By Jewish law her disease made her unable to be cleansed.
She was hopeless in this world!
We are all hopeless, with out the Lord Jesus Christ!
That hem referred to the tassels on the prayer shawl of Christ. By Jewish tradition a prayer shawl had 613 tassels around it's hem. One tassel for ever law given to them by Moses. This reminded them that they were God's people.
We can see that Jarius may have lacked faith so Jesus gave him the example of this woman who knew she only needed to touch the Hem of this garment.
It is not how strong our faith is that counts, IT IS TO WHOM THAT FAITH IS IN, THAT REALLY COUNTS!
Our faith must be in Jesus Christ Our Lord and in His Word!
(Verse 9:27-34)
Blindness is a "type" of Spiritual ignorance and unbelief:
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; [lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed].
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Every sinner must be "born again" before he can see the things of God:
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
There is a difference in sickness and the work of Satan and his demon world:
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 [Heal the sick], cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, [cast out devils]: freely ye have received, freely give.
Every believer must be careful to grow spiritually or he can damage his spiritual vision:
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 [But he that lacketh these things is blind], and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
We see that the religious leaders of that time could not explain all the miracles of Jesus the Messiah, so they said His power came from Satan:
This is the Sin of Blaspheming the Holy Spirit!
We know that God had given His Spirit freely to Christ Jesus:
Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
All people had witnessed the miracle healing power of Christ. They had rejected not only the testimony of Christ but also the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
This the unpardonable sin! We will discuss this further in chapter 12.
(Verse 9:35-38)
We have seen that not only was Christ Jesus a healer but He preached the Word of God and taught the Old Testament as truth as He went. He was in the flesh so He could not do all the work alone. He needs others to help Him.
This is why the time was spent training disciples. Christ Jesus expects each and everyone of us to be His disciple and be busy about the Master's Business.
Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Let's Pray!
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