Matthew 9:1-2

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1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” ~ Matthew 9:1-2

Today, we transition into Matthew 9 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee and then the Lord will perform more miracles. The point of His miracles was that He would be recognized as the only One who possessed the power to overcome the power of sin. Through His miracles, the Lord Jesus revealed that He was God and that the gospel only provides the remedy for mankind's sin problem. 

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city."

The Lord Jesus departed from the area of the Gaderenes due to  their lack of understanding that they needed a savior. The Lord Jesus had delivered two men who had long been demon possessed but the people's livelihood was threatened when the Lord Jesus allowed the demons to leave the men and then to go into the pigs. Then the pigs destroyed the herd of pigs. That which captures our hearts most is that which defines us most profoundly. This explains why the people did not want the Lord Jesus to remain there.

We don’t know how much time passed between the deliverance the Lord Jesus gave to the two demon possessed men and today's passage. This makes sense due to the fact that Matthew was not all that concerned with chronology. In fact, he was more concerned with authenticating the Lord Jesus and His teachings than he was anything else. He did this because at the heart of Christian theology is that God forgives sin and we can know that our sin has been forgiven us.  

And so, the Lord Jesus and His disciples went back to the western side of the Sea of Galilee by boat to the city of Capernaum. You will remember that the Lord Jesus had left Nazareth because the religious leaders there had dismissed Him from the synagogue after His reading of Isaiah 61. After being rejected in Nazareth, the Lord Jesus reestablished His home just a few miles away in the little town of Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is most likely that He had taken up residence in the house of Peter. And, as He came back to Peter’s house, there were many people there awaiting His arrival hoping He could heal a loved one.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.'"

When we consider Mark and Luke's gospel regarding this story we know that four friends of this man who was paralyzed brought him to the Lord Jesus. They had all heard that the Lord Jesus had returned to Capernaum and they were hoping the Lord Jesus would heal him if they could just get their him to the Lord. Apparently, his case was quite severe. It may well have been that he was quadriplegic. What we do know is that he was lying on a bed, flat on his back, unable to move himself in any way.

As a result, the Lord Jesus saw quite vividly the faith of these men who were anxious to get their friend to Him. Obviously, they had seen the Lord perform other miracles, but the emphasis here is placed squarely on the faith of the men rather than on the fact that the Lord could perform the miracle. According to the other gospel writers, when these men arrived at Peter's house, they saw the need to climb the external staircase which was so common in those days. They went up on the rooftop and tile by tile, they began to tear the roof apart. When they had created an opening, they lowered their friend down to the Lord.

According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, there was no request given from the four or even their friend. They just lowered their friend to the feet of the Lord Jesus, in full view of everybody, anticipating what He would do. In true humility, this paralyzed man was exposed completely and vulnerably. It was at that point that the Lord Jesus said, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."

The phrase, "Be of good cheer," literally means "Stop being afraid." How daunting it must have been for that man to face God, conscious of his desperation to be freed from his paralysis. In that moment the Lord Jesus spoke forgiveness to this man before He spoke healing to his paralysis. In that moment the Lord Jesus was like a physician who refused to merely treat his patient's symptoms, insisting on dealing with the root cause of his affliction. 

In that moment the Lord Jesus brought attention to the root cause of all of our diseases, sin itself. If the Lord Jesus just dealt with our afflictions and not the root cause of such, we would be those who would have no hope beyond time. But, He came to us offering us His grace that would usher us back into His family. So, the Lord Jesus came lavished with grace in order to reconcile us to God by His forgiveness of our sin. Before the Lord Jesus healed the paralytic, He forgave his sins. In doing so, He showed the man the greater grace because without forgiveness, the healing would have been just temporary.

Once we understand this, we will understand why the Lord Jesus said, "Be of good cheer." Fallen man's desire and choice to go the way of Lucifer did an extensive number upon us all. When sin entered this world it brought along with it guilt and shame. When we violate God’s laws we feel guilt. Almost simultaneously does shame arrive in us explaining why we need to hide from God and others. Though guilt and shame are twins, born in the Garden of Eden, only moments apart, they are not identical. It is our guilt that reminds us that we have violated God's commands. It is our shame that tells us that we are no good and we deserve our condemnation. 

While our guilt and shame yearns to crush us, God's grace longs to deliver us. We've all try to desperately hide our guilt and our shame but they remain deep in the recesses of our souls. When we try to deal with our guilt and our shame on our own, we find ourselves left exhausted. The only way to gain victory over our guilt and our shame is to align ourselves under the only shelter that can withstand the weight of our guilt and shame, the shelter of God’s forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that you have trusted in His finished work on the cross and have invited Him into your life to be your Savior. If not, let me encourage you to talk with Him right now, admitting to Him that you know you have sinned against Him and that you believe He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus to be your Savior. And, after having done that, ask Him to come into your life for eternity.

Matthew 8:33-34

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33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. ~ Matthew 8:33-34

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 8 which contains several miracles which were strategically used by Matthew to validate the teaching of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5-7. In context the Lord Jesus had performed three miracles, the last of which He had delivered two men from demon possession. As we pick up the narrative today, we discover the herdsmen of the pigs running into the city to tell the people about the miracle that had just happened.

In v.33 of today's passage we read, "Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men."

Those who herded the pigs witnessed their mass suicide. After the pigs ran headlong into the sea, the herders ran to town to tell everyone what had happened, highlighting the fact that the two formerly possessed men were bound by the demons no longer. The herders of the pigs saw the narrative unfold and they understood the message. They understood that the pigs were not the story, even though they represented a certain amount of wealth loss. These men had witnessed a miracle and they did what anyone who had witnessed a miracle would do, they ran as fast as they could into the city to tell of this amazing miracle the Lord Jesus performed.

There are those who speculate that the loss of such a large herd of livestock, two thousand in all, was wrong and the Lord Jesus was to blame. They assert that the herdsmen were terrified as these two men were rescued by the One who demonstrated His authority to command legions of demons to leave them. As this narrative plays out, we will discover the contrary. Like them, we find ourselves standing in awe of this One who is all-powerful. This is the message that was being granted the people that day, but as we will see, not everyone got it.

In his Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis wrote, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence and the other is to believe in and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Demons are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist on the one hand, or a magician on the other, with equal delight."

In v.34 of today's passage we read, "And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region."

This incident marks a pivotal moment, revealing not only the power of the Lord Jesus over the supernatural but also the deep-rooted fear and materialistic priorities of the people who lived in that place. Instead of embracing the miraculous event that potentially liberated their community, the residents expressed alarm and they begged the Lord Jesus to leave their region. In doing so, they valued their possessions over the One who offered them spiritual liberation from the domain of the enemy. They valued the things of this world over what God offers. Their plea to the Lord Jesus to depart displayed the tragic choice many make today in rejecting the Savior. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden man has valued the comforts of this world to that which the Lord Jesus offers. This story serves as a poignant reminder that many throughout history have preferred their "pigs" over the transformative power of Christ. Ultimately, this episode foreshadows the growing opposition the Lord Jesus would face as He continued His mission among those who could not see past their immediate losses to the eternal blessings that God offers.

After the announcement from the pig herders, "The whole city came out" but according to Luke's account, the people begged the Lord Jesus to leave them because they were "overcome with panic." There was something not so obvious going on here. When the storm came, the disciples were afraid because the Lord Jesus stilled the waves. The disciples were more afraid of the calm than they were of the storm, because they knew God was in their boat, and they were in awe of Him. The Gadarenes saw the supernatural and it panicked them. Their fear won the battle over their potential faith in the Lord Jesus. Amazingly, they saw the Lord Jesus restore two formerly demon possessed men and He liberated them. And they were so scared that they asked Him to go away.

By the way, this is the first recorded instance of open opposition to the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. And the opposition just increased from this point on. These Gentiles despised Him. They saw that He was greater than they, purer than they, more powerful than they, more holy than they, and they could not handle it. Sadly, they didn’t believe Him to be their Savior. Many after this saw His many miracles, and they still didn’t believe. It seems the miracles just made them resist Him even more. Many today say if He would perform more miracles they would believe. Not so, because some people, when exposed in the presence of the awesomeness of the holy God will literally run because they love the darkness more.

Matthew 8:30-32

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30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. ~ Matthew 8:30-32

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 8 where the Lord Jesus has previously calmed a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee and He has just encountered two demon-possessed men after going ashore at a tomb site on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Where before we saw in vivid display Christ's authority over nature, that He commanded the winds and waves to cease and they did, in today's passage He demanded those in the supernatural realm to obey Him and they did.

In v.30 of today's passage we read, "Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding."

Even though most are not aware of it, there is an unseen spiritual world filled with beings who try to neutralize the work of God in this world. And, since God has chosen to advance His kingdom in this world through His followers, those unseen evil forces are out to thwart God's work in and through us. This why we must be ardent at battling the schemes of the devil who is set on distracting us from the important things, particularly the salvation of those in this world who are yet to be made born again to God.

As this verse suggests, demons desire not to be homeless. Throughout the Bible demons seem to actively search for a human or some object to inhabit. In Matthew 12:43-45 the Lord Jesus said, "When an unclean spirit leaves a man and goes to the dry places and he finds no rests, even though he seeks it, he says, 'I will return and go back to the house from which I have come.'  And when he goes back and he finds it empty and clean and all swept, he says, 'He brings with him seven other spirits worse than himself to inhabit that person.'" Even though these demonic beings cannot inhabit a born again believer, they can possess unbelievers. One must be wise to not invite the demons to come in or else the results could be damning.

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "So the demons begged Him, saying, 'If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.'"

These evil beings asked permission from the Lord Jesus to enter into a large herd of pigs that were nearby. Demons only operate by permission. They cannot decide to overtake someone or something, they must operate according to God's will. In the book of Job, Satan had to get permission from God to oppress Job. God allowed Satan to wreak havoc in Job's life but only up to a point. And since Satan and his cohorts know that the Lord Jesus is God and that in the future He will judge them, they are ardent at doing as much damage now as they can.

The request of these demons to inhabit the pigs was predicated upon the words, "If you cast us out." The demons couldn't just go into the pigs, the Lord Jesus had to give them permission. It is the deity of Christ that sets Him apart from all others who have ever claimed to be our coming Messiah. One of the major factors in proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is, in fact, the Messiah to come is that He has power over the unseen forces of the supernatural world. He came to this world in order to reverse the curse brought to man by Lucifer. At His cross the Lord Jesus rendered the devil powerless. These demons who said, "If you cast us out," proved the Lord Jesus has such power.

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "And He said to them, 'Go.' So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water."

Notice, unlike the demons who shouted, the Lord Jesus calmly spoke similar to when He calmed the winds and the waves. The demons requested that the Lord Jesus allow them to go into the nearby pigs. The gospel of Mark tells us there were about two thousand pigs in that nearby herd, and so revealed here was the great power the Lord Jesus, a power that only God possesses. This true story is a prelude of what is yet to come when at the end of time the Lord Jesus will vanquish all evil from existence. 

The Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to remove the power of Satan by paying for fallen man's sin. He did this when at the cross He crushed the serpent’s head and He ransomed His people from the bonds of evil. We read in Colossians 2:15, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

When the Lord Jesus comes back at the end of the Tribulation, He will bring His kingdom in its fullness and at that time Satan’s power will be completely destroyed. We read about Satan’s final judgment in Revelation 20:10 which reads, "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."

Matthew 8:28-29

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28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" ~ Matthew 8:28-29

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 8 where the Lord Jesus has been performing a few miracles which authenticated the teaching He gave in Matthew 5-7. Now that the Lord Jesus has taught the disciples and has authenticated His teaching through His healings, He is now leading them into a trial so that their faith will be bolstered even more through the trial. 

In our last study, the Lord Jesus led His disciples across the Sea of Galilee in boats and while they were fretting over a sudden storm that came upon them, the Lord Jesus slept. Like the disciples, we often wonder if the Lord is aware of our plight when calamity comes upon us. We are often found asking,"Lord don't you care?" But, I have learned through many trials that if I give Him enough time, He always shows Himself to be trustworthy. There are times when we must go through the darkest of times in order to hone a clearer view of God.

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way."

When the Lord and His disciples had come to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gergesenes, also known as the Gadarenes, they met two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs. There are various stages and degrees to which demons or evil spirits can affect and possess or control human beings. In this incident we have an extreme case. These men lived among the unclean dead bodies in the limestone caves which lined the cliffs along the sea of Galilee. I only wonder what preceded these demons taking control of these men.

People who are possessed gave the demons at some point permission to enter into their lives. It is no accident that the rise of satanism and occultism in these last few years has coincided with the spread of pornography and obscenity throughout our society. These are always related. These evil spirits are always to be found among that which God has defined as off-limits. The demonic loves filth and obscenity, and if they gain a foothold in our lives that is where they will lead us, to the obscene and the filthy.

Matthew was careful to identify this place as "the other side."  This gives a hint to why these men had been possessed by those demons. It is always our lack or our suspicion that we don't have certain things that would make us feel better. It was their lack that caused these men to go down the road that led eventually to demon-possession. I grew up on the other side of the tracks. For all of my young life I allowed myself to feel less than those on the other side of the tracks. I did this by allowing those on the other side to wrongly define me. How foolish was I to think that proximity mattered in that way. Of course, had I known what many on the other side of the tracks knew, I would not have allowed the lesser to define me. Had I a personal relationship with the Lord then, I would have been wise enough to know that He provides the best definition for our lives. And, when we walk in the way He has called us, it will be then that we will be best defined.

The country of the Gergesenes was Gentile country. The fact that pigs were there reveals the area was not all that much defined by God who in the Old Testament defined pigs as unclean animals that were off-limits. When we disobey God in one area, we will quickly disobey Him in another. Not that we will ever stop sinning this side of heaven, but when we deliberately disobey God, we will find it easier to disobey Him again and again beyond the initial decision to be defined by the lesser.

We live in a world where the will of Satan is being carried out by a host of demonic beings. In Ephesians 6, we read, "We don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and spiritual rulers of darkness in high places." These demonic forces hate the Lord Jesus and thus they hate you and me. And they would love to destroy us. When we ignore God's teaching in one area, we unknowingly open ourselves up to the influence of those in the demonic realm. But, as we discover in 1 John 3:8, "The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the Devil." Even though the believer in Christ can be oppressed by the demonic, we cannot be possessed by them.

In v.29 of today's passage we read, "And suddenly they cried out, saying, 'What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?'"

The demon possessed men knew the identity of the Lord Jesus as "the Son of God" even before the Lord Jesus addressed them. The first time the term "Son of God"  is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew comes from the lips of Satan himself.  It was during the temptation in Matthew 4:3-6, when Satan himself tempted the Lord Jesus. Matthew recorded the details in order to underscore the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, even those who thrive in the darkness are fully versed about the identity of the Lord Jesus. There are very many so-called enlightened people today that say that for us to believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Son of God is misdirected. In the Bible, only humans are ignorant enough to deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Even the devil and his demons believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the divine Son of God. 

According to Mark 5, these possessed men were stark naked, cutting themselves with stones and screaming to the tops of their lungs. This is where demons will always lead anyone who has given their allegiance to them. That place always eventually arrives at the place of hatred toward self. When these two demon-possessed men saw the Lord Jesus, they worshipped Him. They knew exactly the identity of the Lord Jesus. There was a time when they were holy angels who worshipped the Lord Jesus, but when they were convinced to follow Lucifer, they lost their allegiance to the Lord. All in the spiritual realm know the Lord Jesus to be the second person of the Trinity. These two even had the right eschatology when they asked, "Have You come here to torment us before the time?" That question reveals they were pre-tribulational, pre-millennial and they knew it was not the time for their judgement.

Matthew 8:23-27

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23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" ~ Matthew 8:23-27

Following the teaching the Lord Jesus gave in Matthew 5-7, Matthew validates it by sharing with us ten miracles the Lord Jesus performed in Matthew 8-9. Today, we will consider the fourth of these ten miracles performed by the Lord Jesus. His first three miracles dealt with disease while the next three will show His power over nature, the supernatural world, and over sin. 

In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep."

In the context of this fourth miracle the Lord Jesus and His disciples traveled 8 miles during the night from the western side of the Sea of Galilee to its eastern side by boat. After some of the twelve got into one boat with the Lord Jesus, the others followed them in another. After some time while on the water, a storm suddenly formed and the disciples were frightened. The lower level of the lake funneled winds down suddenly creating a sudden violent storm. The winds in this storm were around speeds of 75 mph. Due to the typology of that area, a storm would come upon boaters within seconds. 

Meanwhile, the Lord Jesus slept. According to Mark's gospel, the Lord Jesus made a little cushion for His head, and He fell asleep. The sea was raging, the storm was howling and the wind careened. The little boat was tossed like a cork on the ocean. The other gospel accounts of this event inform us that the boat took on quite a bit of water. All the while the Creator of the world was asleep. While He slept, He held the worlds in their places. He Himself feared not. The Lord Jesus Christ displayed the fact that He was God and He knew perfectly what was happening as He slept.

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!'" 

Even though the elements on that lake that night were terrible and the disciples felt quite vulnerable, they didn't realize that they were in the best context they could be, with the God who made it all. The truth was they were most safe and they were not going to die. But, it was natural for them to feel as they did. At the end of the day we will either be defined by the Lord or our incomplete understanding of everything we encounter. It makes the most sense to trust the One who is omniscient and all-powerful. He knows what is best for us. The end goal through our vulnerabilities is our growing intimacy with Him and we do not know such intimacy unless we go through those moments that reveal our greatest vulnerabilities.

To their credit the disciples cried out to the Lord. They identified Him as "Lord" which comes from the Greek word "kurios" used 740 times in the New Testament and most of those times it is used to describe the Lord Jesus. "Kurios" is a title of honor used by servants to address their master. Through this incredible trial the disciples were being convinced that their greatest deficit was their lack of understanding of the Lordship of the Lord Jesus.

In v.26-27 of today's passage we read, "But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'"

The response of the Lord Jesus to the request of His disciples reveals when we believe in God’s love and His power, we can weather any storm. Believing in His love and power enables us to see that He cares about us and we will be convinced that He can and will handle any situation we encounter, no matter how frightening it may be. This is why the Lord addressed the lack of faith in the disciples. Faith is the heart's ability to see God and it is only developed in us as a result of us going through rough moments and experiencing for ourselves the love and power of God.

It was at that moment that the Lord not only stopped the wind but He also stopped the waves. How strange it must have been when the massive waves stopped. In that silence these disciples were amazed at the identity of the Lord Jesus. Their view of Him was being deepened. This was a gift that came at the greatest cost. With an expanding view of the Lord Jesus like this, it is no wonder that these men minus one died for their faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior and our God.

Matthew 8:21-22

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21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." ~ Matthew 8:21-22

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 8 where the Lord Jesus drew a clear contrast between the valued traditions of Judaism and His culture. For years during the time of the patriarchs and the prophets of Israel the Jews were defined by God. But, as time meandered on, the emphasis in the teaching of the religious leaders of Israel came to emphasize the wrongs things such as obedience over a broken heart before God. This is why the Lord Jesus presented the Beatitudes to the people.

In the context of today's passage, the Lord Jesus had been telling the crowds they would lose comfort if they desired to be known as His disciple. Like the Jews of that day, we value comfort too much. In fact, I'd say that the number one god in America today is comfort. The American culture is perhaps the most comfort-driven in history. Evidence for this is everywhere. Pain and hardship are always considered bad. And, when we run from the hardships that come along in this life, we discover that we are running from God. Tragedy is sometimes a great tool in discovering what is most important to us. 

Given our fallen state, it is God's design to use our pain to force us into a personal or a deeper relationship with Himself. While most reveal their inability to think deeply, we tend to blame God for our pain. Our short sidedness was born in us long ago when we invited the culture of the devil into our souls. Every pain in our lives invites us to kick out the flimsy props that we have always depended upon to support our comfort. When in pain, we can either curse God or fall upon His greatness. The better part of wisdom, which begins with fearing God, leads us to use the pain as a tool to trust Him further.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "Then another of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.'"

In the previous two verses a Scribe had approached the Lord Jesus expressing his desire to be His disciple. We are trichotomous beings, we have a spirit, a soul, and a body. When we were justified by believing in the Lord Jesus we were born again in our spirit. Being born again and being justified before God are synonymous. Sanctification is the salvation of the soul and our souls are made of our mind, will, and emotions. Sanctification which includes discipleship is the changing of our mind, will and emotions. After the Lord Jesus informed the Scribe that He had no place to lay His head, the Scribe vanished into thin air. The Scribe did not utter another word which gave clear indication that he was not really serious about being a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

It was at that point that one who had previously chosen to follow the Lord in discipleship came to Him requesting a time of leave. In Jewish culture there was something called the second burial in which the surviving family members a year after their death would rebury the bones of the dead after the flesh had decomposed. The response the Lord Jesus gave to this man was not that he shouldn’t honor his father as the Law commands but rather which one of these two endeavors has the higher duty. His point was that there is no earthly duty that is more important than following Him. 

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'"

When the Lord Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their own dead," He meant, "Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead." In other words there are some tasks that nonbelievers can do as well as believers. And these choices are not usually between something good and something evil but between something good and something better. As followers of Christ, there are certain things that only we can do due to the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We live in a world which increasingly is not defined by God. We must not fall into its trap of comfort and unbelief. Granted, it is not our performance as disciples of the Lord Jesus that gets us into heaven, however, now that we know our sin is forgiven, our natural heart response is to invest fully in Christ's kingdom because it is the best for us and it is the best for all who would look to us for answers. When we follow the Lord Jesus, we point others to Him. The indwelling Holy Spirit equips us to not only follow the Lord Jesus but also to be useful in the furtherance of His kingdom in this world.

We must be wise to not trade our souls for the lesser things of this world. From this posture we do well to remember that it was the Lord Jesus who said, "If you will follow me, be ready to be hated." Even though our loyalty to the Lord will garner hatred from some, His worthiness bursts us into obedience to Him. He is worthy of our faith due to His long track record of faithfulness to us. It helps us in this endeavor to remember that as believers in the Lord Jesus we follow a homeless man who owns everything. And, the more we get to know Him, the more we will recognize that our investments made to His kingdom will last much longer than any other investments we may make.

Matthew 8:18-20

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18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." 20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." ~ Matthew 8:18-20

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 8 where the Lord Jesus is inculcating His culture into His disciples as they traveled by boat from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other.  The Lord Jesus and His followers were on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd was becoming so massive, the Lord Jesus decided to go to the other side. While on the water in the boat, the Lord was weary in His physical body. In fact, on the boat ride across, He fell asleep down in the hole of the boat on the wood planks. 

Today's passage highlights discipleship. Not everyone that the Lord Jesus met did He implore to follow Him as a disciple. Of course, when we all enter a relationship with Him we enter into the process of sanctification which essentially is discipleship. Many confuse justification and sanctification, but a careful look into the two helps us to see that one gets us into heaven and the other gets heaven into us now.

In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.'"

At this point in the ministry of the Lord Jesus His popularity was quite high. Large crowds were following Him, and they were pursuing Him because of His miracles. In fact, a Scribe, one of the religious leaders of Israel expressed his approval of the Lord Jesus. The scribes were the authorities in the law and they were qualified by Jewish authority to teach. The scribes were highly educated and they were loyal to the traditions of Judaism. They were the teachers, they weren’t the followers of teachers. This particular Scribe was drawn to the charisma and the power of the Lord Jesus. He was a thrill-seeker, and so, he made his desire to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus known.The problem for this religious leader of Israel was that there was no evidence that He was poor in spirit. He had not come to the end of himself. There was no evidence that he had come to understand his spiritual poverty. Thus, he didn't see his need for the Lord Jesus to be his Savior. Long before the Lord Jesus is our Lord, He our Savior. Down through the centuries there have been who have said, "Lord, Lord." And He will say to them, "Depart from me for I never knew you."

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'"

In response to the Scribe's request, the Lord Jesus drew his attention to the fact that His followers did not enjoy much comfort. The phrase "The Son of Man" first appears in Daniel 7:13. There, Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be the Son of Man, and the Lord Jesus came and said, "I’m Son of Man." This phrase is used 80 times in the Gospels and it is a term of humiliation. Son of God speaks of Christ's deity and the Son of Man, His humility. Essentially, the Lord Jesus said, "In my humiliation, I don’t even have what foxes and birds have." And the foxes were very common in those parts of the world in those times, and they would burrow little holes in the ground. And birds were everywhere and they had their nests.

Today's story began with a man who was impressed by the power of the Lord Jesus to heal and to teach. Once he heard there would not be all that much to gain from following the Lord, the Scribe was not mentioned further. Sadly and rightfully so, many underscore that this guy didn't come to faith in the Lord Jesus. But, in drawing this conclusion, they insinuate that we must be a disciple of the Lord Jesus in order to be saved. They are often heard wrongfully saying, "If Jesus isn't Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." This is not biblical because in order enter the process of sanctification or discipleship with the Lord, we must first be justified in God's sight. In addition, the process of discipleship or sanctification takes a lifetime to happen and no-one fully surrenders to the Lord this side of heaven.

It is only when we have entered the only door, the door of the cross of the Lord Jesus that God grants us His forgiveness. It is after our justification that we begin the process of sanctification. I will say that once we have become believers in the Lord Jesus we will become His disciples. But, we must be careful to highlight the fact that our growth as followers of the Lord Jesus does not get us into heaven. No, we only enter into heaven through the work the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. Once we have become justified through Christ before God, it is then that we enter into discipleship with Him. 

Christianity is not a self-help religion, but a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ who brings to us new life by the Holy Spirit. Discipleship is simply the working out of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in, to and through us as we live our everyday lives. We become in ourselves what we are in Christ. After the very righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us by faith do we begin to realize His very life being expressed in, to and through us. And that is essentially discipleship or sanctification.

Matthew 8:16-17

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16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." ~ Matthew 8:16-17

Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Matthew where Matthew intentionally arranged the chapters with a deliberate rhythm. As we mentioned before, the gospel of Matthew is not chronological. This chapter begins with three miracles in v.1–17, followed by teachings on discipleship in v.18–22. Then Matthew adds three more miracles in 8:23–9:8, followed by more discipleship in 9:9–17. And finally, three additional miracles in 9:18–34. It’s all designed to highlight and to authenticate the fact that the Lord possesses absolute authority, which demands unwavering allegiance from all of His creation.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick."

It was end of the Sabbath day, it was evening, and the sun had set. This moment marked the time the Jews would stop their Sabbath rest and get back to work. This is why it is noted here that the people began to bring those who were possessed with demons and the sick to the Lord Jesus. And, it is noted that the Lord Jesus cast out the demons from the people and He healed all who were sick. He came to snatch the sick from the domain of the enemy. In healing them, He gave them a deeper look into His coming kingdom. In His eternal kingdom there will be no more night, death, sorrow, pain, sickness or disease because He will have given the final death blow to sin itself. 

I find it most intriguing that Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to highlight the fact that these miracles were performed in the evening. In fact, I find it most interesting that the very first exorcism in the gospels occurred at night. Satan is not called the father of lies for nothing. We live in a world where Satan is alive and active. It is he who blinds unbelievers to the gospel. The Bible informs us that demons are the power behind religion. Demons also empower idol worship, black magic, and devil worship. 

In the first few miracles recorded in this chapter we see the power of the Lord Jesus not just over the curse of sin, but also over the domain of darkness, the Kingdom of Satan himself. The Lord Jesus’ authority extends not just over the world of physical matter, bodies and illness, but also extends over the spiritual world. This is what it means for Him to be our Messiah which is Hebrew for Savior.

The ministry of the Lord Jesus of exorcism means that the world which had been given over to the devil by Adam, the one to whom it had been originally entrusted, was returning to its proper ownership. The God-Man, Christ Jesus the Lord, came to this earth to wrestle this domain back from the enemy, to bind him, and to deliver the willing from the effects of sin. When the Lord Jesus cast out demonic spirits from people, He triumphed over the kingdom of darkness. But, not everyone benefitted from His eternal work while He was on this earth.

Central to the ministry of the Lord Jesus at casting out these demons from people was His Word. The Word of God is the definer of all things good. It was the devil who came trying to redefine everything God had said was good. The Lord Jesus rebuked demons and they in every instance obeyed His sovereign Word. This happened because the Lord Jesus words are supreme. His words are the supreme words of the Supreme Being. 

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "...that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'"

The Lord Jesus performed these miracles in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53. Throughout the Old Testament the coming of the Messiah is greatly accentuated. The many prophecies present the Lord Jesus as the Savior of the world and as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. And when the Lord Jesus came, He fulfilled every aspect of being the Savior of the world. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross He for eternity took away the penalty for our sin, but He didn't remove all of the consequences of our sin. No, the consequences of sin will be done away with when we depart from this realm.

Here in v.17 is accentuated a certain aspect of our salvation prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 53. When the Lord Jesus took on sin, He took on infirmities and sicknesses. Sin preceded infirmities and sicknesses. The cause of infirmities and sicknesses is sin. Our biggest enemy is sin, even more than our infirmities and sicknesses. Isaiah 53 is an important chapter in the Bible because it predicted the forgiveness of our sin through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. In the atonement, as indicated in this verse, is included physical healing but the healing is a precursor for the most important part of this promise which isn’t just for now, it is for eternity. Sadly everyone who has been healed has not been saved. Sadly, there are those who have only benefitted in the temporal and not the eternal. The most important aspect of the Lord Jesus being our Savior is how it will impact eternity. The fact is we will get sick and we will die physically, but our eternity is secured through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust you have invited Him into your life to be your Savior.

Matthew 8:14-15

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14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. ~ Matthew 8:14-15

Today, we return to our study of Matthew where the Lord Jesus' teaching is being authenticated by 10 miracles which are recorded in Matthew 8-9. We have considered two of these 10 miracles: The first one the Lord Jesus healed a leper, somebody who had been driven outside the city. The second was the slave of a gentile outside of the covenant. In this third miracle we have the Lord Jesus healing a woman, someone who was outside the patriarchal society. This third healing is the shortest and least detailed of the ten. According to Mark’s gospel, this incident happened in Capernaum, on the Sabbath day. In these miracles, systematically we see the kind of people the Lord Jesus valued.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever."

Two thousand years ago in Israel it was extremely patriarchal, so much so that pious Jews would sometimes pray, "God, I thank you that I am not a slave, a gentile or a woman."  In some cases at birth if a boy was born there be a celebration, if a girl was born everyone packed up and went home. This, of course, was not right, but it is a fair assessment of how women had it in those days. When the Lord Jesus came to this earth, He came partly to liberate woman. He consistently valued the outcasts, those who had been opposed, those He was not supposed to touch. The Lord Jesus Christ is the all-inclusive Savior. 

When the Lord Jesus entered Peter's house, he learned that Peter's mother-in-law had a very high fever. Sickness is a common part of the curse which sin has brought upon us. We are all sinners and there is not a righteous man or woman upon the face of this earth. This fever was caused by the universal presence of sin in humanity. This fever came upon Peter's mother-in-law as a result of the hypothalamus, which is in the middle of the brain and controls the body temperature became diseased and when the body begins to fight it off, it raises its temperature. Peter's mother-in-law had a fever so severe that she could have died from it.

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them."

Matthew employed the same verb translated "touched" as he did when he described the healing of the leper. He did not simply touch her but took her hand into His own. This is the only healing recorded in Matthew where the Lord Jesus acted without any prior request for it. In fact, no words were spoken. No one came to the Lord Jesus on her behalf. The Lord Jesus saw her plight and He grasped her hand and the fever was immediately gone. She immediately got up and began to serve. 

Her healing was so complete that she didn’t show any lingering weakness, as people with fever typically do. Immediately she went to serving everyone. One of the evidences that we have been touched by the Lord is that we find joy in serving others. Peter's mother-in-law served the Lord out of gratitude. Her service was based upon her healing, not vise versa. She didn’t let her past dictate her present. She got up right away and served forward. She didn’t earn her health or her salvation through her service. It was by the grace of God that she was blessed with healing and then she served.

C.S. Lewis once said, "The miracles in fact are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see." God did not originally make the world to be weighed down with disease, hunger, and death. This is why the Lord Jesus came, in order to redeem what was wrong and to heal what was broken. His miracles are not just proofs that He has the power but also amazing foretastes of what He is going to do with His power in eternity. The miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts.

This miracle proved the Lord Jesus has authority over disease. While the Lord Jesus has absolute authority over everything, His authority is not cold or detached; it’s deeply personal. He doesn’t wield His authority to dominate or to control but to heal, to restore, and to bring life. He touches the untouchable, He embraces the outcast, and He offers hope to the hopeless. He ministered largely to the marginalized, the overlooked, and the outcast of society. He crossed boundaries and He broke barriers to reach those whom the world has pushed aside. His miracles call on us to respond to Him out of a heart that has been miraculously touched by Him. 

Matthew 8:11-13

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"11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour." ~ Matthew 8:11-13

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 8 where the Apostle Matthew has recorded the first of ten miracles, the healing of the Leper. In our last study we began a study of the second miracle in this chapter where a Roman Centurion soldier sent a message to the Lord Jesus requesting the healing of one of his servants.

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Here, the Lord Jesus pulled the curtain back a bit and gave a scene in heaven for His Jewish audience. To them He portrayed many sitting down with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to Isaiah, they will enjoy a feast. Here, the Lord described His coming millennial kingdom. During that 1000 year reign which will take place after the Tribulation, all of His promises that He made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will come to pass. 

But, these words of the Lord Jesus that day shocked His disciples. The Jews, including the disciples of the Lord Jesus, believed that before the kingdom came, all the Gentiles would be destroyed. They didn't believe that the Gentiles would be in heaven with them at the end of time. But, the Scriptures clearly reveal all who trust in the Lord Jesus as our Savior will be in heaven. It was in John 8 the Lord Jesus said to the religious leaders of Israel, 

"'I know you’re Abraham’s seed; but you seek to kill Me. You’re trying to kill Me, because My Word has no place in you, and I speak that which I have seen with My Father, and you do that which you’ve seen with your father.' They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father,' and Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But you seek to kill Me.' – and then He said – 'You are of your father, the devil.'"

That day the words of the Lord Jesus shocked His disciples because He clearly told them that many Jewish people would not be in heaven with the patriarchs. To their amazement, the Lord Jesus made it clear that physical genealogy factors not in anyone entering heaven. In fact, He said, "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness." In the original language in the Greek there are two definite articles one before weeping and one before gnashing. It literally reads,"There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." The definite articles are put there for the sake of emphasis to emphasize the horror hell will be. The eternal punishment of Hell will yield weeping and gnashing of teeth. The phrase, "weeping and gnashing of teeth" occurs six times in Matthew’s gospel. It describes the sorrow, the pain, the agony, the despair that those who will go there will experience.

We do not like to talk about Hell but the Lord Jesus taught on it more than any other subject. The Lord Jesus was saying that on that day there will those who believe they will be on their way to heaven but they will be sent to Hell. This is why they will weep and why they will gnash their teeth. For eternity, there will be no one to blame but their stubbornness to not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In Matthew 7:22-23 the Lord Jesus said, "On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." The word "knew" is key to understand here. This form of know indicates the presence of a personal relationship and this is key to enter into heaven.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour."

The Lord Jesus brought attention to the faith of the Centurion. He did not even mention the faith of the servant of the Centurion whom He had healed. All of the Jews present there that day, including the disciples, were shocked that the Lord Jesus healed the Gentile servant. They were shocked because they saw themselves as deserving of God's grace and not the Gentiles. No fallen human has ever earned the favor of God. This is why God makes it about faith. Our faith in God comes from Him, it does not come from us. Our faith is a product of God's faithfulness. The more we recognize His faithfulness, the more we are positioned to exercise our faith in Him. For this reason our faith in God is the integral ingredient in our relationship with Him. God has revealed enough of Himself for us to be able to trust Him.

The Lord requires us to exercise our faith in Him. He longs for us to know Him deeply. To know Him deeply requires quite a bit of seeking and knocking. Israel knew that God was faithful but that was not enough for them. They missed the Lord Jesus as their Messiah because their knowledge of God did not translate into a heart relationship with Him. They missed the Lord because their hearts were not engaged with Him. They missed the Lord because they could not believe that He was God incarnate. The faith of the unworthy Centurion was honored that day because it came at the end of a rope that said, "You are doomed unless God does something about this." Biblical faith will always have as its object the Lord Jesus Christ and that we earnestly seek Him for ourselves. And, biblical faith that earnestly seeks will always receive great blessing from the Lord.