WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
Our Savior was rejected in Nazareth see;
Then He;
We see that He;
He then tells us how to get saved;
Jesus ends His Ministry in Judea and;
John the Baptist Exalts Christ.
Jesus finished His Ministry in Judea and went up to Galilee but did not take the long road the Jews normally take to avoid going through Samaria but went straight to a place called Sychar near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria.
Jesus returned via Samaria to Galilee and we see The Rewards Of Service John 4:28-38, The Growth Of Faith John 4:39-45 and lastly The Reward Of Trusting Jesus’ Word John4:46-54.
Back in Galilee after a year in Judea;
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.
Nazareth’s loss was Capernaum’s gain. The people in the latter city recognized that His teaching was authoritative. His words were convicting and impelling.
The Sermon on the Mount.
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
The Beatitudes. Salt and Light.
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
Retaliation and Love Your Enemies
Secret giving and secret praying
What to Seek and Whom to Serve
Ask, and It will Be Given & The Golden Rule.
Frederick Brotherton Meyer, a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic presents it to us this way;
REWARDS OF FAITH
Matthew 8:1-10
The Lord can touch thy heart, leprous with impurity, and make its stain depart, so that, as in the case of Naaman, its foulness shall become like “unto the flesh of a little child.” See 2Ki_5:14. The psalmist cried, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean,” alluding to the rite for the cleansing of the leper. Compare Psa_51:7; Lev_14:4, etc. But one touch of Christ’s hand is enough, for He is the great High Priest.
He also can heal the paralysis which has limited thy service and pinned thee down in helplessness. As the centurion recognized, because Christ was obedient to the Father’s law He was able to wield the Father’s power. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the Cross; therefore God hath highly exalted Him, that He might send tides of living energy into the paralyzed will. The Apostle Paul testified, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
Matthew 8:11-17
A feast was the Hebrew conception of heaven. The Jews thought they were secure of it, because of their descent from Abraham. Grace is not hereditary; to receive it, every man has to exercise a personal faith in Christ. Let us see to it that our religion is absolutely true, lest it land us in hopeless disappointment.
Notice that faith is the measure of divine performance-as… so…. Our Lord can deliver from the fever-heat of passion and make the soul calm, quiet and pure. It was a wonderful thing that the patient could at once arise and minister in Peter’s humble home to their great Guest, but it is even more wonderful when a helpless spirit suddenly emerges from the dominion of passion into strength and beauty.
The key to all true service is furnished in Mat_8:17. We must take to ourselves the infirmities, sorrows and sins of those whom we would really help. This is the law of Christ, Gal_6:1-4.
We thank William MacDonald (1917-2007) who, for more than forty years, written directly about the key issues of Christianity. Leaving a promising business career as an employed investment analyst with First National Bank of Boston “at the foot of the Cross”, he had travelled worldwide, proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ for the Believer’s Bible Commentary.
HE MESSIAH’S MIRACLES OF POWER AND GRACE, AND VARYING REACTIONS TO THEM
Matthew 8:1-9:34
In chapters 8-12 the Lord Jesus presents conclusive evidence to the nation of Israel that He was indeed the Messiah of whom the prophets had written. Isaiah, for example, had foretold that Messiah would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, heal the lame, and make the mute sing (Isa_35:5-6). Jesus, by fulfilling all these prophecies, proved that He was Messiah. Israel, by referring to her Scriptures, should have had no difficulty in identifying Him as the Christ. But none are so blind as those who will not see.
The events recorded in these chapters are presented according to a thematic scheme, rather than in strict chronological order. This is not a complete account of the Lord’s ministry, but a presentation of events selected by the Holy Spirit to portray certain motifs in the Savior’s life. Included in this presentation are the following:
1. Christ’s absolute authority over disease, demons, death, and the elements of nature.
2. His claim to absolute lordship in the lives of those who would follow Him.
3. The mounting rejection of Jesus by the Jews, particularly by the religious leaders.
4. The ready reception of the Savior by individual Gentiles.
A.Power Over Leprosy
Matthew 8:1-4
8:1 Though the teaching of Jesus was radical and extreme, it had a drawing power—so much so that great multitudes followed Him. Truth is self-verifying and, though people may not like it, they can never forget it.
8:2 A leper knelt before Jesus with a desperate appeal for healing. This leper had faith that the Lord could cure him, and true faith is never disappointed. Leprosy is an appropriate picture of sin because it is loathsome, destructive, infectious, and, in some forms, humanly incurable.
8:3 Lepers were untouchables. Physical contact with them might expose a person to infection. In the case of the Jews, this contact made the person ceremonially unclean, that is, unfit to worship with the congregation of Israel. But when Jesus touched the leper and spoke the healing words, the leprosy vanished immediately. Our Savior has power to cleanse from sin and to qualify the cleansed person to be a worshiper.
8:4 This is the first instance in Matthew’s Gospel where it is recorded that Jesus commanded someone to tell no one of the miracle done for them or of what they had seen (see also Mat_9:30; Mat_12:16; Mat_17:9; Mar_5:43; Mar_7:36; Mar_8:26). This was probably because He was aware that many people, interested only in deliverance from the Roman yoke, wanted to make Him King. But He knew that Israel was still unrepentant, that the nation would reject His spiritual leadership, and that He must first go to the cross.
Under the Law of Moses, the priest also served as physician. When a leper was cleansed, he was obligated to bring an offering and to appear before the priest in order to be pronounced clean (Lev_14:4-6). It was no doubt a rare event for a leper to be healed, so extraordinary, in fact, that it should have alerted this priest to investigate whether the Messiah had appeared at last. But we read of no such reaction. Jesus told the leper to obey the law in this matter.
The spiritual implications of the miracle are clear: The Messiah had come to Israel with power to heal the nation of its illness. He presented this miracle as one of His credentials. But the nation was not yet ready for her Deliverer.
B. Power Over Paralysis
Matthew 8:5-13
8:5, 6 The faith of a Gentile centurion is introduced in striking contrast to the unreceptiveness of the Jews. If Israel will not acknowledge her King, the despised pagans will. The centurion was a Roman military officer in charge of about one hundred men, and was stationed in or near Capernaum. He came to Jesus to seek healing for his servant who had suffered a violent and painful paralysis. This was an unusual display of com passion—most officials would not have shown such concern for a servant.
8:7-9 When the Lord Jesus offered to visit the sick servant, the centurion showed the reality and depth of his faith. He said, in effect, “I am not worthy that You should enter my house. Anyway, it isn’t necessary, because You could easily heal him by saying the word. I know about authority. I take orders from my superiors, and give order to those under me. My commands are obeyed implicitly. How much more would Your words have power over my servant’s illness!”
8:10-12 Jesus marveled at the faith of this Gentile. This is one of two times when Jesus is said to have marveled; the other time was at the unbelief of the Jews (Mar_6:6). He had not found such great faith among God’s chosen people, Israel. This led Him to point out that in His coming kingdom, Gentiles would flock from all over the world to enjoy fellowship with the Jewish patriarchs while the sons of the kingdom would be thrown into outer darkness where they would weep and gnash their teeth. Sons of the kingdom are those who were Jews by birth, who professed to acknowledge God as King, but who were never truly converted. But the principle applies today. Many children privileged to be born and raised in Christian families will perish in hell because they reject Christ, while jungle savages will enjoy the eternal glories of heaven because they believed the gospel message.
8:13 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Faith is rewarded in proportion to its confidence in the character of God. The servant was healed instantly, even though Jesus was some distance away. We may see in this a picture of Christ’s present ministry; healing the non-privileged Gentiles from the paralysis of sin, though He Himself is not bodily present.
C. Power Over Fever
Matthew 8:14, 15
Entering Peter’s house, Jesus found the mother-in-law sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever vanished. Ordinarily fever leaves a person greatly weakened, but this cure was so instantaneous and complete that she was able to get out of bed and serve Him—a fitting expression of gratitude for what the Savior had done for her. We should imitate her, whenever we are healed, by serving Him with renewed dedication and vigor.
Please pray the Holy Spirit-The Paraclete will use these sermons and studies to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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