Category: Matthew 8

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Luke Luke 9 Matthew Matthew 8

To follow Christ

The gospels

What does it mean to follow Christ?

That’s what three people found out, as they either approached Jesus or were called by him to be his disciples.

A teacher of the law came up to him first, and said,

Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. (Matthew 8:19)

This is very interesting to me. Most of the teachers of the law opposed Jesus. But this one, despite the opposition of most of his peers, was nevertheless full of zeal to follow Jesus. Zeal is good.

But Jesus warned him,

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. (Matthew 8:20)

In other words, “I’m not promising an easy life. Following me is not all fun and games. You’re going to be away from home a lot. You may never have a family of your own if you choose this life. Can you handle that?”

Jesus went to another man, and said, “Follow me.” The man replied,

Lord, first let me go and bury my father. (Luke 9:59)

What was the situation here? Most likely, the father wasn’t dead. I strongly doubt that Jesus had walked up to the funeral and said to the man, “Follow me.”

I suppose it’s possible that the father had a terminal illness. However, it’s also possible that his father was perfectly healthy, and the man simply wanted to wait until his father passed away, whenever that was, before he followed Jesus.

Perhaps his father was opposed to Jesus, and if he found out that his son was following Jesus, the man would be disowned.

But Jesus said,

Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:60)

In this case, I think Jesus is talking about the spiritually dead burying the spiritually dead.

I was reading a book about Japan, and it said that some Japanese don’t become Christians, because they don’t like the idea that their family will go to hell if they don’t believe in Jesus, and that there is no hope for those who have already passed away without Jesus.

But Jesus basically says that you can’t control that. Don’t let the spiritually dead determine your spiritual destiny. Either in terms of your salvation or in doing God’s work.

There may be other spiritually dead people who, if you would just go out and tell them about Jesus, would be saved.

But if you don’t go out because you’re afraid of what your family will say, not only will your family go to hell, but also those you never told.

One last man said to Jesus,

I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family. (Luke 9:61)

But Jesus replied,

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)

I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong in saying good-bye to your family.

But perhaps Jesus knew there was a deeper problem within this man’s heart. That there was a tie to this man’s family that would hold him back from completely following Jesus.

And if we’re constantly looking back at something we left behind, even something as good as family, it can hinder us as we try to follow Jesus. Jesus wants our whole heart, not just a part.

We have no idea how these three men responded. Perhaps the gospel writers meant to do it that way so that you would have to think about your response.

Are you willing to follow Jesus though it may be hard?

Are you willing to follow Jesus though your family and those you love won’t?

And are you willing to leave behind all that would hinder you from following Jesus?

In short, how will you respond when Jesus says to you, “Follow me?”

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Luke Luke 8 Mark Mark 5 Matthew Matthew 8

Set free

The gospels

A very bizarre story to say the least. Here, Jesus and his disciples come to the other side of the lake following the storm, and when they do, they immediately come across two demon possessed men.

(One wonders why only one is mentioned in Mark and Luke. Perhaps only one of them came to a saving faith, but that is only speculation).

Perhaps as they first were drawing near the shore, they heard these strange howls and cries, and they wondered what in the world those howls were.

Then when they reach shore, these men come running out naked, and possibly with broken chains hanging from their hands and feet.

And when the disciples look more closely, they notice cuts up and down these men’s bodies, and they can see they’re self-inflicted.

How would you have felt? I would have been frightened out of my mind.

But Jesus commands the demons to leave.

At first, they resisted, shouting, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? Swear to God that you won’t torture me.” (Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7)

But when Jesus continues to demand they leave, they ask permission to go into a herd of pigs, and when they do, the pigs jump off a steep bank and drown in the lake.

When the townspeople come out and see the men in their right minds, however, they are frightened out of their minds at the transformation and ask Jesus to leave.

What can we get from this?

I think the first thing is that demons are real, and are not to be trifled with.

Some people “play” with tarot cards and ouija boards thinking it’s just a game, but whenever you “play” with these things, you’re opening yourself up to a spiritual beings…and they are not from God.

One person put it this way. “There is a door to the spiritual world, and the doorknob is only on our side. But when we open that door, anything can come in.”

Note too that these demons do not mean us any good. Sometimes they disguise themselves as angels of light, but ultimately, they seek our destruction.

You can see that in their treatment of these men, but also in what happened to the pigs when they entered them. Tarot cards and ouija boards may seem fun, but the powers behind them are seeking to destroy you.

The good news is that we don’t have to be afraid of them. Because as powerful as demons are, Jesus clearly shows here that he has the authority over them.

That said, stay as far as possible from anything occultic. You may be forced to encounter demons, but that doesn’t mean you should go pursuing encounters with them.

Hopefully, you’ll never encounter demon possession, but there are other things I think we can get from this passage.

One thing is that while sin may seem fun, in the end, it controls you and will destroy you.

I don’t know how these men came to be demon possessed, but it didn’t come by seeking God. And while they may have opened the door to these demons, once they came in, they were no longer in control, the demons were.

In the same way, we may start out by choosing sin, but in the end, it controls us. Like the men in this story, a lot of the wounds we have are self-inflicted. And apart from repentance and God’s grace, sin will destroy us.

But as with Jesus and these demoniacs, Jesus has the power to set us free. If we will turn to him and repent, he will forgive our sins, and help us to overcome sin in our lives.

Not everyone will be happy with the change, however. The people from their hometown certainly weren’t. They asked Jesus to leave.

As bad and frightening as these men used to be, it seems the townspeople almost wished they had never changed. People may feel the same about you.

But Jesus calls us to minister to them. And like Jesus told these men, so he tells you,

Return home and tell how much God has done for you. (Luke 8:39)

Jesus has set you free. Won’t you share what God has done for you so that he can set free those you love too?

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Luke Luke 8 Mark Mark 4 Matthew Matthew 8

Our faith

The gospels

I look at Jesus’ words, “O you of little faith,” and I can’t help but think that if he were to see me now, he would say the same thing. “O Bruce, why do you have so little faith?”

Think for a bit about the circumstances the disciples faced. They’re taking the boat across the lake just as Jesus told them to.

At first, things are calm, but suddenly, as is often the case in that region, a sudden squall comes in. Now, waves are crashing in the boat, and row as they might against the wind and the waves, they’re not getting anywhere.

Suddenly the thought comes, “Why doesn’t Jesus do something?” They look down and find him fast asleep in the boat. Here they are about to die, and Jesus is sleeping?

So they wake him up and shout, “Master! Master! Save us! Don’t you care we’re about to drown?”

I wonder at that point, what exactly they expected Jesus to do? From their reaction at the end of the story, they certainly didn’t expect him to do what he did. So what then?

My guess, is they had no clue. They asked not truly believing that Jesus could do anything, but at the same time thinking that if there was anyone who could save them, it was him. A strange mixture of faith and unbelief.

How often are we the same?

We’re drowning in our circumstances. We’ve exhausted all efforts trying to keep our boat afloat, and now, we cry out to Jesus, not because we truly believe he can help us, but because we have no other options. We cry, not in faith, but in desperation.

In our panic, we even wonder if he’s asleep on the job. If he really cares.

Yet Jesus in his grace, brings us through the storm as he gently chides, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

Which brings me back to my original question. How often does Jesus ask that of me? Why would I doubt that he cares, and why would I doubt that he is in control when he has proven himself time and time again? And yet I do.

Would that I could completely trust him. To not let anxiety take over me when I lose control of a situation (as if I ever were in control?).

To ask of him not in panic or fear, but in faith, fully believing that he does care for me, and will meet my needs.

How about you? Is that your heart’s cry?

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Luke Luke 7 Matthew Matthew 8

Grace and faith

The gospels

As I look at these two passages, there are distinct points that I gather from each account.

In the Lukan account, we find that when the Roman centurion asked for Jesus help, he got the support of the Jewish elders who said to Jesus,

This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue. (Luke 7:4-5)

Yet though the elders called this man “deserving,” the centurion himself said,

I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. (Luke 7:6-7)

Sometimes, we think that in order to be saved, or for that matter, to get anything from God, we have to be “deserving.”

But grace says the exact opposite. It says, “Though you are not deserving, though you are not worthy, nevertheless I will give you what you need, eternal life and more. All you need to do is ask.”

The question is, do we have the faith to ask.

Sometimes we get jaded in our faith. I know I do. We ask for something, and for whatever reason, God says no.

And because of that, we wonder, “Is it worth praying? Will God answer? Does he have the power to answer? Does he care enough to answer?”

But faith says, “I will continue to believe in God’s goodness. That he knows what is best for me. Not only that, he has the power to help me. And because of that, I will continue to ask.”

That’s the kind of faith the centurion had.

He thought, “I’m an outsider. A Roman. Jews generally hate Romans. And I am totally unworthy to get help from this Jesus. But I believe that he not only has the power to help me, but the desire. And so I’ll ask.”

And because he did, his servant was healed.

It is rare that you ever find Jesus astonished. You only find it twice in scripture.

One was in the face of unbelief of the very people he grew up with. (Mark 6:6) And the other was in the face of the incredible faith of this outsider, this Roman centurion.

Jesus said of him,

I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:10-12)

And that’s the other point I get from this. It is people like this centurion, who understand their need for grace, and who put their faith in Jesus that will enter God’s kingdom.

No one can inherit God’s kingdom through their bloodlines or by doing works that make themselves deserving.

Rather, we inherit God’s kingdom when we say, “Though I don’t deserve anything from you, nevertheless I believe in you. Save me.”

Paul put it this way,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 8

The One who cleanses

The gospels

I love the compassion of Jesus that we see in this passage. A man covered with leprosy came to Jesus, begging him,

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. (Matthew 8:2)

Being leprous back in those days was a horrible thing because you were literally cut off from society. You had to leave your home, and basically go into exile. If someone came close to you, you had to shout “Unclean, unclean” to warn them away.

It was a lonely, miserable life. The only people you could hang out with were other lepers.

But this leper had heard about Jesus and suddenly he had hope again. He dared to draw near, asking for healing.

I think Jesus went well beyond what this man expected. Not only did Jesus say he was willing to heal him, he even touched the man.

To touch a leprous man in Jewish society was to make yourself ceremonially unclean, not to mention putting yourself in danger of becoming leprous yourself.

It may have been the first time that this man had been touched in years and Jesus’ touch may have jolted him.

I’ve been in Japan, a place not known for much human touch (such as hugs) among adults. I’ve been here so long, I get kind of jolted when people offer me a hug.

That’s how this man may have felt. For so long, people feared to touch him because they might become unclean.

But when Jesus touched this man, Jesus didn’t become unclean. Rather, he made the leprous man clean.

In the same way, Jesus sees us in an unclean sinful state. We’re trapped in the muck and mire of our sin, unable to save ourselves. All we can do is say, “Jesus, if you’re willing, you can make me clean. Help me. Save me.”

And if we will do that, as he did with the leprous man, Jesus will reach down, touch us, and make us whole.

If Jesus could make a person’s skin whole, how much more can he make our souls whole?

Are you trapped in your sin? Do you feel unclean because of it, unable to help yourself? Come to Jesus. Ask for his help and his forgiveness. And he will make you whole.

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Luke Luke 4 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 8

The One who heals

The gospels

Here we catch a glimpse of the healing ministry of Jesus as it kicks into full gear.

It starts with Jesus visiting Peter’s home, and healing Peter’s mother-in-law. It strikes me here that this was the first time Jesus healed on the Sabbath, although it was in a private setting, so he caught no flack for it.

Looking back, I kind of wonder about the casting out of the demon back in the synagogue. Would the Pharisees and teachers of the law considered that “work” and criticized Jesus for that too had they been there?

I can just imagine them saying, “Hey, what are you doing? Cast out demons some other day. It’s the Sabbath!”

Jesus would soon get into trouble for healing on the Sabbath, but not on this day. After the Sabbath was over, people flocked to Peter’s house to ask Jesus for healing, and Jesus healed each one.

Matthew says of this,

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17)

It should be pointed out that Matthew clearly states that this prophesy was fulfilled in the healing ministry of Christ while he was on earth. There is no guarantee of healing now.

Jesus, of course, can and does still heal. But unlike what some preachers teach, it is not guaranteed.

Anyway, what can we take from this passage? First, the compassion of Jesus. He not only cares about the crowds, he cares about the individual.

Here was a woman in Peter’s mother-in-law, who is otherwise nameless. And yet Jesus took her by the hand and healed her.

You may be nameless in this world. People may not know who you are. But Jesus knows. And when you’re hurting physically or emotionally, he sees and he cares.

Like I said, there is no guarantee for physical healing. Sometimes God has plans that we can’t see that don’t involve the physical healing of our bodies, but Jesus does tell us to ask, and we should.

But where there are emotional hurts or scars, Jesus will definitely bring healing to those if we will just come to him.

While I’ve seen Jesus use physical ailments for his glory, I don’t believe there would be any reason that Jesus would desire you to carry those emotional hurts throughout your life. So bring them to him. And he will heal you.

The other thing that strikes me from this passage is Peter’s mother-in-law’s response to her healing. She immediately started serving Jesus.

We should do the same. When Jesus heals us, whether from physical ailments or from emotional ones, or from the scars that come from sin, our response should be to serve him out of our gratitude and love for him.

Not because we have to, but because we want to.

And in many cases, he asks us to help others who are in the very same kind of trouble we were in.

Jesus doesn’t just heal us so that we will be healed, but so that we can bring his healing to others as well.

Are you bringing the healing of Jesus to those around you?