The scene was reminiscent of Exodus 24:9-11 when God met with Moses, Aaron, Nadab and seventy elders of Israel on Mount Sinai to give them His Word. Jesus, His disciples and those who listened to Him from Matthew 5–7 made an exodus down from the mountain, and out into the world where people were waiting for help.
The first person mentioned who approaches Jesus and worships Him is a leper. His prayer is simple but expresses complete confidence in Jesus Messiah to do a miracle for him. “Lord!” He acknowledges that the One He speaks with is Messiah. “If you are willing!” According to Hosea 6:1, God can either wound or heal us, whichever is best for us. “You can make me clean!” He believes Jesus Messiah has the power to heal leprosy even though no medical doctor at that time could do so.
Jesus does not need many words or much build up to generate the power to heal the man. He spoke five words, “I am willing. Be cleansed.” The leprosy is gone. Jesus urges him to show himself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. This commandment is described with detail in Leviticus 14:1-31. He wanted the man to testify to the priests not to others.
Mark 1:45 tells us that the man did not obey Jesus. “He went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to Him from every quarter.”
I confess I made the same foolish mistake this man did. I testified of the miracles that Jesus did for me to the wrong kinds of people. Afterwards, I saw that some only wanted to gawk. Some wanted to harness His miracles to make fame and fortune. I was leading a discipleship ministry in China at the time. The Lord taught me to be obedient to His leading in regards to sharing testimonies. This way, I helped not hindered His ministry.
“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, go, and he goes; and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 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. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 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 8:5-13
The first man Jesus met was a leper. The second man He met was a Roman centurion. A Roman centurion had 100 soldiers under his command. Surprise! This Roman of position and authority pled with Jesus (a Jew) for help. He addressed Jesus as Lord. His petition was “My servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” He simply described to Jesus who was in need and what the man’s situation was like. The centurion felt compassion for his servant because the man was dreadfully tormented... perhaps moaning and groaning.
Jesus offered to come to the centurion’s house and heal his servant. If Jesus had done this, it would have been the second time in a row that He would have offended the sensibilities of the religious leaders. First, He touched the leper to heal him. They would never do such a thing. Next, he offered to enter the home of a Gentile. How scandalous!
The Roman has his own take on what Jesus said to him. First of all, he felt unworthy for the Lord to come under his roof. Secondly, he believed that Jesus only needed to speak a word to the illness as he did to people under his command, and the servant would be made whole.
The centurion’s faith in Him blessed Jesus. He had not found such great faith among His own people. He prophesied that many shall come into the kingdom of heaven from the east and west of Israel (Gentiles). Praise God! They shall sit down with the biological patriarchs of the faith. Sadly, some sons of the kingdom (biological Jews but not believers in Messiah) shall be thrown into darkness where they shall weep and gnash their teeth.
Jesus told the centurion, “As you have believed, so let it be done for you.” His servant was healed that same hour
“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So, He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.” Matthew 8:14-15
Next, Jesus touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law to heal her and she was healed. In Orthodox Judaism, men are forbidden from touching women who are not their wives or immediate family members. Jesus was more concerned about a person’s well-being than He was about the dominant culture’s dictations on such matters. She got up and served everyone.
“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, 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
Jesus expelled demons with a word. Are words powerful? Yes, when God Almighty Maker of heaven and earth speaks them. Jesus healed all who were sick. These miracles fulfilled the prophecy that God gave to His prophet in Isaiah 53:5. I have seen people freed from demons and healed of sickness as I have walked with Jesus. These miracles made them happy and built up my faith and the faith of others who were eyewitnesses to them.
“And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ 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.’ Then another of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” Matthew 8:18-22
Perhaps, these men had seen or heard of the miracles that Jesus did. Great crowds were following Jesus. They wanted Jesus to let them share in the excitement and blessings. They may have assumed that association with Jesus would elevate their reputation with family and friends.
The scribe promised to go with Jesus wherever He went. Really? How about the cross? Jesus told the scribe that foxes and birds had better homes than He did.
A disciple wanted permission to bury his father before following Jesus, likely meaning, he wanted to wait until after his father died before following Jesus. Jesus was under orders from His Heavenly Father. He would not delay to obey them for the sake of this man. He urged the man to follow Him and to let others take care of his father. Others could do that. Followers and disciples of Jesus are rare and needed.
Farmers rely on wisdom and knowledge to pair oxen together under one yoke. If they are not well matched they will hinder one another’s efforts to work for their master. They may also cause injury to one another. Jesus was careful to ensure that those who joined His team were a good match for the work that needed to be done.
“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ 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?’” Matthew 8:23-27
Matthew 8:18 says, “When Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.” So they are getting into a boat to escape the crowds which seem to be getting out of control. Perhaps, the disciples sighed a sigh of relief. But as it is so often with mission work, you leave behind one trial to experience another. They experienced a storm burst that was rocking the boat and soaking them with water. At least four of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, but they were afraid. They turned to Jesus to save them. So, they did believe He could do so, and Jesus did calm the storm. They knew that the immediate change of circumstances was because Jesus did a miracle. The disciples experienced fear during adverse circumstances due to their little faith, but at least, their little faith looked to Jesus for help.
“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. 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
In Ephesians 6:12, Paul wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Everyone who joins Jesus in the ministry of presenting the Gospel to people will encounter persecution from the evil one. The devil, like the Pharaoh in the Old Testament, does not want to let his captives go.
The disciples of Jesus experienced a great storm on the Sea of Galilee that really shook them to the core. Then, when they got their feet on solid ground, two demon-possessed men came out from tombs and met Jesus. The demons cried out because they feared that Jesus, the Son of God, had come to torment them. Perhaps, the disciples were once again very afraid.
“Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, ‘If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.’ 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
The demons begged Jesus for permission to be transferred from the two men to a herd of pigs. So, it seems these disembodied spirits can inhabit animals. These are the spirits of fallen angels. They lost a lot when they followed Lucifer to wage war against God. They lost their place in heaven. They lost their beauty. Now, they are willing to indwell even the stinkiest and dirtiest of creatures on earth... pigs. Jesus gave them permission to go, but then, the pigs ran violently into the sea and died. Demons are destructive. Their fruit is torment and death.
All who rebel and war against our Lord Jesus Christ will lose.
“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. 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
The disciples of Jesus heard excellent Bible teaching from Jesus in chapters 5-7. In Matthew 8, our Lord Jesus Christ provided instantaneous relief from ostracizing leprosy, from painful torment, from debilitating fever, from life-threatening storms and from demonic oppression. At last, a whole city of people begged Jesus to depart from their region.
The disciples witnessed all kinds of miracles as they walked with Jesus. Would they be able to keep pace with Him in the days ahead? Yes, they did, by His grace.
What about us? If Jesus began to do miracles among us as He did in this chapter, would we still walk with Him? Or would we like the people of the Gergesenes ask Jesus to depart from us?
Even more important for each of us, Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. We can enter heaven when our sins are forgiven by God. Thus, we should ask Him to forgive us our sins and to grace us with His power and His Spirit to continuously walk with Him. No matter what ups and downs His ministry to others takes us through, it is a divine privilege to know and walk with Jesus.
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