Matthew Chapter 8

A Man With Leprosy & a Roman Officer
The first two sections in chapter 8 deal with faith. Both the man with leprosy and the Roman officer had the faith to come to Jesus with their needs, knowing and believing that Jesus would and could heal them. The man with leprosy said, “You can heal me and make me clean”. He was absolutely sure that Jesus could take away his affliction. The Roman officer had such faith in Jesus that he believed Jesus didn’t even have to be present to heal his young servant. He had faith and believed that Jesus was master over all things including space and time. He knew that Jesus could heal over great distances. Jesus was amazed at this Gentiles faith. Here was a non-Jew proclaiming more faith than Jesus’ own people.

In verses 11 and 12 Jesus makes some bold proclamations. He says things that I am sure the Jewish people around Him were not too happy with. Jesus proclaims that many Gentiles, just like the Roman officer, will receive the gift of salvation. He is proclaiming that salvation is for everyone not just the Jewish people. Although they are God’s chosen people many will perish because of their non-belief in Jesus Christ. The wonderful saving grace of God is open to all who believe!!

Prophecy
In verses 14-17 Matthew once again dives into the real reason why he is righting this book: to let people know that Jesus is the Messiah that was prophesied about in the OT. He tells us that Jesus healed many people and cast out demons with a simple command. All of this meets the criteria for the prophecy in Isaiah 53:4.

The Cost of Following Jesus
In the last chapter Jesus already spoke to us about how narrow and difficult the road to following Him will be. Here again He is telling us that there will be a cost to following Him. He is against the health and wealth message that so many denominations are preaching these days. It will not be easy, it will not be comfortable (v. 20), and we will have to give up some things. When the young man wants to bury his father before following Jesus I believe Jesus is using hyperbole when He tells the young man, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” He is telling us that there should be an urgency to our following Him. Nothing should come in the way of us following Jesus.

Jesus Calms the Storm
In this section Jesus shows us (and the disciples confer) His amazing control over all of the created universe. He has already shown us He can beat the evil one in a battle of wills. He has already shown us His remarkable teaching prowess. He has shown us He has the ability to cast out demons with just a simple command. He has shown us that with a touch or over great distances He can heal people of their ailments. Now Jesus shows us His mastery over nature.

Even the Demons acknowledge Christ’s Supremacy
“Why are you interfering with us, Son of God?” the demons scream. They even ask if He has come to torture them “before God’s appointed time”. The demons believe in the authority of Jesus (James 2:19) and they beg Him for leniency. He commands them and they obey.

We see here that after observing the exorcism that Jesus had just done the herdsmen went back to the town and told everyone of the power that Jesus had. The entire town came out to meet Jesus but instead of acknowledging Him they asked Him to leave. It is the same in this present age. For those of us who call themselves followers of Christ we have seen the amazing things He has done in our lives. We may proclaim it to those around us but too often those that are in the world will not accept Jesus or His authority.

That’s it for chapter 8. Have a great day.

God bless.