Jesus comes down from the mountain and crowds await him. The needy begin seeking Him out, those sick and dying and others with fear of dying.
He is first met by a leper who, recognizing the power of Jesus, says, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus wills it so and it is so. Jesus makes two requests of the leper in return.
The first request is that the leper keep quiet about his healing. Jesus is doing his works in secret, just as he taught his followers in his Sermon. At the same time, Jesus is a shining city on a hill. His powerful works cannot be hid. But Jesus, while becoming well known, can resist the urge to be “popular.”
Jesus’s second request is that the leper go and show himself to the priest, in keeping with the Law in Leviticus 14, to demonstrate that he is clean and can once again enter into the camp. In this way, Jesus identifies with Moses, having come down off a mountain with the instructions of the Torah. This time, though, the one descending carries no tablets, because this prophet is Himself the fulfillment of the Law itself.
Jesus arrives at Capernaum and there meets a centurion, a Roman officer. The descent of Jesus from the mountain is first marked by an encounter with a Jewish leper and now we find Jesus approached by a Gentile soldier. As foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, the nations are coming to the Lord, streaming to him as predicted in Isaiah 2. The approach of this centurion marks the beginning of that flood in Matthew’s Gospel.
The centurion comes not for himself, but on behalf of his servant, who is paralyzed and “suffering terribly.” Such is the faith of the centurion that he requires no visit by Jesus to the infirm; , but rather he acknowledgesd that such is Jesus’s power than to heal by merely speaking a word the paralytic will be healed. This is remarkable faith, and it is shown by a Gentile.
While the centurion waits, Jesus turns to His followers and tells them of the does not first heal the servant, but references the approach of the many Gentiles who will come to dine at the table of heaven’s kingdom, making the very Jewish reference to a supper with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of Israel. The Gentiles will enjoy life in the kingdom of heaventhe kingdom feast while “the sons of the kingdom” will be cast into darkness.
The teaching couldn’t be clearer: Tthose who consider themselves “insiders” will be cast out, while those who are “outsiders” may join the feast with Israel’s fathers at the kingdom supper.
We note that Jesus teaches that “many” will come. Yes, we see elsewhere in the Gospels that “few” are chosen and “the way is narrow,” but this may only be understood rightly along with texts like Matthew 8 where we see that “many” from east and westthe nations will come to God. We must beware that those who so readily make pronouncements about the “few” who will see the kingdom may in fact be the it may be the “insiders” who will be thrown “outside.” who so readily pronounces who the “few” are who will see the kingdom.
Jesus turns back to the centurion, He speaks, It is at this point that Jesus speaks and we learn that at that moment the centurion’s servant was healed. Just as the Creator spoke the world into existence, so Jesus speaks and the servant is made new.
Jesus follows this healing with a visit to house of Peter, whose mother-in-law is sick. Jesus heals her along with others who are “wickedly sick,”, and liberates others from the power of demons. Again, this he does by “a word,” demonstrating his power to make things new. This occasions, we learn, is yet another fulfillment of a prophecy, this from Isaiah 53, that Messiah will heal our infirmities.
Matthew next teaches us a brief lesson about the nature of following Jesus. A scribe approaches, boldly stating that he will follow Jesus wherever Hhe will go. Jesus replies with a saying, reminding his listeners that Hhis calling is to always be “on the go,” that there is no home for those who follow Hhim, at which point a disciple tells Jesus he will follow Hhim once he has buried his father. Jesus bluntly tells him to let the dead bury their dead.
This teaching is unsettling. It seems that Jesus is insensitive to the man’s reasonable request. But a point is being made, and an important one, since each one of us is tempted to keep putting off the costly call to discipleship by means significant and trivial. But one cannot value staying at home above following Jesus.
The next scene is the first where Jesus is in a boat with his disciples whenre a storm arises. On this occasion Jesus lays lies sleeping while the disciples face the fierce waves. They eventually wake Jesus, fearing for their lives. He questions why they have so little faith before speaking a word, once again, and calming the sea. Where in v. 24 there is a “great” (Gr, mega) storm, in v. 26 there comes a “great” (Gr, mega) calm.
There is, of course, a contrast between these disciples and the centurion. The centurion exhibited remarkable faith while the disciples do not. And, once again, we see the power over creation exercised by Jesus, which this time is associated with power over water, reminiscent of the divine Spirit hovering over the waters of creation in Genesis 1.
While the disciples ponder “What sort of man is this,” demons on the other side of the lake have no such question. And then we are greeted with another contrast, this time when Jesus enters the country of the Gadarenes and comes upon two demon-possessed men, s. So fierce are these men under the power of these demons that people couldn’t even pass by them. When Jesus approaches, and the demons cry out, acknowledging Him as “the Son of God” who has the power to judge them. They begging Jesus to cast them out into a herd of pigs. There is a notable contrast, once again, with the disciples of Jesus. The disciples, upon seeing the power of Jesus, ask, “What sort of man is this . . .?,” while the demons recognize Jesus as “Son of God.”
Jesus grants the request of the demons, casting them into the pigs, who then commence an act of swine suicide, hurling themselves off an embankment into water where they drown. The herdsman who had care of the pigs have much to report, including the decimation of the herd but also the deliverance of the demon-possessed men. The response of the townspeople is remarkable: , as they commence to askbeg Jesus to leave them. There is a lot of begging going on in this passage. The demons beg Jesus to cast them out into the pigs and the people beg Jesus to be cast out of their locale.
The presence of Jesus is not always comforting, and Hhe is not always welcome. He is wanted so desperately on the one hand, and pushed away on the other. One who is interested in having a Jesus who solves problems and tends to their needs, but who then leaves things just as they are, will not be comforted by the Jesus of the Gospels.
We see in Matthew 8 that Jesus is powerful, and that his kingdom is marked by power. But it is not a power that will be misused or corrupted. We also learn that the kingdom is for all peoples. It has come through the Jewish people but is not exclusively for them. And while we learn that some outsider insiders will be thrown out and some outsiders will be allowed in, we see as well that some of each, “insiders” and “outsiders” alike, will refuse to follow Jesus.
The first request is that the leper keep quiet about his healing. Jesus is doing his works in secret, just as he taught his followers in his Sermon. At the same time, Jesus is a shining city on a hill. His powerful works cannot be hid. But Jesus, while becoming well known, can resist the urge to be “popular.”
Jesus’s second request is that the leper go and show himself to the priest, in keeping with the Law in Leviticus 14, to demonstrate that he is clean and can once again enter into the camp. In this way, Jesus identifies with Moses, having come down off a mountain with the instructions of the Torah. This time, though, the one descending carries no tablets, because this prophet is Himself the fulfillment of the Law itself.
Jesus arrives at Capernaum and there meets a centurion, a Roman officer. The descent of Jesus from the mountain is first marked by an encounter with a Jewish leper and now we find Jesus approached by a Gentile soldier. As foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, the nations are coming to the Lord, streaming to him as predicted in Isaiah 2. The approach of this centurion marks the beginning of that flood in Matthew’s Gospel.
The centurion comes not for himself, but on behalf of his servant, who is paralyzed and “suffering terribly.” Such is the faith of the centurion that he requires no visit by Jesus to the infirm; , but rather he acknowledgesd that such is Jesus’s power than to heal by merely speaking a word the paralytic will be healed. This is remarkable faith, and it is shown by a Gentile.
While the centurion waits, Jesus turns to His followers and tells them of the does not first heal the servant, but references the approach of the many Gentiles who will come to dine at the table of heaven’s kingdom, making the very Jewish reference to a supper with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of Israel. The Gentiles will enjoy life in the kingdom of heaventhe kingdom feast while “the sons of the kingdom” will be cast into darkness.
The teaching couldn’t be clearer: Tthose who consider themselves “insiders” will be cast out, while those who are “outsiders” may join the feast with Israel’s fathers at the kingdom supper.
We note that Jesus teaches that “many” will come. Yes, we see elsewhere in the Gospels that “few” are chosen and “the way is narrow,” but this may only be understood rightly along with texts like Matthew 8 where we see that “many” from east and westthe nations will come to God. We must beware that those who so readily make pronouncements about the “few” who will see the kingdom may in fact be the it may be the “insiders” who will be thrown “outside.” who so readily pronounces who the “few” are who will see the kingdom.
Jesus turns back to the centurion, He speaks, It is at this point that Jesus speaks and we learn that at that moment the centurion’s servant was healed. Just as the Creator spoke the world into existence, so Jesus speaks and the servant is made new.
Jesus follows this healing with a visit to house of Peter, whose mother-in-law is sick. Jesus heals her along with others who are “wickedly sick,”, and liberates others from the power of demons. Again, this he does by “a word,” demonstrating his power to make things new. This occasions, we learn, is yet another fulfillment of a prophecy, this from Isaiah 53, that Messiah will heal our infirmities.
Matthew next teaches us a brief lesson about the nature of following Jesus. A scribe approaches, boldly stating that he will follow Jesus wherever Hhe will go. Jesus replies with a saying, reminding his listeners that Hhis calling is to always be “on the go,” that there is no home for those who follow Hhim, at which point a disciple tells Jesus he will follow Hhim once he has buried his father. Jesus bluntly tells him to let the dead bury their dead.
This teaching is unsettling. It seems that Jesus is insensitive to the man’s reasonable request. But a point is being made, and an important one, since each one of us is tempted to keep putting off the costly call to discipleship by means significant and trivial. But one cannot value staying at home above following Jesus.
The next scene is the first where Jesus is in a boat with his disciples whenre a storm arises. On this occasion Jesus lays lies sleeping while the disciples face the fierce waves. They eventually wake Jesus, fearing for their lives. He questions why they have so little faith before speaking a word, once again, and calming the sea. Where in v. 24 there is a “great” (Gr, mega) storm, in v. 26 there comes a “great” (Gr, mega) calm.
There is, of course, a contrast between these disciples and the centurion. The centurion exhibited remarkable faith while the disciples do not. And, once again, we see the power over creation exercised by Jesus, which this time is associated with power over water, reminiscent of the divine Spirit hovering over the waters of creation in Genesis 1.
While the disciples ponder “What sort of man is this,” demons on the other side of the lake have no such question. And then we are greeted with another contrast, this time when Jesus enters the country of the Gadarenes and comes upon two demon-possessed men, s. So fierce are these men under the power of these demons that people couldn’t even pass by them. When Jesus approaches, and the demons cry out, acknowledging Him as “the Son of God” who has the power to judge them. They begging Jesus to cast them out into a herd of pigs. There is a notable contrast, once again, with the disciples of Jesus. The disciples, upon seeing the power of Jesus, ask, “What sort of man is this . . .?,” while the demons recognize Jesus as “Son of God.”
Jesus grants the request of the demons, casting them into the pigs, who then commence an act of swine suicide, hurling themselves off an embankment into water where they drown. The herdsman who had care of the pigs have much to report, including the decimation of the herd but also the deliverance of the demon-possessed men. The response of the townspeople is remarkable: , as they commence to askbeg Jesus to leave them. There is a lot of begging going on in this passage. The demons beg Jesus to cast them out into the pigs and the people beg Jesus to be cast out of their locale.
The presence of Jesus is not always comforting, and Hhe is not always welcome. He is wanted so desperately on the one hand, and pushed away on the other. One who is interested in having a Jesus who solves problems and tends to their needs, but who then leaves things just as they are, will not be comforted by the Jesus of the Gospels.
We see in Matthew 8 that Jesus is powerful, and that his kingdom is marked by power. But it is not a power that will be misused or corrupted. We also learn that the kingdom is for all peoples. It has come through the Jewish people but is not exclusively for them. And while we learn that some outsider insiders will be thrown out and some outsiders will be allowed in, we see as well that some of each, “insiders” and “outsiders” alike, will refuse to follow Jesus.
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