Matthew 8, Luke 5,
Mark 2
Matthew 8
Matthew 8:14-17
The way Matthew organizes his book can be frustrating for those who want
to read the Gospels in chronological order.
These few verses are tucked within other events that happened a little
later. After Jesus was in Cana, He
traveled to Capernaum where He spoke in the Synagogue and drove out the demon
(Luke 4:33-35). After that event is when
He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. The
next day is when the people couldn’t find Him, and when He begins a ministry
tour of Galilee. At one point during
that tour . . .
Matthew 8:2-4
A man with Leprosy asked Him for help.
I think Jesus appreciated what the man said. He didn’t say “if you can heal me, but if you are willing. Of course Jesus can, but the question is if
healing is part of His will. This is an
important lesson for us. Of course Jesus
can heal our sicknesses. We just need to
discern if it is within His will at the present time to heal them. Mark’s Gospel adds that the man went and told
everyone what happened (Mark 1:45).
Matthew 8:5
This event actually does take place after the Sermon on the Mount, which
we will discuss next month.
Matthew 8:6-13
I find it significant that this Roman Centurion was concerned about the
health of a servant boy. Impressed with
the man’s faith and his concern for human life, Jesus contrasts this “outcast”
with those who were “sons of the Kingdom”.
And He turns the tables. Those
who thought they were in would be out, and those who thought they were out were
in. Using the image of a great banquet,
Jesus says that a lot of people will be surprised at who is seated around the
table and who is not. Truly a Son of the
Kingdom was not based upon birth or heritage, but on behavior, faith, and obedience
to the King. What was it the Lord desired
from His people? Not to mechanically
follow rituals and customs, but to have a heart that desires to “do what is
right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Matthew 8:18-22
Inserted here as almost an afterthought, Matthew mentions the cost
involved with following Jesus. But this
cost, it seems, applies more to those entering into the service of the Lord
rather than those who simply express faith in Jesus. It seems the Scribe wanted to come alongside
Jesus and work with Jesus, not just express faith that He is the Messiah. It seems the Scribe was lured into service
because of the crowds and the present fame.
But Christ warns him that there is great sacrifice in laboring with
Jesus. To labor with Jesus means giving
up everything. The Apostles gave up
their jobs; they left their families and their homes. Many times they lived off the graciousness of
others. Jesus tells the scribe that if
he is in the ministry for the money and the fame, then he’s in it for the wrong
reason. Later, Matthew will contrast the
attitudes of the two men here with his own life (Matthew 9:9).
Matthew 8:23-27
To demonstrate Jesus’ authority, Matthew gives two examples here; one
demonstrating His authority over nature, and another demonstrating His
authority over demonic forces. As
fishermen, most of these men would have been familiar with the sudden storms
that appear on the Sea of Galilee, but this one really got their attention. Was it the product of Satan? Did Satan know where Jesus was heading and
what He would do next? It’s unlikely
because Satan is not omniscient; he doesn’t know the future. Perhaps God provided the storm in order to
demonstrate to the disciples the extent of Jesus’ authority. And He sure does, doesn’t He? “Knock it off” He says. That’s right, He says! Amazing, that simply a word from His mouth
can accomplish so much. But if He truly
is the Author of creation, you would expect Him to have authority over His
creation.
Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew records two demon possessed men while Mark and Luke mention
one. Critics love to use this to
discredit the Bible. To me it
authenticates the Bible. You see, a group
of men didn’t simply sit down and try to get the story straight; they told the
story as they remembered it. It shows
authenticity. It reads like an
eye-witness account, not a fable that has been polished and refined. Regardless of one or two men, a few things
stand out in this story. The demons
recognized Jesus immediately, and recognized His authority over their
freedom. He would shackle the forces of
evil instead of the forces of evil holding someone captive. And this raises an important point about who
hold authority over a Christian. Can a
Christian be possessed by the Devil? Of
course not, for that would mean that the Devil could overpower Christ. But can a Christian be influenced by the
Devil? Of course they can. The Devil and our own fallen human nature are
antagonistic toward God. The two forces
wage war against us (see Romans 7:23).
But greater is He who is within us than he who is in this world (1 John
4:4). Another thing that stands out is
the pigs. Although it is not mentioned,
it would seem that those watching over the pigs were Jews. Perhaps they were. The territory was under the rule of Herod the
Great, and he was governor over the Jewish state. However, since it is not expressly stated, we
can only assume. If the men guarding
this flock were Jewish then we are left to wonder why they were raising pigs in
the first place. I find it interesting
that an unclean spirit was sent to an unclean animal.
Luke 5
Luke 5:1-10
Jesus, apparently concerned that those in the back could not hear Him,
climbs aboard a boat, and speaks from there.
Luke gives a bit more detail in how the four fishermen were called
(compare Matthew 4:18-22). I especially
appreciate Peter’s response here. This
is what should happen to all of us. As
we come to know Jesus more and more we will come to know our sin more and
more. Next to Him, our righteousness is
like a filthy rag. This makes me wonder
how a person can claim to be a Christian yet never feel convicted about their
sin. It suggests to me that they merely
know about Jesus but do not Know Jesus.
Luke 5:11 One
thing stands out in this call to be Fishers of Men, and that is Jesus’
timing. Jesus had just brought great
prosperity to their business. Peter,
Andrew, James, and John had such a large catch that it took two boats to hold
it all. As fishermen, this was the way
they earned a living. So as they made
their way to shore I imagine they were thinking how much profit they would make
in the market place. And yet it was at
that very moment Jesus asks them to follow Him.
Isn’t that just like Jesus?
Doesn’t He seem to do this often times in life? It seems the Lord brings us to a place in our
lives where we must make a choice, and usually it is a choice of opposite
blessings. For you and me the real test
comes in what we value the most. These
four fishermen make a choice to love Jesus more than they love the fishing business;
words Jesus will ask Peter later on. You
and I must choose as well. “Do you love
me more than these”, Jesus asks (compare John 21:15).
Luke 5:12-14
This is the event mentioned in Matthew 8:2-4.
Luke 5:17-26
In this account, Luke tells us that great crowds had begun to follow
Jesus, presumably because he could heal their broken bodies. But some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law
started visiting Him as well. Perhaps
they were checking up on what He was up to or what he was teaching. I think Jesus knew this. I think Jesus knew why the Jewish religious leaders
were there, that’s why He forgives sin instead of doing what He had been doing
all along (healing). Aghast, the
Pharisees rightly surmise that only God has the authority to forgive sin. Jesus didn’t forgive this man for what he had
done to Jesus. Jesus forgave this man
for what he had done against God. Of
course, anyone could come along and say someone’s sins are
forgiven. How would anyone really and
truly know? But there would be no doubt
that a broken body has been healed. So
to authenticate what He said about the man’s sins, Jesus heals his broken
body. “If you won’t believe because of
what I say, then believe because of what I do”, says Jesus. And guess what, many did believe!
Luke 5:27-29
There is a contrast here to what is said in Matthew 9:9-10. Matthew calls it a dinner, Luke calls it a
banquet. Although Luke was not there,
several of the Apostles were. For a
wealthy Tax collector, it probably didn’t seem like that big of a deal. But to a group of fishermen who struggled to
put food on the table it must have felt like a great feast.
Luke 5:30
This remark was also directed at Matthew. As a tax collector he would gather money
from Jews to pay Rome. So Matthew was
seen as an enemy of the people. What’s
worse, apparently these tax collectors could require any amount they wished;
pocketing the surplus for themselves (consider the confession of Zacchaeus in
Luke 19:8).
Luke 5:32 The
NLT exposes the truth behind Jesus’ statement; “those who think they are
righteous”. No one is righteous, so
Jesus obviously came to call everyone to repentance. But if a person thinks they are already
righteous, why would they heed the call to repent! This attitude still plagues the Church
today. Today the popular theology found
in some churches is that sin or repentance is not mentioned, only love and
acceptance. Sadly, it seems, Christ has
no fellowship with them. And one of the
signs that a church is being effective for the kingdom is the number of sick (spiritually)
in its midst.
Luke 5:33-39
Apparently someone else in the group spoke up in protest. You know how this works. Get one person to complain and suddenly there
is a whole group of people grumbling.
They objected that Jesus wasn’t doing ministry like everyone else. Well, no kidding! He wasn’t (isn’t) like everyone else. The way the Pharisees and the way John the
Baptist served the Kingdom was different than the way Jesus served the
Kingdom. His point here is that the New
and the Old do not mix. It’s important
that we don’t try to make this text apply where it doesn’t belong. Jesus isn’t talking about mixing two forms of
worship or two forms of church structure.
He’s talking about the old way to righteousness and the new way. In the Old Way, holiness was found in a
system of Laws and Customs. In the New
Way holiness would be found in grace through faith in the One God sent to
redeem. And quite simply, the two just
will not blend. The only accurate
application of this text today is contrasting between a church that preaches Salvation
by works and a church that preaches Salvation by grace. For example, I recently received a letter
from a troubled Christian who actually told his mother she would not go to
heaven because she does not wear a head covering. And what this man has said conflicts with
grace by faith. So it would be wrong to
try and combine his teaching with what Christ teaches.
Mark 2
Mark 2:1-13
This section repeats the story found in Luke 5:18-26. Reminiscent of Isaiah 43:25, Jesus attributes
the forgiveness of sins to Himself. He
is able to make the declaration that many assumed only God could make. But if Jesus could declare forgiveness then
that makes Him God, something the Scribes and Pharisees were not ready to
accept.
Mark 2:14-22
This repeats the story found in Luke 5:27-39.
Mark 2:23-28
Oh for crying out loud. Sometimes
it seems like people are inventing things to grumble about. Why didn’t they fuss about how far they had
been walking as well? A “Sabbaths Day
Journey” was a distance of about a mile.
According to Exodus 16:29, a Jew was restricted in his travels on the
Sabbath. But how far from home was
permitted? So the Jewish leaders
actually created what are known as Boundary Laws. This is just one example. How far can I walk on the Sabbath? How much grain can I pick on the
Sabbath? Jewish leaders had created 613
such laws not expressly mentioned in the Old Testament. Irritated that they had elevated the Sabbath
above people (and apparently above God), Jesus teaches something that a Seventh
Day Adventist does not like to hear. The
Sabbath was created by God for our benefit and refreshment. The Sabbath was not created so we would have
a long list of burdensome restriction and regulations to follow.
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