In the middle of the miracles in Matthew 8 there are two men who approach Jesus wanting to be his disciples. Both of them get unexpected answers. Below is the second man.

verse 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

verse 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Another of the disciples: The first man is a Scribe (a formal Jewish teacher and someone who hand copies the Old Testament). The second is a disciple of Jesus, but it is safe to say he is not one of the twelve.

Lord, let me first go and bury my father: He begins properly by addressing Jesus as he should, and as we should. We should not see Jesus as a buddy or a casual friend. He is God. He is Lord. He is the potter. We are the clay. He is the teacher. We are the student. He is superior. We are inferior.

first: This is probably where the man gets things wrong. Jesus is to be first in all things. This is very hard for us, and very counter-intuitive. To us loving family seems to be the very thing God wants us to do. But Scripture teaches differently. We are to love God first, before family. See Matthew 7:13-14, Luke 9:23, 14:12-24, and Matthew 10:37-39.

Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead: First and foremost, we are followers of Jesus. We deny ourselves and sometimes our family too. Jesus’ last phrase it difficult, but it tells the man what he needs to hear.

Both men see following Jesus in a way that is lighter and easier than they think. Jesus redirects them, and teaches them, and tells them being a Christian is difficult and costly and hard.

Nevertheless, we can be disciples because God has called us, enabled us, and leads us. We can be disciples because we have the Holy Spirit as our helper, Scripture as our guide, prayer as our solace and strength, and the church as our encouragement. 

 

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A very short and surprising article about hearing bad news

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In the middle of the miracles in Matthew 8 there are two men who approach Jesus wanting to be his disciples. Both of them get unexpected answers. Below is the first man.

verse 18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

verse 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

verse 20 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.”

he gave orders to go over to the other side: They are crossing the Sea of Galilee.

And a scribe came up and said to him: A scribe was a Hebrew scholar and teacher. They were the ones entrusted with copying Scripture accurately. It was all done by hand.

Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go: At first glance this seems to be an impressive statement. It matters, though, that he doesn’t address Jesus as Lord as others do in the chapter. If he sees Jesus as a merely a good teacher he is mistaken.

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head: Jesus is saying that it’ll be more than just following him wherever He goes. It’ll be a life of discomfort and uncertainty. This is a good lesson for us. Jesus is honest. He doesn’t make being a disciple sound cushy and easy.

Modern Christianity is largely an easy Christianity. Not much is asked of us. This doesn’t fit with Scripture. See Matthew 7:13-14, Luke 9:23, and Matthew 10:37-39.

 

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That little thing called pride

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Matthew 8:16 speaks volumes!! And it’s all in one little word.

verse 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

verse 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

they brought to him: The “they” might be the disciples, but it could also be the crowd, and it could also be those who knew of him in Capernaum. Either way, it’s a sweet thing that these people believed Jesus could help people.

were oppressed by demons: Does this still happen? Yes. Most certainly yes. It may not look the same as it did back then, but the devil and his demons are always at work making people miserable. Does it happen to Christians? Yes, to a degree. We are not possessed because we are filled with the Holy Spirit, but the devil can make our life miserable too! Why doesn’t God stop this?? What the devil intends for harm, God always intends and plans and uses for good (see Genesis 50:20!). God will always beat the devil at his wicked game. God is teaching us through this.

he cast out the spirits with a word: This is the most important phrase, and it contains the most important word. God does all that He does through his word. He created everything through his word, people come to faith by his word (see Romans 10:17!!), and we are changed by His word (see John 17:17!!).

God works directly and effectively through His word. Never underestimate the power to change things in your life through God’s word. It. Changes. Things!!

He took our illnesses and bore our diseases: In the three previous miracles (the leper, the centurion’s servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law), and now in the demon possessed and the sick, Jesus takes away, and takes on what ails people. What does this mean? He touches a leper, he heals a Roman’s servant, he touches a woman, and he heals people with demons. All this brings Him (God!) into the physical world of unholy humans. In doing so, he took the leprosy away and becomes unclean in the process. He healed a non-Jew, which made him bear the criticism of befriending an enemy.

All the miracles involve Jesus taking away something and bearing a burden in the process.

Ultimately, and most importantly, Jesus does this on the cross. He takes the illness and disease of our sin and bears the full weight of the wrath of God on our behalf. He became our substitute. He died the death we should have died.

 

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Let us be like the centurion!

verse 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

verse 14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.

verse 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.”: Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith. He performs the miracle with just His words. Let us be men of faith. Let us trust our Lord. Let us walk by faith.

Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever: This is the third miracle in the chapter. This shows that Peter was married. Peter’s wife also appears in 1 Corinthians 9:5. The other miracles in this chapter all involve men. This is the only one that involves a woman, though there are probably women in the miracles in verse 16.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him: He doesn’t need to touch her, but her does. It is human to touch. It is loving to touch. Whenever Jesus touches someone, like verse 3, it is always intentional. This kind of tenderness from God is still going on today. If we’re perceptive, we’ll notice it.

These are easy verses to read past. But they are significant to ponder on. The condition of our faith matters. And the tenderness of Jesus is still active.

 

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Jesus goes against the grain. He turns things upside down. The Jews believed their faith and obedience made them secure. Jesus upends this. For their own sake, it needed to be upended.

verse 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

verse 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

verse 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

When Jesus heard this, he marveled: Jesus marvels at this man’s faith. These three verses give us a mighty insight into two things. Jesus is looking for faith in Him personally. And those who don’t believe in Him will be thrown into the outer darkness. Jesus is looking for faith. Not a mere belief in God (see James 2:19), but a trust that Jesus changes things.

Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith: How can THIS be? Of all the devout Jews in Israel, HOW could THIS Roman man exceed ALL the Jews, even the disciples? We don’t have a full answer, but we know he believes Jesus can heal a distant man with only words at the request of non-Jew. He believes what the Jews wouldn’t believe. He trusts that Jesus changes things.

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline: Jesus spells it out. Many people far, far from Israel will be in heaven.

While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness: The sons of the kingdom are the Jews. Jesus is saying many of the Jews who think they are going to heaven will not be there.

Weeping and gnashing of teeth: These kinds of warnings should give us pause and fear. Hell is real and horrible and eternal. We think too lightly about the people around us not knowing, not believing in, and not obeying Jesus.

These are fruitful words for Jews and non-Jews. We must believe that Jesus changes things, namely us.

 

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Kids and social media

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There is something very refreshing about this man.

verse 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

verse 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof: This Roman centurion calls Jesus Lord, which says a lot about the centurion. He, a gentile, a leader of the occupying army, doesn’t call Jesus a dog or other common insults aimed at Jews, but instead sees Jesus as someone superior to him. Wow!

I am not worthy: Oh, the humbleness of his wording and his heart. We don’t regularly think and feel in terms of not being worthy in the presence of God. We know it in a factual way, but we don’t feel it in a relational way. This term is also used in Scripture to who we are to be. See Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 1:27-28, Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 & 2 Thessalonians 1:11-23

I too am a man under authority: This is impressive. He sees Jesus as someone with significant authority. They are equals in this sense, but by calling Jesus Lord and by already saying he is not worthy, he is saying Jesus is greater.

This is good stuff to get into our heads. We can be full of ourselves with our opinions, or positions, our experience, our education, our outspokenness. But being full of ourselves is never the way of a Christian or mature male. We are unworthy servants only doing out duty

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10

 

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The second miracle in Matthew 8 has an unexpected man in desperate need and ends with unexpected praise of Him.

Verse 5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

Verse 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”

Verse 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him: A centurion is an accomplished and competent Roman soldier who leads one hundred men. This is a man to be revered. Romans looked down on Jews. Jews disliked (at best) or despised (somewhere in the middle) or sought to kill Roman authorities (at worst). Simon, one of the disciples was a former Zealot. Zealots sought to kill Romans.

For this man to come to Jesus (1), and appeal to him 92), in a time of great need (3), is three head-turning things. He looks up to Jesus. He has faith in Jesus. He speaks in a soft, humble way. And he seeks (desperately!) to have Jesus help him.  This is the proper way to come to Jesus. And the proper way to see who Jesus is and what He can do.

“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly: Notice this is not a request. He is only communicating the problem. And notice how he refers Jesus Lord. This too is the proper way to think of Jesus and to come to Him. He is our Lord, not our buddy.

And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” Jesus doesn’t ask anything, or wait on anything, or teach anything. He just goes. This is a picture of the gospel. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to save people from their sin (Matthew 1:21). God is always proactive with us and in the world! He is always at work in us and in the world. This man needs God. His servant needs God. And Jesus is eager.

What comes in the next verses is some of the highest praise Jesus gives anyone. His beliefs dictate his behavior.

 

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What is the unpardonable sin?

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The healing of the leper is thick with deep truths!

verse 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

verse 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him: The touching happens before Jesus speaks. This is the gospel. God reaches out. He enters the man’s life where he is at. A holy God touches sinners, outcasts, the lonely, the hurting, and the down and out. Jesus does not have to touch the man. But He does. This is our God!

Jesus violates the law in touching the man. Jesus is now unclean. This is like the cross, which was shameful and unholy, reserved for the worst of the worst sinner. Jesus takes upon Himself our sin and shame.

saying, “I will; be clean: Jesus says the words the man most needed to hear. Along with the touch, Jesus is saying , I am here for you. I  truly want to do this. I will take care of you. You will be made well. You will no longer be unclean.” What Jesus did for the leper He does for our sin. He heals us!

and immediately his leprosy was cleansed:  All the sores, all the wounds, all the ugliness of his leprosy disappeared in an instant. These kinds of miracles had to be stunning. It’s an act of creation to restore the man’s skin, and most likely parts of his body. This too is the gospel. As his leprosy disappeared, so do our sins when we ask for forgiveness.

See that you say nothing to anyone: This is humility and modesty. Jesus doesn’t use the miracle to draw crowds or prestige or power or popularity. Jesus is also being submissive to the Judaism, the law, and to the priests.

go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them: It’s been said Jesus didn’t storm Israel with power and might, be humbly and quietly one leper, one lame person, one demon-possessed person at a time. The priests had to decide on their own, the validity of Jesus and his miracles. This too is the gospel. God is proactively at work seeking to save the lost. Unaware, the priest will have the former leper land on their doorstep. They don’t see him coming, but they will have to spiritually process what they are seeing and hearing.

 

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The evil in each one of us

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This month we’re reading Matthew 8. It’s a quick moving chapter with three miracles, then a clump of miracles, then some helpful clarification on discipleship, and then two more miracles.

The first miracle is a man healed of his leprosy.

verse 1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

verse 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

When he came down from the mountain: Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount.

great crowds followed him: This is no small thing. Jesus’ personality, words, and actions changed people. We see this over and over again in the four gospels. Then we see it again all through the book of Acts. Then in all of Paul’s and Peter’s writing we see it. This change must NOT be lost on us. If He is not changing us something is amiss. This is not something we do, but it is an internal change of our hearts and minds and will and desires. We want to live for God. We want to do right. We want to know and love God more and more.

a leper came to him: Lepers were utter outcasts. The could not live in cities or villages or with their families. They could not be within six feet of anyone. They had to yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” wherever they went. And they had to wear torn clothes and have their hair disheveled. It was a horrible life! See Leviticus 13 & 14.

and knelt before him: This is the first four key things. The kneeling is physical, then the leper says three important things. We too would kneel if we needed such a healing. But it is key to see because we make the mistake of sometimes having a casual, passive relationship with Jesus.

Lord…if you will…you can make me clean: This might be a perfect description of faith. Calling Jesus Lord is a way of saying he rightly looks up to Jesus, that Jesus is exalted, and that he does not have a casual relationship with Him. He’s not demanding or seeing it as a right when he says, “if you will.” It is bold, but it is respectful. And he is confident in what Jesus can do when he says, “you can make me clean.” The heart of faith is “you can.”

The leper believed. The leper sought Jesus out. He humbly, respectfully asked. He believed Jesus could change him. Jesus changes people.

This will be a miracle of grace. In every encounter in this chapter Jesus does something over-the-top. This is our God. He is always being merciful to us.

 

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Something short about God being active

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How often does Jesus show up in the first chapter of Acts? Below in bold is all the many times Jesus is referred to. He really is the subject of the chapter. We might think the Holy Spirit, then replacing Judas are the subjects of the chapter. But a closer look shows that the Holy Spirit is the power they need to be witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus (see verse 8). And a closer look shows that replacing Judas is also needed to be witnesses (see verse 22). Everything revolves around and revolves for Jesus.

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The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The Ascension

6So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

15In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20“For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

“‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and

“‘Let another take his office.’

21So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

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