College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Matthew 8 - Introduction
INTRODUCTION
SECTIONAL OUTLINE OF MATTHEW VOLUME II
12.
Jesus Heals a Leper
13.
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant
14.
Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-law
15.
Jesus Calls to Discipleship
16.
Jesus Stills a Tempest .,
17.
Jesus Frees the Gadarene Demoniacs
(Matthew 8:28 to Matthew 9:1)
18.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
19.
Jesus Calls Matthew Levi
20.
Jesus Raises Jairus-' Daughter
21.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
22.
Jesus Evangelizes Galilee
23.
Jesus Commissions Twelve Apostles
(Matthew 10:1 to Matthew 11:1)
24.
Jesus Receives Question from John and Preaches Sermon on John
25.
Jesus Condemns Unbelieving Cities and Invites Babes to Come to Him
26.
Jesus Answers Charges of Sabbath Breaking
27.
Jesus Heals Many
28.
Jesus Is Attacked for Casting Out Demon and Charge of League With Satan
29.
Jesus Gives the Sign of Jonah
30.
Jesus Refuses Fleshly Ties to Bind Him
THE PROBLEM OF ORDER IN MATTHEW'S NARRATION
Is this section really a series of events subsequent to the Sermon on the Mount? It would seem-so upon first reading Matthew's text alone. Yet the most cursory comparison with Mark's and Luke's Gospels, of the events included in this section, reveals that there are clear differences in order and emphasis. (See Volume I, Introduction, Philippians 4:5) If it is really Matthew's intention to follow a topical, rather than a chronological, arrangement, we need not be concerned if Mark and Luke both record much of this material in Matthew's Chapter s eight and nine in relationship to other events. Again, it seems clear that Matthew is illustrating the summary of Jesus-' Galilean ministry mentioned in Matthew 4:23-25, by means of a good example of His preaching (chaps. 5-7) and ten good samples of His miracles (chaps. 8, 9). If so, must there be necessary time and place connections between each of the samples? Would not logical connection suffice for what we deem to be Matthew's evident purpose? Matthew concludes the section (chaps. 5-9) in the way he began (cf. Matthew 9:35 with Matthew 4:23-25), adding the note concerning the need for laborers in the harvest, a note which prepares his readers for the next major section (chapter 10) containing the commission of the Twelve to evangelize Galilee.
WHAT ARE WE TO DO WITH THESE MIRACLE STORIES?
What is the singular importance of Matthew's placing a collection of Jesus-' miracles together here in this place in Chapter s eight and nine? The relationship to Matthew's whole plan, as we can determine it from his end result, is that he, as a writer of brilliantly clear narration, has given us a quick outline of his project (Matthew 4:23-25) and now sketches in the outline with examples. He might even be responding to an unspoken demand: We have heard this visionary who gives us high ideals. But what can He do? Can He DO as well as DREAM? And, better yet, can He make US doers? It might just well be that Matthew places this striking collection of miracles right after the Sermon on the Mount to provide conclusive evidence that Jesus is not just a dreamer, but also One who really has the power to make us over into whatever image He demands. The miracles Matthew presents do not say merely that this Jesus is a wonder-worker, but, primarily, that this Jesus can throw in the super-natural difference between what we are and what He wants us to be. Best of all, He who has such wonderful power can also transform our feeble wills, our blind eyes, our demonic desires, our double-mindedness, our spiritual insensitiveness to all that is important to God, our emotional storms, our physical wretchednessall this and more He can transform into a person of usefulness to God. Incidentally, we must admit that He has chosen not to transform us by a sudden word of power, because He, our Creator knows that the fashioning of character takes time and countless lessons learned through the practice of obedience to His Word. But that is just the point: the gospel itself is His word of power to transform us into His likeness. Matthew knew, just as did the other Apostles (See John 5:30-47; John 10:37-38; John 14:10-11) that Jesus-' miracles were but the authentication of God, given as credentials to prove that Jesus knew what He was talking about, regardless of whatever claim He might make.
And so it is that Jesus came down off the mountain figuratively too, so as to meet people's need at the level where they live. It is no wonder that great multitudes could follow a Savior like Jesus who was not satisfied to thunder lofty ideals from His ivory tower on the heights of the mountain but was willing to walk and work among needy people, But notice that He did not merely attend to their most pressing need, as they themselves viewed that need, but He responded to their need in such a way as to accomplish at the same time His higher purpose. Matthew's outline draws our attention to Jesus-' genius for combining His merciful ministry to real human need at any level with His presentation of His credentials as being truly a visitor from outer space come to earth to bring a message of earth-shaking importance.
In these two Chapter s Matthew arranges his material into ten demonstrations of Jesus-' might. These can be arranged into groups of three miracles each followed by a response, the third group having actually four exemplary wonders and two scandals.
But a caution is in order here: we must never destroy the quality of these miracle stories as history in order simply to draw some parabolic teaching from them. They are told by the eyewitnesses as the sober history of facts which actually occurred upon which the secure conclusion is drawn that the miracle worker is thus identified as from God. A secondary purpose for miracles is to show God's mercifulness in practical ways in direct response to some need of men. And yet, despite this caution urging us to let the eyewitnesses tell their story, as we read this history we cannot help identifying ourselves in the stories with the leper, with the Centurion, with Peter's wife's mother, with the demoniacs, the four men who brought their paralyzed friend, with Matthew the publican, with Jairus and his wife and countless others. If we take these stories seriously as true narrations of real events, we cannot but begin to identify ourselves and our problems in these stories. Perhaps Plummer (Matthew, 123) is right when he argues for a third intention behind miracles:
Perhaps the (Jesus-') touch (of the leper) was also necessary for the sake of the millions who were to read of this cleansing. No moral pollution can be so great as to make Christ shrink from contact with a sinner, who comes to Him with a desire to be freed from his plague, and with the belief that He has the power to free him. Christ's miracles are parables. That was part of their purpose when they were wrought, and it is their chief meaning to us.
Plummer's metaphor (Christ's miracles are parables.) must not distract us from the principle truth that our psychological reaction to these facts is parabolic in nature. Psychologically we reason thus: If Jesus can treat with such render sympathy this wretched sufferer, He can certainly cleanse me too. Although this begins to be argument from analogy from which the conclusions are always doubtful, yet the factual character of the narrations and the conclusions drawn from them by the Apostles in their doctrine assures us that our identification with the miserable characters helped by Jesus was no misplaced confidence.
But if it be objected that we cannot rely for our applied conclusions upon this psychological (intuited) self-identification in the persons whom Jesus loved and helped, then let us remember that, though it is true that we have often identified ourselves with the mythical figures of fairy stories as children or the heroes of dramatized fictions of later years, fully knowing that they never existed, how much more surely can we see ourselves being blessed and helped in these narrations of fact! What was it that drew the multitudes to Jesus for healing and blessing? Was it not the news spreading like wildfire that He had helped others, coupled with the conclusion of the suffering individuals that perhaps He could and would help them too, if they could but get to Him? (cf. John 4:45-47; Luke 5:15; Matthew 4:24-25; Mark 3:7-12) Our measure of sanity is best gauged by that degree to which we acknowledge the real world and reject the world of fancy. It was into this real world that Jesus came to do His works, reveal to us the Father and call us to enter His service.
But, again, the compelling power of these miracle stories recorded by the four Evangelists lies in the authenticity of the facts. While it is true that men can be led to believe the most monstrous falsehoods, yet anyone who endeavors to construct a reasoned picture of the life of Christ that ignores the factual character of the miracles, must be confounded by the fact that Jesus-' life had no sooner ended in apparent failure and defeat, than the entire company of His disciples began immediately to proclaim Him to be a God. They did this against great psychological hazards and unspeakable physical difficulties. Also striking for its absence is the testimony of any first-century contemporary of the early witnesses that denies the reality of any facts involved in the miracles. How did it happen then that the Apostles and early Christians concluded that Jesus was God and worthy of their worship and service if there were nothing in His life to distinguish it from that of ordinary men or that would identify His ministry as supernatural and His person divine? (See special study on miracles at conclusion of chapter nine.)
CHAPTER EIGHT
Section 12. Jesus Heals a Leper (Matthew 8:1-4)
Section 13. Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant (Matthew 8:5-13)
Section 14. Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-17)
Section 15. Jesus Calls Men to Discipleship (Matthew 8:18-22)
Section 16. Jesus Stills a Tempest (Matthew 8:23-27)
Section 17. Jesus Frees the Gadarene Demoniacs (Matthew 8:28 to Matthew 9:1)
JESUS-' RELATION TO THE OUTCASTS OF ISRAEL
(The following were suggested by Wm. Barclay, [I, 298-300]:)
I.
Jesus Touched the Untouchable. Here we see the man who was kept at arm's length by all men, wrapped around with the pity and compassion of the love of God. (Matthew 8:2-4)
II.
Jesus Loved the Unloveable. Here we see the love of God going out to help the foreigner and the slave whom men either hated or despised.
III.
Jesus Healed the Unknown, Humble Folk. Here we see the infinite love of God of all the universe displaying all its power where there was none but the family circle to see (Matthew 8:14-15), to Whom any man at any hour might come without being thought a nuisance. (Matthew 8:16-17)
IV.
Jesus Challenged the Badly Motivated. (Matthew 8:18-22)
A.
The scribe, the short-sighted enthusiast in danger of shallow zeal.
B.
The disciple already committed to any other duty in danger of tragic failure to seize the greatest opportunity.
V.
Jesus Calmed the Uncalmable. Here is the power of God bringing peace and serenity into tumult and confusion. (Matthew 8:23-27)
VI.
Jesus Tamed the Untameable. Here we see the power of God dealing with Satan's power, God's goodness invading earth's evil, God's love going out against evil's malignancy and malevolence. Here we see the goodness and love of God which save men by triumphantly overcoming the evil and hatred which ruin men. (Matthew 8:28 to Matthew 9:1)
EXPOSITORY SERMON CHAPTER EIGHT:
THE TOUCH THAT CLEANSES (Matthew 8:2-4)
Introduction: When Matthew wanted to show God's power at work in Jesus of Nazareth, he picked the most loathsome disease he could conceive.
I.
THE LEPER'S INSISTENT REQUEST: It was:
A.
Original: there were no previous recorded instances of such a cure amid all the Judean and Galilean cures. Perhaps he reasoned: It is no secret what God can do; what He's done for others He can do for me too!
B.
Courageous: full of leprosy in a city directly to Jesus he came with a courage born of desperate hope.
C.
Pitiful: Lord, if you will. Is he not sure of Jesus-' willingness?
1.
He had a repulsive disease from which people recoiled in disgust; it was a horrible, living death.
2.
His was a contaminating disease; rabbis wanted nothing to do with him or his kind; they even delighted in throwing stones to keep him at a distance so as to insure their ceremonial purity.
3.
He had an isolating or separating disease which barred him from human society.
D.
Believing: he had a perfect confidence in Jesus-' power and even in Jesus-' willingness to welcome the man whom everyone else would have driven away.
E.
Humble: There is no demand here, no thoughtless claim upon His time, or energies. His unspoken plea: I cast myself upon your heart.
II.
THE LORD'S IMMEDIATE RESPONSE: To a Jew trained in the strict observance of the Levitical mentality of ceremonial pollution and cleanness, there could be no more amazing sentence in the New Testament than the simple declaration: Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched the leper.
A.
From a human standpoint Jesus ran the risk:
1.
of ghastly infection: What if Jesus became a leper too?
2.
of moral contamination: Should anyone, including Jesus, deliberately sully His life with such outcasts as lepers? Would not God also reject Him?
3.
of social rejection: What if the crowds rejected an unclean Christ?
B.
Jesus got involved and touched this leper. It was just like Jesus to do it! But when Jesus became man He had already gotten involved with our filthy, corrupting morals and our insoluble problems.
C.
Jesus not only spoke cleansing but willed it! (Greek: thélô) I will itI want to cleanse you! Jesus-' answer was no naked word of power spoken at an uncommitted distance. Jesus loved him and desired to help him. Here we see a man who had been kept at arms-' length by all men, now wrapped around with the compassionate love of God.
III. THE FIRST COMMAND OF JESUS TO HIS DISCIPLE: Obey God's revelation for those in your situation!
A.
To the cleansed leper it was:
1.
Go show yourself to the priests for a testimony to them! They too must hear of my power first.
2.
Offer the sacrifices Moses commanded for your cleansing! Not even so marvellous a cleansing as that from living death can excuse you from your normal duties to God.
3.
Keep still: revolutions are afoot; the success of my ministry cannot stand such display of ignorant popularity encouraged in unthinking crowds. Besides, your pride cannot stand display either. Tell it to no man!
B.
To us and our age, Jesus charges us who claim to be His followers:
1.
Faith, repentance, baptism (Matthew 10:32; Luke 13:3; Matthew 28:18-20).
2.
Growth in discipleship (Matthew 11:28-30) and all that it involves,
3.
Sharing His message and His life with our associates.
4.
Getting involved in His work.
CONCLUSION. Jesus touched the untouchable, crossed the chasm and got involved in our suffering, our sorrows. Who can refuse such a Lover as He? No man can ever feel himself incurable in body or unforgiveable in soul while Jesus Christ lives! Do you fear the exposure of some hideous sin in your life? Are you deliberately separating yourself from human companionship because of some heartbreaking experience in your home and family? Do you wonder if anyone really loves you and cares what happens to you? Do you long above all else to turn to a useful, happy life of service, gratefully rendered to Jesus? Jesus calls you to His side. Will you come? Will you say, Jesus, if you want to, you can cleanse me, restore me, heal me, fill me! He lays His reassuring hands upon you, saying, I want to, come to me. I will give you rest and cleansing.
THE MASTER MARVELLED
What can excite the wonder and admiration of Jesus of Nazareth? The times of Jesus-' earthly ministry were days loaded with excitement, but they must not dim our sight of the Lord Himself. If we desire to delight this Master, let us pay attention to what brings Him highest joy. There are some genuinely impressive facts in this text: what one fact drew Jesus-' attention leaving Him overjoyed and amazed? Matthew tells us of.
I.
AN UNEXPECTED COMPASSION. Ours is a cruel, hard-nosed, business is business world, where men climb the heights to a success over the bent backs of their inferiors, the less fortunate.
A.
An unlikely object of compassion was the centurion's slave.
1.
Slaves in the Roman empire were no better than a living tool, differing from other things possessed by owner in the sense that the slave could talk. Slaves too sick, too old or too unable or unwilling to work could be disposed of in anymanner the master chose.
2.
But here in this household the anguished cry from a paralyzed human being, though a slave, was heard!
B.
An unlikely person for expressing such compassion was the centurion.
1.
His military career had not been able to extinguish his human concern for another human being.
H. P. Hughes commented: I know nothing more noble, more indicative of the godlike man, than a proper courtesy and thoughtfulness and a disinterested and unselfish care for those who are our social inferiors.
2.
The centurion was not Jewish, therefore, technically a pagan. What opportunities had he had for knowing God's revelation? What circumstances had God combined to bring him to his love for the subject people over which his own government had posted him to keep law and order?
C.
No, while this compassion and unexpected generosity certainly surprises us, this is not yet what caused the Master to marvel.
II.
AN UNPRECEDENTED AFFECTION. (Read Luke 7:1-10) Here Jewish elders actually intercede with Jesus on behalf of the Capernaum centurionyes, a centurion!
A.
He was more a candidate for assassination, not assistance.
1.
In the Jewish struggle for independence from the Roman yoke, every Roman official, every collaborator with Rome, every supporter of Roman government would be viewed with suspicion, if not outright hatred .
2.
But here we find the precise opposite to be the case: responsible Jewish citizens expressing unprecedented affection for a centurion.
a.
Why should they hesitate to help him? He loves our nation. He built us our synagogue!
b.
Herein is a sentence sermon: Sterile orthodoxy that does not love, that does not act, is not orthodox!
c.
The orthodox deeds of one Gentile centurion produced more concrete results, more humanity, more genuine affection and deep-felt appreciation than all the orthodox speculations of a hundred theologians.
B.
Who were these elders? Was Jairus among them? What about the royal official (John 4:46-54)whose son Jesus had already healed?
C.
What opportunities had they had for knowing God's revelation? What witness had they given to this centurion concerning Jesus? Had they been as generous with the centurion as he had been with them? Many of these intriguing questions stimulate our imagination, as they fill in the flesh-and-blood outline of these real people.
D.
The actions of these men who normally would not be known to be so solicitous for a Roman's needs lead us to feel their unprecedented affection for him, and yet even this example rising above usual Jewish parochialism did not excite the wonder of our Lord so much as
III.
AN UNEXAMPLED FAITH. That did it! Nothing turns the head of Jesus of Nazareth so quickly as the concrete expression of real belief! What was the formula of his great confession?
A.
I am not worthy.
1.
He is a Roman who says this to an itinerate Jewish Rabbi!
2.
This is obviously real humility: the higher he held Jesus, the lower he esteemed his own power, position, accomplishments and person.
3.
This confession of unworthiness was his highest claim to being actually worthy of the Kingdom! (Matthew 5:3)
B.
I understand authority and I know you possess it. When he had learned to confess Israel's God as his own and to believe Jesus to be absolutely unlimited in the exercise of God's power, this centurion permitted no frivolous objections to hinder his decisive action, such as might be raised by scribes and Pharisees of his day.
C.
Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.
1.
What an intelligent grasp of the fundamental principle underlying God's government of the world! (Psalms 33:6-9; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2 Peter 3:5-7)
2.
The centurion knew that if one simple word from Jesus could not cure his slave, hundreds of mumbled or shrieked incantations from others were so far less incapable of bringing the slave back to life and health. One powerful word from Jesus is all that is needed: Just give the command, Sir.
D.
This kind of faith brought Jesus joy, wonder and admiration just because it was so rare, strong, pure and real. Why great?
1.
The centurion was sensitive to human need; religious people can be so unseeing, so deaf to concrete hard life problems.
2.
The centurion had overcome gigantic obstacles of prejudice to bow before this Jewish Teacher; more often the right people would have called this improper at least, or unthinkable, at most, for a man of his position. Honesty compelled him.
3.
Despite the difficulties that would have choked the momentary enthusiasm, the conflicting theories and contradictory logic and broken the reasonably resilient faith of others, the centurion arrived at a determined conclusion and with confident firmness confided his case to Jesus.
4.
The centurion was humble enough to recognize the high holiness of Jesus. Our humility is often so pretentious! By contrast, this centurion was willing not to be honored by the Lord's presence.
5.
The centurion, even though a Gentile and in much more need of it, did not ask Jesus for a confirmatory sign for verification of the reality of His power before working the miracle. (Contrast Gideon's fleece, Judges 6:36-40; or the Jew's demand for signs, Matthew 16:1-4)
6.
The centurion showed careful planning by sending the elders, men whose religious views he thought would not be so likely to clash with Jesus as would perhaps the Gentile unworthiness of the centurion himself. Thus, he showed himself keenly sensitive even to Jesus-' views, as a man,
7.
His faith had been intelligently arrived at. Simple trust of Jesus may be acceptable, but Jesus is more stirred by a man whose faith is the result of his mental wrestling with facts, theories, alternatives, prejudices, personal ignorance and desires and who STILL decides to believe Jesus. The centurion had shown careful reasoning behind his actions.
This leads us around to
IV.
AN UNTHOUGHT-OF-CONCLUSION. The tables are turned; the relations reversed!
A.
The UNWELCOME are welcomed! (Matthew 8:10-11)
1.
Jesus praised the pagan centurion's faith: I tell you I have not found so great faith!
2.
Jesus answered a pagan's prayer, wrapped the loving arms of God's compassion around both men:
a.
around the hated man, the agent of a foreign government occupying one's homeland.
b.
around the despised man, the slave, the diving tool with no human rights and no legal existence except as property of his master.
с.
I will come and heal him. (later) Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done for you. Jesus knew neither Jew nor Roman, slave nor free, male nor female; He only recognized human need. No prejudice was strong enough to hold Jesus within its narrow, provincial bounds.
3.
Jesus threw open the doors to God's Kingdom to believing Gentiles like this centurion. (Matthew 8:11)
B.
The ELITE are excluded! Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God are not the exclusive possessions of any exclusive race of men. He is the possession of every man in every nation in whose heart there is FAITH.
1.
Jesus-' amazement at the centurion's faith was caused directly by the contrast with the usual, dull lack of deep commitment He met in the very people who had enjoyed God's preparation for Messiah's coming.
2.
Jesus-' voice reflected the tragedy of unbelief: I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel! With a reluctance that throbbed with the love of God, Jesus condemned unbelievers to hell (Matthew 8:12)
Yes, Jesus marvelled at the faith found in this very unlikely person, He encouraged the man as far as circumstances permitted and answered the centurion's request. Any Jew standing around could probably have said, Who would have thought that THAT man could be the object of God's mercy?
All of us make a very unlikely crowd to be the special objects of God's continued mercy! But the point is: He does care. Who would have thought that WE could be Christians? But we began with the confession: I am not worthy.. Jesus, you are our Authority: only speak the word and we will live!
DO YOU HAVE THE WORD IN YOUR HEART?
Where are these passages found? Who said it? On what occasion? To whom was it said? Why? What does it mean? Are there parallel passages? variant manuscript readings? important other translations of the verse? Are there problems of interpreting it? How shall we apply it to our lives?
1.
See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priests.
2.
I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
3.
Himself took our infirmities, and bate our diseases.
4.
But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness:.
5.
... leave the dead to bury their own dead.
6.
... thy faith hath made thee whole.
7.
... for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
8.
No man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
9.
Go ye and learn what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.
10.
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins.
11.
They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.
12.
Have mercy on us, thou son of David.
13.
And Jesus went about. preaching the gospel of the kingdom.