Study of Matthew |
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Matthew Chapter 8
Healings, miracles, and food will draw the crowds. Many people want to receive from God things for this life only. When it comes to living holy, taking up our cross and following Jesus and living by His word, many follower begin to drop off. At least though the healings and miracles got their attention so that they could hear the gospel that would save the souls of the few that will take it seriously and listen to His words that will sink in deep and bring forth fruit. So we see among the crowds that only a few stay with Him until the end. This is why the word needs to be applied within our inner spirit. Miracles are easily forgotten, even praise and worship services with great music comes to an end. When we leave and go home we need the engrafted word which is able to save the soul.
There is a place in the book of John where Jesus teaches all who were listening, that He (Jesus) was the bread of life that would be given for the life of the world. The result of this heavy teaching was that many forsook Him. We do not want to make our churches so user friendly that the gospel which actually saves the soul is compromised. We may gain a great following and make lots of money but how many souls are actually saved and born into the Kingdom of God? Here is the passage I am referring to about those that forsook Jesus.
As in the days of Noah so it is today. Many are called but few stay faithful until the end. I will mention here also that there is another side to this picture. Sometimes we tend to go too far the other way. We can have so many traditions and man made doctrines that the actual doctrine of salvation gets lost or covered up in the process. The truth lies somewhere between legalism and licentiousness. I've seen both in my own lifetime. How can we even think to improve upon or add to God's way of salvation or add to His word? And also how can we claim to love God and ignore His word?
First of all remember that Jesus had not yet died for sins and raised from the dead ushering in a new priesthood and fulfilling the requirements of the law which was fulfilled by His own sacrificial death. Until Jesus said the words, "It is finished," they were all still under the law and healing for leprosy had to be examined by a priest. There were laws of cleansing and sacrifices to make sure the leper was cleansed and able to function in society again. Jesus fulfilled all the law and kept it in all points but until His death and resurrection all was not yet fulfilled and they were still under the law given from God to Moses. Why Jesus told them not to tell anyone is up for speculation but I believe that healing was a part of or a result of the message of salvation. The salvation of the lost was the main message which resulted in signs following as the gospel was presented. Jesus didn't start a healing ministry as such but His main message was the gospel. Healing just follows thus fulfilling, "Signs shall follow them that believe." I don't believe we should major on the signs but just allow them to accompany the gospel. Jesus didn't want fame because of His miracles. He wanted people to repent and believe the gospel for the saving of their souls. Another thought is that since they were still under the law, Jesus didn't want the man proclaiming healing without doing things according to the law and the priest would pronounce him clean. We know also that Jesus didn't want people to make Him so famous that they would desire Him to take over the government and become king then and there. Jesus had to make Himself a sacrifice for our sins first before coming back and setting up a righteous kingdom. Notice too that Jesus never took up an offering during His teaching and healing. He could have been rich if He would have wanted to. People would have given money just because of the healing alone.
As good as healing is and some have been healed and then follow the Lord completely, having been saved from sin, their life changed eternally. Some though only want what is temporal in this life and reap the benefits that come by the power of the Lord without the lifelong commitment to the word of God. Notice that more people seek the healing more than the salvation. My words here are not to be taken wrong. Just because salvation is the main message does not mean we are to neglect the miracles that are to follow those that believe. Miracles and healing do often follow the preaching of the gospel among those that believe. It confirms the word that one is preaching. It also shows compassion in that the people can come to realize that God cares for their physical hurts, hunger and other things they suffer in this life. The priority must always be on the gospel that saves the soul though. The body dies, the soul and spirit spends eternity somewhere else beyond this life we see with our eyes.
The centurion knew that if Jesus said the word only, the deed would be done because he knew that the one in charge could just speak and it is done. He was commended for his faith and granted his request. It is sad that many of the Gentile nations believed while most of Israel rejected Jesus. Yet that fulfills prophecy. The rejection by the Jews caused the gospel to go to the Gentile nations.
The generation that rejected Christ will see this literally, but on the other hand we can see in today's world that the Gentiles are reverting back to darkness. Heathen religions are creeping in and the gospel is returning to the Jews. There are many Messianic Jews already and they are increasing. As evil prevails God's attention is going back to His covenant people, the Jews. Israel is going to receive Christ in the end and the time of the Gentiles will draw to a close. As a remnant of Jews were saved during the time of Christ so it will be in the last days, a remnant of Gentiles will be saved compared to the greater number of Gentiles who are not saved but judged. Israel as a nation that didn't recognize Jesus as their Messiah the first time, will recognize Him the second time. This compares to the story of Joseph. Joseph was not recognized by his brothers the first time but he was revealed to them the second time they went down to Egypt. Both Jews and Gentiles have to be saved the same way. We all come the same way and that is through faith in Jesus who died for our sins and made the way for our reconciliation back to God.
Notice that this is still true today. As we believe is how we receive anything from the Lord. That is why we may see partial healing at times. Someone may believe God to be healed of something small but cannot believe for something big. It can happen the other way around, it is the small things that we can't believe but do believe God for the big serious things. Yet we can't place God in a box according to our thinking either. I've heard of healings where no one had much faith and I heard of lack of healing when it appeared that people had great faith so it must be that the will of God may come into play at times. Then too, it may be that those that don't give up and keep seeking God for miracles who receive. There are circumstances and things though that we do not yet understand. Blessed are those that don't see some things yet believe.
A group of us witnessed this once when we were praying for a young girl who had a fever and her fever left immediately. God did it though not us. It may not always be instant but when healing comes, we must remember to be thankful for the one that sent it.
At His word they were healed. We must remember this above all things. Unless His word gets into our spirit when we pray for the sick, they will not be healed. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. We are vessels of the Holy Spirit but the word must be in our spirit working the will of the Holy Spirit before any miracles can be done. God seems to grant faith to us as a gift when this occurs. I'm not an expert on healing by a long shot and I personally have not been used much in healing. I do remember one time when someone was healed when I prayed for them and it was instant. Those occasions are rare for me personally. That particular time though I did feel the unction of the Holy Spirit to pray. I did not just pray because of the need but felt the unction of the Holy Spirit. At that time I didn't even know they were healed until it was confirmed later by a doctor. God did it all, I was just the vessel He used at that particular instance. Many of us have prayed for people to be healed and it didn't happen instantly.
Jesus bore our sicknesses and diseases in His own body as He died on the cross. Not only were our sins laid upon Him but our sicknesses and disease. This shows the power of the resurrection where we are promised new bodies that will be free of disease and cannot die. Physical healing and miracles in this life are like a preview of what is to come permanently. That is probably why all do not get healed all the time. It is a preview of the real reason Jesus came and died; to make the way for us to be saved from sin and be partaker of the first resurrection when the dead in Christ shall rise with new bodies to eternally abide with the Lord. So temporary healing in this life is a sign. It is a sign to show us the truth of the gospel and the permanent healing to come for eternity. We may not always see healing just as everyone we pray for to be saved are not saved. It is the work of the Holy Spirit and we can't literally save anyone or heal anyone at our own will. The Holy Spirit has to be present to do the work through us as willing vessels.
Jesus was not refusing him but letting him know that to leave all and follow Him is not going to be easy. They may not have a place to rest their heads at times.
This seems kind of harsh here but we must keep in mind the urgency of the gospel and the time is short. If we are called to preach, teach or prophesy then that is what we must do and appoint others to wait on the tables as the apostles did as recorded in the book of Acts. Time is short, what we are called to do must be done now. There are a few that might use this as an excuse not to care for their families but there are other scriptures that tell us to neglect one's family or household is worst than in infidel so taking all these things together in context, we shall see clearly that there are hindrances to the gospel that can be turned over to another so that the gospel can continue and there are those that do not want to work, labor or fulfill family responsibilities and may use these scriptures as an excuse. There are different gifts and calling. We must all find what our calling is and walk faithfully in that calling remember the story of Mary and Martha and how Martha cared more for the servile work that needed to be done and Mary wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His word. Mary was the one commended by our Lord for desiring the word. There is a time and a place for necessary things but the work of the Lord is urgent and is to be put forth first.
I can't criticize the disciples here because I would have been afraid also. Yet the Lord rebuked them a little for their lack of faith. There is so much to learn about faith and trusting the Lord that sometimes I feel like I'm just beginning. Yet when we hear someone say they are not worried, they are just trusting God to be with them, we sometimes criticize them for doing what Jesus said to do.
They wrote a song with those words. Jesus was more than just a man. He was God.
The devils knew who Jesus was. They knew that the time was coming when they would be sent to a place of no return where they could not occupy the bodies of men any longer. They asked if they would suffer torment ahead of time. It wasn't the man speaking but the evil spirits inside the man's body that were speaking.
Where the spirits went after that is not told us but it caused all the swine to perish. There is something I want to bring out here that needs to be mentioned because of the history of abuse and wrong teaching concerning those that are possessed with devils. Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin and Satanic bondage for those that our bound by devils and things that require the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver them. Yet we have heard of stories where people use torture or other methods to free someone from demons. This should not be. The church Jesus called out from the world and sent forth to preach His gospel were never given permission to bring any physical harm to any person. As parents we have permission to spank an unruly child but we do not have permission to torture or put to death someone with problems or someone who disagrees with our message. We are commanded as I wrote in previous chapters to preach, teach and make disciples with the word of God. That's it. We are not commanded to take over governments, force Christianity on the world or harm any person. Wise as serpents and harmless as doves is the commandment of the Lord concerning how we are to conduct ourselves in this present world. Just like healing, the only way to deliver someone from demons is to be filled with the Spirit and be walking in the will of the Spirit at the particular time when God wants to deliver someone bound by demons. It is God that uses us as vessels. We cannot just take it upon ourselves to do this. We can pray always for anyone but to actually cast out devils it must be at the will of the spirit and the power of that same spirit. We must have that unction at the time. Some do not come out but by prayer and fasting.
They did not know and recognize the day of the Lord's visitation. They did not understand who it was they were commanding to leave their region. So many today still do not understand. They want to remain in their sins and reject the only way to eternal life. They cared more about their livelihood and their swine than for the soul of that poor man. DC
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