Matthew 8 - Even the Demons Recognize Jesus!

Click Here to Read or Listen to Matthew 8

What's Happening in Matthew 8

Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 - 7 what it means to follow Him. He taught about the Spirit of the Law as opposed to the Letter of the Law. He taught about how the change on the inside of us leads to a change in how we treat those around us in our faith community. In chapter 8, he goes back out into the world, where the crowds continue to follow him. He uses this time of public ministry to show power of God's kingdom flowing through Him as the Son of God. 

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

As you might know, leprosy was not only a very painful disease, but a very shameful disease. Lepers had to call out that they had contracted the disease because people thought it was contagious, and also their disease was a sign of God's judgment. That is why they had to yell out, "unclean". 

But when the man with leprosy saw Jesus, he saw possibly the one chance he had to experience God's healing power. He had seen Jesus do miraculous things, so he says to him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean!" Importantly Jesus says, "I am willing!" Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 

Jesus is willing to heal us, but do we like the leper believe if Jesus were willing, he can make us clean? The leper, shunned by society, exhibited great faith in Jesus' ability to heal him of his dreadful disease. 

The Faith of the Centurion

We have already had one unlikely candidate to have faith in Jesus, and now we meet number two. A centurion was a Roman soldier in charge of 100 men. He had great authority and power. The Centurion saw Jesus and like the leper came asking Jesus for help. His servant was at home paralyzed and suffering greatly. 

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

Though he is a man of authority, the Centurion recognized the greater authority of Jesus. The Centurion had great faith in Jesus as he says, "Just say the word and my servant will be healed." Jesus recognizes the Centurion's faith and the comparatively lack of faith on behalf in the people of Israel. 

The man’s understanding of Jesus’ spiritual authority made Jesus marvel. His simple confidence in the ability of Jesus’ mere word to heal showed a faith that was free of any superstitious reliance on merely external things. This was truly great faith, worthy of praise.Jesus considered the faith of this Gentile centurion – a living symbol of Jewish oppression – and thought it greater than any faith He had seen among the people of Israel. (Guzik)

Jesus Heals Many

Jesus' healing power came simply and yet powerfully. There was no extravagant show like a magician might perform. Peter's mother in law was dying of a fever, and as he touched her hand, she got up to wait on him. He drove out the evil spirits of the demon possessed with just "one word". And he healed ALL who were sick. 

 This section of Matthew’s Gospel shows four different people being healed, each one different from the other. (Guzik)

There were no formulaic phrases, crazy gestures, or manipulation needed to heal someone, or cast a out a demon. Likewise we can't get caught up in thinking God has to heal in a certain way. Or with a certain type of emotional or verbal response.  If we get caught up in these kind of tactics, we have put the emphasis on us rather than God. We have in our recent history many faith healers who exhibited all kinds of different antics but in the end were only a sham. 

The Cost of Following Jesus

Naturally Jesus' exhibition of the power of the kingdom brought crowds flocking to him. People pledged to follow Jesus wherever he would go. One man said, "Lord, first let me go bury my father." Jesus says something curious to him. He says, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Does this mean Jesus doesn't care about this man honoring his father by burying him? 

The man wanted to follow Jesus, but not just yet. He knew it was good and that he should do it, but he felt there was a good reason why he could not do it now. “If the scribe was too quick in promising, this ‘disciple’ was too slow in performing.” (Carson)

Jesus would never tell anyone to break one of the Ten Commandments. In this case the 4th Commandment of "honoring your father and mother".  Jesus knew in this man's heart there was a reluctance to follow him and this was merely an excuse. 

Jesus Calms the Storm

Jesus' power was not only in the realm of physical healing and deliverance of demons, but also over nature. Jesus got into the boat with his disciples and fell asleep. A furious storm came upon the boat and the disciples thought they might drown. However, it did not awaken Jesus from his nap. The disciples woke up Jesus and after rebuking them for their lack of faith, he rebuked the wind and the waves and they obeyed him. Nature obeyed Jesus. After all, He was with God in the beginning when the world was Created. 

In the span of a few moments, the disciples saw both the complete humanity of Jesus (in His tired sleep) and the fullness of His deity. They saw Jesus for who He is: truly man and truly God. (Guzik)

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men

Finally, as we close out this chapter of Jesus' healing, deliverance, and miracles, Jesus delivers two violent and demon possessed men. While Satan can afflict us and tempt us, a Christian can never be demon possessed because, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world!"

Note how the demon possessed men recognize who Jesus is. Ironically, the religious Jewish leaders and many of the Jewish people will never recognize Jesus, but the demons do. We see demons are spiritual beings with personalites, as they ask Jesus to send them into the pigs rather than send them to hell before the final judgment day. 

This reminds us that demons know that one day they will be judged by God and suffer in eternity for their rebellion against God. In this case Jesus has mercy on the demons by casting them into the pigs who then go down into the water drown. The demons killed the pigs, but the two men were set free from demonic possession and lived. The people who saw all this happened were more concerned about their financial loss from losing the pigs than seeing two men set free. 

What is Happening Tomorrow in Matthew 9?

Jesus will be finishing up his public ministry in Galilee. Matthew records his own calling by Jesus. Jesus does perhaps his greatest miracle. By the end of the chapter Jesus sees the helplessness and hopelessness of the crowds. He realizes it is time for him to release his disciples to do the things that He was doing because he could never reach them on his own.