HEALING, CALLING, FASTING - MATTHEW 9:1-17

 

Healing A Paralyzed Man

9:1-7

Jesus had been on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, having crossed over to avoid the crowds. ((8:18) In this story, he crossed back over to Capernaum on the northwestern shore. Matthew wrote that he (Jesus)  came to his own city because Jesus had moved there from Nazareth. 

Peter lived in Capernaum. Jesus may have stayed with him. The following story may have occurred at Peter’s house.

This story of healing a paralyzed man is the same story recorded in Mark 2 and Luke 5. Matthew abbreviated the story, leaving out details that were not relevant to the point he wanted to make. Matthew does not tell us about the friends digging through the roof and dropping the man in front of Jesus.

But, Jesus is confronted with a paralyzed man who has been brought to him by friends. Jesus was impressed by their faith. The paralytic and his friends believed Jesus could and would heal him.

Jesus addressed the man as “my son”. This does not imply a familial relationship; it is simply an affectionate term used by a man to address a younger man. 

But, rather than touching the man and healing him, Jesus declares his sins forgiven. This implies a connection between the man’s sins and his paralysis. However, this is not the point if the story either.

The point of the event is to show Jesus’ authority. We see this from the context. In the previous stories, Jesus showed his authority over disease, over demons, and over nature. Here he shows his authority to forgive sins. 

So, Matthew moves on to the point. He noted that there were some scribes present and they began to say to each other that Jesus was blaspheming. They believed, rightly, that only God can forgive sins. Since Jesus was declaring the man’s sins forgiven, he was claiming to be God. 

Jesus knew their thoughts. This may have been part of his divine nature, but it could also be that he knew the scribes and how they thought, so he knew what they were thinking and saying. 

Jesus called their thinking evil. It is evil because they are denying Jesus’ divinity (that he is God). (4) Note the contrast: first he discerns the faith of the paralytic and his friends, now he discerns, knows, the evil thoughts of the scribes. 

He confronts them with a question, saying which is easier, to say sins are forgiven, or to say rise and walk, healing the man. (5) 

In our view, we would say it is easier to say your sins are forgiven, because that is not something you can see. But in the view of the scribes, it was more difficult to say your sins are forgiven because only God could do it. 

So, Jesus agreed to do the easier thing: he said rise and walk, and the man did. Yet, how could Jesus do this? A man of God could not commit blasphemy in one breath and declare healing, a power from God, in the next. 

Jesus, therefore, proved his ability to do the more difficult thing by doing the lesser thing. He proved his authority to forgive sins by demonstrating his authority to heal disease. He is the Son of Man. He is also God with us, Immanuel, whom God sent to save his people from their sins. This is exactly what the angel of the Lord said to Joseph: you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”. (1:21)

Calling Matthew

9:9-13

As Jesus left Capernaum, he came upon a tax booth, likely at the border between the territories of Philip and Herod Antipas. If one were bringing goods from one territory to the other, one would be required to stop at the tax booth and pay an excise tax on those goods. 

Matthew was a tax collector. He was sitting in the tax booth, responsible for collecting the taxes. Tax collectors were often despised in Israel for cooperating with the Roman oppressors. In addition, they made an income from those collections and many were dishonest. They were considered sinners by the Pharisees. 

Matthew was, therefore, an unlikely candidate for disciple of a rabbi. But, Jesus had authority to forgive sin. He called Matthew to follow him and Matthew immediately followed. (9) 

Matthew evidently threw a party to introduce Jesus to his friends. He invited many tax collectors and other sinners. Sinners may have included those who did not follow the strict rules of the Pharisees, but otherwise kept the law. That is what the New International Version tries to convey by putting the word “sinners” in quotation marks. 

They all reclined at a dinner table with Jesus and his disciples, probably in a courtyard in front of the house. Matthew must have been wealthy to have a table big enough for all these people.

The Pharisees observed the dinner. They saw Jesus dining with all these sinners. Jesus and his disciples risked  ceremonial defilement for eating with sinners. They asked the disciples why Jesus, their teacher, ate with these people. This question was more of an accusation than a search for information. 

Jesus heard them and took the opportunity to reply. He replied with a medical metaphor. It is the sick who need a physician, not those who are well. (12) He meant, sinners were the exact people who needed a savior. Therefore, the savior went to them. 

Jesus then quoted Hosea 6:6 from the Septuagint. The word translated as mercy is “hesed”. It often means covenant love. The English Standard Version in Hosea 6:6 uses the term “steadfast love”. The point made in Hosea was that although the Israelites had continued to perform the rituals of temple worship, they had lost the meaning and the requirement to love God. 

Jesus was, therefore, telling the Pharisees they were more aligned in attitude with those apostate Israelites of Hosea’s time than with true worship. Their belief in their righteousness was misplaced as was their concept of the Messiah. Jesus corrected both. His mission was to save sinners. Those who refused to see themselves as sinners excluded themselves from salvation and the kingdom. 

The Old v. The New

9:14-17

Some disciples of John came to Jesus asking why his disciples did not fast. They noted that both they and the Pharisees fasted. The Jews had invented many fast days beyond that required in the Law.

Jesus heard the question and answered with 3 metaphors:

1. Wedding guests with the bridegroom

2. New cloth patched on old garments

3. Old wineskins with new wine.

Jesus said he is the bridegroom. He draws on the Father calling himself the bridegroom in the Old Testament (Isaiah 62:5; Hosea 2:19-20)

As long as the bridegroom is with the wedding guests, there is no mourning. But when he is taken away (the Ascension) they will fast.  

Jesus pointed out that you do not put a new piece of cloth that is not pre-shrunk as a patch on an old garment, for it will put away from the old cloth and make a new tear. When I was a little boy, my parents were very frugal. They would buy blue jeans (denim pants) for me to wear and they would buy them too long for me so I could grow into them.

At first, I would have to roll up the bottoms to the correct length. But as I grew, the cuffs would get shorter and shorter until I did not need to roll them up. But, sometimes the knee would wear out before I outgrew the length. My mother would iron on a denim patch to cover the hole. 

But, if the patch was not pre-shrunk, or my mother did not wash it, it would shrink and create a new tear. That is sort of what Jesus is talking about. You do not patch old cloth with new cloth.

Lastly, wineskins were made from animal skins. As they got old, they got stiff and less pliable. As the gases from new wine fermenting stretch the skin, it will rupture the old skin and ruin both the skin and the wine. So you put new wine in new wineskins that are pliable and can expand with the gases and not rupture.

Jesus was saying he brings something new. His kingdom is not just a graft onto the old covenant. There is a new relationship with God that obviates the need for the old ceremonies and observances.

We can love, fellowship with, and obey God if we are in Christ.

We do not require priests, temples, or sacrifices of animals to do so.  

JESUS' AUTHORITY OVER SICKNESS - MATTHEW 8:1-17

Jesus Healing A Leper

8:1-7

Having ended the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus enters into several interactions that involve healing and faith. There is still a large crowd following him. 

Matthew ended his record of the sermon by saying Jesus taught as one with authority. Matthew will now show us that Jesus has authority over disease as well.

As a side note, these events are likely not in chronological order. So, you might find the same or similar events in the other gospels in other places of the timeline. The reason is that Matthew often puts events together that have the same theme, showing the same thing about Jesus. 

The first encounter is with a leper, a skin disease. Generally, no one would come near a leper. The Old Covenant law had several regulations concerning this. A leper had to live alone outside the camp or city. He had to wear torn clothes. When he walked around, he had to cry out “unclean, unclean”. (Leviticus 13:45-48) 

People would avoid coming near a leper to avoid contracting the disease. You can imagine the life of this poor man. He wore ragged clothes. He was lonely. He suffered from the disease. He was a pariah to everyone. 

Yet, he was driven to approach Jesus. He came near him and knelt before him. He called Jesus “Lord”, a term of respect. It may be used like we would use the word “sir” today. Or, it may have been a recognition of Jesus’ deity. He acknowledged the ability of Jesus to heal him. Thus, he showed great faith in Jesus. 

Jesus expressed his willingness to heal him. He reached out and touched the man, something no one else would do. It would make a person ceremonially unclean to do so. But, Jesus could not be made unclean.

So, Jesus healed the man. He made him clean. He told him to obey the requirements of the Law regarding his healing, but not to tell anyone how it happened. 

The Centurion’s Servant

8:5-13

The next event occurs at Capernaum, Peter’s home town. There a centurion came to Jesus. He also referred to Jesus as “Lord”, something a Roman officer would not do to a Jewish man. 

A centurion was a professional Roman army officer. He commanded 100 men, known as a century. Obtaining this rank meant the man was brave, competent in leadership, and responsible. Centurions are usually presented in a good light in the gospels.

As an officer and a Roman, it is notable that he would come to Jesus on behalf of one of his servants. Jesus volunteered to come to the centurion’s home to heal the man.

But the centurion did not believe he was worthy of having Jesus come into his home, showing great humility. He believed, also, that Jesus could just declare the man healed and he would be healed. This showed great faith.

It also shows us the profound thinking of the centurion, greater than any Jew had expressed, for he understood that Jesus was under the authority of God the Father and, therefore, had the authority of God vested in him. That included the authority and power to heal.

Jesus acknowledged and commended the man’s faith. Matthew said “he marveled” at it. (10) He declared that he had not found this level of faith in anyone in Israel.  So, he told the man the servant would be healed and the servant was immediately healed. Jesus did not have to physically touch someone to heal them. He could simply declare it.

Jesus also taught a little lesson to those within hearing range. It was about the salvation of Gentiles. He said many will come from the east and west of Israel and be saved. They would recline at table with the patriarchs in the kingdom, meaning the wedding feast of the lamb. 

The marriage, or wedding feast of the Lamb is described in Revelation 19:7-9. It is when all evil has been destroyed and the church, all believers, come and commune with the Lord Jesus, symbolized in a supper. 

In contrast, Jesus said many Jews (sons  or subjects of the kingdom) will be cast into hell. It is described as a place of outer darkness and a place of agony (weeping and gnashing of teeth). (12) 

Peter’s Mother-in-Law

8:14-17

When Jesus came into Peter’s house in Capernaum, he found Peter’s mother in law sick with a fever. He touched her hand and healed her. Notice that all of these healings are instantaneous. 

Evidently, word got out about this healing and people from the town began to bring their sick to Jesus. The fact that they waited until evening may suggest that this was a Sabbath day. They would be required to wait for the Sabbath to end at sundown. Regardless, He healed all of them. 

They also brought him many who were oppressed by demons. There seems to have been much demonic activity in the region. Jesus cast out the spirits with a word. He did not need chants or ceremonies to cast them out. This shows he had authority over demons.

Matthew again cites the Old Testament to say Jesus fulfilled it. In this case, the healing of diseases fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4, which Matthew recited. This may be Matthew’s own translation of the verse since it does not match the Septuagint which is often quoted in the New Testament. 

Regardless, Jesus is shown as exercising his authority over illness and demons, ushering in the kingdom, or inaugurating it. When the kingdom is consummated, it will be as described in Revelation 21:4:

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

FALSE V. TRUE - MATTHEW 7:15-28

 False Prophets

7:15-20

Further showing that God allows and expects us to be discerning if found in his warning about false prophets who will come. They look like sheep, but they are wolves. They mislead people by misinterpreting Scripture, by introducing the practices of other religions, and claiming new revelations. 

And they came quickly! Around 48 A.D., teachers from Judea came to Antioch and taught that the Gentiles had to become circumcised before they could be saved. In effect, they had to embrace Judaism before they could become Christians. Paul and Barnabas opposed them. This led to the conference in Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15. The apostles and elders rejected the teaching of the Judaizers. 

About the same time, the same group came to the churches of Galatia, teaching a works based salvation based on Judaism. Paul wrote Galatians to correct this false teaching. 

The author of the book of Hebrews argued against returning to Judaism. He warned against strange teachings. 

John tells us: “Beloved do not believer every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world”. (1John 4:1) He also warned of “many deceivers who have gone out into the world” teaching that Jesus did not come in the flesh. (2 John 1:7) 

They continue to come. How do we know them? 

One way we recognize them is by their fruits. A grapevine produces grapes, not thorns. A fig tree produces figs.  Jesus’ audience knew those plants and knew that Jesus told the truth. 

Jesus also said a healthy tree produces good fruit. The opposite is also true. A diseased tree bears bad fruit. 

It is the same with prophets and preachers. Thus, we can recognize false prophets by what they produce. 

First, we can look at their message. Is it Biblical? Remember the Bereans in Acts 17. They heard Paul’s message, then examined the scriptures to see if Paul’s message was true. Know your Bible and you will know the truth.

Second, we can look at their lifestyle. Are they faithful in marriage or sexually immoral? Do they live extravagantly and claim God wants them to live this way? 

How do they treat other people? Are they arrogant and demanding? Are they mean? Do they possess the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23? 

Third, how do they relate to the church? Do they attend a church and participate in it? Are they divisive within the church body? 

It is important that shepherds protection the sheep of their flock from the wolves. But, the sheep should also be discerning and aware of false prophets.

Ultimately, God will judge false prophets. Jesus said trees that bear bad fruit are cut down and burned in the fire. (19) This is a metaphor used to illustrate the eternal destiny of false prophets. 

False Disciples

7:21-23

Not only will there be false prophets to the church, there will be false disciples in the congregation. There will be those who seemed to profess faith in Christ, but did not truly do so. 

How do we know those false disciples? It can be difficult. James gives us some guidance:

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a heart of he word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:23-25)

The one who reads and studies God’s word and applies it to himself, or herself, is a doer of the word. That person grows in faith, endures hard times, loves and serves others, and constantly seeks to obey God’s word.

The one who hears only is the one who reads the Bible, or hears a sermon, and deflects from himself to others or ignores it altogether. That person never grows and may even be a false disciple. 

How we deal with non-believers in our congregations is often a topic of discussion. Once current term is “regenerate membership”, the idea that only genuine believers should be considered members of the church. That is why our church requires prospective members to attend the First Steps class and an interview with an elder. 

The Rock On Which You Build Your House

7:24-27

Jesus closed his sermon with a promise and a warning. The promise is that the doer of the word builds his life around Christ, his word, and the church, will not fall. He or she weathers the storms of life in faith. You could call it a rock solid faith.

In contrast, those who do not build their lives upon God and his word will risk falling and even being destroyed. 

The Crowd’s Reaction

7:28-29

The people who heard this sermon were astonished. Jesus taught as one with authority. The scribes quoted famous rabbis for authority, but Jesus did not.

That is because Jesus had authority as the Son God. He said “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. (Matthew 28:18) Jesus will demonstrate his authority, as well as his divinity, in the miracles he performs in the following chapters. 

So, Jesus calls us to make a radical choice to live differently that the world, taking the narrow road, doing what the word says, not what the world says. We imitate Christ in obedience, in love, and in service. 

THE GOLDEN RULE - MATTHEW 7:12

 

This verse is often called the Golden Rule. Many of us grew up with our parents saying “do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And it really is the gold standard of behavior for us in relation to other people. Would you want someone to open the door for you when you have both hands full and aren’t sure you can do it without dropping everything? Would you like someone to let you go first in the check out line when you have one item and they have a full basket?

Would you like for someone to give you grace when you are having a bad day and did not respond to them graciously? Would you like for someone to love you and forgive you when you totally messed up? 

The answer to all of these questions is yes. So, do those things for others. 

Jesus said this rule sums up the Law and the Prophets. Leviticus 19:18 says to “love your neighbor as yourself”. The Law tells us many things we are not to do to our neighbors as well as things we are to do. All of these things can be corollaries to the Golden Rule. 

When I was a little boy, my mother would often say "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". After a while, she could just say "do unto others" and I knew what she meant. There are many rules of behavior in the Bible, but the Golden Rule is a great guide. 

PRAYING WITH CONFIDENCE - MATTHEW 7:7-11

Jesus had previously given some instruction on prayer. He told us not to use prayer to put on a show and not to babble, repeating phrases over and over. He also gave us a model of prayer.

Here Jesus encouraged prayer by making some wonderful promises. He talks about it in three ways. He says to ask, seek, and knock. He is talking about praying to our Heavenly Father, as we see in verse 11.

All three of these examples tell us God hears our prayers and answers. When we ask, what we need will be given to us. God wants us to ask. James says “You do not have because you do not ask”. (James 4:2) 

Jesus also said “seek and you will find”. If you seek a deeper walk with God, you will find it through prayer. God told the Jews in exile “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. (Jeremiah 29:12)

Jesus also said knock and it will be opened to you. I do not always open my door when someone knocks or rings the bell. If I see it is a sales person, I do not open it. But, no matter what time it is, if the one knocking is one of my daughters, I always open, give her a hug, and invite her into the house for a visit. Similarly, God always responds when his child seeks fellowship with him.  

The premise behind Jesus’ statement is that God is good. There are many scriptures that tell us this. Psalm 34:8 says “Oh, last and see that the LORD is good!” Psalm 100:5 says “For the LORD is good”. Nahum 1:7 also says “The LORD is good”. Psalm 119:68 says “You are good and do good”. 

Because God is good, he answers the prayers of his people with good things. James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights”. 

Jesus showed God’s goodness by making a comparison to human parents. If your son asks for bread, you do not give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, you do not give him a snake. So, if we who are evil (original sin) give our children good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father, who is good, give good things to his children who ask him. 

Romans 8:32 says “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” If God is so good he would send his Son and sacrifice him so that we can be saved, why would we think he will deprive us of the things we need? 

Pray because God is good. Pray because God loves you. Pray because God hears and answers your prayers. 

JUDGING OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS - MATTHEW 7:1-6

Judging\Not Judging

7:1-5

Chapter 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount. It is composed of several short teachings on different topics. The first is judging. 

It used to be that John 3:16 was the most widely known verse in the New Testament, but it now seems to be Matthew 7:1. It is often employed by non-believers or believers trying to justify their sin. 

Discerning what Jesus meant by this command is somewhat difficult for several reasons. First, the word “judge” has different meanings, such as condemn, discern, or render judgment in court. 

The context shows us it is not about court. 

It cannot mean discernment because Jesus calls us to discern false prophets later in the chapter. 

That leaves “condemn” as the most likely meaning. 

The first thing to notice is that this instruction pertains to believers acting toward believers as shown by the word “brother” in verse 3. Jesus said not to judge a fellow believer because we will be judged by the same standard with which we judged.

The implication is judgment by God.

So, it appears that we are not to condemn our fellow believers or to have a judgmental attitude toward them. When we do, we usurp God’s authority and power to judge. If we take God’s place, we are accountable to him for judgment. 

Paul gave the same instruction: 

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” (Romans 14:10-13)

James also addressed the matter when he wrote: 

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. the one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12)

Two things seem to be in play here. First, is about what we assume a brother’s motives to be by his actions. Church people are bad about jumping to conclusions from something they have seen or even heard from someone else. Some people in church are censorious; they put forward the worst possible assumption about someone else’s motives. 

In addition, judging and gossiping often go together. The urge to share negative assumptions is apparently very strong. 

The upshot is that judgment of other's motives is not our job but God's job. Paul wrote: “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his master that he stands or falls.” (Romans 14:4) 

The second thing is that we tend to exaggerate the sin of others and minimize our own sins. Jesus points this out when he says “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (3) 

Here is an example. In Romans, Paul addressed the religious people, Jews in this case, who were judging the pagans for their sins as Paul set out in Romans 1:18, but were doing the same things. He wrote:

Therefore you (the self righteous religious people) have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. (Romans 2:1) 

We should certainly deal with our own sins before pointing out a brother or sister’s sins. We must first take the log out of our own eye, then we can see clearly to take the spec out of our brother’s eye. (5) When we act self righteously, Jesus said we are hypocrites. (5) We project ourselves as righteous and the other person as a sinner. In reality, we, ourselves, are sinners. 

While we are not to judge motives, we are to discern truth from error and good from evil. 

Here are some things that we, as believers, are to discern. 

Hebrews 5:4 tells us that the mature believer has power of discernment that allow him or her to distinguish good from evil. 

We can discern sin by applying the Scripture to certain behaviors. Paul did this with the Corinthian church. He rebuked the church for tolerating a man who had his father’s wife. This is prohibited in the Old Covenant law. (Leviticus 18:8) Paul demanded the removal of the man from the fellowship until he repented and quit the relationship. 

Paul applied the scripture to the man’s behavior and discerned it to be a sin. That determination being made, it was the duty of the church to invoke the discipline process. (1 Corinthians 5) That process is set out by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-20.

To reiterate, Scripture does urge us to judge between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil. 

Don’t Cast Your Pearls

7:6

While we treat our brothers and sisters in the faith with respect and gentleness, there are people to whom we limit what we say. 

Jesus referred to them as dogs and pigs. The dogs Jesus referred to are not pets, but wild dogs that roamed around and ate trash. Pigs, of course, were unclean animals that Jews avoided.

So no Jew would give something holy to one of these wild dogs. This might refer to the part of an animal sacrifice that a family was allowed to eat. For example, when a peace offering was made with an animal, the kidneys and liver, with the fat around them, were burned on the altar. 

The blood was sprinkled on the altar by the priest. The breast and right thigh were given to the priest for food. Then, the family and their guests could eat the rest. (Leviticus 3 & 7) No one would have given any of the offering to a wild dog. 

Similarly, no one would give a pearl to a pig. A pearl was valuable. A pig would eat it or trample it. And the value of it would be lost. 

So, these examples would be understood by the Jews as metaphors of something that should not be done. 

But, who were the dogs and pigs in the metaphor? They would be those who do not believe in Jesus, but also who defiantly reject the gospel and have contempt for God and anyone who believes in him. 

The holy and the pearl are metaphors for the precious truths of the faith that we believe and treasure. We always stand ready to share the gospel with anyone who will listen. But to those who ridicule and show contempt for the faith, we do not share anything else. 

For example, one of these people ridicules the doctrine of the Trinity. There is no point in trying to explain it to such a person. Or, that person ridicules the doctrine of atonement. There is not point in discussing it with him other than to give him the gospel. I use these examples because I saw both of them on social media this week.  

This is true because this kind of person cannot understand these truths and does not want to. Paul tells us their thinking is futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. (Romans 1:21-22) They cannot understand and accept the things of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14) 

It takes spiritual wisdom and maturity to know what to do in the situations we discussed today. That wisdom comes from study of the Bible, prayer, and experience. 

Be prepared!