The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus and the Miracles - Part 2

 

TEXT:  MATTHEW 8:16-24 - ¹⁶ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.” ¹⁸ And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. ¹⁹ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 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.” ²¹ Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” ²³ Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ²⁵ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” ²⁶ But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” ²⁸ When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. ³¹ So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” ³² And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. ³³ Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

We are looking at the topic of the Kingdom and Jesus’ Miracles. Matthew is in this chapter giving us 4 miracles of healing and the miracle of calming the sea. We saw Jesus healing a leper, a centurion’s servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law. We will conclude this study with Jesus healing a number of demon-possessed people and His calming the sea. Matthew is building his case that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Matthew is starting to show the power that Jesus has over all of Creation.

The final miracle of healing Matthew records deals with in this chapter is with  a number of demon-possessed people. On the western side of the Sea of Galilee (verses 16-17) shows us the Possessed in verse 16. The Greek word used here means someone under the control of a demon. We need to realize that demon possession is real. However, we can also remember that Christians cannot be possessed – but we can become under their control. We see that it is Jesus’ Word is what removes them. His Word is still powerful today. Matthew tells us in verse 17 that this is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:4. 

Now, we move on to the Eastern Side of the Sea of Galilee. Here Jesus comes upon two Gadarene maniacs (verse 28) controlled by demons. Mark 5 and Luke 8 also gives this account. They only mention one. Possibly because Jesus only spoke with the one in these accounts. They were violent and had to live among the tombs. We must notice the panic of the Demons in verse 29. They are filled with fear as Jesus approaches. James in his letter says that even the demons believe and tremble! (2:19).

This is followed by the plea of the demons (verses 30-31). They begged to be sent into the swine (not the Abyss). We can finish this account by seeing the Galilean Messiah. He releases the two men (verse 32), yet we see a startling thing – they reject the Messiah in verses 33-34. The foolish people plead with Christ to depart and leave them alone. Could we be guilty of witnessing the power of Christ, and still reject Christ Himself today?

Let us end today with a quick glance at Jesus calming the Sea. First, Matthew tells us about the furious Storm that threatens to sink their boat. It is important to notice – Jesus was IN the boat with them. (8:23). Jesus doesn’t always take us out of the storm, but He is with us.

Notice, He was asleep. He was fully at rest in His Father’s watch care. Are we like that?

The account points out the fearful sailors (verse 25). They were in desperate straits.

But we are assured of the faithful Savior in verses 26-27. He rebukes their lack of faith, yet He stills the storm. This amazes even His disciples.

In the last two verses of chapter 7, we saw the Sermon’s Impact on His hearers (verses 28-29). They were astonished (amazed). He taught with authority (the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege). We end today’s study seeing the very close Disciples in amazement of who Jesus is.

Do we take Him for granted? Have we lost our amazement at who He is?

Matthew is showing us that Jesus has Power and Authority over Creation.

Are we in awe of this marvelous Savior?