Just wanted to share something I got when I read Matthew 8 recently.
Matthew 8 is divided into six parts, and in each of these six parts we can learn a little something about our faith in Christ.
Matthew 8
The Man With Leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4) – Will
1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
The first thing about faith is that it must be in God’s will. The man with leprosy came before Jesus and acknowledged that it was only by Jesus’ will that he would be healed. Likewise, we must not come barging into God’s throne room demanding and asking Him to approve and answer our wills. Instead, we should pray like Jesus prayed, “Yet not my will, but Yours be done.”
And as we pray and read His Word, we begin to realize and find out what God’s will is. Our thoughts and perspectives will slowly change as we continue to seek after His will.
The Faith of the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13) – Word
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their placed at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
The centurion’s faith was honoured by Jesus because he had faith in the power of the word of Christ and he had faith in the authority of Christ. The Word of God is as alive today as it has been 2000 years ago. God is still the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the one with the highest authority. Let’s begin to build our faiths on the foundation of His Word and believe in the power of His word.
But may we be always mindful of the will of God. We see that it wasn’t just blind faith the centurion had, but he too adhered to the will of Jesus. In verse 7, Jesus says that He will go and heal the centurion’s servant. And in verse 13, His Word comes to past. Indeed, His Word will come to past!
Jesus Heals Many (Matthew 8:14-17) – Works
14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
The thing that really struck me as I read this part was how Jesus did not just stop at teaching and speaking with words, but He went on to fulfil the Words through His life, through His actions. He healed the sick, He did something. ‘Works’ were part of His ministry. He was practical.
These past few months, of being exposed to so many different kinds of needs around me, I am reminded to be practical as well as prayerful about the many needs. We cannot just pray for the poor hungry people that they will be fed and hope food falls from the sky for them. We need to do something. Indeed, faith without works is dead.
The Cost of Following Jesus (Matthew 8:18-22) – Worth It
18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Is God worth it? At certain points in our Christian walk, this question is bound to come up. Is God worth giving up my home? My nine to five job? My securities? My comfort? Is He really worth it? Many times we make it all about ourselves but really this whole life, is for God. What are our lives but just a tiny dot in eternity. And as I slowly discover my faith, I believe God is worth it. He is worth more than I could ever imagine. And as I trust in Him, the risks I take are worth it. Obeying Him is worth it. Faith and following Him at times brings me to circumstances when I can’t have my way. But that’s okay, because I know what He is leading me to is worth it. But this is a question, each person has to answer on their own, according to their own convictions.
Jesus Calms the Storm (Matthew 8:23-27) – Winds, Waves and Worries
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Looking back at verse 18, we know that it was Jesus who gave the orders to cross over to the other side of the lake. And as follows, His disciples got into the boat with Him. Suddenly, they were hit by a furious storm which threw them into despair. But with Christ in the vessel, they were saved.
Many times, when God asks us to do something, there may come certain difficulties and struggles, winds and waves. And many times, these winds and waves can get really really overwhelming. But as our faith grows, as we remember God’s faithfulness and power in our lives, may we also always remember and acknowledge that our God is with us, and He is able to rebuke the winds and waves in our lives and calm the storms. Completely calm, perfect peace. Worries will come along the way, Jesus did not promise a smooth journey BUT (thank God for ‘but’s) He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And He is far greater than the winds and waves in our lives.
The Healing of Two Demon-possessed Men (Matthew 8:28-34) – Wins
28When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
30Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank and into the lake and died in the water. 33Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
The part of this last few verses that struck me was that of verse 29, where the demons knew Jesus had power and authority over them and in God’s time, they were doomed. God always wins. At the end of the day, He is and will be victorious. So, whose side will you choose to stand on? Our faith is not a hopeless airy belief, it is based on truth and based on a God who is victorious, who always wins at the end of the day.
My faith is not all of that, my faith is still very very small. But I pray that as I continue to journey with Christ, my faith in Him will grow.
As of now, I know that this faith, this following Him, is worth it.
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