8.1-9.34

Matthew 8:1-9.34 | Matthew has this huge chunk of miracle stories, large enough to choke a mule, all grouped together in chapters 8 and 9. You have to understand that it is well worth the time to take these stories as individual nuggets, sitting on them for a few hours, or even a few days; but there are times when it is incredibly clarifying (not to mention satisfying…mmmm…mmmmm) to step back from our “bible microscope” and look at the big picture Matthew is painting.

These miracle stories are loaded with the healings of people who are in agony: some have leprosy, another guy is paralyzed, another one is naked and possessed by a demon (not good on either account!), still others are blind or mute, and one girl is just stone-cold dead. Jesus heals them all. He even has a moment where he tells, no, commands, the winds and the waves to stop. This is earth-shattering stuff. But why does he do it?

What’s the point of all the miracles?

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8.5-13

Matthew 8:5-13 | The Sermon on the Mount was more than words to Jesus. As he descends down the mountain he touches an outcast and now receives the “enemy”. A Roman Centurion, of all people, seeks Jesus out and asks him if he would heal his servant’s suffering. Could you imagine the hush that would have come over the crowd as a centurion approaches this rabbi? Why was this centurion even seeking him out? What was Jesus going to say? Would Jesus actually help these foreign soldiers?

Not only does Jesus listen to him, he agrees to go and heal the centurion’s servant. Jesus is living out the words “love your enemies” right in front of us. But maybe even more amazing is the response of the centurion. He stops Jesus (imagine stopping Jesus… “no, wait a second Jesus“) and says something that at first appears a bit strange but is so profound it should make us take a second and think. In fact, it was such an amazing insight that the text says Jesus was “astonished”. Okay, I said a second ago, imagine stopping Jesus… now imagine astonishing Jesus!
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8.1-4

Matthew 8:1-4 | The moment when Jesus healed the man with leprosy is shocking when you begin to think about it. It’s shocking because Jesus touched him. He didn’t have to. He could have said, “be healed” or something cooler like, “leprosy be gone”, who knows…. But he didn’t. He touched him. He touched an unclean outcast who had probably not been touched in a long, long time.

Sometimes I think we all forget that part. We are so eager for a person to “get saved” that we forget how important touch is. We tell them how Jesus can heal their brokenness but forget to touch the pain. Jesus did not have to touch him to heal him - he chose to. He identified with the hurt and pain of the leper in a way only touching could. We have to remember that in proclaiming the salvation of God we are also the hands of God. We are his body.
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5.17-7.29

[youversion]Matthew 5:17-7:29[/youversion] |This one word appears in the Sermon on the Mount 15 times. It is in many ways the very point of the teaching Jesus is giving. We can read through this section over and over again and drive right by it every single time because it is not one of those action words we are used to looking for like: love, joy, or worship. No, this word is a little more common. But it is a word that packs immense meaning for every single one of us. It is a word that defines every one of us as a person.

When Jesus uses this word over and over again, I think he is telling us something about what it means to live in the kingdom. After all this section is about what living out the Kingdom of God truly looks like. How do we handle relationships? anger? prayer? giving? fasting? life? Jesus is painting a picture of humanity as the way it was intended to be - humanity as we are intended to live - but none of this can happen without understanding this one word.
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5.13-5.16

[youversion]Matthew 5:13-5:16[/youversion] | Add Comments: What does it mean for us to be salt and light within our world?

5.1-5.12

[youversion]Matthew 5:1-5:12[/youversion] | Known as “The Sermon on the Mount”, this is the longest teaching of Jesus we have and is for lack of a better description… a kingdom manifesto for living out heaven on earth. The start of this is often known as the Beatitudes, or as I was taught in Sunday School, The Be Attitudes. Yes, the “Be-tudes” as us cool kids called them for short, were basically a giant list of things we should be if we want to get into heaven when we die.
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4.23-4.25

[youversion]Matthew 4:23-4:25[/youversion] | After calling his first disciples Jesus begins to travel around a small area called Galilee, teaching in the Synagogues with the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. What does that mean? After all when I grew up hearing the word “Gospel” I honestly thought it was a type of music I didn’t like… But then I was told it was something like, “You’re a vile sinner doomed to hell, but Jesus died for your sins, so if you pray this prayer Jesus will save you and then you can go live with him in heaven for forever when you die.” Uummmmm…hhhmmmmm…not sure this is really the Good News…
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4.18-4.22

[youversion]Matthew 4:18-4:22[/youversion] | So we pick back up with Jesus selecting his first disciples. We cannot miss how crucial this is to the “good news” story Matthew is telling us. Jesus calls two sets of brothers to leave everything they are pouring their lives into and come follow him. So maybe leaving behind a life of bad sunburns and only dating girls who have lost their sense of smell isn’t that hard, but maybe leaving behind everything you have worked for up to this point in your so-so (c’mon you know being a fisherman is only so-so) life would be a challenge. But these four guys lose their fish-sticks over a chance to follow the Messiah. Somehow they have gotten word that this man is worth more than what they are currently giving their lives to. They don’t understand the amazingness that following this man will get them into or what it will cost them… but they follow.
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3.4-4.17

[youversion]Matthew 3:4-4:17[/youversion] | So John is out in the desert baptizing his followers when a bunch of Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious folk) come out to see what is happening. John basically rebukes them for walking around as though they are the righteous when God is condemning and bringing judgment on the very system they lead. John goes so far as to call them a “brood of vipers”. Now you have to understand this is some major verbal judo for these people. Think about it…

brood=children | vipers=serpents | satan is the serpent.

It’s basically like John is calling these people (who believe they are the children of God) the children of Satan. This is not the side of the battle you want to find yourself on.
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DIG

Every now and then I would like to push everyone to dig a little deeper into a section of the text we are looking at. I want to ask a few questions and let you guys reply with your thoughts and ideas from what you found looking deeper into the text. So here goes the first dig…

What interesting occurrence pops up 4 times in this unique genealogy?
What do these four occurences have in common?
How does this affect our understanding of what Matthew is saying here?

(Hint: the occurence happens within the first 6 verses)