Painted by Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592)Matthew 8
1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper [term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13] came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant [bondservant], ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up 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 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes [Gergesenes; some Gerasenes], two demon-possessed [Greek daimonizomai; also verse 33; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons] men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
We live in a time where everything moves quickly. Even movies don't give you a chance to say,"What did they say?" ....And we have had a scene change.
When the New York Times Bestseller author, M. Scott Peck,M.D., wrote the 'The Road Less Traveled" he was still in the infancy of His Christ relationship. He'd begun as a Christian/Buddhist/Carl Yung enthusiast, but as he really broke bread with the Gospels (he said if he was going to refer to the Bible -he felt he should know something of it), he met Jesus. He remembers thinking, why didn't anyone tell me Jesus had personality? Every page of the Gospels brought him closer to Jesus. This was God, this was a man.
The real Jesus. Jesus walking through this life..... Jesus attitudes - I will - be clean. Not maverick Jesus, not I am God - watch me strut - but ... go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.
I will come to heal him.
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her.....
“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
Not the way we portray our fictitious superheroes. When Jesus was tired, pressed upon, He was ready to leave. Men leaned towards Him to give Him shallow, meaningless promises and talk.
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
In the midst of His day, a day filled with requests, endless ideas of what they perceive God to be, ideas of what He should be, their joy, their pain, their trouble, Jesus knew He needed a break.
He was asleep
The disciples ... they needed Him, didn't He know there was a storm! ............ they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
Didn't they know Jesus lived in a storm of constant activity and thoughts ...... And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and .... there was a great calm.
These were the days Jesus walked the earth. We share Psalm 116 with Him, it applies to all of us, with Him:
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
~ Psalm 116: 7-9
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