Author: Andrew Timberlake

Matthew 8:18-34

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, two demon-possessed 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.

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time

To follow Jesus is not an easy decision (to believe in Him for eternal life is). To become a disciple of Jesus is a costly decision that requires that we give up much for Him. The first person who said he would follow Jesus didn’t realise that it meant giving up his comfort. We might think it’s easy to follow Jesus if we can keep our Spotify and Netflix subscriptions, smartphones, and cool clothes—the easy life. But what if following Jesus means giving up some of that? Another wannabe disciple said He would follow but first he wanted to bury his father. That sounds like a perfectly reasonable request. Aren’t we supposed to look after our family? But he still showed he had a higher priority than Jesus. Some think he meant, “I’ll come and follow you after my father is dead, when I have received my inheritance and am free to go.” Might you be saying, “Jesus, I’ll really follow you after I’ve finished school, got a degree and a good job, a wife and kids, and life settles down? Jesus wants you to follow Him now—and let Him lead you through all of life decisions—His way.

When Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm, He showed complete faith in the Father for His life. He knew that nothing could happen to Him apart from God’s will. On the other hand, the disciples believe the storm is so severe that they are in mortal danger (“Save us, Lord; we are perishing”). Jesus is the One who has the power to change your circumstance (calm the storm) but He is also the One who wants you to trust Him in everything. Do you believe that while Jesus could calm the storm raging in your life today, nothing is happening to you that He is not in complete control of, and your life is safe in His hands until He is ready to bring you home?

When Jesus gets to the other side, He is met by two demon-possessed men. The demons inside them recognise Jesus as the Son of God and are terrified that He has come to deal with them before the time—they know that their time is limited and Jesus will one day deal with them (Rev 12:12). Knowing they are not welcome in these men, they ask to be cast into the nearby herd of pigs. They were not too smart because they didn’t realise that a demon-possessed herd of pigs was going to go crazy and rush straight into the sea and drown. The herdsmen run to tell the people of the city what had happened. When they return they see that the demon-possessed men are now in their right mind (Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35) but they are afraid and ask Jesus to leave their region. These people (not Jews) were more concerned with their bacon business than they were in seeing people healed and restored. How do you identify with the townsfolk? Is there something you’re more concerned about than others coming to know Christ? Are you more concerned about your reputation at school than speaking to others about Jesus?

Following Jesus is not easy, it’s costly. What do you think, is the cost too great? What about the price you should have paid for your sin? Jesus paid that on your behalf. Is it still too costly to follow Him?

Posted on by Andrew Timberlake 2

Matthew 8:1–17

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper 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 had 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, ‘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.”

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time

Jesus is approached by a leper. A leper was someone with a skin disease that was considered incurable and made him or her an outcast from society (he wasn’t locked in, he was locked out). His approach to Jesus recognises Jesus ability (“Lord”) to heal but he comes in humility acknowledging that Jesus would heal him according to His will. Jesus doesn’t only heal him but touches him, something that no Jew would have done. Jesus sends the man to the priest to follow the procedure outlined in the law for a leper who was healed. This would have been a clear sign to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was Messiah because there had been no record of an Israelite recovering from leprosy since Miriam (Moses sister, Num 12:10-15).

The second person to approach Jesus is a centurion, a Roman soldier, a gentile. This man recognised Jesus authority over all creation and knew that Jesus didn’t need to be in the same place as the sick to heal them, He could just say a word and it would happen. Jesus points out that the centurion’s faith was greater than the faith He had encountered amongst the Jews. Jesus had come to bring the kingdom to the Jews (the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) who were rejecting Him. Instead, many gentiles (that’s you and me) would have the opportunity to sit down and feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The centurion’s servant was healed that very moment which showed that his faith was well-founded.

The third person doesn’t even approach Jesus, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law (did you know that Peter was married? (1 Cor 9:5)). Her response to Jesus work in her life is to serve Him, so should ours.

Matthew ends this section by pointing out that Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would take our illnesses and bear our diseases (Isaiah 53:4). How does He do that? With so many people affected by, and dying from Covid-19, how is it that Jesus takes our illnesses and bears our diseases? Illness and disease is one of the effects of sin on this cursed world. Sin is the underlying cause of all sickness (sin in general, not always personal sin). Jesus came to deal with the underlying problem. While He healed people physically when He walked the earth, His mission was to provide a cure to all people for their underlying condition of sin. He came to provide the cure to all sickness and disease—salvation from the curse of sin—eternal life in Him.

How does this passage help your faith? Do you recognise Jesus as able? Do you humbly ask in submission to His will?

Posted on by Andrew Timberlake 4