Dan Gatlin - September 29, 2019 pm - Gospel Meeting MP3 PP
The Power Of Jesus (Matt. 8 & 9)
Intro.—The
purpose of the gospels is to reveal to us who Jesus Christ is.
A.
Each of the gospel accounts were written for a different group of
people.
1. Matthew was written from a Jewish perspective, emphasizing
that Jesus fulfilled prophecy.
a. Matthew is organized more by subject, rather than strict
chronology.
2. Mark was
written from a Gentile perspective, emphasizing the actions of Jesus,
and explaining
many Jewish
customs.
3. Luke was
written for the Romans, and is the most chronological account.
4. John was
written much later and give a different (though perfectly harmonized)
perspective.
B. The Jews
understood that the Messiah would be a Savior, but they believed He
would be a
political
leader,
bringing Israel back to the glory that existed under David.
They were wrong.
C. Every gospel
reveals that Jesus was the Son of God—Deity come to earth from heaven.
1. There are
different ways that this was demonstrated: prophecy, teaching, miracles,
etc.
2. Jesus'
teaching was different from that of the Scribes & Pharisees.
3. "28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that
the people were astonished
at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having
authority, and not as the scribes." -
Matt. 7:28-29
4. In the
chapters following the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew shows His power (and
identity)
through a
series of miracles.
a. Remember,
Matthew tends to be grouped into subjects.
b. Following
this great sermon, Matthew shows us the
power of Jesus.
5. Let's look
at some of these miracles in Matt. 8 & 9 (and see what they reveal).
I. Power Over
Disease, Matt. 8:1-4,
14-18.
A. Cleansing a
leper: "1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes
followed
Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying,
'Lord, if You are willing, You
can make me clean.' 3 Then Jesus put out His hand and
touched him, saying, 'I am willing;
be cleansed.' Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And
Jesus said to him, See that you
tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses
commanded, as a testimony to them.'" -
Matt. 8:1-4
1. Lev. 13 & 14
detail the tests for leprosy, the quarantine associated with it and the
sacrifices to be
given in the
case of cleansing.
2. This was a
horrendous disease that slowly destroyed populations. Now, it's easily
curable.
3. People
didn't touch lepers. But
Jesus had no fear of this.
The healing was immediate.
B. Healing
Peter's mother-in-law: "14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his
wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 15 So He touched her
hand, and the fever left her. And
she arose and served them. 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.'" -
Matt. 8:14-17
C. Power over
disease also suggests power over life and death.
1. This was
true physically & spiritually.
(Of course, Jesus only used miracles to heal.)
2. Jesus will
judge humanity (Acts 17:31).
Judgment will be based on His words (Jn. 12:48).
II.
Universal Authority (Helping A
Gentile), Matt. 8:5-13
A. Jesus was
not just a Jewish Messiah.
1. "5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to
Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed,
dreadfully tormented.' 7 And Jesus
said to him, 'I will come and heal him.' 8 The centurion
answered and said, 'Lord, I am not
worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a
word, and my servant will
be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having
soldiers under me. And I say to
this 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 it, He marveled,
and said to those who
followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such
great faith, not even in Israel! 11
And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and
sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons
of the kingdom will be cast
out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.' 13 Then Jesus said
to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so
let it be done for you.' And
his servant was healed that same hour." -
Matt. 8:5-13
2. Yes, this
was another healing, but notice the point that Jesus makes.
3. Many of the
Jews would be rejected, and the faithful of all nations will be saved.
B. This truth
was taught in the O.T.
1. Starting
with the promise to Abraham, Gen. 12:1-3.
2. "2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the
mountain of the LORD’S house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall
be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall
flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of
Jacob; He will teach us His
ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall
go forth the law, And the word
of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the
nations, And rebuke many
people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And
their spears into pruning
hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore." -
Isa. 2:2-4
3. "1 Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My
soul delights! I have put
My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the
Gentiles. . . . 6 I, the LORD, have
called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will
keep You and give You as a
covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles," -
Isa. 42:1, 6
C. It was not
recognized until the N.T.
1. "4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ),
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men,
as it has now been
revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6
that the Gentiles should be
fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise
in Christ through the gospel,"
-
Eph. 3:4-6
III. Power Over
Nature, Matt.
8:23-27.
A. "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?'" -
Matt. 8:23-27
B. Other times
when He controlled nature.
1. Walking on
the water, Jn. 6.
2. Turning
water into wine, Jn. 2:1-11.
3. Feeding
thousands with a few loaves & fish, Matt. 14 & 15.
4. Great catch
of fish, Jn. 21
C. This is not
surprising considering His part in creation.
1. "16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and
that are on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is
before all things, and in Him all things
consist." -
Col. 1:16-17
IV. Power Over
The Spiritual Realm,
Matt. 8:28-34
A. "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.
" -
Matt. 8:28-32
B. The good
news is that Satan will be defeated & Christ will prevail.
Portrayed in many ways:
1. The broad &
narrow road in Matt. 7:13-14.
2. The judgment
scene in Matt. 25:31ff.
3. Jesus as a
conqueror, Rev. 19.
C. "9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him
the name which is above every
name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those in heaven, and of those
on earth, and of those under the earth" -
Phil. 2:9-10
V. Power To
Forgive, Matt. 9:1-8
A. "1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own
city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good
cheer; your sins are forgiven you." 3 And at once some of the
scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" 4 But
Jesus, knowing their
thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5
"For which is easier, to say, ‘Your
sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 "But
that you may know that the Son of
Man has power on earth to forgive sins" — then He said to
the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." 7 And he
arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the
multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had
given such power to men."
-
Matt. 9:1-8
1. The scribes
were wrong in accusing Jesus of blasphemy.
a. But, the
implication of that is that only God can forgive sins.
b. Parallel
account: "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can
forgive sins
but God alone?" -
Mk. 2:7
c. He forgave
the woman who washed His feet, Lk. 7:47-48.
B. We are lost
without the willingness of Jesus to forgive.
1. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -
1 Jn. 1:9
C. We must to
respond the gospel.
1. "So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You
want me to do?' Then the Lord
said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be
told what you must do.'" -
Acts 9:6
VI. Power
Over Death, Matt. 9:18,
23-26.
A. "18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came
and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay
Your hand on her and she will live.". . . 23
When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute
players and the noisy crowd
wailing, 24 He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not
dead, but sleeping." And they
ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He
went in and took her by the hand,
and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went out into
all that land." -
Matt. 9:18, 23-26
1. The parallel
accounts tell us that this is Jarius' daughter (Lk. 8:41ff)
B. Jesus raised
several from the dead: Lazarus (Jn. 11;), the widow of Nain's son (Lk.
7:11ff).
C. ALL will be
raised on the last day. "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept,
that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the
just and the unjust." -
Acts 24:15
D. Most
importantly, Jesus has the power to take away spiritual death.
1. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has
passed from death into life." -
Jn. 5:24
Con.—The
miracles of Jesus proved the truthfulness of what He taught.
A. They
demonstrate His power & authority.
B. As already
noted, He has the power over spiritual life & death.
Are you prepared to be judged by
Him?