The Miracles Of Our Lord A mini-series in Matthew 8 and 9

Jesus' Messiahship Qualifications

We come this morning to two chapters that focus on some of the miracles that the Lord Jesus did.  Matthew is purposeful in his writing his gospel; he intends to show us how the Lord Jesus fulfils the prophecies about the miracles he would do to authenticate His claims to be the Messiah!

In establishing Jesus' messiahship Matthew demonstrated

His legal qualification through His genealogy,

His prophetic qualification through the fulfillment of prophecy by His birth and infancy,

His divine qualification by the Father's own attestation at His baptism,

His spiritual qualification by His perfect resistance to Satan's temptations, and

His moral and theological qualification through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.   Matt 7:28,29 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

 

John Macarthur writes "In chapters 8 and 9 Matthew dramatically sets forth still another qualification: Jesus' divine power. Through the miracles of these two chapters, Matthew shows beyond doubt that Jesus is, in fact, the very Son of God, because only God could perform such supernatural feats. In an astounding display of power, Jesus cleansed a leper, healed two paralytics, healed a fever immediately and instantly, calmed a storm at sea, cast out demons, raised a girl from the dead, gave sight to two blind men, restored speech to a man made dumb by demons, and  healed every other kind of disease and sickness. Matthew recounts the miracles and then reports the Jews' response… Jesus' miracles were the supreme proof of His divinity and the irrefutable credentials of His messiahship. Matthew's purpose in recording the miracles, like Jesus' purpose in performing them, was to confirm His deity and His claim to be the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. In many ways this section is the heart of Matthew's message."  

Matthew's gospel was primarily written for Jewish people to understand Jesus' credentials.  That He truly is the Messiah.  It is confirmation to us Gentiles that Jesus is Who He claimed to be. That He connects the Old Testament promises to us Gentiles so we can have a portion in the eternal salvation He has wrought for us.

He fulfilled the prophecy we read earlier today "the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them—just as Isaiah had prophesied (Isa. 35:5; 61:1).

Miracles are Messianic signs.

Miracles are often parables of salvation.

Deity Miracles .Jesus Demonstrated His Power Over

Disease      Disasters

Disorders     

Death

Demons

2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
The first three miracles reported in detail by Matthew (cf. 4:23-24) all involve the healing of physical affliction. In New Testament times disease was rampant. If a person survived a serious disease it was usually because the sickness had run its course. Imagine being in a place without chemists, no panadol, no antibiotics.  

When Jesus healed, He did so with a word or a touch, without gimmicks.  He healed instantaneously, with no drawn out period of waiting or of gradual restoration. He healed totally, not partially, no matter how serious the disease or deformity. He healed everyone who came to Him and even some who never saw Him. Most dramatically and powerfully of all, He even raised the dead.

In the first three miracles of Matthew 8 the Lord healed a leper, a paralytic, and a woman with a fever.

We will only look at the first one, healing the man with leprosy.

Ancient leprosy was virtually the same as Hansen's disease, leprosy today.  It is still found in some countries and is terribly debilitating.

This severe form of leprosy was the most feared disease of the ancient world, and even today it cannot be totally cured, though it can be kept in check by proper medication.  Not that long ago there were leprosy sanitariums in most countries in the world. In School we learnt of Father Damien's leper colony in Hawaii.

Leprosy was much more communicable in ancient times. Spongy, tumorlike swellings would eventually grow on the face and body, and the bacillus would become systemic and affect internal organs, while the bones would begin to deteriorate. Untreated in ancient times, it produced a weakness which made the victim vulnerable to tuberculosis or other diseases.

In order to protect His chosen people, God gave strict and specific regulations to Moses regarding leprosy, Leviticus 13. Lepers were mainly isolated and washings were used to stop transmission of the disease. When a person was found to have the serious form of leprosy, his clothes were to be torn, his head uncovered, his mouth covered (to prevent spread of the disease), and he was to cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" wherever he went to warn others to stay clear of him. Lepers were legally ostracized and forbidden to live in any community with their fellow Israelites (Num. 5:2).

They are acts of mercy, they conspicuously speak of redemption. They are parables of grace.

I want you to see how this leper came to Jesus.

This man came to Jesus on his own.      

No one helped him along. No one advised him it would be a good idea.  Many today have  nobody to lead them to Christ. Nobody to pray for them. Nobody to persuade, encourage, or teach them. But they can still get going and come to Jesus.  He knew if he didn't go to Jesus then there was no other place he could go. And in some ways that is pretty good. It tells us you can come to Him at any time. You don't need someone to help you. He wants to help you. He wants you to come to Him on your own.

This man came to Jesus as he was.

This man knew in himself that his case was a terrible one.   There was no cure.

The leper was dreaded by everyone.  He is called the leper.  Perhaps everyone had forgotten his name. Perhaps he once had a nice life, a wife and family, a job.. but.. now he was fearwed and loathed by everyone.  Just "the leper!" others gave him up as hopeless.  No one could or would take him to Jesus. He was too foul to be touched, too far gone to be the subject of hope.

He knew that now, at last, he had come to the last stage of his illness, for Luke describes him as "full of leprosy." He had come to the final stage and the disease was conspicuous on him. His skin was foul and his joints were rotting. Very likely his fingers, his teeth and hair were gone and soon he must die. "Behold, there came a leper to Him." But he was not kept back by the fact that he was hopelessly and loathsomely diseased.

Are you perhaps conscious of sin, horrified of yourself? And yet you too may now come to Jesus! Though the leper feels the foul disease within him and fears that it has come to its worst, yet may he be emboldened to approach Him who can at once make him clean!

Many of us now present can assure you that, "This Man receives sinners," for He received us.

Furthermore, this man had no promise.  Jesus never said, "Come unto Me, all you lepers, and I will heal you." I do not know that any of His Apostles had been sent forth to preach, saying, "Come to Jesus, all you lepers, and He will cleanse you."

Jesus Himself was the promise. He in Himself was obviously the One the leper should come to. It was clear that He was kind and merciful.  He obviously sensed a love and tenderness in Jesus that allowed him to approach Him without fear of rejection.  

The leper did not shout to Jesus from a distance, as he was supposed to, but he approached Him directly and without hesitation. He knew his great need and of Jesus' ability and willingness to meet that need. So he came to Him!  So should you!

This man came to Jesus with reverence.

When he reached Jesus he bowed down to Him. Proskune (from which comes bowed down) literally means to prostrate oneself and is most often translated "to worship" (see Matt. 2:2; 4:9,10; John 4:20-24; Acts 7:43; Rev 4:10; 19:10). From the reverential nature of his request it seems that the leper addressed Jesus as Lord not simply in the sense of "Sir," but as an acknowledgment that Jesus was indeed God the Son, the Messiah, the One who was coming to save us from our sins.   He felt he was in the presence of God and that therefore Jesus could heal him of his terrible disease.

The leper came to Jesus with humility.

Lord, if you are willing. He asked to be healed only if it were the Lord's will. He did not claim to be worthy or deserving, but left himself in the Lord's hands to do as He would. The implication seems to be that the leper was quite willing to remain leprous if that were the Lord's will. Obviously he wanted to be healed, but he did not explicitly ask Jesus for healing, almost as if that were too much to presume. He simply acknowledged Jesus' ability to heal him. This man claimed no rights. He came as he was,  poor wretched and sick.

The leper came with faith.

You can make me clean. He literally said, "You have the power to make me clean."  The leper came with confidence because he believed Jesus was compassionate, with reverence because he believed Jesus was God, with humility because he believed Jesus was sovereign, arid with faith because he believed Jesus had the power to heal him.

Mark 1: 41 Moved with pity,  Matt 8:3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Σπλαγχνισθεὶς  -splanchnistheis,  "moved with compassion"

Did you ever see a man overcome with emotion? His heart seems to swell. His bosom heaves and tears burst forth. In our Lord's case His whole being was stirred. The depths of His spirit were agitated. He was moved. Even thus our Lord's personal touch of us heals us! His touch, in effect, said to the leper, "I do not loathe you–I will not keep away from you. I will come very near to you.

immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Jesus did not need to heal in stages, although at times He chose to do so (Mark 8:22-26; John 9:6-7). When He touched defilement it went away. The scene on this occasion must have been startling—to see a deformed, shriveled, scaly, sore-covered, derelict suddenly stand upright, with perfect arms and legs, with his face smooth and unscarred, his hair restored, his voice normal, and his eyes bright. The marvels of modern medical science pale beside such miraculous restoration.

This man had no invitation. Our Lord had not called him. He had never said, "Come, you lepers; come, and be healed." There was nobody to command or persuade him to come. There was nobody to encourage him to come, much less any to compel him to come! Of himself, constrained by a Divine impulse unknown to anybody else, this leper resolved to come and found himself welcome though he had not been specially invited.

But there is an invitation for you to come to Him.  "Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden." Matt 11.

Acts 16 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." "Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out"? The doctrine of Election doesn't stop you, for all who come are elect! The Truth of the new birth does not stop you, for he that believes is born again!

And you may come.  The invitation is for you to come to Him.

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."  John 6:37-40

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38

Come to Him

Come to Him as you are

Come to Him as you are now