Here in chapter 8 we have several examples of Faith. Lets’ get started, and chapter 8 reads.
Matthew 8
[1] When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
[2] And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
The law was that a leper could not come within a certain distance of anyone and that only a priest could make any decisions pertaining to this manner. Lev.13:9,.and also 14:1-7 And they read.
Lev.13:9] When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;
Lev.14:1] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[2] This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
[3] And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
[4] Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
[5] And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
[6] As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
[7] And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
This means Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with the law. We know that this is called the “blood ordinance”. The reason the “Word became flesh, and walked among us”. John1:14. To be crucified for our sins.Back to Matthew.
Matthew 8:3] And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
[4] And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Jesus knowing the Law because, He was the Law. “Jesus is the Living Word.”
[5] And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
[6] And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
[7] And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
[8] The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
This centurion knew the law of the Hebrews and knew being a gentile it was not lawful for an Hebrew to enter into the house of a gentile. But Jesus is God with us. Immanuel.
[9] For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
[10] When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
[11] And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
For this we go to Isaiah chapter 2 and notice in our bibles that there is a star after verses 2 and 3. Meaning it pertains to the Christ.
Isa.2:2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Notice “in the last days” don’t look over this. For that we go to Rev.20:24 and it reads.
Rev.20:22] And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
[23] And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
[24] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
After all this, I want us to know Jesus came for all his children. For Israel and for the gentiles. Now back to Matthew and verse 12 reads.
[12] But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many shall be deceived by the antichrist. And they shall be spiritually dead for a thousand years. They will have a chance then but until then there shall be gnashing of teeth.
[13] And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
[14] And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.
[15] And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
A simple touch by Jesus can heal a believer.
[16] When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
[17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
First notice there is a difference between sickness and possession of evil spirits. Now lets’ see what Isaiah had to say about this. Isaiah 53:4 reads.
Isa.53:4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Of course this being written of Christ. Back to Matthew and it reads.
Mat.8:18] Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
[19] And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
[20] And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
[21] And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
[22] But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
The Greek is more clear on this, its not that his father was dead but that he was dying. And that could take a while. We follow Jesus when he calls us or not, that’s our choice.
[23] And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
[24] And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
[25] And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
[26] And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
[27] But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
Remember our study on Faith. Lets’ read Psalms 89
Psa.89:8] O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
[9] Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
Back to Matthew and it reads.
Mat.8:28] And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
Here in Matthew it reads 2 came out of the tomb. Lets’ check Mark 5:2. What does it say?
Mark5:2] And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
A man with an unclean spirit are two. And Matthew saw both.
Mat.8:29] And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Even the evil spirits know that there is a time that they will be consumed by the LORD. But for our sakes Jesus is teaching us that we will have power over them. And he will allow them to go into the swine.
[30] And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
[31] So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
[32] And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
This proving that they were in a place that was not under the law of the Hebrews. Or that they had fallen away from it. Swine are an unclean food.
[33] And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
[34] And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
Was it that they feared the Lord, or was it that they lost money with the herd, I don’t know. But it does show that they cared not for the man that was cleansed by the Lord. They had just witnessed a miracle and asked Jesus to leave that says a lot about their character.
Lets’ go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word. Bless all that love you, in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.
KJV along with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible