Author Archives: Gary Davenport

A quick overview from the gospel accounts

This is a powerful and important narrative. It is the first time in the Synoptics that Jesus’ power acted upon the inanimate. It brought fear and astonishment, even to his closest followers. Some have tried to explain this event as coincidence or relegate it to myth or imagination. None of these, however, adequately explain such vivid eyewitness details. Furthermore, it is admitted more and more that an anti-supernatural bias is scientifically and philosophically indefensible.

At the same time, this event is more than a mere account of a historic event. Miracles are somewhat like enacted parables of the kingdom.^6-137 That very night, after Jesus preached a sermon on the kingdom of God, all in parables, he demonstrated two important aspects of the kingdom. First, Jesus demonstrates God’s power (cf. Ps 104:7; 107:23-30).^6-138 In other words, the kingdom of God had broken into human history. Second, Jesus saves his people through the storm.^6-139

Mk 4:35-38 with Mt 8:18, 24-25, Lk 8:23-24 ³⁵That day when evening came, [when Jesus saw the crowds around him^MT] he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷[Without warning^MT] a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped [and they were in great danger.^LK] ³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, [Lord^MT] [Master, Master^LK] “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Jesus has finished his sermon in parables inside the house. Apparently there are still crowds at the door waiting for him to come out and teach them. Perhaps it was apparent to the disciples that they were going to get no sleep that night unless they left town (Mk 4:35). Without taking time to change clothes or shower they hop in the boat for a quick getaway. But they aren’t quick enough. The crowds attempt to follow Jesus in other boats. This is a mistake as they will discover shortly. A violent storm is brewing. Either they will be driven back to shore by the storm or dropped to the bottom of the lake.

The storm comes suddenly, as is common on the Sea of Galilee. The lake sits in a basin, 685 feet below sea level, surrounded by hills 2,000 feet high. When the winds come across those hills they sweep down quickly and with great force. This “furious squall”  is the word used for a hurricane. It is a tremendously powerful storm.

Meanwhile, Jesus falls asleep in the stern on a cushion (likely made of sheepskin). This is the only place we read of Jesus sleeping, which is all the more amazing since the boat is “swamped” and “in danger.” Both of these words are in the imperfect verb tense, indicating an ongoing dilemma for the disciples. In other words, the boat was being filled up with water. It is one of those sturdy, steady, but slow fishing boats. Thirteen men would certainly be a “full house.” As the waves beat against the side and blow into the boat, they sink deeper and deeper into the water.

The disciples wake Jesus and say, “Master, Master we’re going to drown” (Lk 8:24). This “Master,” used only by Luke, means “commander.” They are not only surprised that he is sleeping through all this, but also a bit peeved. By their response to the miracle, it seems obvious that they were not expecting Jesus to calm the storm. Rather, they need all hands on deck to help man the oars or bail out the boat.

Mk 4:39-41 with Lk 8:25, Mt 8:27 ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹They were terrified and [in fear and amazement^LK] asked each other, “Who is this? [What kind of man is this?^MT] Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Both the words “rebuked”  and “be quiet” , referring to the winds and waves, are used in narratives of casting out demons (cf. Mk 1:25). Thus, there is a strong connection between Jesus calming the sea and casting out the demons at Gerasa. Both are under his command and control. Both show Jesus’ divine authority.

The elements bey Jesus’ voice and there is silence on the Sea of Galilee. As co-creator (Jn 1:1-18; Col 1:16) and co-sustainer (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3), the physical universe responds to the commands of its master.

Mark alone contains Jesus’ rebuke of their lack of faith (which he repeats a number of times, cf. Mk 7:18; 8:17-18, 21, 32-33; 9:19). Jesus has demonstrated power over disease, demons, and death. Now he shows that he is even master of the elements. For fishermen, this is powerful! It is not surprising that they had no faith for such a miracle. This is truly extraordinary!

In Capernaum (Mk 1:27), they asked “what is this.” But now the question becomes “Who is this?” And that is the key question this miracle is designed to answer. The Pharisees oppose him, the crowds wonder at him. Why, even his closest companions don’t know who he really is. But his deeds reveal the truth. Jesus is God revealed in human form.

Verse-by-verse study

(8:18) Introduction: Jesus Christ attracts people. He has made such an impact upon the world that human history itself measures its years by the date of His birth and death (B.C. – Before Christ, and A.D. – anno Domini, in the year of the Lord). Jesus predicted: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [the cross], will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).

Multitudes—Jesus Christ, Response: the multitude was attracted to Jesus. Note that the multitude gathered about Jesus because they had desperate needs, and He was meeting their needs out of a heart of deep compassion (cp. Matthew 8:16-17). The whole countryside and surrounding towns were swarming with people who had heard that He was in Capernaum, and they had flocked to Him. They were attracted to what they were hearing, ever hoping to have their needs met.

People often come to Jesus Christ because of what they can get out of Him. Men have a faint idea and some understanding that He can meet needs, so when they face bad situations they come to Him and to the church for help.

There are several reasons why the multitude is attracted to Jesus.

1)   Some like what they see: lives are changed for good, people are helped, ministry is carried on for the public good, and good works abound. Some people agree with what is being done—at least in spirit—and they are perfectly willing to be identified with such a movement.

2)   Some profess Christ and belong to a church because of the image and social standing it brings. Professing Christ, even if it is done quietly or silently, opens doors. Membership in Christ’s church is even listed and expected by some employers when hiring personnel. Belonging to a church helps to show a well-rounded and moral person. Some just want the image that profession of faith conveys.

3)   Some follow Christ and His church because of family and friends. They are urged to belong to a church; therefore, they profess and attend—some regularly, others irregularly.

4)   Some feel more comfortable following Christ and attending church. Their consciences would bother them if they did not profess Him and attend church at least occasionally. They profess and attend only enough to feel comfortable and to keep their consciences subdued.

5)   Some have a faint understanding of God. They want to be approved and accepted by Him. They know that they must show some interest in Him if they wish Him to show interest in them, looking after and caring for them. So they profess Him and attend church as much as they deem necessary in order to secure His approval and care.

6)   Some have seen God’s power to change lives and deliver through terrible trials. It may have been in the life of a family member, a friend, a fellow employee, a relative, or a distant acquaintance. But the power of Christ was clearly evident. Thus they know that Christ and His church might be able to help them when trouble comes.

7)   Some believe Jesus is the Savior, the promised Messiah, and they want to be identified with Him. So they follow Him and His church.

Jesus Calms a Storm: Conquering Fear and Nature, 8:23-27

At creation God ordained man to be king of the earth, to “rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). But when man fell into sin, he was dethroned and lost his sovereignty over the earth. He lost his God-given majesty along with his innocence. With the rest of the earth man was cursed and corrupted. He lost his dominion, and both man and earth lost their glory. The control of earth fell into the hands of the usurper, Satan, who now reigns as ruler of this world and age (John 12:31; 14:30). Man’s sin, earth’s corruption, and Satan’s rule have brought sickness, pain, death, hardship, sorrow, war, injustice, falsehood, hunger, natural disaster, demonic activity, and every other evil that plagues the world.

But from the beginning, and even before the beginning, God planned the redemption of both man and the earth, reversing the curse. According to His divine plan, God’s own Son would come to earth twice in the process of that redemption—the first time to redeem man and the second time to redeem the earth. In His first coming Jesus Christ came in humility, going to the cross and rising from the grave to redeem man from sin. In His second coming He will come in blazing glory and establish a completely new heaven and earth—redeeming the whole of creation for all eternity

In the coming spiritual kingdom of God (heaven), His ultimate plan for earth will be restored—without sin, pain, disease, hatred, hardship, sorrow, disaster, or demons. There will be only holiness, righteousness, truth, peace, love, and beauty. Everything that now blights man’s happiness, that breaks his heart, that frustrates his hopes, that disrupts and perverts his dominion will be removed forever. For all time and eternity the universe will be redeemed.

As we look at mankind and the present earth, however, it is glaringly obvious that man himself could never effect such changes. Man cannot solve the natural problems of environment, weather, droughts, famines, disease, and sickness. Someone has said that for every problem science solves, six others are created in its place. The greater our advancements, the more severe the complications.

Even less can man solve his moral and spiritual problems. As we become more advanced in psychology, sociology, criminology, and diplomacy, we also become more engulfed in psychological disorders, sociological problems, and in crime and war.

The power to reverse the curse and bring a new heaven and a new earth not only is infinitely beyond man but is inconceivable to man. We cannot imagine the power necessary to make such a radical recreation of the universe, any more than we can imagine the power it took to create it in the first place and to sustain it. Man has the capability to destroy his world, but not the power to perfect it.

The psalmist tells us that “power belongs to God” (Ps. 62:11). He speaks of “the greatness of Thy power” (79:11) and of the one “who dost establish the mountains by His strength, being girded with might.” (65:6) David cried out, “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory” (Ps. 63:1-2). Paul reminds us that, “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made” Rom. 1:20.

The more man delves into the universe, the more amazing and awesome the wonder of creation becomes. Telescopes can take us some four billion light years—about twenty-five sextillion miles—into space, and yet we have not come near the edge of the universe. We have discovered certain gravitational principles that keep the stars and planets in their orbits, yet we are far from fully explaining those principles, much less duplicating them. The earth spins on its axis at a thousand miles an hour at the equator, travels in a five-hundred-eighty-million-mile orbit around the sun at about a thousand miles a minute, and, with the rest of its solar system, careens through space at an even faster speed in an orbit that would take billions of years to complete. The energy of the sun has been estimated to be equivalent to five-hundred-million-million-billion horsepower. There are at least one-hundred-thousand-million other suns in our galaxy, most of them larger than ours.

God is also creator and sustainer of the microcosm. A teaspoon of water contains a million-billion-trillion atoms, which themselves are composed of still smaller particles of energy. Smaller subparticles of those particles are still being discovered.

We know Jesus Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). He energizes every atom and every atomic particle and subparticle in the universe. That is the power of our God and Savior! If He has power to create and sustain the earth, surely He has power to recreate it. He has the power to bring back Eden and, indeed, create a new earth that far surpasses Eden.

Jesus Christ came into the world, in part, to demonstrate that power, to show for all who would see it that He was indeed the Son of God. The promised Messiah and King had power to redeem man from sin and to give him renewed sovereignty over a renewed earth. As noted in the previous chapter, Matthew has already shown that Jesus had the right genealogy, the right birth, the right baptism, the right success over temptation, and the right message.

God had said that the One who would reverse the curse would come through the line of David, and Jesus did. God had said this Deliverer would be born of a virgin, and Jesus was. God had said He would be approved by the Father, and Jesus was. God had said He would be more powerful than Satan, and Jesus proved that He was. God had said His Son would speak the truth, and Jesus did. God had said He would have power over disease and death, and Jesus proved that He did.

Above all else the miracles were foretastes of kingdom power. When Jesus healed diseases and restored broken bodies, He previewed the kingdom, in which there would be no sickness or deformity. When He cast out demons, He previewed the kingdom, in which there would be no demonic activity. When He raised the dead, He previewed the kingdom, in which there would be no death.

After Jesus had both forgiven and healed the paralytic, He said that He had done so “in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth” (Matt. 9:6). When the multitudes saw Jesus’ miracles, “they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority” (9:8).

To prepare them for His transfiguration, Jesus told His disciples, “‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.’ And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white” (Mark 9:1-3).

As He taught in the Capernaum synagogue one Sabbath, the people “were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority” (Luke 4:32). When He cast a demon out of a man in that synagogue, they were still further amazed and exclaimed, “With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” (v. 36)

In the opening words of his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of Jesus’ being “declared the Son of God with power,” (1:4) and in First Corinthians speaks of Him as “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1:24). The supreme proof of Jesus’ divinity and messiahship was His absolute authority and power over everything on earth.

In Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus demonstrates His unlimited power over the natural world. His stilling the storm is the first miracle of the second group of three miracles presented in chapters 8 and 9.

(8:23-27) Introduction—Messiah—Messiahship: What was the purpose of this experience? Why was a storm allowed to arise on the sea with Christ in the boat? The answer is given in Matthew 8:27. And what a marvelous purpose it was: to stir His people to ask, “What manner of man is this?” He proved again that He is the Messiah! Calming the storm did three things.

1. It demonstrated who He is: the Sovereign Lord who has all power—even power over nature.
2. It strengthened the belief of His followers: belief in Him as the Messiah and in His personal care as their Savior.
3. It gave to all generations a picture of His care and power—His care and power to deliver through all the storms of life (trials and fearful experiences).

It does not matter what the storm or trial is nor how terrifying it may be, Christ is able to deliver and bring about the most assuring calm. Few trials could be as terrifying as being caught in a life-threatening storm at sea. In this experience God demonstrated His wonderful care and power to deliver believers through the storms of life.

1. A basic fact: true disciples follow Him no matter what (v.23).
2. A fearful experience: a great storm (v.24).
3. A terrifying discovery: man is not able to handle the situation (v.24).
4. A desperate approach: Lord, awake – save us (v.25).
5. A challenging question (v.26).
6. A strong, powerful deliverance: a great calm (v.26).
7. A marvelous purpose (v.27).

(8:23) Discipleship—Self-denial: And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold,
there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep. (8:23-24)

A basic fact—true disciples follow Jesus no matter what. The words “His disciples followed Him” are significant. His disciples followed Him wherever He went. They had made a genuine commitment; they were now committed to following Him regardless of the circumstances and the cost. We have some idea of the sacrifice His disciples made through a glimpse into Peter’s family (Matthew 8:14-17). Remember, Peter and the others had left home, seldom to return, at least for any length of time. Just imagine the cost, the enormous sacrifice it was for them and their families!

Not everyone follows Jesus. It was only a short distance around the lake (twelve miles) and only eight miles across. Jesus could have easily walked around the lake, but He chose to go by sea in order to rest and to share this experience with the disciples. But note: there is nothing said about the multitudes following Him now, not like they were following after the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 8:1). Why were they not following?

1) The extra distance? (The effort required to follow Jesus was just too demanding.)

2) The potentially dangerous storms as one journeyed? (The journey to follow Jesus involved too many storms of abuse and ridicule, persecution and questions.)

3) The cost of passage? (The cost of following Jesus required too much sacrifice, the denial of too many creature comforts.)

4) The unbelief and dislike of His miracles and claims?

The Particulars

After confronting the three superficial followers with the true cost of  discipleship (8:18-22; Luke 9:61-62), Jesus got into the boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is about 13 miles long and as much as 8 miles wide.

The disciples who followed Him included the twelve, some of whom were in the same boat as Jesus, along with other followers who went in separate boats (Mark 4:36). Because Jesus healed many people and talked with the three professing disciples after “evening had come,” (v. 16) it was probably well into the night when the small flotilla departed.

Disciple simply means a follower, learner, or pupil. The word itself has no spiritual connotation, and it is used of superficial followers of Jesus as well as of genuine believers. Because the Sermon on the Mount is essentially a message on salvation, the disciples who gathered on the mountain to hear Jesus (Matt. 5:1) obviously included unbelievers. The two men who approached Jesus just before He entered the boat are called disciples (Matt. 8:21; cf. v. 19), but their leaving Him proved them to be fake disciples. The men of Jesus’ inner circle are often referred to as disciples (Matt. 10:1), yet unbelieving Judas ended up betraying the Lord.

At least four categories of disciples are seen in the gospels. The first and broadest group were the curious, those who followed Jesus for a while simply to find out what He was like. They were fascinated and intrigued by what He said and did, but they would not surrender to Him as Lord and Savior. We see some of these disciples in John 6. When Jesus proclaimed, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves,’” … “Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’” … “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” John 6:53, 60, 66.

The second category of disciple included those who were intellectually convinced of Jesus’ divine message and power. When Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, he said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). But at that point he was not yet committed to Jesus. As the Lord went on to point out, Nicodemus was not born again and consequently had no spiritual relationship to God, no participation in His kingdom, and no eternal life. (vv. 3-15)

The third category of disciple was composed of secret believers. Joseph of Arimathea was such a clandestine follower until he asked Pilate for permission to bury Jesus in his own tomb and thereby proclaimed allegiance to his Savior (Matt. 27:57-58).

In the fourth category of disciples were the true and open believers, those who were publicly and permanently committed to Jesus Christ. The small group of disciples who followed Him was more than just the twelve and no doubt included all four kinds.

The boat was probably a small, open fishing craft of the type commonly used by fishermen such as Peter, James, and John. The Sea of Galilee lies just over 600 feet below sea level, near the northern end of the Jordan River. Mt. Hermon rises 9,200 feet to the north, and strong northerly winds often plummet down the upper Jordan valley with great force. When they meet the warmer air over the Galilee basin, the intensity is increased. Hitting the cliffs on the eastern shore, the winds swirl and twist, causing the waters beneath them to churn violently. The
fact that they come quickly and with little warning makes the storms all the more dangerous and frightening.

Storm literally means a shaking and is the term from which we get seismic, seismograph, and related terms. The storm was so violent that it shook the water in the lake as if it were a glass of water in the hands of a great giant. The exclamation behold intensifies the rapid and surprising manner in which there arose a great storm in the sea. The storm became so fierce that the boat was covered with the waves, and Mark explains that “the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up” Mark 4:37.

Yet Jesus Himself was asleep, no doubt being exhausted from the long day’s work of healing and teaching. Just before we see one of His most awesome demonstrations of deity, we see a touching picture of His humanness. The Lord was bone weary, and He slept so soundly that not even the tossing of the boat, the noise of the wind, or the blowing water in His face awakened Him. He was soaked to the skin while lying on hard planks with only a cushion for His head (Mark 4:38).

Yet this was all part of the divine plan. The storm was howling, the wind and waves were about to swamp the boat as it tossed about on the water like a cork—and the Creator of the world slept soundly in the midst of it all. Although in His divinity He was omniscient, in His humanness He was at this time oblivious to the turmoil that surrounded Him.

(8:24) Trials—Trouble—Afflictions: a fearful experience—a great storm arose. This was a most fearful experience; the apostles’ very lives were threatened (Matthew 8:25). The waves were covering the boat (Matthew 8:24). It was, so to speak, a trial of trials. If Jesus could teach them His care through this experience, they would know He could take care of them through any storm or trial.

Note three things.

1. The storm arose immediately, unexpectedly: “Behold, there arose.”
2. The storm was great: the waves were covering the boat.
3. The storm was life-threatening: “we perish” (Matthew 8:25).

We face many storms throughout life, fearful storms.

1) Some storms swoop down upon us totally unexpectedly. There is no warning, no sign of their coming. But they come, and as long as we follow Jesus, they will come.

2) Some storms are great. Their waves and repercussions slash against us. They overwhelm us and threaten to engulf us.

3) Some are life-threatening. We see no escape, no way out, no deliverance. There seems to be no way to carry on, not in the present circumstances.

Nature itself can appear calm and secure; it can seem serene and safe. But its storms can arise quickly, unexpectedly. Some persons are frightened by the storm’s billowing clouds rolling in upon one another, the roar of thunder, the flash of lightening, and the torrent of rain. It is dangerous and life-threatening to anyone who is not sheltered and protected.

The picture is also true with some of the trials of life—trials which everyone has or will have. What we need is the shelter and protection of Jesus Christ Himself.

(8:24) Helplessness—Weakness: a terrifying discovery—man is not able to handle the situation. The terrifying discovery was twofold.

1. They, the seasoned and self-confident fishermen, were unable to handle this particular storm. Note these facts about the disciples and the storm.
2. They were seasoned fishermen. They knew the sea and the boat; they knew how to handle themselves in the midst of any situation or trial. The same is true with many of us. We are seasoned at living and in handling the storms of life. We feel that no trial or situation can swoop down upon us beyond our control. We are completely self sufficient, or so we think and feel.
3. They were face to face with a storm so severe that they were not able to save themselves. No doubt they had faced storms before, but they had never confronted a situation as terrifying as this severe storm. Everyone of us will face a storm that terrifies us some day. The terrifying storm will be beyond our control. We will not be able to save ourselves.
4. They were frightened and terrified. They were completely helpless and hopeless, left to themselves. When the terrifying storm hits us, it will leave us fearful, helpless, and hopeless.
5. They apparently had tried to handle the storm without Jesus until the situation got out of control (cp. Matthew 8:25). This, of course, is the root of the problem in many of our situations: lack of trust and faith in Christ and failing to call upon Him soon enough to prevent desperation.
6. They were without the immediate help of Jesus. To them, He was asleep. Jesus was present, yet He seemed so far away; He seemed asleep. He was out of reach, unaware of their desperate plight, unconscious of their need—so the disciples thought. How often our lack of trust and sin cause us to feel that the Lord is unaware and out of reach and untouched by our need.

(8:25) Seeking God: a desperate approach—Lord, awake – save us.

And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” And He said to them, “why are you timid, you men of little faith?” (8:25-26a)

Note these significant lessons.

1)   Imminent danger can drive us to Christ, but we need to remember three critical things.

1. a) We can wait too long. We can die and slip into eternity before we know it.
2. b) We run a terrible risk in waiting. We overlook something: a person who decides to wait until the last minute is not all that sincere about Christ, and Christ knows it.
3. c) We waste a lifetime of living – really living in all the fulness of life. Abundant life comes only through Christ—the life that brings unbelievable confidence and assurance, security and self-worth, love and joy, peace and rest.

2)   There is one ingredient so often missed in asking Christ to save us—one ingredient that determines whether we are heard or not: a true sense of need—a desperate plea for help beyond ourselves—a crying out to the Lord Himself—a diligent seeking.

3)   Their cry included the steps necessary for Christ to save us.

1. a) They believed He could save them: so they came to Him.
2. b) They confessed their need to be saved, that they were perishing.
3. c) They cried out in desperation for Christ to save them.

4) A desperate cry that will not quit will awaken the Lord to our need. No matter what it may be, persevering in prayer will awaken Him and bring the answer .

(8:26) Fear—Unbelief: a challenging question. The disciples were going through two human experiences, but they were aware of only one: the experience of terrible fear. What they failed to see was completely hidden to them. They were experiencing the root cause of fear: little faith. Their trust in Christ (that their lives were completely in His keeping and under His care) was lacking. Their trust was incomplete and immature. They were not sure that He was aware of their desperate need. But He was, just as He is aware of all needs—always. He was the One who asked, “Why are ye fearful?” It was as though He was shocked at their lack of faith.

Note several lessons.

1)   Christ was not disturbed with their calling and interrupting His sleep. He was disturbed with their fear and lack of trust. He is never disturbed with our crying out to Him.

2)   There is no excuse for a disciple’s fear. Of all people, believers are supposed to be the persons trusting Him, knowing that He is looking after their lives. Believers are to know His supernatural strength; they are supposed to walk through all things courageously, even death.

3)   The disciples neglected Christ. They could have prevented much of their problem if they had gone to Christ earlier. As pointed out earlier, they were trying to handle the situation by themselves, confident of their own ability. How often we walk in self-confidence, not paying enough attention to the Lord and His care. We always need to be calling upon Him, not waiting until the last moment, expecting Him to step in and meet our emergency (1 Peter 5:7; Ephes. 6:18).

4)   Christ rebukes fear and unbelief. Fear and unbelief dishonor Him. It says to the world that Christ is not enough. He is not strong enough and does not care enough and does not love enough to look after us in our trouble and sin. How foolish we are (John 3:16; 1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 11:28-30)!

5)   Faith is to be several things.

• Faith is to be the foundation of our lives, not a beam for emergency support.
• Faith is to be the flow of our behavior, not the serum for emergencies.
• Faith is to be the permeating thought of our mind, not the sporadic thought aroused by need.
• Faith is to be the constant plea of our heart, not the occasional cry of desperation.

6)   Storms and trials can lead to terrible discouragement and fear…

• fear that one has gone too far for recovery.
• fear that no one really cares.
• fear that one is a stumblingblock and a burden to others.
• fear that there is no real reason for living.

But there is hope—in Christ. He is The Great Deliverer from fear. In fact, He is The Great Deliverer from all trials and temptations.

(8:26) Deliverance—Jesus Christ, Power: a strong, powerful deliverance—a great calm. Christ is the Sovereign Lord over all nature. He can do what He wills for any of us. He arose and rebuked the storm—then there was an instantaneous calm. But note this: the disciples misread both the situation and Christ’s presence. When they awoke Christ, Christ pointed out their fear immediately—even before He arose and answered their need.

This says something of critical importance: all the problems of the world are known by Christ and providentially overruled by Him. He does not have to rush to meet them. Problems are not a danger or threat to the child of God. This does not mean that we shall not suffer or die, nor that we do not have to bear terrible trials. The disciples had to experience this storm and they had to experience many other storms. But Christ was with them, and He is always with us. He will strengthen and carry us through all the storms of life. In fact, as with the disciples, God uses the storms of life to teach us more and more trust in Him. If there were no trials, there would be no need to trust Him.

How often we misread the presence of Christ, thinking He is out of reach. And how often we misread the storm, thinking it is out of His control. The problem is, we are not walking close enough to Him to be conscious of His presence and care. He will speak and calm the storm at the very best time, after everyone has learned what they are supposed to learn through the storms.

 

Several of the twelve disciples were fishermen, and we can be certain they  had done everything possible to save themselves. They were probably just as  tired as Jesus was, but were far too afraid to sleep. They had nowhere else to turn  but to Jesus and were exactly where God wanted them to be. Sometimes the Lord has to bring us to a point of absolute desperation before He can get our attention, and that is what He did with those disciples whose boat was about to be swamped or torn to pieces. They had run out of human solutions and had only Jesus to turn
to. Perhaps the one who could cleanse lepers, restore sight to the blind, and heal every other sort of disease also had power over the wind and the sea. Their great fear was mixed with a glimmer of faith as they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” Had they had the confidence in Jesus that He had in His Father, they would have been as calm and unconcerned as He.

The story is told of a hardened old sea captain who was quite vocal about his atheism. One night during a storm he was washed overboard and his men heard him crying out to God for help. When he was finally rescued one of the men asked him, “I thought you didn’t believe in God.” He replied, “Well, if there isn’t a God, there ought to be one for times like this.” Many people turn to the Lord only when every other resource has been exhausted. When sickness, death, loss of job, or some other tragedy comes, they cry out to God much as the disciples did to Jesus.

God is always pleased when men turn to Him, especially for salvation. People can be healed, comforted, saved from financial ruin, and helped in many other ways without God’s direct intervention, but the person who is not saved has absolutely no resource but the Lord. God loves to hear a sinner’s cry of desperation, because realizing one’s own inadequacy is the first step in turning to Him. He also loves to hear His own people cry out to Him, even in desperation, because that is a sign they remember to whom they belong.

Even the greatest saints of God have at times forgotten their heavenly Father and become swamped by circumstances.

• The psalmist cried, “Why dost Thou stand afar off, O Lord? Why dost Thou hide Thyself in times of trouble?” (Ps. 10:1).
• The writer of Psalm 44 lamented: “But for Thy sake we are killed all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Arouse Thyself, why dost Thou sleep, O Lord?” (vv. 22-23).
• Even Isaiah was dismayed at God’s seeming inability to help His people. “Awake, awake,” he cried out, “put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago” (Isa. 51:9).

Like the disciples during the storm, he wondered why God slept while His people were perishing.

Jesus’ first response to the disciples’ plea was to rebuke them gently for their lack of faith. He said to them, “why are you timid, you men of little faith?”  (timid) has the basic meaning of being fearful or cowardly, and the disciples must have wondered why Jesus wondered at them. How could He ask why they were afraid and timid, when they obviously had everything to be afraid of? The great question in their minds was why Jesus was not afraid. It was the middle of the night, the storm was sure to wash them overboard or sink the boat,
and any response but fear seemed foolish and unnatural. Jesus’ calmness so perplexed the disciples that they accused Him of insensitivity: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

But Jesus turned the rebuke back upon them. Why are you timid, He asked, and then gave the answer as part of the question: you men of little faith? They were fearful because they were faithless, timid because they had little faith. “Don’t you believe in Me and in My power?” He asked, in effect. “Haven’t you seen enough of My power and experienced enough of My love to know you are perfectly safe with Me? You have seen Me perform miracle upon miracle, even on behalf of those who never trusted in Me or even bothered to thank Me. You have seen My power and My compassion, and you should know that because of My power I can help you and that because of My compassion I will help you. Even if you should drown, don’t you know that would mean instant heaven?
What, then, do you have to be worried about?”

The disciples knew the Psalms. Many times they had heard and repeated the words of Psalm 89: “O Lord God of Hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty Lord? Thy faithfulness also surrounds Thee. Thou dost rule the swelling of the sea; when its waves rise, Thou dost still them” (vv. 8-9). They had sung, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea: though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride” (Ps. 46:1-3).

They knew well the majestic and comforting words of Psalm 107:

Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters; they have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and
He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet; so He guided them to their desired haven. (Ps. 107:23-30)

It was a literal fulfillment of those verses that Jesus was about to accomplish on the Sea of Galilee.

The believer who is aware of God’s power and love has no reason to be afraid of anything. Because God both can and will take care of His children, there is no hardship or danger through which He cannot or will not take them.
God’s power and love will see us through any storm, and that is the essence of what we need to know and consider when we are in trouble.

Yet every believer realizes from his own experience that knowing about God’s power and love and trusting in them do not always go together. Our weaknesses and frailties are so much a part of us that, even after we have witnessed God doing marvelous things, we still fall into doubt and fear. In fact, like Elijah after the great miracle on Mt. Carmel and the disciples after the great miracles in Capernaum, we sometimes are most afraid just after we have been overwhelmed with God’s greatness. We marvel at His greatness, but as soon as trouble comes we forget His greatness and see only the trouble.

Faith needs constant strengthening, as the disciples eventually came to realize. “Increase our faith!” they pleaded of Jesus (Luke 17:5). Even believers are subject to disbelief, and the more we believe, the more we also want to try out with the father of the boy with the unclean spirit, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). We know God can provide, but we also know how easily we can fail to trust in His provision. We know God loves us, but we also know how easily we can forget His love. We know He gives peace that passes understanding, but we also know how easily we can fall into worry and despair. When it is coupled with little faith, even much knowledge about God leaves us timid and afraid when trouble comes.

The Power

Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. (8:26b)

Jesus arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, saying, “Hush, be still” (Mark 4:39). At the word of the Creator the storm could do nothing but become perfectly calm. The winds stopped, the waves ceased, the air cleared, and the water became as glass. Storms normally subside gradually, with winds and waves diminishing little by little until calm is restored. But this storm subsided faster even than it had come; it came suddenly and ceased instantly. Though small in comparison to hurricanes and typhoons, that storm on the Sea of Galilee had generated multiplied millions of units of horsepower. Yet Jesus stopped it with a word—an easy feat compared to His bringing the entire world into existence with a word.

The one who had control over diseases and demons also had control over nature. And as Matthew would proceed to show, He also had power to forgive sins and to raise the dead.

Why did the disciples call upon Jesus now? Why not earlier?

• The situation was totally out of control, beyond their ability to handle.
• They were about to perish and die.
• They had waited and waited, tried and tried to handle the situation themselves. They were prideful men: big, sturdy, capable, seasoned, and prideful in their profession. They had always handled every situation before; they could handle this one, or so they thought.

In the final analysis, the disciples confessed their need. They broke through their pride and came to Jesus. But note: they had almost waited too late, humanly speaking (Matthew 8:24-25). Jesus stirred Himself and heard their confession.

(8:27) Power: a marvelous purpose. The disciples marvelled; they had never seen anything like it—even the winds and seas obeyed Him.

And the men marveled, saying, “what kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (8:27)

1. They now knew more about what it meant to call Him “Lord.” He was the sovereign Lord who possessed all power over nature—the same power that the prophets of old proclaimed for God.
2. They also knew more about what it meant to trust Him and His Word. He was able to control even the elements of nature. They could now depend upon His power to do whatever was needed. In Him the power was available to control all things and to do all things.

Marveled refers to extreme amazement and can carry the idea  of portending. The men could not imagine what kind of a man Jesus was, that even the winds and the sea obey Him. Mark reports that, along with their great amazement, the men were also “very much afraid” (4:41). They were now more afraid of the one who had stilled the storm than they had been of the storm itself.

Many of them had encountered dangerous storms, but none had encountered such supernatural power as Jesus here displayed.

After God had declared His great power and majesty, Job exclaimed, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). When Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple,” he declared, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:1, 5).

After Daniel beheld the Lord, he testified:  “No strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground” (Dan. 10:8-9).

When Peter saw Jesus miraculously provide the great catch of fish, “he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” (Luke 5:8). When Paul encountered the risen Christ on the Damascus road, “he fell to the ground … And though his eyes were open, he could see nothing” Acts 9:4, 8.

God’s majesty is so overwhelming that when He displays Himself in even a small part of His glory men cannot stand in His presence. These disciples suddenly realized that God was standing in the very boat with them, and they were terrified by His power and His holiness. On a similar and later occasion Peter walked on the water. But when the wind came up, he became afraid, and Jesus not only held up His faithless disciple but also caused the wind to stop. “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” (Matt. 14:29-33).

Isaac Watts wrote: We sing the mighty power of God, Who bade the mountains rise. Who spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies. We sing the wisdom that ordained The sun to rule the day. The moon shines full at His command, And all the stars obey. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed Where e’er we turn our eyes, When e’er we view the ground we tread, Or gaze upon the skies. There’s not a plant nor flower below But makes Thy glories known, And clouds arise and tempest blow By order of Thy throne. He closes with the beautiful lines: On Thee each moment we depend, If Thou withdraw we die. O may we ne’er that God offend, Who is forever nigh.

The same Christ who stilled the Sea of Galilee is the Christ who keeps every atom and every star in its orbit. He keeps the universe in balance and provides for each plant and animal. One day He is coming to restore the world that sin defiled, to make completely new the heavens and the earth. Even now He is the God who gives eternal life to those who trust in Him, and who will calm their every storm and give strength for their every tragedy. 

After preaching in parables the day before, calming the storm that night, healing the demoniac and getting kicked out of town, Jesus could probably use a little rest. He returns to Capernaum from Gadara after a sleepless night, save one little catnap in the boat. The crowds line the shore in anticipation of his arrival. There will be no rest for the weary.

There is a common theme that runs through the healing of the demoniac, the woman with an issue of blood and Jairus’ daughter. It is this: they were all considered ritually unclean. Demons, blood and death not only made the individual unclean but all who touched them. Among the rabbis, Jesus alone touches these and makes them clean.

Mk 5:21-24a with Lk 8:40-42, Mt 9:18 ²¹When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd [expecting him^LK] gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there [and knelt before him.^MT] Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet ²³and pleaded earnestly with him, [to come to his house^LK] “My little daughter [about twelve^LK] is dying [has just died^MT]. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴So Jesus went with him.

This girl is Jairus’ only child , Lk 8:42], not merely his only daughter (niv) (cf. Lk 7:12; Jn 3:16). She is about twelve years old. That’s when a Jewish girl became a woman. Thus, for the last twelve years this couple has been unable to have another child. Their prospects for more children are pretty slim. Even as they speak, her young life is slipping away.

Jairus, as a synagogue ruler, is a prominent member of his community. It is his job, as a layman, to direct the services and affairs of the synagogue. In the wake of Jesus’ rising opposition, Jairus may be risking his position by coming to him for help. But the urgency of the situation demands that he now seek Jesus’ help. Since Jesus was in Capernaum just the day before, we might assume that the girl’s sickness took a drastic turn for the worse during the night. In his moment of need, Jairus humbles himself by falling at Jesus’ feet (an action associated with honor and worship). Jesus responds immediately to his request and leads the urgent entourage toward Jairus’ home.

Mk 5:24b-29 with Lk 8:42, Mt 9:20 A large crowd followed and pressed around him [almost crushed him^LK]. ²⁵And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched [the edge of^MT] his cloak, ²⁸because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

The crowd is “crushing” Jesus. This is the same word used in the parable of the soils to describe how the weeds “choked out” the good seed. There are two other words also used to describe this crowding: “crowding,” and  “pressing against” or “crushing,” both used in Luke 8:45. This crowd is downright rude. You can just imagine how forceful and pushy Jairus and this woman had to be to elbow their way up to Jesus. Their needs press them on.

This thronging crowd is rushing on toward Jairus’ house. Time is of the essence to save this girl. But the procession is brought to a screeching halt by this unnamed woman. She has been bleeding for twelve years. Although the bleeding is not described, it is assumed to be a gynecological problem. Edersheim notes that this must have been common: On one leaf of the Talmud not less than eleven different remedies are proposed of which at most only six can possibly be regarded as astringents or tonics, while the rest are merely the outcome of superstition, to which resort has had in the absence of knowledge. Such as the ashes of an Ostrich-Egg, carried in summer in a linen, in winter in a cotton rag; or a barley-corn found in the dung of a white she ass (I:620).

The law of Moses in Leviticus 15:25-33, as well as Jewish custom, would have put heavy restrictions on the social activity of this woman. She would have been excluded from temple worship, public fraternizing, and anyone she touched would subsequently become unclean (Num 19:22). This is not just a medical problem; it is a social problem as well.

Mark gives us some information that Luke, the physician, neglected to tell us for obvious reasons: “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse” (5:26).

This woman is apparently acting out of Hellenistic superstition which assumed that a healer’s power was transferred to his clothes. But she gets results! Jesus respects her faith, and she is healed through her deliberate act of touching the edge of his cloak. This was most likely one of the tassels which hung from the corners of his prayer shawl (Num 15:38-39; Deut 22:12). This is, admittedly, an odd healing miracle. But it will not be the only time such a thing takes place (cf. Acts 5:15 [the shadow of Peter]; Acts 19:11-12 [the handkerchief of Paul]). God respected her faith even if it flowed from the superstitions of the day.

Mk 5:30-31 with Lk 8:45 ³⁰At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

[When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master”^LK] ³¹”You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

Lk 8:46 ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

Mk 5:32-34 with Lk 8:47, Mt 9:22 ³²… Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³Then the woman, [seeing that she could not go unnoticed,^LK] knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. [In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.^LK] ³⁴He said to her, “[Take heart^MT] Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Jesus is aware that power left him. So he asks who touched his clothes. It is humorous that they all deny it when they were all over him just a moment ago! To Peter the question is unreasonable. How could Jesus possibly feel someone touch his clothes while he was being mauled?

Did Jesus really not know who touched him? And if not, how did this woman “sneak a healing out of him?” There are two good possibilities. First, Jesus knew the woman’s faith when she touched him. So he healed her. Now, he wants to fan the flicker of her faith into a flame by pointing her out to the crowd. A second possibility, which seems more likely, is that Jesus did not know who this woman was but his Father did. God saw what was going on and allowed his power to flow through his Son and into the body of this woman. Now Jesus, using his power to see into people’s hearts, is searching the crowd so that he can show this woman that while her superstition was wrong her faith was right.

This woman had not gone unnoticed. This may indicate that Jesus did know who she was. He may even have been looking her right in the eyes. Or it may have been her trembling that was giving her away.

This elicits her full public confession which she wants to avoid. After all, gynecological bleeding is not the kind of thing you want to talk about. Jesus isn’t trying to embarrass her by making her reveal her problem. But if her faith is to be fully developed, not to mention that of the crowd, she needs to make a public statement.

By Jesus’ kind words, he not only removes her fear for having touched him, but he removes the public stigma over her problem. She has been fully healed, therefore should be fully reinstated into her community.

Here is the only place where Jesus addresses someone as “daughter.” Furthermore, his words, “Go in peace” would echo the Hebrew word, “Shalom.” This was more than a greeting or a wish for one’s physical well-being. It was a prayer for a person’s wholeness before man and God. For the first time in twelve years she can receive such a greeting.

Mk 5:35-40a with Lk 8:49-53 ³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why [Don’t^LK] bother the teacher any more?”

³⁶Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, [and she will be healed.”^LK]

³⁷He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James [[and] the child’s father and mother.^LK] ³⁸When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion [and the flute players,^MT] with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? [Stop wailing,^LK] [Go away^MT] The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰But they laughed at him [knowing that she was dead.^LK]

During this delay, Jairus is no doubt a bit antsy. His frustration is worsened by the tragic news that his daughter has just died. “Death” is placed at the very beginning of the Greek sentence for emphasis. It comes out something like this: “Your daughter is DEAD!”

The servants are concerned with Jesus as well as Jairus. They don’t want him needlessly bothered. But Jesus ignores their message. He quickly grabs Jairus’ attention and tries to refocus it from fear to faith.

Mark makes it look like Jesus stops the crowd where they are and does not allow them to come to Jairus’ house. Luke probably expresses it more clearly when he says that Jesus only allows three apostles in the house (Peter, James and John), along with the child’s parents. These inner three are also given the exclusive privilege of seeing the transfiguration (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28) and following Jesus into the garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:37; Mk 14:33).

Outside the house there is quite a commotion. According to Jewish burial rites, a crowd would gather and make a great deal of noise. Even poor families were required to hire at least two flute players and one mourner (m. Ketub. 4:4). The word “mourning” involves beating the chest as a sign of sorrow. It apparently takes Jesus and Jairus long enough to get there that a funeral crowd has already gathered.

Jesus tells them to stop mourning because she is not dead but only asleep. He used that same figure of speech to describe Lazarus (Jn 11:11; cf. Mt 27:52; Acts 13:36; 1 Cor 11:30; 15:20, 51; 1 Thess 4:14). The crowd, taking his words literally, laugh at him. They know when someone has died. They are not stupid, but they think Jesus is. Then again, Peter had just committed the same error when Jesus said, “Someone touched me.”

Mk 5:40b-43 with Lk 8:54-56 After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, “!” (which means, “Little girl [my child^LK], I say to you, get up!”). ⁴²[Her spirit returned, and^LK] Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they [her parents^LK] were completely astonished. ⁴³He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

²⁶News of this spread through all that region.

When Jesus raises this little girl from the dead she is completely restored. She does not just “wake up;” she gets up and starts walking around. Furthermore, Jesus tells her parents to get her something to eat. (She must have been a typical teenager).

It is also curious that Jesus commands the parents not to tell anyone about the miracle. If Jesus ever said anything unreasonable, this was it! The crowd already knows that she is dead. It would be pretty difficult to conceal her once she is revived. Likely what Jesus means is to conceal the details of the raising. In other words, don’t talk about how Jesus did it. We can understand why. The crowds are already oppressive. The Gerasene demoniac was commanded to go tell what had happened since that country needed to develop faith. This place is bursting with faith, curiosity, and crowds.

Jesus does not need any more publicity here! In fact, in the very next chapter (Lk 9:7-9) Jesus’ reputation as a miracle worker is going to lead to an official inquiry by Herod. All this attention would lead to a premature announcement and incomplete understanding of his Messiahship. The crowds have already been told that she was only sleeping. They may accept this as a resuscitation from a coma. This would still be considered a wonderful miracle but not quite as phenomenal as raising her from the dead. Despite Jesus’ attempt to “play down” this miracle, news of it spreads like wildfire.^6-144

This is the second of three raisings Jesus performed. The first was the widow’s son at Nain (Lk 7:11ff). The third will be Jesus’ personal friend Lazarus, in Bethany (Jn 11). Like his OT counterparts, Elijah and Elisha (cf. 1 Kgs 17:20-24; 2 Kgs 4:17-37), the power of God flowed through Jesus even to raise the dead.

Verse-by-Verse

Matthew tells this story much more briefly than the other gospel writers do. If we want further details of it we must read it in Mark 5:21-43 and in Luke 8:40-56. There we discover that the ruler’s name was Jairus, and that he was a ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41).

Perhaps no man in modern times has seemed before the eyes of the world to have been more at peace with himself and others than Mahatma Gandhi. He was the image of a tranquil soul who possessed perfect inner harmony. Fifteen years before he died, he wrote, “I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies my soul. It fills my whole being and I find a solace in the Bhagavad and Upanishad that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount.” But just before his death he wrote, “My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long, perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in fifty years I find myself in the slew of despond.” Even the tranquil Gandhi had to face the reality of death and the inability of his man-made religion to give him answers or comfort in face of it.

A Turkish watchmaker decided to build a special grave for himself that had an eight-inch window on top, an electric light, and a button beside the window connected to an outside alarm. In case he was accidentally buried alive and managed to revive, he could press the button to summon help. He instructed his friends to leave the light burning for seven days after his death and to turn it off only if they were sure he was actually dead.

Cemeteries have been a companion of man throughout history, a constant reminder that he is mortal. And as the earth’s population grows, grave space is becoming extremely scarce in some places, and more and more people are turning to cremation. We live in a dying world, where before all of us looms the inevitability of death. We are deteriorating human beings in a deteriorating world that is marked by tragedy, sorrow, pain, and death. Since the Fall, there has been a curse on the earth, and that curse has sent the earth and all of its inhabitants careening and spiraling into disasters, tears, sickness, and the grave.

Most of us could recite a long list of those we know who have recently suffered painful illness, serious accident, loss of a loved one, breakup of a family, or some other tragedy. Children have lost a mother, parents have lost a child or are watching him daily grow weaker from a debilitating disease. Many people suffer continual pain for which even the strongest medicine has lost its effectiveness. Others face long months and years of rehabilitation as they seek to adjust their lives to the loss of limb, sight, hearing, or motor function.

When Mary came out to meet Jesus as He was approaching Bethany after the death of Lazarus, John reports that when He “saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled.” Jesus Himself wept, and, “again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb” (John 11:33-38).

Not only was the Lord touched by the grief of Mary, Martha, and her friends, but in the infinity of His mind He could also stretch His thinking back throughout all the eons of human history and perceive the immeasurable pain that sin brought to man. As a sympathizer beyond anything we could imagine, Jesus was deeply grieved, because He could see clearly and completely the pain and power of sin.

Sin was not God’s purpose for man. All things in the world were created for the good and blessing of man, but sin corrupted that goodness and blessing and brought a curse in its stead. In God’s time sin will one day have run its course and be forever destroyed.

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning., or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” Rev. 21:3-4.

The Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah would have power to bring back wholeness to life, (Isa. 30:26; 35:5-6; 53:5; Mal. 4:2; etc.) and when Jesus came into the world He demonstrated that power. Though the final fulfillment of the prophecies regarding His power would be in the future, Jesus fully proved His ability to fulfill them during His ministry in Palestine—where He virtually banished disease, changed water into wine, multiplied food, calmed storms, cast out demons, forgave sins, and raised the dead. He gave a sampling of the great and glorious future kingdom in which there would no longer be need for healing or food or calming of storms or raising from the dead.

When John the Baptist was facing imminent death in Herod’s prison and sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He were truly the Messiah, Jesus told them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up” Matt. 11:4-5.

Jesus’ miracles were the verification of His divine might which He would reveal some day to reverse the curse and to restore righteousness, harmony, and peace in all of His creation. Already the people had “brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases.’” (Matt. 8:16-17; cf. Isa. 53:4)

“Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,” Jesus said, “even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes” John 5:21.

This ruler of the synagogue was a very important person. He was elected from among the elders. He was not a teaching or a preaching official; he had “the care of the external order in public worship, and the supervision of the concerns of the synagogue in general.” He appointed those who were to read and to pray in the service, and invited those who were to preach. It was his duty to see that nothing unfitting took place within the synagogue: and the care of the synagogue building was in his oversight. The whole practical administration of the synagogue was in his hands.

It is clear that such a man would come to Jesus only as a last resort. He would be one of those strictly orthodox Jews who regarded Jesus as a dangerous heretic; and it was only when everything else had failed that he turned in desperation to Jesus. Jesus might well have said to him. “When things were going well with you, you wanted to kill me; now that things are going ill, you are appealing for my help.” And Jesus might well have refused help to a man who came like that. But he bore no grudge; here was a man who needed him, and Jesus’ one desire was to help. Injured pride and the unforgiving spirit had no part in the mind of Jesus.

So Jesus went with the ruler of the synagogue to his house; and there he found a scene like pandemonium. The Jews set very high the obligation of mourning over the dead. “Whoever is remiss,” they said, “in mourning over the death of a wise man deserves to be burned alive.” There were three mourning customs which characterized every Jewish household of grief.

There was the rending of garments. There were no fewer than thirty-nine different rules and regulations which laid down how garments should be rent. The rent was to be made standing. Clothes were to be rent to the heart so that the skin was exposed. For a father or mother the rent was exactly over the heart; for others it was on the right side. The rent must be big enough for a fist to be inserted into it. For seven days the rent must be left gaping open; for the next thirty days it must be loosely stitched so that it could still be seen; only then could it be permanently repaired. It would obviously have been improper for women to rend their garments in such a way that the breast was exposed. So it was laid down that a woman must rend her inner garment in private; she must then reverse the garment so that she wore it back to front; and then in public she must rend her outer garment.

There was wailing for the dead. In a house of grief an incessant wailing was kept up. The wailing was done by professional wailing women. They still exist in the east and W. M. Thomson in The Land and the Book describes them: “There are in very city and community women exceedingly cunning in this business. They are always sent for and kept in readiness. When a fresh company of sympathizers comes in, these women make haste to take up a wailing, that the newly-come may the more easily unite their tears with the mourners. They know the domestic history of every person, and immediately strike up an impromptu lamentation, in which they introduce the names of their relatives who have recently died, touching some tender chord in every heart; and thus each one weeps for his own dead, and the performance, which would otherwise be difficult or impossible, comes easy and natural.”

There were the flute-players. The music of the flute was especially associated with death. The Talmud lays it down: “The husband is bound to buy his dead wife, and to make lamentations and mourning for her, according to the custom of all countries. And also the very poorest amongst the Israelites will not allow her less than two flutes and one wailing woman but, if he be rich, let all things be done according to his qualities.” Even in Rome the flute-players were a feature of days of grief. There were flute-players at the funeral of the Roman Emperor Claudius, and Seneca tells us that they made such a shrilling that even Claudius himself, dead though he was, might have heard them, So insistent and so emotionally exciting was the wailing of the flute that Roman law limited the number of flute-players at any funeral to ten.

We can then picture the scene in the house of the ruler of the synagogue. The garments were being rent; the wailing women were uttering their shrieks in an abandonment of synthetic grief; the flutes were shrilling their eerie sound. In that house there was all the pandemonium of eastern grief.

Into that excited and hysterical atmosphere came Jesus. Authoritatively he put them all out. Quietly he told them that the maid was not dead but only asleep, and they laughed him to scorn. It is a strangely human touch this. The mourners were so luxuriating in their grief that they even resented hope.

It is probable that when Jesus said the maid was asleep, he meant exactly what he said. In Greek as in English a dead person was often said to be asleep. In fact the word cemetery comes from the Greek word koimeterion, and means  a place where people sleep. In Greek there are two words for to sleep; the one is kiomasthai, which is very commonly used both of natural sleep and of the sleep of death; the other is katheudein, which is not used nearly so frequently of the sleep of death, but which much more usually means natural sleep. It is katheudein which is used in this passage.

In the east cataleptic coma was by no means uncommon. Burial in the east follows death very quickly, because the climate makes it necessary. Tristram writes: “Interments always take place at latest on the evening of the day of death, and frequently at night, if the deceased have lived till after sunset.” Because of the commonness of this state of coma, and because of the commonness of speedy burial, not infrequently people were buried alive, as the evidence of the tombs shows. It may well be that here we have an example, not so much of divine healing as of divine diagnosis; and that Jesus saved this girl from a terrible end.

One thing is certain, Jesus that day in Capernaum rescued a Jewish maid from the grasp of death.

Although Jesus had great compassion on the suffering and afflicted people who came to Him (Mark 1:41; Matt. 9:36; 14:14), He did not heal and cleanse them and raise their dead simply for their own sakes. He performed those miracles to demonstrate His deity and to establish His credentials as the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament prophets (See Matt. 8:16-17; 9:35; 11:5).

In 9:18-26, Matthew gives the first miracle in his third set of three miracles (see 8:1-22 and 8:23-9:17)—a miracle that was actually a double miracle, a miracle within a miracle. He raised a young girl from the dead, and during the process restored health to a woman who was considered by society all but dead. He demonstrated His power to restore life to the whole body and to restore wholeness to any part of the body.

The Canadian scientist G. B. Hardy one time said, “When I looked at religion I said, I have two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death, and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death? I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty. And I said, There is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, Did He make a way for me to do it? And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, ‘Because I live ye shall live also.’”

That is the supreme, two-part question that all mankind faces. Has anyone conquered death? And if so, did he provide a way for others to conquer death? That is the question dealt with in the present passage.

Within this text we not only see a miracle within a miracle but also a beautiful picture of Jesus’ response to people in need. We see the dual portrayal of His power and His sensitivity, His authority and His gentleness, His sovereignty and His openness, His majesty and His lovingkindness. We see in particular that Jesus was accessible, touchable, and impartial as well as powerful. Of the two principal characters in this account besides Jesus, one was an influential ruler and the other an outcast. The one was wealthy and the other poor. Yet in common they had great needs and a great Helper.

Jesus Was Accessible

While He was saying these things to them, behold, there came a synagogue official, and bowed down before Him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” (9:18)

While He was saying these things refers to the conversation Jesus had just been having with the critical Pharisees and confused disciples of John the Baptist (vv. 11-17), in which our Lord made clear that He had come to save only those who acknowledge and confess their sins and that the ways of the old life of the flesh and the new life of the spirit are totally incompatible.

Mark (5:22) and Luke (8:41) explain that the man who came up to Jesus was named Jairus and that he not only was an (synagogue official) but was the chief official, or elder, of the synagogue. He was therefore the highest ranking religious official in Capernaum, responsible for the total administration and operation of the synagogue. He supervised the worship services and oversaw the work of the other elders, which included teaching, adjudicating disputes, and other such leadership duties.

As the ranking member of the Jewish religious establishment in Capernaum, which would have included scribes and Pharisees, Jairus may well have been a Pharisee himself. As is clear from the earlier sections of Matthew and of the other gospels, the religious establishment in general was already developing strong opposition to Jesus even in this relatively early stage of His ministry. Jairus could not have escaped being aware of this opposition, and when he came to Jesus for help he knew he would face criticism and pressure from his peers.

Yet when he faced Jesus he did not seek to protect himself by going at night, as Nicodemus did, or by disguising his true motive and need with an involved and veiled religious question. We are not told what he then thought about Jesus’ messiahship, but to have bowed down before Him was to offer an act of great homage and reverence—and the Greek term behind bowed down is most often rendered “worshiped” (See Matt. 4:10; John 4:21-24; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 4:10; etc.). The act involved prostrating oneself before the honored person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, or the ground in front of him.

Such acts of reverence were not, of course, always completely sincere. … also used of the mother of James and John, who “came to [Jesus] with her sons, bowing down.” (Matt. 20:20, emphasis added). Her seeming act of reverence was entirely external and self-serving. She did not desire Jesus’ honor and glory but only that He would grant that “in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left” (v. 21).

By contrast, everything Jairus did proved his humility and sincerity. Like that of the mother of James and John, his request was in behalf of his child, but it was a selfless request that, by its very asking for the humanly impossible, honored Jesus’ power, compassion, and grace. Whatever thoughts he may have had about
the reaction of his fellow religious leaders, he knew that Jesus was the only source of help for his daughter, who had just died. Nothing else mattered as he came to the Lord in anguish and utter desperation.

From the more detailed accounts of Mark and Luke we learn that when Jairus first came to Jesus, his daughter was not yet dead but was “at the point of death” (Mark 5:23; cf. Luke 8:42). A short while later messengers from his house informed him that she had died and counseled him not to “trouble the Teacher anymore” (Mark 5:35). Matthew begins his story at that point.

The daughter was twelve years old, in the first year of her womanhood according to Jewish custom. The day after his thirteenth birthday a Jewish boy was recognized as a man, and a day after her twelfth birthday a Jewish girl was recognized as a woman. Jairus’s daughter had just come into the flower of womanhood, but to her father she was still his little girl, whose life was dearer to him than his own. The sunshine of her childhood had turned into the shadow of death.

The Jewish establishment had no resources that would help a father facing such tragedy, and Jairus knew that the only hope for his daughter lay in the Man whom that religious establishment ridiculed and was coming to despise. God obviously had already been working in the father’s heart, because his request evidences absolute conviction that Jesus was able to do what was asked: Come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live. His faith was without reservation or a hint of doubt. He swallowed his pride and his fear. He did not care what his neighbors, his family, or even his fellow religionists thought. Nothing would keep him from seeking Jesus’ help.

So the first thing that brought Jairus to Jesus was deep need. Often some great tragedy drives a person to Christ. The person who feels no needs in his life has no hunger for God. That is why the first step in witnessing is to convince people of their need of salvation and therefore of Christ as the only means for obtaining it. As noted in the previous chapter, the person who does not see his sin and his lostness sees no reason to be saved from them. Similarly, the person who has a need but thinks it can be met by human resources sees no reason for coming
to the supernatural Lord for help.

Jairus was already convinced that human resources could not save the life of his daughter, and he was also already convinced of Christ’s power to do it. It may have been that, until it was obvious she was dying, he hesitated seeking Jesus’ help. But now he knew he had only one hope for help. He did not come to Christ out of an entirely pure motive, because his first concern was his daughter’s life and his own despair. He did not come primarily to adore or glorify Jesus but to seek life for his daughter and relief of pain and anguish for himself. But he trusted in Jesus for that help, and he found Him to be accessible.

That is the second thing that brought him to Jesus, his faith. He believed Jesus had the power to do what he asked of Him. Such great faith is especially amazing in light of the fact that Jesus had not yet performed a resurrection miracle. He had healed many life-threatening diseases, but He had not brought anyone back to life after dying. Yet without hesitation or qualification, Jairus asked Jesus to do just that—raise his daughter from death. Come lay Your hand on her, and she will live.

Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion who believed that He could heal the man’s servant by simply saying the word. “Truly I say to you,” Jesus said, “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel” (Matt. 8:9-10). But Jairus even believed that a touch of Jesus’ hand could raise his daughter from the dead. His faith also surpassed that of Martha, who believed Jesus could have kept her brother Lazarus from dying but gave up hope once he was dead (John 11:21).

Even when Jesus said, “Your brother shall rise again,” she thought the promise could only be fulfilled in “the resurrection on the last day” (vv. 23-24). With such great faith in Jesus’ power to restore life, it is hard to believe that Jairus did not also trust that Jesus was as able to forgive his sins and raise him to spiritual life as He was able to raise his daughter to physical life.

Jesus was not a religious guru surrounded by servants to do His every bidding, nor was He a monastic who removed Himself from the life and activities of ordinary people. Nor did he establish a hierarchy of intermediaries through whom people would have to go before seeing Him, if they saw Him at all.

Even though He was the Son of God, Jesus “became flesh, and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14) as a Man among men. He walked the streets of the cities, and visited the smallest villages. He talked with the great among men and with the humble, with the rich and poor, the healthy and the sick, the noble and the outcast. He talked with the educated and successful and the uneducated and deprived. He talked with young and old, male and female, Jew and Gentile.

Almost everywhere Jesus went He was in the midst of a crowd, because the people would not let Him alone. Among those crowds were three kinds of people—the critical and resentful religious leaders, especially the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees; the curious and uncommitted onlookers who saw Jesus only as a powerful, authoritative, and fascinating contrast to those religious leaders; and the guilty, hurting, desperate people who came to Jesus for help from sin, sickness, and tragedy. These people asked Jesus their deepest questions and brought to Him their profoundest needs, because He listened, cared, and acted in their behalf. The Creator of the universe, the Master of the world, the King of kings and Lord of lords was not too busy to stoop in mercy to serve His creatures.

Jesus Was Available

And Jesus rose and began to follow him, and so did His disciples. (9:19)

Jesus responded to Jairus by being available as well as accessible. Jesus could just as well have sent the power to raise the girl from where He was, but in a demonstration of self-giving love and compassion He rose and began to follow the grieving father to where his daughter now lay dead. Jesus was willing to be interrupted and to go out of His way to serve others in His Father’s name. There were doubtlessly many other sick and hurting people where Jesus was, but the need of the moment demanded that He go with Jairus.

In somewhat similar fashion, in the midst of a highly fruitful ministry in Samaria, the Lord sent an angel to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26). As soon as Philip arrived there, he met “an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship” (v. 27). When the Holy Spirit told Philip to join the Ethiopian, Philip found an eager inquirer about God and proceeded to lead the man to faith in Jesus Christ (vv. 35-37). As soon as the new believer was baptized, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and … Philip found himself at Azotus” many miles away (vv. 39-40).

God not only is sensitive to the needs of the multitude but to the cry of an individual. He sometimes leads His servants, as He often led His own Son, to temporarily put a seemingly larger ministry aside in order to concentrate on one person. The Lord makes certain His promise that “the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” John 6:37.

Joining Jesus in the short trip to Jairus’ house were his disciples, along with a great multitude” Mark 5:24.

(9:18-19) Hopelessness—Seeking Jesus: there was the hopeless cry for life (Part 1). The man who cried for help was a ruler and a father. Luke says that the ruler’s name who oversaw the administration of the synagogue at Capernaum was Jairus. The synagogue ruler was an elected position among the religious leaders. The person was highly respected, both capable and popular, a person who wielded great power. He determined who was to teach in the synagogue worship and supervised the whole operation. He was one of the most important men in a community.

Jairus’ daughter was only twelve years old. Jairus was a man of strong love, a man who loved his daughter ever so deeply; and he was a man of strong courage. He showed remarkable courage in approaching Jesus, for he went against the tide of the other religionists who were violent in their thoughts against Jesus. The other religionists were bound to react against Jairus. Only the sense of desperation would stir him to approach Jesus, and then he would approach Jesus only as a last resort. It was the desperate need of his daughter that drove him to Jesus.

1. Note four things about the man and his desperation.
2. His hopelessness: he was so hopeless he interrupted Jesus while Jesus was preaching and teaching. His little daughter was dead, gone forever. He loved his daughter and he apparently loved her more deeply than most. He stood up against the world, that is, against the censoring and hostility of his peers. He was an elected official by the religious elders; therefore, he was probably risking his position by coming to Christ. Only an unusual love and belief would have driven him to approach Jesus in the face of so much opposition (cp. Matthew 9:34).

One thing should always receive priority over all else—the cry of a hopeless and helpless person. When the hopeless and helpless approach us, we should immediately stop and go to them and do what we can. Prayer, study, preaching—all are to take a back seat to helping those who have need. Note: the need Jesus met was immediate and urgent. There was not even time to say a word. Jesus was silent. He simply responded by arising and going as requested.

1. His attitude: he worshipped Jesus; he fell down at the Lord’s feet. Remember this was a distinguished man, an elected official who oversaw the administrative responsibilities of the most important institution in a Jewish city—the synagogue. He was a dynamic example of how leaders should approach Christ: in humility, worship, and faith.

We will never know the mercy of Christ until we humble ourselves and become as little children (Matthew 18:3). Too often, the desperate needs of loved ones drives us into a state of helplessness and hopelessness, of depression and self-pity. The need may be severe illness, terrible trouble, or death. However, despair is not the answer to desperate needs. The answer is to lift up our heads to Jesus for the salvation of our loved ones. We are to come before Christ and ask Him to help us. He never turns away.

1. His request: he asked Jesus to come and touch his daughter.
2. His faith: “She shall live.” This man was a man of great faith. He believed that if Jesus would just come, his daughter would live. He believed Christ could raise her from the dead.

Note two lessons.

1)   This is the very same faith, a great faith, that we must have.

1. a) We must believe that Jesus can meet our desperate needs.
2. b) We must believe that Jesus can raise us up from the dead (John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 1 Cor. 15:12-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18).

2)   This man was driven to Jesus by a tragic event. God uses tragedy to drive us to Jesus. Every man should approach Jesus in tragedy, but he should approach in a spirit of worship and belief—truly believing and trusting that Jesus will help.

2. Note Jesus’ response to the father’s desperation. Jesus arose and acted by following the man, by going to his house where the need was. There was no hesitation whatsoever.

Note three lessons.

1)   The ruler was so desperate that he interrupted Jesus while Jesus was preaching and teaching. Jesus did not stop him nor rebuke him. He said nothing. He simply responded to the man’s desperate and hopeless cry. Jesus always receives and responds to a man…

who is desperate,

who confesses his hopelessness and helplessness,

who acknowledges his need and believes that Jesus can help.

2)   Jesus never turns from a desperate man who comes to Him. In fact, He does not even hesitate to help the man. He will not even take the time to speak. He will arise and follow the desperate man to meet his need. Jesus is ever ready to help. He longs to help.

3)   Note that Jesus will visit us wherever our need is. In this event Jesus left his meeting and the opportunity to preach and teach in order to meet the desperate need. What a lesson for us! How much we need to learn what the priorities really are!

Jesus Was Touchable and Impartial

And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall get well.” But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well. (9:20-22)

The multitude that followed Jesus and the disciples was “pressing in on Him” (Mark 5:24b), and in the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. As Jesus was on His way to minister to a single desperate person among a large number of needy persons, His attention was called to still another single individual—one whom a less sensitive person might never have noticed. Again, an interruption became an opportunity

Like Jairus, this woman knew that only Jesus could help her. And just as Jairus’ daughter had known twelve years of life and laughter with her family, this woman had known twelve years of misery and ostracism from her family. The girl had known twelve years of sunshine and happiness, while the woman had known twelve years of shadow and tears.

The woman’s hemorrhage, perhaps caused by a tumor or other disease of the uterus, caused her to be ceremonially unclean according to Old Testament law. Because she continually bled, she could not even be temporarily cleansed and was therefore continually unclean. Mark, not seeking to protect the medical profession, tells us that she “had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse” (Mark 5:26). The physician Luke, perhaps concerned about the reputation of his profession, says that this particular case was humanly incurable, that she “could not be healed by anyone” Luke 8:43.

The stigma and humiliation of such a hemorrhage were perhaps second only to those of leprosy. Such affliction was not uncommon, and the Jewish Talmud prescribed eleven different cures for it. Among the remedies, most of them superstitious, was that of carrying the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen bag in the summer and in a cotton bag in the winter. Another involved carrying around a barleycorn kernel that had been found in the dung of a white female donkey.

The Mosaic law specified that a woman who suffered from such “a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge … shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening” (Lev. 15:25-27). After seven days without any bleeding a woman was considered ceremonially clean and could then offer the prescribed sacrifices (vv. 28-29).

But the woman who approached Jesus at Capernaum had had no remission of bleeding for twelve years and was therefore perpetually in a state of ceremonial uncleanness. Her condition caused her to be excluded from the synagogue and Temple, because she would contaminate anyone and everything she touched and render them unable to participate in worship. Even her associations with her own family, including her husband if she was married, had to be carried on from a distance. In addition to her social and religious isolation she was also penniless, having spent all her resources on ineffective treatments and probably a few charlatans.

According to biblical requirements, Jewish men were to “make for themselves tassels on the comers of their garments” and “put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue” (Num. 15:38; cf. Deut. 22:12). The threads of the tassels and cords were woven in a pattern that represented faithfulness and loyalty to the Word of God and holiness to the Lord. Wherever a Jew went, those tassels reminded him and testified before the world that he belonged to the people of God. Consistent with their typical hypocrisy and pretension, the Pharisees lengthened “the tassels of their garments” in order to call attention to their religious devotion (Matt. 23:5). In much later times, persecuted Jews in Europe wore the tassels on their undergarments for the very opposite reason—to avoid
identification and possible arrest. Modified forms of the tassel are still sewn on the prayer shawls of orthodox Jews today.

It was probably such a tassel that the woman with the hemorrhage took hold of. Having nowhere else to turn, she came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak. The phrase She was saying to herself is more precisely rendered, “She kept saying to herself,” which conveys the idea of repetition. She was saying over and over to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall get well. The single thought on her mind was to get close enough to Jesus just to touch His garment.

When the godly Sir James Simpson lay dying, a friend said to him, “Well, James, soon you will be able to rest on the bosom of Jesus.” In typical humility he replied, “I don’t know that I can quite do that, but I do think I can take hold of His garment.”

In her embarrassment and shame the woman who followed Jesus in the crowd wanted to be unnoticed. She would simply touch His garment, confident that even that indirect contact with Him was enough. Her confidence was not in vain, and in the touching she was immediately cleansed of her defilement.

Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” Luke tells us that she was healed before Jesus spoke. As soon as she touched His cloak, “immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). Before Jesus Himself knew of her specifically (cf. Luke 8:46), she was healed. He became aware of the miraculous occurrence only when He realized that power had gone out of Him (Luke 8:46). His words of assurance, your faith has made you well, simply confirmed what had already happened. Jesus did not care that her touching even His clothing would make Him ceremonially unclean in the eyes of fellow Jews. He was touchable even by the untouchable.

Throughout His earthly ministry thousands of people came in contact with Jesus, and many hundreds of them talked with Him and touched Him; but many of them were not touched by Him. Throughout the history of the church, countless others—such as Mahatma Gandhi, mentioned above—have also come in close contact with Jesus; and many of them, too, have remained untouched by Him. He knows the difference between the person who approaches Him out of mere religious curiosity or a sense of adventure and the one who comes to Him in desperation and genuine faith.

The woman’s expectations seem to have been almost superstitious, as she perhaps thought there was some power even in the clothing of this miracle worker. Yet Jesus spoke to her with words of tenderness, warmth, and intimacy: Daughter, take courage. Whatever else may have been in her mind, her faith was genuine and was acceptable to the Lord. It was enough to make her well.

The common Greek word for physical healing, the term used by Mark when he explains that this woman “was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29, cf. 34). In saying that she “could not be healed by anyone,” Luke used another word for physical healing, (Luke 8:43) from which we get therapeutic. But the three references to being made well in Matthew 9:21-22, as well as those in the parallel passages of Mark 5:34 and Luke 8:48; the usual New Testament term for being saved from sin.

When the blind beggar Bartimaeus asked Jesus to restore his sight, Jesus replied, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52). Here (“has made you well”) is also used in connection with the healed person’s faith. Bartimaeus had repeatedly called Jesus the “Son of David,” (vv. 47-48) a common messianic title. It therefore seems probable that his being made well, like that of the woman with the hemorrhage, included spiritual salvation as well as physical healing.

After Jesus forgave the sins of the prostitute who washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, He spoke to her exactly the same words that He spoke to the woman with the hemorrhage and to Bartimaeus although the English translations of that phrase are not always the same. In Luke 7:50 it is rendered, “Your faith has saved you,” clearly indicating that the restoration was entirely spiritual (because no physical healing was involved) and that it resulted from the forgiveness of sins based on trust in the Lord (v. 48).

In his account of the ten lepers who pleaded with Jesus to cure them, Luke reports that all ten “were cleansed” (Luke 17:14) but that it was only to the one man who glorified God and returned to give thanks that Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well” (v. 19). Ten men were cleansed, but only one was saved.

It is unfortunate that most English translations do not make clear that all of the renderings of “made well” and “saved” just mentioned—which in each case the Lord Himself specifically said resulted from the person’s faith—come from the same Greek verb. That fact strongly implies that a redemptive aspect was involved in each of those incidents.

In the gospel accounts we read of multitudes of people being healed completely apart from any faith on their part or the part of another person. Jesus performed His miracles of healing by His sovereign will, often in response to faith, but not conditioned by it. The centurion’s servant was healed without having any contact with Jesus and perhaps even without being aware that he might be healed. Jairus’ dead daughter obviously could not have had faith. But no one is ever saved apart from faith, and there seems reason to believe that the woman who touched Jesus’ garment that day trusted Him for spiritual as well as physical healing.

The two things that bring men and women to Jesus Christ are deep-felt personal need and genuine faith, and the woman with the hemorrhage had both.

(9:20-22) Hopelessness: there was the secret hope for health by a woman. She had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. She was desperately hopeless, feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and unworthy. According to the law she was not to be in the crowd surrounding Jesus at all. She was supposed to be isolated, but her desperation drove her to Jesus. She felt that Jesus would never touch her because she was unclean, but she had heard so many wonderful things about Him: if she could only touch His garment, He would never know, and she would be healed. Imagine her great faith! Jesus’ response was fourfold.

1. Jesus turned to the woman. There was no way Jesus could have felt the touch to His robe. He was being pressed and thronged by the crowd, yet when she stepped up behind Him and touched His robe, He knew. How?
2. Her faith touched Him. It is faith that touches Jesus. Faith will never go unnoticed nor be ignored by Jesus.
3. Virtue (power and life) went out from Jesus into her. When a person places his faith in Jesus and His power, it touches Jesus, and Jesus infuses His virtue (His power and life) into that person. That is what life and salvation are all about: the infusion of God’s virtue, power, and life into the spirit of man.

Jesus stopped and turned to the woman. To Jesus the most important work in all the world is meeting a person’s need. The more desperate the need, the more Jesus wants to stop and face the need. Nothing will keep Jesus from stopping and turning to a person who comes to Him in desperation.

2. Jesus saw the woman. He saw her desperation, her confession of hopelessness, her need, her faith; and His heart went out to her from the depths of compassion.

The Lord cares for all, no matter how rejected, cut off, or ostracized. A person may be considered unclean, dirty, polluted, contaminated, lost forever; but that person is precious to our Lord. His heart goes out in tenderness and care to the greatest of sinners.

3. Jesus adopted the woman. He called her “daughter” and adopted her into the family of God. He spoke to her in behalf of the Father and gave her the assurance that she was accepted by God. The fact that God would help her was conveyed to her immediately. Note also that Jesus said, “be of good cheer.” She experienced the consolation and assurance of God immediately.

Note: When a person really comes to God in desperation, God immediately gives a knowledge of adoption and comfort. He gives such a release from pressure and desperation that the person’s spirit sighs and revels in the new found peace.

4. Jesus made her whole. His virtue (power and life) was infused into her and she was saved and made whole. She had feared facing Jesus because she feared being rebuked. She was wrong. Jesus longed to heal the desperate among the people. No person is too dirty for Him. In fact, the more unclean a person is, the more He wants to cleanse and make him whole. Imagine such a Savior!

The fact that Jesus ministered equally to the outcast woman and the leading elder of the synagogue certainly reveals His divine impartiality. He was not offended by the woman’s taking hold of His tassel with her unclean hands. He did not resent her presuming to seek His help while He was engulfed by a demanding multitude and on His way to raise a young girl from her deathbed. No person in need ever interfered with Jesus’ ministry, because “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). And as He had just declared to the self-righteous Pharisees, He “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13). He came to seek and save sinners who knew they were sinners—and such persons have always
been more likely to be the poor and insignificant of the world. “For consider your calling, brethren,” Paul reminds the Corinthian believers, “that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are” 1 Cor. 1:26-28.

In their book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Paul Brand and Phil Yancey quote from the novelist Frederick Buechner, who wrote: Who could have predicted that God would choose not Esau, the honest and reliable, but Jacob the trickster and heel, that He would put the finger on Noah, who hit the bottle, or on Moses, who was trying to beat the rap in Midian for braining a man in Egypt and if it weren’t for the honor of the thing, he’d just as soon let Aaron go back and face the music, or the prophets, who were a ragged lot, mad as hatters most of them … ?

Then Brand and Yancey add:  The exception seems to be the rule. The first humans God created went out and did the only thing God asked them not to do. The man He chose to head a new nation known as “God’s people” tried to pawn off his wife on an unsuspecting Pharaoh. And the wife herself, when told at the ripe old age of ninety-one that God was ready to deliver the son He had promised her, broke into rasping laughter in the face of God. Rahab, a harlot, became revered for her great faith. And Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, went out of his way to break every proverb he so astutely composed.

Even after Jesus came the pattern continued. The two disciples who did most to spread the word after His departure, John and Peter, were the two He had rebuked most often for petty squabbling and muddle headedness. And the apostle Paul, who wrote more books than any other Bible writer, was selected for the task while kicking up dust whirls from town to town sniffing out Christians to torture. Jesus had nerve, in trusting the high-minded
ideals of love and unity and fellowship to this group. No wonder cynics have looked at the church and sighed, “If that group of people is supposed to represent God, I’ll quickly vote against Him.” Or, as Nietzsche expressed it, “His disciples will have to look more saved if I am to believe in their Savior.” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980, pp. 29-30)

How wonderful that God is more gracious than men. God never excuses disobedience, unfaithfulness, or any other sin. But He will forgive every sin that is placed under the atoning death of His Son, Jesus Christ. Position, prestige, or possessions give no advantage with Him, and lack of those things gives no disadvantage. As Peter learned only after much resistance to the idea, “God is not one to show partiality” (Acts 10:34; cf. 1 Pet. 1:17). In Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female” Gal. 3:28.

Jesus Was Powerful

And when Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd in noisy disorder, He began to say, “Depart; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been put out, He entered and took her by the hand; and the girl arose. And this news went out into all that land. (9:23-26)

It is Jesus’ power that most uniquely sets Him apart from other men. We can be accessible, available, touchable, and impartial, reflecting to some extent those qualities that He perfectly exemplified. But only He has power to heal leprosy, restore sight, overpower demons, forgive sins, and raise the dead.

After the interlude involving the woman with a hemorrhage, Jesus continued on His way and came to the official’s house, where the young daughter of Jairus lay dead. We are not told how long she had been dead, but it was obviously long enough to have summoned the professional flute-players and for the crowd of mourners already to be in noisy disorder.

In great contrast to those in the western world of our day, funerals in most ancient cultures, including that of Israel in the time of Christ, were not occasions for quiet whispers and soothing music. They were instead characterized by the loud wailing of voices and the harsh dissonance of musical instruments such as those of the hired flute-players on this occasion. The result, not unintended, was great noisy disorder.

Jewish funerals involved three prescribed ways of expressing grief and lamentation. First was the tearing, or rending, of one’s garment, for which tradition had developed some thirty-nine different regulations and forms. Among other things, the tearing was to be done while standing up, and the tear was to be directly over the heart if the mourner was the father or mother of the deceased. Otherwise it was to be near the heart. The tear had to be large enough to put a fist through, but could be sewn up with large, loose stitches for the first thirty days—to provide covering of the body while allowing the tear to be clearly noticeable. For sake of modesty, women would rip their undergarments and wear them backwards.

The second way of expressing grief was by the hiring of professional women mourners, who would loudly wail the name of the one who had just died. They would also intermingle the names of other family members who had died in the past. Sorrow was intentionally intensified as memories of old grief were added to the new. Every tender chord was touched, and agony was magnified with loud shrieks, wailing, and groanings.

The third way of expressing grief involved hiring professional musicians, most often flute-players, who, like the hired mourners, would play loud, disconcerting sounds meant to reflect the emotional discord and confusion of grief.

The Talmud declared that “the husband is bound to bury his dead wife and to make lamentations and mourning for her according to the custom of all countries. Also the very poorest among the Israelites will not allow her less than two flutes and one wailing woman.” Reflecting such “customs of all countries,” the Roman statesman Seneca reported that there was so much screaming and wailing at the death of the emperor Claudius that some onlookers felt Claudius himself probably heard the noise from his grave.

Because Jairus was the highest ranking religious leader in Capernaum and was no doubt a man of means, the number of paid mourners and musicians at his daughter’s funeral was probably large. When Jesus came upon them He said, Depart; for the girl has not died, but is asleep. Depart was more a command than a request, the same command Peter used a number of years later when he sent the mourning widows out of the room where their dear friend Dorcas lay dead (Acts 9:40).

Jesus surprised and annoyed the mourners first of all by His asking them to leave. They were following the long-established and revered traditions set down by respected rabbis centuries earlier. What they were doing was not only proper but required. Jesus surprised and annoyed them even more, however, by daring to suggest that the girl has not died, but is asleep. In scorn and derision, they began laughing at Him. It was the hard, haughty laughter of those who gloat over a foolish act or statement by someone to whom they feel superior. That their weeping could so quickly turn to laughter, even mocking laughter, betrayed the fact that their mourning was a paid act and did not reflect genuine sorrow. It also betrayed their complete lack of faith in Jesus’ power to raise the girl from the dead.

Jesus knew the girl was dead, just as He knew Lazarus was dead when He said to His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep” (John 11:11). As He explained to His incredulous disciples on that occasion, His reference to sleep signified actual death—though it was temporary—and not “literal sleep.” Jesus then “said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead’” (vv. 13-14).

When the crowd of hired mourners had been put out, Jesus entered the room and took her by the hand. Mark informs us that Jesus allowed only Peter, James, John and the girl’s parents to go into the room with Him, and that, as He took her by the hand, He also said to her, “‘Talitha kum!’ (which translated means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’)” (Mark 5:40-41). At that time, “her spirit returned, and she rose immediately” (Luke 8:55). Jesus could just as easily have raised her by only speaking the words, or by saying nothing at all. But His touching and speaking to her manifest a compassion and tenderness that far exceeded what was only necessary.

It is hardly surprising that when Jesus performed His first miracle of resurrection this news went out into all that land. It was now evident that Jesus not only had power to heal disease, cast out demons, and forgive sins, but had power even to raise the dead! This account is the pinnacle of Matthew’s presentation of Jesus messianic credentials. The Son of Man has demonstrated His power over every enemy of man, including Satan and death. He truly holds “the keys of death and Hades” Rev. 1:18.

In Christ there is no longer reason to fear sickness, disease, demons, deformity, tragedy, or even death. As believers, we can even rejoice in dying, because our Lord has conquered death. Though we will not be brought back to this life, we will be raised to new life. In Him is fullness of joy and life everlasting. “No longer must the mourners weep,” a poet reminds us, “nor call departed children dead, for death is transformed into sleep and every grave becomes a bed.”

When as a young man D. L. Moody was called upon to preach a funeral sermon, he began to search the gospels to find one of Jesus’ funeral messages—only to discover that He never preached one. He found instead that Jesus broke up every funeral He attended by raising the dead person back to life. When the dead heard His voice, they immediately came to life.

Arthur Brisbane has pictured the funeral of a Christian as a crowd of grieving caterpillars, all wearing black suits. As they crawl along mourning their dead brother and carrying his cocoon to its final resting place, above them flutters an incredibly beautiful butterfly, looking down on them in utter disbelief.

Death can strike God’s saints in unexpected, painful, and seemingly senseless ways. Yet He does not promise to give explanations for such tragedies. Instead He gives the wondrous assurance that “he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies” (John 11:25).

(9:23-26) Jesus Christ, Power: there was the hopeless cry for life (Part 2). Again, this desperate cry was by the ruler and father in behalf of his daughter. There are several significant facts to note.

1. The trying delay (Matthew 9:20-22). Why did Jesus allow the woman to delay Him? No need is greater than the need arising from death. Jesus knew that the ruler’s desperation was bound to grow more uneasy by allowing the woman to delay Him. But He also knew that the ruler’s confidence and assurance would be strengthened by seeing Him meet the woman’s need. Perhaps the man needed to be strengthened. Whatever the reason for allowing the delay, Jesus knew.

Jesus always knows what is best for us and when to meet our need. We should not become fearful, questioning and unbelieving when our needs are not immediately met. Jesus is going to meet the need of anyone who approaches Him in humility and faith.

2. The atmosphere in the ruler’s house. The atmosphere was noisy, the grief loud.

Note two lessons.

1)   Loud noise and grief do not create the proper atmosphere for Jesus to work and meet our needs. We should rid ourselves of such distraction—get quiet, meditate, pray, and trust the Lord to do His work.

2)   The world suffers loud noise and grief because it has no hope over death. But the Lord longs to meet the grief of the believer’s heart with the quiet assurance and hope He has given. Assurance is the promise given to the believer who truly hopes in the Lord (Titus 2:13).

3. The strong demand. Jesus demanded a quiet, prayerful atmosphere. He said, “give place,” depart, go, be gone with the noise and loud grief. There is no room for this behavior in the face of faith. We are seldom conscious of Jesus attempting to comfort us in the midst of noise and loud mourning.
4. The daughter’s death. She was dead, and Luke says unmistakably that the people laughed Jesus to scorn “knowing that she was dead” (Luke 9:53). Mark says that certain ones even came to meet the ruler and said, “thy daughter is dead” (Mark 5:35). Men dread and fear death, so they soften its thought by calling it sleep (see note—^ 1 Thes. 4:13).
5. The mourners’ reaction. They scorned Jesus. They knew what death was. They were around death all the time, especially the paid mourners. It was the practice of the wealthy to pay professional mourners to grieve over the death of their loved ones. There was no question she was dead and not asleep. There is also the possibility that they scorned Jesus to discourage the ruler from allowing Jesus to help. They knew somewhat of Him and His power because Capernaum was His home, the center of His ministry. If He raised his daughter, they would lose their work and payment.

Most men scoff at the idea of Jesus raising the dead (cp. 1 Cor. 15:12f; 1 Cor. 15:35f; 2 Peter 3:3f. These passages will show clearly the questions that cause men to scoff.)

1)   Men often mock and scorn what they do not understand.

2)   We must believe and trust and confess with Paul, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

The people were put out. Scorners are not worthy to witness the Lord’s power. Only the meek and receptive are.

6. The power of His hand. The description of our Lord’s power is both beautiful and assuring.
7. “He went in.” He will always come in to us wherever we are, if our hearts will only reach out to Him as the ruler’s heart did. We may be disabled but He will come to help us.
8. He “took her by the hand.” He reached to infuse His power and life into her. He will infuse His power and life into us if we will only call upon Him.
9. He raised her up: “she arose.” Jesus will raise us up, meeting our desperate needs on this earth, and He will also raise us up in the last day. (Cp. John 5:22-30.)

Jesus’ power can and will touch any need.

1)   He can touch the most desperate needs of all—the needs arising from the death of loved ones.

2)   He can touch the desperate needs of people through our intercession. Our loved ones may be helpless even as this young daughter was, but if we will pray, Jesus will use His sovereign power to touch their need.

7. The result of His power. Jesus’ fame was spread abroad. The raising of the dead was proof that Jesus was the Messiah. The people talked and talked about His power, but note how many still did not believe. They still refused to commit their lives to Him. How precious are those of succeeding generations who have not seen, yet believe.

(Luke 7:1-6 NIV)  When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. {2} There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. {3} The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. {4} When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, {5} because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” {6} So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.

After Jesus’ great sermon he returns to Capernaum. While he is there, a notable centurion sends to Jesus a delegation of Jewish elders. They beg Jesus to heal the centurion’s servant. Now Matthew says the centurion came himself. Does that mean that Matthew and Luke contradict each other? Not necessarily. Matthew’s account is merely an abbreviation of the event. Since the centurion was responsible for the delegation he, himself, is described as coming to Jesus. Besides, that fits Matthew, since he typically leaves out any positive comments about Jewish leaders. In contrast, Luke gives the more detailed account which characteristically shows mercy to Gentiles. What we have, then, is not a contradiction but a variation in their presentations.

The emphasis of this passage is on the centurion, not on the sick servant. In fact, even the syntax of this sentence places the word “centurion” in a prominent position so it sticks out even though the subject of the sentence is the servant.

A centurion was a military leader in the Roman army comparable to a lieutenant. As the title “centurion” suggests, he was in charge of one hundred men. The New Testament speaks of several centurions and all in favorable terms. (1) The centurion at the cross of Christ proclaimed his faith that Jesus was the Son of God or possibly a son of a god (Mt 27:54; Mk 15:39; Lk 23:47). (2) Cornelius, of Acts 10-11, demonstrated full faith in Jesus. He and his house received the Holy Spirit and were baptized. (3) Julius, in Acts 27, guarded Paul on the way to Rome. He was both reasonable and fair. (4) Only one centurion, Acts 22:25-26, may be viewed as a villain. He was about to flog Paul. But he was just doing his job and did, in fact, stop when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen. Over all, our impression of centurions is positive. They seem to be reasonable, unbiased, and submitted to authority.

His servant is “valued highly.” In several other passages this refers to positions of highest honor. In both Luke 7:7 and Matthew 8:6 he will be referred to, not as a servant, but as a child. In other words, he is more than just a servant. He had become like a son to the centurion.

Upon hearing of Jesus’ reputation for healing, this centurion sends a delegation of Jewish elders to ask Jesus for help. It was rare that Jews would go out of their way for a Gentile. But this was a rare Gentile. He had provided influence and likely much of his own money to help build the Capernaum synagogue. And now, one good deed deserves another.

(Luke 7:6-8 NIV)  So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. {7} That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. {8} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

The delegation of Jewish elders apparently overstep their bounds, or at least the centurion’s desires, when they ask Jesus to go to the man’s house. Thus, a second delegation, comprised of the centurion’s personal friends, is sent to keep Jesus from coming to the house.

Their message is simple: “Don’t trouble yourself” (lit. “Don’t be hassled”). This construction means to “stop” whatever action is in progress. The centurion either sees or hears the procession and doesn’t want Jesus to bother himself further by entering his home. He is probably not just talking about the trouble of coming all the way to his house. If Jesus were to enter the house of a Gentile, he would be criticized by his own countrymen (cf. Acts 10:28). This centurion is looking out for Jesus’ best interests and trying to protect his reputation.

Being a soldier, the centurion understands the power of the spoken word. Jesus doesn’t need to be present or touch the servant. He simply needs to command it to be done (cf. Ps 107:20). Such is the nature of authority. Even so, there is no precedent for believing in “distance healing” save the one incident when Jesus healed the nobleman’s son in Capernaum while he was twenty miles away in Cana (Jn 4:46-54). Perhaps this fellow had heard about that. Even so, his faith is astounding.

The centurion makes a keen comparison between his military position and the spiritual position of Jesus and his Father. He had superiors from whom he was given authority and subordinates to whom he gave commands. He recognizes that Jesus is granted authority from God and is authorized to give commands to his subordinates (e.g., diseases and elements).

(Matthew 8:10-13 NIV)  When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. {11} I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. {12} But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” {13} Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

(Luke 7:10 NIV)  Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

This is one of only two times that Jesus was amazed. He is amazed here at the incredible faith of a Gentile, and in Mark 6:6, in Nazareth, he was amazed at the lack of faith of his own countrymen. It is a paradox that the Jews, who had the Scriptures (Rom 3:1-2), would lack faith, while the Gentiles should demonstrate such faith.

Jesus lays out a paradox of his own. The Jews, who would expect to participate in the Messianic banquet (Isa 25:6; Mt 26:29; Lk 22:30), were kicked out. But the foreigners were allowed in. The simple lesson of this narrative is that Jesus respects faith, not ethnicity. Hence, we have a dramatized prediction of Gentile inclusion (Acts 10-11).

In the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Roman centurions are presented as quality men of character, and this one is a sterling example. The Jewish elders had little love for the Romans in general and Roman soldiers in particular, and yet the elders commended this officer to Jesus. He loved the Jewish people in Capernaum and even built them a synagogue. He loved his servant and did not want him to die. This centurion was not a Stoic who insulated himself from the pain of others. He had a heart of concern, even for his lowly servant boy who was dying from a paralyzing disease (Matt. 8:6).

Matthew’s condensed report (Matt. 8:5-13) does not contradict Luke’s fuller account. The centurion’s friends represented him to Jesus and then represented Jesus to him. When a newscaster reports that the President or the Prime Minister said something to Congress or Parliament, this does not necessarily mean that the message was delivered by them in person. It was probably delivered by one of their official representatives, but the message would be received as from the President or Prime Minister personally.

We are impressed not only with this man’s great love, but also his great humility. Imagine a Roman officer telling a poor Jewish rabbi that he was unworthy to have Him enter his house! The Romans were not known for displaying humility, especially before their Jewish subjects.

But the characteristic that most impressed Jesus was the man’s faith. Twice in the Gospel record we are told that Jesus marveled. Here in Capernaum, He marveled at the faith of a Gentile; and in Nazareth, He marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6). The only other person Jesus commended for having “great faith” was a Gentile woman whose daughter He delivered from a demon (Matt. 15:28). It is worth noting that in both of these instances, Jesus healed at a distance (see Ps. 107:20; Eph. 2:11-13).

The centurion’s faith certainly was remarkable. After all, he was a Gentile whose background was pagan. He was a Roman soldier, trained to be self-sufficient, and we have no evidence that he had ever heard Jesus preach. Perhaps he heard about Jesus’ healing power from the nobleman whose son Jesus had healed, also at a distance (John 4:46-54). His soldiers may also have brought him reports of the miracles Jesus had performed, for the Romans kept close touch with the events in Jewish life.

The important word in Luke 7:8 is “also.” (It should be in Matt. 8:9 as well, but the kjv omits it for some reason. The nasb has “too” in both places.) The officer saw a parallel between the way he commanded his soldiers and the way Jesus commanded diseases. Both the centurion and Jesus were under authority, and because they were under authority, they had the right to exercise authority. All they had to do was say the word and things happened. What tremendous faith this man exhibited! No wonder Jesus marveled.

If this Roman, with very little spiritual instruction, had that kind of faith in God’s Word, how much greater our faith ought to be! We have an entire Bible to read and study, as well as nearly 2,000 years of church history to encourage us, and yet we are guilty of “no faith” (Mark 4:40) or “little faith” (Matt. 14:31). Our prayer ought to be, “Lord, increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)

Verse-by-Verse

(7:1-10) Introduction: Jesus Christ meets the need of everyone—Gentile or Jew, rich or poor, leader or follower, ruler or slave. He bridges the gaps, prejudices, and divisions between men. The one essential for securing His help is faith. A person must have faith in Christ and His power. The fact is clearly demonstrated in what happened between this soldier and Jesus. Note that Jesus termed this man’s faith “great faith.”

1. Jesus returned to Capernaum (v.1).
2. Great faith cares deeply for people (v.2).
3. Great faith feels unworthy in approaching Jesus Christ (v.3).
4. Great faith seeks God (v.4-5).
5. Great faith is centered in Jesus Christ (v.6-8).
6. Great faith stirs the great power of Jesus Christ (v.9-10).

(7:1) Jesus Christ, Headquarters: Jesus returned to Capernaum. Capernaum was His headquarters where He now lived.

(7:2) Care: great faith cares deeply for people. The soldier was a man who cared deeply for people. Note the word “dear” (entimos) meaning esteemed, honored, precious, prized. In the society of that day, a slave was nothing, only a tool or a thing to be used as the owner wished. He had no rights whatsoever, not even the right to live. An owner could mistreat and kill a slave without having to give an account. But this soldier loved his slave. This reveals a deep concern and care for people. It would have been much less bother to dispose of the slave or to ignore him and just let him die, but not this soldier. He cared. Note how he personally looked after the slave, a person who meant nothing to the rest of society. But his arms and love were wide open to do all he could to help this person who was helpless. This alone, helping a person who meant nothing to society, was bound to affect Christ dramatically.

DEEPER STUDY

Centurion: an officer in the Roman armed forces. He commanded about one hundred soldiers. To the Jew, the centurion had three things against him: he was bitterly hated because he was non-Jewish, a Gentile; he was of the nation that had conquered Palestine, Rome; and he was of the armed and occupying force. Every time a centurion is mentioned in the New Testament it is with honor.

1. There was the centurion who had great faith in the power of Jesus (Matthew 8:5).
2. There was the centurion who recognized Jesus hanging on the cross as the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).
3. There was the centurion, Cornelius, who was the first Gentile convert to the Christian church (Acts 10:22).
4. There was the centurion who recognized that Paul was a Roman citizen and rescued him from the rioting mob (Acts 23:17-23).
5. There was the centurion who took steps to deliver Paul from being murdered after being informed of the Jews’ plan (Acts 24:23).
6. There was the centurion whom Felix ordered to escort and look after Paul (Acts 24:23).
7. There was the centurion who escorted Paul on his last journey to Rome. He treated Paul with great courtesy and accepted him as the leader when the storm struck the ship (Acts 27:43).

The structure of the Roman military was built around the Roman legion which consisted of 6000 men.

The Roman legion was divided into cohorts: each cohort had 600 soldiers. This means there were ten cohorts in each legion.

The cohort was divided into centuries. Each century had 100 men and was led by a centurion. The centurions were the backbone of the Roman legions. They were the leaders in closest contact with the men; therefore, they were the officers upon whom the top brass depended so heavily (William Barclay. The Gospel of Matthew, Vol.1. “The Daily Study Bible.” Philadelphia, PA: Westminister Press, 1956, p.306).

The central character is a Roman centurion; and he was no ordinary man.

(i)  The mere fact that he was a centurion meant he was no ordinary man.  A centurion was the equivalent of a regimental sergeant-major; and the centurions were the backbone of the Roman army.  Wherever they are spoken of in the New Testament they are spoken of well (cp. Luke 23:47; Acts 10:22; 22:26; 23:17, 23, 24; 24:23; 27:43).  Polybius, the historian, describes their qualifications.  They must be not so much “seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over anxious to rush into the fight; but when hard pressed they must be ready to hold their ground and die at their posts.”  The centurion must have been a man amongst men or he would never have held the post which was his.

(ii)  He had a completely unusual attitude to his slave.  He loved this slave and would go to any trouble to save him.  In Roman law a slave was defined as a living tool; he had no rights; a master could ill-treat him and even kill him if he chose.  A Roman writer on estate management recommends the farmer to examine his implements every year and to throw out those which are old and broken, and to do the same with his slaves.  Normally when a slave was past his work he was thrown out to die.  The attitude of this centurion to his slave was quite unusual.

(iii)  He was clearly a deeply religious man.  A man needs to be more than superficially interested before he will go the length of building a synagogue.  It is true that the Romans encouraged religion from the cynical motive that it kept people in order.  They regarded it as the opiate of the people.  Augustus recommended the building of synagogues for that very reason.  As Gibbon said in a famous sentence, “The various modes of religion which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful.”  But this centurion was no administrative cynic; he was a sincerely religious man.

(iv)  He had an extremely unusual attitude to the Jews.  If the Jews despised the gentiles, the gentiles hated the Jews.  Antisemitism is not a new thing.  The Romans called the Jews a filthy race; they spoke of Judaism as a barbarous superstition; they spoke of the Jewish hatred of mankind; they accused the Jews of worshipping an ass’s head and annually sacrificing a gentile stranger to their God.  True, many of the gentiles, weary of the many gods and loose morals of paganism, had accepted the Jewish doctrine of the one God and the austere Jewish ethic.  But the whole atmosphere of this story implies a close bond of friendship between this centurion and the Jews.

(v)  He was a humble man.  He knew quite well that a strict Jew was forbidden by the law to enter the house of a gentile (Acts 10:28); just as he was forbidden to allow a gentile into his house or have any communication with him.  He would not even come to Jesus himself.  He persuaded his Jewish friends to approach him.  This man who was accustomed to command had an amazing humility in the presence of true greatness.

(vi)  He was a man of faith.  His faith is based on the soundest argument.  He argued from the here and now to the there and then.  He argued from his own experience to God.  If his authority produced the results it did, how much more must that of Jesus?  He came with that perfect confidence which looks up and says, “Lord, I know you can do this.”  If only we had a faith like that, for us too the miracle would happen and life become new.

(7:3) Rejection—Unworthiness: great faith feels unworthy in approaching Jesus. The soldier was a man who had heard about Jesus and what he had heard made him feel unworthy. Note several things.

1. Luke’s account differs from Matthew’s. Luke says the centurion sent some religious leaders to approach Jesus, whereas Matthew says that the centurion approached Jesus. What needs to be remembered is that in a dictatorial society, whatever a leader commands others to do is counted as his act, as he himself having done it. The leader’s representatives act for him; thus, he is said to have done it.
2. The centurion was in a place where he could hear about Jesus. He was where he could hear the message of hope, and when the news came, he did not close his mind or ignore it. He responded.
3. The centurion, however, felt unworthy to approach Jesus himself. Why?

He was a soldier, trained to take life and probably guilty of having taken life. What he had heard about Christ was the message of love and brotherhood.

He was a sinner, a terrible sinner, a Roman heathen, totally unworthy and rejected in the eyes of most. He felt that Jesus, too, would count him unworthy and reject him.

4. The centurion requested help from others. He asked them to intercede for him. Note: he did not allow his sense of unworthiness and rejection to defeat him; neither was he too proud to ask for help, despite his superior position.

(7:4-5) Seeking God—Jew—Gentile—Rejected—Prejudice: great faith seeks God. The soldier was a man who sought God.

1. He was not a superficial religionist. He had heard about the God of Israel and accepted Him, rejecting the gods of Rome. This he did despite the hostility and rejection of the Jews. He was so drawn to God that he evidently was going to let nothing stop him from discovering the truth.
2. He was a man of faith (Luke 7:9), a man who loved God. The very reason he would love the Jewish nation (a people who despised him) and build a synagogue was because of his love for God. His faith and love had to be genuine. It was most unusual for a Gentile, especially a Gentile official, to care for the Jews. Anti-semitism was the common thing. The Jew and Gentile had no dealings with one another. Note how far he went to serve God: he loved those who had formerly rejected and despised him, and he did what he could to edify and enhance the worship of God’s people by building a synagogue. His love and faith were so strong and evident that those who had despised him now felt close to him—close enough to intercede for him.

(7:6-8) Faith: great faith is centered in Jesus Christ. The centurion was a man of faith. The centurion illustrated perfectly what faith is (Hebrews 11:6).

1. It is believing that “Christ is”: that He is sovereign Lord (Hebrews 11:6). All power is subject to Him.
2. It is believing that “Christ is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). He will use His power in behalf of those who do seek Him.

Note that the centurion had diligently sought Jesus, believing Jesus could meet his need. Many believers diligently seek the Lord, but the centurion’s faith was so much greater than most believers. Why? Because he believed that the Word of Christ was all that was needed. Jesus did not have to be present for the need to be met. As a centurion, he had authority over men. All he had to do was issue an order and it was carried out, whether he was present or not. He was a sovereign commander. He was saying, “How much more are you, O’ Lord. But speak the word only, and my need shall be met.” What a forceful and powerful lesson on faith for all!

(7:9-10) Faith—Jesus Christ, Power of: great faith stirs the great power of Jesus. The centurion was a man who stirred the great power of Jesus.

1. Jesus marvelled. Only twice is Jesus said to have marvelled at people: at the centurion, and at the people in Nazareth because of their unbelief (Mark 6:6). What an impact this man made upon Jesus!
2. Jesus embraced and commended the soldier. He embraced him for his faith, not for who he was or for what he had done as a soldier. Believing, that is, true faith, is a rare thing. Not many believe; yet belief in Christ is one of the greatest qualities of human life—a quality ignored, neglected, and in some cases denied.

He commended him before others. There are times when recognition and commendation are to be given, but again, note for what. It is for spiritual graces, for spiritual strength. However, caution should always be exercised lest the temptation of pride and self-importance set in.

3. Jesus healed the servant, and His power to meet the centurion’s request proved His Messiahship—that He was truly the Son of God.

 

Our Lord’s first two miracles recorded by John were somewhat private in nature. The servants and the disciples knew that He transformed the water into wine, and the servants and the nobleman’s family knew that He had healed the sick son. The miracle recorded in John 5 was not only public, but it was performed on the Sabbath Day and incited the opposition of the religious leaders. We see here the beginning of “official persecution” against the Savior.

This is the second paralytic that Jesus heals (cf. § 53; Mt 9:1-8; Mk 2:1-12; Lk 5:17-26). Edersheim observes four points of similarity between the two incidents: (1) Jesus uses identical wording: “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (Mk 2:9; Jn 5:8). (2) Jesus is, without words, accused of blasphemy for forgiving sins (Jn 5:18). As a result, the religious hierarchy wants to kill him. (3) In both instances the real issue is Jesus’ authority (Jn 5:27). And (4) in both cases, Jesus appeals to his works as evidence of his authority (Mk 2:10; Jn 5:36).

Jesus’ Galilean ministry is punctuated with a visit to Jerusalem during one of the feasts. We really can’t know which one it was, but Hendricksen builds a strong case for Passover (pp. 188-189). If that is true, then this marks the beginning of Jesus’ second year of ministry.

When you visit St. Anne’s Church in Jerusalem, they will show you the deep excavation that has revealed the ancient Pool of Bethesda. The Hebrew name Bethesda has been spelled various ways and given differing meanings. Some say it means “house of mercy” or “house of grace,” but others say it means “place of the two outpourings.” There is historical and archeological evidence that two adjacent pools of water served this area in ancient times.

The pool is situated near the northeast corner of the Old City, close to the Sheep Gate (Neh. 3:1; 12:39). Perhaps John saw some spiritual significance to this location, for he had already told his readers that Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).

We do not know which feast Jesus was observing when He went to Jerusalem, and it is not important that we know. His main purpose for going was not to maintain a religious tradition but to heal a man and use the miracle as the basis for a message to the people. The miracle illustrated what He said in John 5:24—the power of His Word and the gift of life.

While it is true that some manuscripts omit the end of John 5:3 and all of verse 4, it is also true that the event (and the man’s words in John 5:7) would make little sense if these words are eliminated. Why would anybody, especially a man sick for so many years, remain in one place if nothing special were occurring? You would think that after thirty-eight years of nothing happening to anybody, the man would go elsewhere and stop hoping! It seems wisest for us to accept the fact that something extraordinary kept all these handicapped people at this pool, hoping for a cure.

John described these people as “impotent, blind, lame, paralyzed.” What havoc sin has wrought in this world! But the healing of these infirmities was one of the prophesied ministries of the Messiah (Isa. 35:3-6). Had the religious leaders known their own Scriptures, they would have recognized their Redeemer; but they were spiritually blind.

Jesus went to this public water hole, which was surrounded by five covered porches. The pool was called Bethesda, “house of mercy.” It was near the Sheep Gate, probably named after the sacrificial lambs which were led through it into the temple.^6-28 It looked like some kind of a sick ward. For some reason, people gathered there hoping for a healing.

Verses 3b-4 explain why, “They waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.” But these words are not included in the niv main text because they are not found in any manuscript before the fourth century.^6-29 How then did they become part of the kjv text? This is only guesswork, but it seems reasonable to assume that early in the second century,^6-30 some scribe wrote a note in the margin explaining verse 7, which later was adopted as part of the text itself.

This addition likely represents the popular perception at the time of Jesus. We do not need to assume, however, that John (or even the scribe who inserted this note), accepted the truth of the statement; only that the populace did. In fact, it is unreasonable to assume that God would act in such a whimsical manner. Furthermore, it seems a bit unfair that those who needed healing the least would have the greatest chance of obtaining it by beating everyone else to the pool. We have no other example of God healing in such a manner. Thus we (1) reject vv. 3b and 4 as part of the original text,^6-31 (2) reject the truth of the statement, but (3) accept that it accurately describes the popular belief of Jesus’ day.

One of the invalids at the pool had suffered some sort of paralysis for thirty-eight years. There is no need to assume that he was at the pool for thirty-eight years, just sick for that long. Here we have a room full of sick people; Jesus selects only one and heals him. He could just as easily have waved his hand and healed them all. But he chooses only one. Why? Jesus is obviously not performing this miracle out of compassion (alone). In fact, it would appear that Jesus wants to start a fight with the religious leaders over this Sabbath controversy. It was a dandy!

John 5 reveals Jesus to be the Authority over all of life. He is due the same worship, obedience, and service as God; for He is equal with God (John 5:17-18). As God possesses life within Himself, so Jesus possesses life within Himself (John 5:26). As God has authority over all of life, so Jesus has authority over all of life.

In revealing His authority, Jesus first demonstrated the truth of His authority. He healed a man who had been ill for 38 years—and He healed him on the Sabbath. Both acts pictured the truth of His authority. The healing of the man showed His authority over the physical world, and the breaking of the Jewish Sabbath law showed His authority to determine the rules of worship.

After demonstrating the truth of His equality with God, He then began to teach the truth. This procedure, first demonstrating some truth and then teaching it, was to be followed time and again as Jesus revealed who He was throughout the Gospel of John.

No matter how you look at this miracle, it is an illustration of the grace of God. It was grace that brought Jesus to the Pool of Bethesda, for who would want to mingle with a crowd of helpless people! Jesus did not heal all of them; He singled out one man and healed him. The fact that Jesus came to the man, spoke to him, healed him, and then met him later in the temple is proof of His wonderful grace and mercy.

John noted that the man had been ill for thirty-eight years. Perhaps he saw in this a picture of his own Jewish nation that had wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years (Deut. 2:14). Spiritually speaking, Israel was a nation of impotent people, waiting hopelessly for something to happen.

Jesus knew about the man (see John 2:23-24) and asked him if he wanted to be healed. You would think that the man would have responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes! I want to be healed!” But, instead, he began to give excuses! He had been in that sad condition for so long that his will was as paralyzed as his body. But if you compare John 5:6 with verse 40, you will see that Jesus had a spiritual lesson in mind as well. Indeed, this man did illustrate the tragic spiritual state of the nation.

The Lord healed him through the power of His spoken word. He commanded the man to do the very thing he was unable to do, but in His command was the power of fulfillment (see Mark 3:5; Heb. 4:12). The cure was immediate and certainly some of the many people at the pool must have witnessed it. Jesus did not pause to heal anyone else; instead, He “moved away” (John 5:13) so as not to create a problem. (The Greek word means “to dodge.”)

The miracle would have caused no problem except that it occurred on the Sabbath Day. Our Lord certainly could have come a day earlier, or even waited a day; but He wanted to get the attention of the religious leaders. Later, He would deliberately heal a blind man on the Sabbath (John 9:1-14). The scribes had listed thirty-nine tasks that were prohibited on the Sabbath, and carrying a burden was one of them. Instead of rejoicing at the wonderful deliverance of the man, the religious leaders condemned him for carrying his bed and thereby breaking the law.

It is not easy to understand the relationship between this man and Jesus. There is no evidence that he believed on Christ and was converted, yet we cannot say that he was opposed to the Saviour. In fact, he did not even know who it was that healed him until Jesus met him in the temple. No doubt the man went there to give thanks to God and to offer the appropriate sacrifices. It seems strange that the man did not actively seek a closer relationship with the One who healed him, but more than one person has gratefully accepted the gift and ignored the Giver.

Did the man “inform” on Jesus because of fear? We do not know. The Jewish leaders at least turned from him and aimed their accusations at Jesus Christ; and, unlike the healed blind man in John 9, this man was not excommunicated. The Lord’s words (John 5:14) suggest that the man’s physical plight had been the result of sin; but Jesus did not say that the man’s sins had been forgiven as He did in dealing with the sick man lowered through the roof (see Mark 2:1-12). It is possible to experience an exciting miracle and still not be saved and go to heaven!

Verse-by-verse

Through this healing miracle, Jesus was claiming to have supreme authority over the Sabbath. However, there are also other striking lessons: the Lord’s compassion (John 5:6-9), the problem of formal religion (John 5:10-12), and the charge to a converted man (John 5:13-14).

1. Jesus attended a Jewish feast in Jerusalem (v.1).
2. Scene 1: the diseased and the ill—a picture of the world’s desperate need (v.2-4).
3. Scene 2: Jesus and the man—a picture of Jesus’ power to meet the world’s need (v.5-9).

 

(5:1) Feasts—Jesus Christ, Worship of God: Jesus attended a Jewish feast in Jerusalem. The feast is not named, but it was probably one of the three Feasts of Obligation: the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Pentecost. These were called Feasts of Obligations because every male Jew who lived within twenty miles of Jerusalem was required by law to attend them. It is significant that Jesus was seen attending the feast.

1. It gave Him an opportunity to reach a large number of people. Most of the people who attended the feast would be God-fearing people and have their minds upon God; therefore, they would be more prepared for the gospel.
2. It gave Him an opportunity to teach people to be faithful to the worship of God. He, the Son of God Himself, was faithful.

(5:2-4) Needy, The: the first scene was that of the diseased and the ill. These—the diseased and the ill—picture those in the world who are gripped by desperate need. The setting is a pool by a sheep market. The word market is supplied by the translator; it is not in the Greek text. It may have been a sheep market or sheep gate or sheep stall where the animals were kept. Whatever it was, there was a pool to provide water for the animals to drink and five porches to provide a resting area for the comfort of the people. The pool and a “great multitude of impotent folk” lying around the pool were the focus of attention. Note two points.

1. Their need—which is a picture of all in the world who live in desperate need.

• There were the blind who could not see.
• There were the lame who could not walk.
• There were the withered who were deformed and paralyzed.
• There were so many who were poor and beggarly.

2. Their desperate hope and faith. Either the description given in Scripture is to be taken literally, or else men of that day gave their explanation as to what caused the pool to be troubled. If this account is man’s description of what happened at the pool, then there was apparently a subterranean pocket of energy, either air or a stream underneath the pool that caused the pool to occasionally bubble up. The people of that day, grasping for something to help them in their daily lives, said that a supernatural occurrence was happening when the water bubbled. An angel was thought to be swimming around in the water. The first person to move into the water after the bubbling was believed to be healed.

Men are always grasping for something to help them in their daily lives. It may be some supernatural or destined power in a pool of water or in the astrology of stars above or in some magical person on earth. Men never change, regardless of the generation. In their grasp for help in life, they continue to seek everywhere except in Christ, the Son of God Himself. They hope and put their faith in everything except Him.

(5:5-9) Jesus Christ, Compassion—Power—Healing—Faith—Obedience: the second scene was that of Jesus and the man. This is a picture of Jesus, who has the power to meet the needs of the desperate in the world. The outline of this point is adequate to see what happened.

1. The man’s plight. He was either paralyzed or lame; he had been that way for thirty-eight long years.
2. Jesus’ compassion: it was heart-warming, touching, and revealing—demonstrating how He wants to reach out to every person. He saw the man lying there, and knew all about his desperate condition. Note the striking point: it was Jesus who initiated the relationship, approaching the man and reaching out to help Him.
3. The man’s helplessness. He was all alone in this world, having no family or friend who could help him.
4. The Lord’s power. This is a significant point: the man did not know he was healed until he obeyed the command of the Lord. Jesus did not pronounce a “word of healing”; He merely commanded the man to act. In the act the man was to show his faith. If he believed, he would arise and walk; if he did not believe, he would simply continue to lie there and continue on just as he had always done.

No man has to continue on and on through life just as he has always been, enslaved to the sin and corruption and desperate needs of the world. He can experience the healing power of Jesus Christ, the power to change his life and make him into a new man. All he has to do is one simple thing: believe the Word of Jesus Christ enough to obey, doing exactly what Jesus says. It is a clear fact: if we believe Him, we obey Him; if we do not believe Him, we do not obey Him. To be made whole and changed into a new man—a new man who is freed from the sin and desperate needs of this corruptible world—we have to believe Him enough to obey Him.

5. The sinister problem: Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath. By healing the man on the Sabbath, Jesus was breaking the Jewish ceremonial law; He was committing a serious sin, violating a ritual and rule of religion. The rest of the man’s story centers upon this fact.

In verse 6 Jesus asks an odd, almost silly, question, “Do you wish to get well?” His presence at the pool should make that obvious enough. Who would NOT want to get well after thirty-eight years of sickness? Paradoxically, there are people who would rather be sick than well, for a number of reasons. Others, especially after years of sickness, lose the will to be well.

The man’s problem is obvious; he has no help getting into the pool. The other not-so-sick people beat him to the punch, so Jesus helps him out. He deliberately heals this fellow on the Sabbath. To make matters worse, Jesus orders him to pick up his mat and leave. The man slips out in silence, but the fireworks are about to begin.

The Sabbath, along with circumcision and dietary regulations, set the Jews apart from the other cultures that surrounded them. This was a critical part of their heritage and they took it seriously. Rabbinic Judaism had surrounded the Sabbath with literally hundreds of peripheral rules to insure that their disciples did not break God’s simple command to rest on the Sabbath. Within this vast body of oral traditions were precise regulations about healing. You could save a person’s life on the Sabbath, but healing merely to help someone would have to wait until the next day. Jesus knew precisely what he was doing by healing this man and ordering him to carry his cot. He was confronting the institutional authorities of Judaism over this very serious matter of Sabbath keeping.

(5:10-12) Religion: the third scene was that of the religionists and the man. This is a picture of dead religion trying to meet the world’s desperate need. Note three things.

1. Dead religion is a religion of legalism. The religionists were trying to meet the needs of people through rules and regulations, ceremony and rituals. They were more concerned with the man who was violating the ritual of the Sabbath than with the man who was suffering in a pitiful condition.
2. Dead religion is a religion ignorant of true authority. They should have known that the power of God had healed the man, and should have been eager to share with the man Jesus, the man upon whom such power rested. But note: they cared little about the power of God and His messenger. They cared only that the status quo be maintained, that their religious practices continue as they were and not be violated. Their thoughts were upon their own religious position and security.
3. Dead religion is a religion blind to love and good. Note the question of the religionists. It was not, “Who is the man who has healed and helped you so much?” but, “Who is the man that broke the religious law?” They did not see the good that had been done. They saw only that their position and security was threatened and that someone had more power and influence and was doing more good than they were.

How many true messengers of God are criticized by powerless religionists, criticized because they do things differently or do more good than others? Men fear the loss of their position and security, fear that people may begin to wonder about their lack of true power—power that honestly helps men.

(5:13-14) Follow-up—Maturity—Growth: the fourth scene was that of Jesus and the man after healing. This is a picture of the believer’s responsibility. Note that Jesus had left the man right after healing him because of the large crowd on the porches. For some unstated reason, Jesus did not want to attract a crowd at this time. The point is striking: Jesus sought the man out again! Remember, Jesus had reached out to save the man; now He was reaching out for another purpose. When He found the man, a picture of the believer’s responsibility was painted.

1. There was the duty to worship. The man was found in the temple worshipping and giving thanks to God.
2. There was the duty to remember his healing, his salvation. The moment should never be forgotten or lost (cp. 2 Peter 1:9).
3. There was the duty to sin no more. Apparently the man had been lame or paralyzed because of some accident caused by sin. Jesus cautioned the man: “Sin no more.”
4. There was the duty to fear the judgment. Jesus warned the man that if he did not repent and turn from his sin, he would face a more terrible judgment than his crippling paralysis.

(5:15-16) Jesus Christ, Rejection: the fifth scene was that of the religionists and Jesus. This is a picture of the world rejecting God’s Savior.

Note two things.

1. The man told the religionists who had healed him. He did not do this to bring harm to Jesus. He thought the religionists should know and would want to benefit from knowing Jesus personally.
2. The reason the religionists opposed Jesus needs to be studied closely.

 

A quick overview from the gospel accounts

This is obviously a significant event for the disciples, but it was also a significant event for the early church. Their experience of following Jesus is mirrored in these four fishermen. For many Christians, Jesus’ call to become “fishers of men,” mixed with fear and worship, is all very familiar.

Furthermore, this incident shows that Jesus not only fraternized with the working class, but used them significantly in the propagation of the kingdom. While their “doctrinal faith” leaves much to be desired, their “practical faith” is exemplary. In other words, what they believe about Jesus turns out to be wrong; but their trust in Jesus is right on!

From this event comes the Christian acrostic of the fish. . Each of the five Greek letters stand for the beginning of the following words: Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Savior. It was the secret password for the catacomb worship services. Christian theology is summarized in this symbol.

Mt 4:18 with Lk 5:1a [One day^LK] ¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

Lk 5:1b-3 ¹… as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^NIV-6-4 with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, ²he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Jesus calls these four men—two pairs of brothers, all aligned with their fishing business—Peter, Andrew, James and John. They worked on what is generally called the Sea of Galilee (also called Gennesaret, Chinneroth, or the Sea of Tiberias). But it is actually a lake, not a sea. It is shaped like a pear, twelve miles from north to south and seven miles across at its widest. Oddly, it sits in a basin six hundred and eighty-two feet below sea level, surrounded by a perimeter of one-thousand-foot hills, and it is teeming with fish.

Fishing was one of the three great industries of Palestine along with agriculture and shepherding. It was a lucrative business on this lake. A typically rabbinic exaggeration states that there were three hundred different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee. Edersheim describes several such rabbinic teachings about fish, including how to prepare them (I:473). Certainly, fishing was big business in Palestine. Even one of the gates of Jerusalem was called the “Fish Gate” (Neh 3:3).

As Jesus walks along the shore, the fishermen are cleaning their nets after working unproductively all night (Lk 5:5). This was the bane of their work—meticulously cleaning out the pebbles, grasses and sand which had tangled themselves in their nets and repairing the torn strands after heavy use all night.

Simon and Andrew are the first Jesus encounters. They are casting their nets into the lake. This is the only time this kind of net, is mentioned in the Bible. This was a relatively small net which was cast into the water and sunk whatever was below it. It would then be drawn up and whatever was in its “bell” would be taken in. The second kind of net mentioned in the Bible was a drag net that was pulled behind the boat (only used in Mt 13:47). The most common net was the normal casting net. These larger nets are being cleaned while one of these guys is fooling around in the shallows trying to redeem their night of catching nothing.

The crowds press in on Jesus. He is already so popular that he cannot move about freely. Mobbed like a movie star, Jesus employs Peter’s empty fishing boat as a pulpit and uses the shore as an amphitheater.

Lk 5:4-7 ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down^NIV-6-5 the nets for a catch.” ⁵Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” ⁶When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Jesus asks Peter to push off a short distance from the shore in order to teach. But when he is finished he directs Peter to “cast off” into the deep and let down his net. This is a passionate scene. Peter is tired and frustrated. They have worked all night dropping and hoisting their nets and caught nothing. We must remember, this was not a fishing vacation with a little rod and reel. These are heavy boats, large nets, and their major means of support. Furthermore, Peter has just finished cleaning the nets. Now Jesus is asking him to dirty them up again. This landlubber does not even know that it is the wrong time to fish. In addition, the best fishing is usually near the shore, not in the deep of the lake.

Peter says, “But Master, because you say so, I’ll do it.” This unusual word “master” is used only by Luke and always in reference to Jesus. This is a momentous phrase. Peter is a professional fisherman. He knows the sea and he knows the odds of going out there and catching a fish. Nevertheless, he has seen Jesus in action before. More than a year ago, as he followed John the Baptist, he saw Jesus baptized. He watched Jesus cleanse the temple, he was there in Samaria after Jesus talked to the woman at the well. He witnessed the healings in Judea and the miraculous transformation of water into wine in Cana. After nearly nine months of following Jesus, Peter went back to his family fishing business at the lake, while Jesus preached in his own hometown. Now they are reunited. Jesus makes this simple, although absurd, request. But because of Peter’s respect and trust in Jesus, he obeys.

As Peter pulls up the nets, his muscles flex, his eyes bug out, and an involuntary smile breaks out all over his face. It is such a large number of fish, in fact, that their nets begin to tear and their boat begins to sink. The smile turns to a grimace. He knows that he needs some help. Luke uses a word that means “to beckon with a nod.” That makes sense. His hands are full of net, he could hardly wave to his partners, and he certainly can’t let go. Besides that, he is too far out to shout effectively and too busy to have a friendly chat with his partners.

The second boat of their family business comes out to help, manned by James and John. They pass on the other side of the net and begin to pull up so that the net is between the two boats. As they pull up, fish begin to spill over into the boat. So many, in fact, that both boats sink deeper and deeper into the water in threat of going under. This was about all the blessing they could handle! They were shut out the night before with nearly nine months of bills to catch up on since following Jesus. But today, in one beautiful moment, the Lord takes care of their electricity bill and even provides enough extra for a new dress for Peter’s wife.

Lk 5:8-10a  ⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

You would think that Peter would kind of like having Jesus around. After all, he is good for business. After they got their boats steadied and their hearts stopped pounding, Peter falls to his knees on a slimy pile of fish. He had just seen Jesus, really seen him, for who he is. He says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” A couple things ought to be observed. (1) Peter is thinking correctly. He, unlike the crowds, is not selfishly seeking a miracle. He is thinking about what it really meant to be in the presence of perfect purity. Jesus’ purity demands obedience and ushers in judgment. (2) Peter is responding out of fear of the presence of God himself. It was a fearful miracle to him.

The people on the banks are no doubt laughing and cheering and selling souvenir T-shirts, but they were not in the boats that almost sank. They were not so personally touched by this miracle as Peter and Co. Besides, this is one professional fisherman who understands the power of the lake and majesty of this miracle. As Jesus saw through the waters to the fish, so he saw through Peter into the depths of his heart.

Lk 5:10b-11 with Mt 4:19-20, Mk 1:17-18 Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; [follow me^MT,MK] from now on you will catch men.” ¹¹So [at once^MT,MK] they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Mt 4:21-22 with Mk 1:20 ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. [Without delay^MK] Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father [in the boat with the hired men^MK] and followed him.

Once the disciples are back on the shore the crowds would gather and start to count the fish as they were sorted. Peter’s employees (Mk 1:20), would no doubt start cleaning their nets (again). It is at this time that Jesus uses their present occupation to call them in a way that they can visualize—Fishers of Men. Like other analogies, not all points of comparison are applicable. Jesus is not asking them to trap or capture men, but simply to collect them into the kingdom of God. Peter and Andrew respond to Jesus’ call.

Luke departs here from the other synoptic writers. Matthew and Mark both say, “I will make you fishers of men.” The word Luke uses does not mean to fish but to take live captives. It is used only one other time (2 Tim 2:26). There it describes how we rescue from Satan those whom he has caught alive. This call is one of battle. We tread behind enemy lines to free the captives whom Satan has seized.

The three men walk a short distance farther and encounter their partners, James and John. They are sitting with their father, Zebedee, in their stout fishing boat, also cleaning their nets and repairing the torn spots from this massive catch. Jesus also calls them and they likewise respond, leaving their father in the boat with the hired servants (Mk 1:20).^6-8 Of these latter two, we observe that James was the first Apostolic martyr whose death is recorded in Acts 12. And John was the last surviving Apostle as he writes Revelation about a.d. 95, and according to tradition, the only Apostle who died a natural death.

I don’t suppose that Zebedee was any too happy to be left to clean up by himself. Of course, their business was big enough to have hired servants to do most of the dirty work. It may seem unkind for these two sons to leave their father with the family business, but such is the nature of discipleship (cf. Mt 10:37).

This call may seem too sudden to merit such a response. But we must remember that these four have already traveled with Jesus for about a year now (cf. Jn 1:35-51), and have just witnessed a miraculous catch of fish. Jesus enters into their domain and proves his power. He now calls them into his domain to be empowered to fish for men. What else is there to do when such a one as Jesus calls you to his vocation?

Jesus’ call of these men is unique: (1) There is already antagonism against Jesus in Jerusalem. They know there will be danger in following this man. (2) He calls them to abandon their occupations, which are lucrative, popular, and steady. This is a tremendous step of faith for them. (3) Jesus calls them, not to a new doctrine but to a new direction. The contemporary rabbis considered it a sacred duty to gather students about them. Jesus, however, doesn’t ask them to come and learn, but to come and do, or rather to come and be. The flicker of the kingdom begins to flair.

A verse-by-verse study

(5:1-11) Introduction: Jesus Christ set out to catch men, that is, to catch them for God. He desires to catch all men, but He is unable to catch everyone by Himself. He needs help, the help of all who will follow Him. The present passage is a descriptive picture of how Jesus goes about calling men to help Him in the enormous task of reaching the world.

1. Lake Gennesaret (v.1).
2. Step 1: seeing a vision of people who need to hear the Word of God (v.1).
3. Step 2: seizing resources (v.2-3).
4. Step 3: removing reluctant obedience (v.4-5).
5. Step 4: demonstrating godly power (v.6-7).
6. Step 5: stirring a deep confession (v.8-9).
7. Step 6: challenging men to discipleship, that is, to catch other men (v.10).
8. Step 7: watching for the decision to forsake all (v.11).

(5:1) Lake Gennesaret: the scene of this experience took place on Lake Gennesaret which was the same as the Sea of Galilee.

Sea of Galilee—Lake Gennesaret—Sea of Tiberias: a fresh water lake in northern Palestine. At its widest points it was only about 13 miles north to south, and 8 miles east to west. It would not be called a sea today because of its small size. There are several important facts to note about the Lake.

1. The Lake was known by several names: the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 15:29; Mark 1:16; Mark 7:31); the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1; John 21:1); the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1); and simply the “Sea” (John 6:16-25) or the “Lake” (Luke 5:2; Luke 8:22). In the Old Testament it was called the Sea of Chinnereth (meaning heart shaped, Numbers 34:11; Deut. 3:17; Joshua 13:27) or Chinneroth (Joshua 12:3; 1 Kings 15:20).
2. The Lake was surrounded by some of the richest and most heavily populated areas of Palestine. Large towns flourished along its shores, towns which play a prominent role in Scripture: Capernaum, Bethsaida (Mark 6:45), Chorazin (Luke 10:13), Magdala (Matthew 15:39), Gadara (Mark 5:1).
3. The Lake was subject to violent storms. It sat 680 feet below sea level which gave the Lake a warm climate, but it was in a pocket-like basin surrounded by steep, fast-rising hills (2000 feet high) and funnel-like mountains. The funnels or deep ravines running down through the mountains have resulted from eons of erosion. When cold-fronts move in with their fierce winds, the cold whips through the funnel-like gorges and mixes with the warm temperatures of the Lake. Unpredictable and terrifying storms result (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25).

(5:1) Word of God, Hunger for—Righteousness—Vision: the first step to calling men is seeing a vision of people—people who need the Word of God. The people were actually “pressing” (epikeisthai) in upon Jesus. They gathered and crowded around Him. Note why: to hear the Word of God. They pressed to hear the Word of God. They had a craving, a hunger and thirst after righteousness.

There is in this story what we might call a list of the conditions of a miracle.

(i)  There is the eye that sees.  There is no need to think that Jesus created a shoal of fishes for the occasion.  In the Sea of Galilee there were phenomenal shoals which covered the sea as if it was solid for as much as an acre.  Most likely Jesus’ keen eye saw just such a shoal and his keen sight made it look like a miracle.  We need the eye that really sees.  Many people saw steam raise the lid of a kettle; only James Watt went on to think of a steam engine.  Many people saw an apple fall; only Isaac Newton went on to think out the law of gravity.  The earth is full of miracles for the eye that sees.

(ii)  There is the spirit that will make an effort.  If Jesus said it, tired as he was Peter was prepared to try again.  For most people the disaster of life is that they give up just one effort too soon.

(iii)  There is the spirit which will attempt what seems hopeless.  The night was past and that was the time for fishing.  All the circumstances were unfavourable, but Peter said, “Let circumstances be what they may, if you say so, we will try again.”  Too often we wait because the time is not opportune.  If we wait for a perfect set of circumstances, we will never begin at all.  If we want a miracle, we must take Jesus at his word when he bids us attempt the impossible.

Note two things.

1. Jesus met the hunger and thirst of people.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

“Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh” (Luke 6:21).

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

2. Jesus saw that He could never meet the needs of all the people, not by Himself. He needed others to help.

“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).

In that day, three methods of fishing were used. One was by hook and line, the second was by a throw net cast from the shallow water along the shore, and the third was by a large dragnet strung between two or more boats in the deep water. Peter and Andrew were here obviously using the second method. That  net was probably about nine feet in diameter, and the two brothers were skilled in its use, for they were fishermen by trade. The Greek term for that particular net was related to our amphibious, an adjective describing something related to both land and water) —so named because the person using the net would stand on or near shore and throw the net into the deeper water where the fish were.

When Jesus called those first disciples, He gathered together the first fish-catching crew of His church. They were the first of the original band of evangelists He called to fulfill the Great Commission. They were Jesus’ first partners in ministry. He had the power and the right to accomplish the work of  proclaiming the gospel by Himself. But that was not His plan. He could have done it alone, but He never intended to do it alone. From the beginning of His ministry, His plan was to use disciples to win disciples. He would command His disciples to do other things, but His first call to them was, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

We are given specific details of the callings of only seven of the original twelve. But Jesus individually selected those who would become part of the first marvelous ministry of winning people to Himself. “He called His disciples to Him; and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles” (Luke 6:13). God always chooses His partners. He chose Noah and Abraham, Moses and David. He chose the prophets. He chose Israel herself to be a whole nation of partners, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Jesus told His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16; cf. 6:70; 13:18). Paul called Epaenetus  “the first convert [lit., “firstfruit,] to Christ from Asia” (Rom. 16:5).

It is possible that at least seven of the disciples were fishermen (John 21:1-3). Consider the fact that fishermen generally have the qualities that make for success in serving the Lord. It takes courage and daring, patience and determination to work on the seas; and it also takes a great deal of faith. Fishermen must be willing to work together (they used nets, not hooks) and help one another. They must develop the skills necessary to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

If I had fished all night and caught nothing, I would probably be selling my nets, not washing them to get ready to go out again! But true fishermen don’t quit. Peter kept on working while Jesus used his ship as a platform from which to address the huge crowd on the shore. “Every pulpit is a fishing boat,” said Dr. J. Vernon McGee, “a place to give out the Word of God and attempt to catch fish.”

(5:2-3) Resource—Opportunity, Serving: the second step to calling men is seizing resources. Jesus had to find some way to handle the throng of people both then and later. The crowds were so large and their needs so many that He just could not handle their disorder. He could not meet the needs of everyone. Standing there and being confronted with the present problem, He scanned the horizon for some way to handle the matter.

As He looked around, He saw an opportunity and laid His plans. He saw a boat and a fisherman in the boat, and He needed both. The boat could be used as a pulpit, and the man could become a disciple. He asked the man to let Him use the boat as a pulpit and to steer the boat out from land a short distance. The point is this: Jesus seized and used the resources available. He had the vision of people needing the Word of God, but He needed a pulpit and others to help, so He scanned the horizon and found both.

(5:4-5) Obedience—Reluctance: the third step to calling men is the removal of reluctant obedience. As soon as Jesus finished His preaching, He decided to win Peter’s loyalty and discipleship. But first, He had to humble Peter. He had to show Peter that He, the Messiah, could look after and take care of him. He told Peter to put out to sea and fish. Peter objected because he had fished all night and had caught nothing. However, he stopped right in the middle of his objection and obeyed Jesus. Note what had happened.

1. Peter was reluctant to obey Jesus. He objected to what Jesus asked. He was thoroughly exhausted, for he had “toiled all night.” He was disappointed, for he had caught nothing, and he had worked enough hours already. Despite needing to be home in bed, he had stayed and helped the Lord in His preaching by loaning his boat to Him.
2. Peter caught himself in the middle of his objection and obeyed. What caused the switch, the change from reluctance to willing obedience? Probably two things.
3. Peter was pretty well convinced that Jesus was who He claimed to be, the Messiah.
4. Peter was drawn somewhat to follow Jesus. Therefore, when he began to object to Jesus’ will, there was a prick of conscience, and he obeyed his conscience. He followed his heart…

•       not his mind, thinking there were no fish.
•       not his experience, having already tried and failed to catch fish.
•       not his body, being too tired and exhausted, just incapable of going on.

Reluctance should always give in to obedience. We need the spirit that will try for God, no matter what the obstacles or how hopeless a situation may seem. When a man is drawn to Christ, he desperately needs to obey his heart and to obey it immediately.

The word translated “Master” (Luke 5:5) is used only by Luke and it has a variety of meanings, all of which speak of authority: chief commander, magistrate, governor of a city, and president of a college. Peter was willing to submit to the authority of Jesus, even though he did not understand all that the Lord was doing. And remember, a great crowd was watching from the shore.

How people respond to success is one indication of their true character. Instead of claiming the valuable catch for themselves, Peter and Andrew called their partners to share it. We are not reservoirs, but channels of blessing, to share with others what God has graciously given to us.

(5:6-7) Jesus Christ, Power—Obedience, Results—Humility: the fourth step to calling men is demonstrating godly power. Peter’s obedience produced results; his obedience caught fish, and the catch was no ordinary catch. It was much more, so much more that there could be no question about Jesus. Jesus was behind the miracle; Jesus was demonstrating the power of God. (Remember this was the very purpose of Jesus, to win Peter’s loyalty and willingness to become a disciple on a full-time basis.)

What happened is a little humorous when we remember what Jesus was doing with Peter, and Peter’s reluctance and objection, weariness and exhaustion. There was a sense in which the Lord was really laying it on Peter, really letting him have it. Peter thought he was tired, but he didn’t know what exhaustion was yet. The Lord must have stood to the side smiling to Himself. How our Lord loved this man Peter, even now! He was after Peter’s loyalty, and He was going to get it even if He had to make Peter drop in his tracks (which was exactly what was to happen, Luke 5:8).

At any rate, there was some humor in what began to happen to this man who was so reluctant, moaning and groaning about his tiredness. Just imagine Peter already bone weary, grumbling in his mind at this carpenter telling him, the skilled fisherman, how to fish. Imagine Peter’s exhaustion and weariness, reluctance and objection, moaning and groaning; and then all of a sudden a catch is made, a catch so great that he was going to have to work wearily along for hour upon hour.

•  Peter’s net broke.
•  Peter had to call for another whole crew and boat to help.
•  Both boats were filled as full as they could be.
•  Then to top it off, both boats began to sink.

Jesus had His man! What else was Peter to do other than what followed? In all the humor of the situation, our Lord’s heart was bound to be full of rejoicing because this big hunk of a fisherman, man though he was, was like a little child before the Lord. He was broken in humility before the Lord, and the experience was but the first of many experiences of brokenness yet to come.

(5:8-9) Confession: the fifth step to calling men is stirring a deep confession. Peter knew exactly what had happened. He had been reluctant and objected to the Lord’s request, and he had not been too happy that the great catch had caused so much trouble. But he was a skilled fisherman, and he knew that the great catch was no ordinary catch; it was a miracle of the Lord, a miracle which the Lord was using to teach him that he was to obey without reluctance and objection.

Note exactly what happened. When Peter saw the boat beginning to sink, he raced over to Jesus, fell upon his knees, and in a sense (continuing the humor) said, “Lord, I’ve had enough. Let me alone. I’ll do anything.” His confession was threefold.

1. He confessed his sin of disobedience and unbelief: of being reluctant to obey the Lord, of questioning the Lord’s will and knowledge and power.
2. He confessed Jesus to be the Lord. Note that Peter had previously called Jesus “Master” (epistate, Luke 5:5), which is a word used to address anyone in authority. But Peter had learned better. He now called Jesus “Lord” (kurie). He is the Lord who is holy and convicting, who must be obeyed and followed.
3. He confessed a fear, a reverence, an awe for the Lord (cp. Luke 5:9-10).

                 “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

                 “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

                 “And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27).

                 “And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength” (Daniel 10:16).

                 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

                 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

                 “Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 3:13).

                 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

                 “Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives” (Ezra 10:11).

(5:10) Call—Discipleship—Mission: the sixth step to calling men is challenging men to discipleship, that is, to catch other men. Note two significant facts.

1. The words “fear not” (me phobon) indicate that Peter was actually scared and frightened. Jesus was calming him, telling him to trust and stop fearing. He, the Lord, was in charge and looking after everything.
2. The call to Peter was to “catch men.” The word “catch” (zogreo) means to catch alive or to catch for life. The idea is that Peter was no longer to catch (fish) for death, but he was to catch (men) for life.

(5:11) Decision—Dedication—Forsaking All: the seventh step to calling men is watching for the decision to forsake all. Note three things.

1. The men responded immediately.
2. The men left all: their businesses, their professions, and the biggest catch they had ever seen.
3. The men followed Jesus. He was the Lord who had spoken, and they were to be His disciples who obeyed and followed.

                 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

                 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

                 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

                 “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26).

That calling to bear fruit in evangelism is extended to everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ. The called ones are themselves to become callers. Speaking of all Christians, Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the  excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Christ mandates that all of His followers be fishermen. The command, Follow Me (in the Greek an adverb of place expressing a command), literally means “come here.” The term after is used in the original to show the place they are to come:

“Your place is following after Me!”

The disciples’ obedience was instant: And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him. The sovereign authority of the Lord had spoken. Followed is from  ; which conveys the idea of following as a disciple who is committed to imitating the one he follows.

Many years ago an Italian recluse was found dead in his house. He had lived frugally all his life, but when friends were going through his house to sort out the few possessions he had accumulated they discovered 246 expensive violins crammed into his attic. Some even more valuable ones were in a bureau drawer in his bedroom. Virtually all of his money had been spent buying violins. Yet his  misdirected devotion to the instruments had robbed the world of their beautiful sounds. Because he selfishly treasured those violins, the world never heard the music they were meant to play. It is even reported that the first violin the great Stradivarius ever made was not played until it was 147 years old!

Many Christians treat their faith like that man treated his violins. They hide their light; they squirrel away their great treasure. By not sharing their light and their treasure, many to whom they could have witnessed are left in spiritual darkness and poverty.

Some researchers estimate that as many as ninety-five percent of all Christians have never led another person to Jesus Christ. If that is true, ninety-five percent of the world’s spiritual violins have never been played! True love of our riches in Christ leads us to shine and share, not to hide and hoard.

Luke alone (6:6) tells us that these events did not occur on the same Sabbath. In the previous narrative the Pharisees harass Jesus because of the actions of his disciples. On the second occasion, Jesus initiates the controversy by placing the man with the withered hand center stage (Lk 6:8). This event takes the Sabbath controversy to a new level. Not only was the Sabbath for man’s benefit; it was an opportunity to do good for other people.

Lk 6:6-8 with Mt 12:10  ⁶On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, [they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”^MT] so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

The Oral Law was clear in its regulations for Sabbath healing. You could provide medical attention which would save a life, but that was all. If a man fell off a cliff and cracked his head, you could stop the bleeding, but you could not set a broken leg. Since a withered hand was not life-threatening, it would be illegal to heal this fellow on the Sabbath. Jesus, perceiving their scheme, picks up the gauntlet they have thrown down and deals with their machination head-on. Jerome, commenting on this passage, says that this man was a mason. Thus, he would have been severely impaired from earning a living. Even after he’s healed, he can’t work until the next day. According to the Pharisees, Jesus is clearly out of bounds.

This incident is a crucial moment in the life of Jesus.  He deliberately and publicly broke the Sabbath Law; and the result was a conference of the orthodox leaders to search out a way to eliminate him.

We will not understand the attitude of the orthodox unless we understand the amazing seriousness with which they took the Sabbath Law.  That Law forbade all work on the Sabbath day, and so the orthodox Jews would literally die rather than break it.

In the time of the rising under Judas Maccabaeus certain Jews sought refuge in the caves in the wilderness.  Antiochus sent a detachment of men to attack them; the attack was made on the Sabbath day; and these insurgent Jews died without even a gesture of defiance or defence, because to fight would have been to break the Sabbath.  1 Maccabees tells how the forces of Antiochus “gave them battle with all speed.  Howbeit they answered them not, neither cast they a stone at them, nor stopped the places where they lay hid; but said:  ‘Let us die in our innocency:  heaven and earth shall testify for us, that ye put us to death wrongfully.’  So they rose up against them in battle on the Sabbath, and they slew them with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand people” (1 Maccabees 2:31-38).  Even in a national crisis, even to save their lives, even to protect their nearest and their dearest, the Jews would not fight on the Sabbath.

It was because the Jews insisted on keeping the Sabbath Law that Pompey was able to take Jerusalem.  In ancient warfare it was the custom for the attacker to erect a huge mound which overlooked the battlements of the besieged city and from the height of the mound to bombard the defences.  Pompey built his mound on the Sabbath days when the Jews simply looked on and refused to lift a hand to stop him.  Josephus says, “And had it not been for the practice, from the days of our forefathers, to rest on the seventh day, this bank could never have been perfected, by reason of the opposition the Jews would have made; for though our Law gave us leave then to defend ourselves against those that begin to fight with us and assault us (this was a concession), yet it does not permit us to meddle with our enemies while they do anything else” (Josephus:  Antiquities, 14.4.2.).

Josephus recalls the amazement of the Greek historian Agatharchides at the way in which Ptolemy Lagos was allowed to capture Jerusalem.  Agatharchides wrote:  “There are a people called Jews, who dwell in a city the strongest of all cities, which the inhabitants call Jerusalem, and are accustomed to rest on every seventh day; at which time they make no use of their arms, nor meddle with husbandry, nor take care of any of the affairs of life, but spread out their hands in their holy places, and pray till evening time.

Now it came to pass that when Ptolemy the son of Lagos came into this city with his army, these men, in observing this mad custom of theirs, instead of guarding the city, suffered their country to submit itself to a bitter lord; and their Law was openly proved to have commanded a foolish practice.  This accident taught all other men but the Jews to disregard such dreams as these were, and not to follow the like idle suggestions delivered as a Law, when in such uncertainty of human reasonings they are at a loss what they should do” (Josephus:  Against Apion, 1:22).  The rigorous Jewish observance of the Sabbath seemed to other nations nothing short of insanity, since it could lead to such amazing national defeats and disasters.

It was that absolutely immovable frame of mind that Jesus was up against.  The Law quite definitely forbade healing on the Sabbath.  It was true that the Law clearly laid it down that “every case when life is in danger supersedes the Sabbath Law.”  This was particularly the case in diseases of the ear, the nose, the throat and the eyes.  But even then it was equally clearly laid down that steps could be taken to keep a man from getting worse, but not to make him better.  So a plain bandage might be put on a wound, but not a medicated bandage, and so on.

In this case there was no question of the paralyzed man’s life being in danger; as far as danger went, he would be in no worse condition the next day.  Jesus knew the Law; he knew what he was doing; he knew that the Pharisees were waiting and watching; and yet he healed the man.  Jesus would accept no law which insisted that a man should suffer, even without danger to life, one moment longer than necessary.  His love for humanity far surpassed his respect for ritual Law.

Mk 3:4-5a “Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. ⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts…

Mt 12:11-12  ¹¹He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

The answer to Jesus’ question is so obvious! But religious fervor and protection of pet theologies can be blinding. Jesus gets mad. That didn’t happen very often. But when people place tradition and regulation over human need his anger is predictable. How their gaze must have dropped when Jesus’ angry eyes pierced deeply into their souls.

Since they won’t answer his question, he will. The Oral Law made provision for rescuing animals that fell into a pit on the Sabbath (b Sabb. 128b). Again Jesus used typical Jewish logic—from lesser to greater. A man is more valuable than an animal. Therefore it must be lawful to do good things for people on the Sabbath beyond just saving their lives. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Not only is the Sabbath an opportunity to work for another’s good; to do nothing in the face of human need is evil, paramount to murder (Mk 3:4).

Mt 12:13 ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

Mk 3:6 with Lk 6:11 ⁶Then the Pharisees went out [furious^LK] and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”

It appears that as the man put forth his hand, it was healed. Even the muscle atrophy from lying dormant was healed. It was as healthy as his other hand. The Pharisees start their work immediately; they were furious. In fact, the word Luke uses means “mindless anger.” They plot here for the first time how they might kill Jesus. Oddly enough they pair up with the Herodians.

There is no conclusive evidence to identify this group, but their political affiliation with Herod is beyond question. That would make them odd bedfellows for the Pharisees. As near as we can tell, this was the only thing these two groups ever agreed upon.

A Verse-by-verse Study

(12:9-13) Introduction: Jesus went into the synagogue, and in it was a man with a paralysed hand.  Our gospels tell us nothing more about this man, but the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which was one of the early gospels which did not succeed in gaining an entry to the New Testament, tells us that he came to Jesus with the appeal:  “I was a stone mason, seeking my living with my hands.  I pray you, Jesus, to give me back my health, so that I shall not need to beg for food in shame.”

Christ used this event to prove His Messiahship and to show that man is greater than religion.

1. Jesus departed (v.9-10).
2. The truth questioned: Is a man more important than religion—than Sabbath rules (v.10)?
3. The truth illustrated (v.11).
4. The truth stated: doing good for man supersedes religious rules (v.12).
5. The truth demonstrated: man and his needs are put before religious rules—man is greater (v.13).

(12:9-10) Jesus Christ, Compassion: Jesus departed. This is not referring to Jesus leaving the cornfield where He had just been debating with the religionists (Matthew 12:1-8). It means that He left the town He was in for another town. It was “on another Sabbath” that He entered their synagogue (cp. Luke 6:6).

1. Christ entered their synagogue. Note that discord, disputes, and opposition did not cause Christ to withdraw from worship nor prevent Him from doing what He should (cp. Matthew 12:1-8).

Note two striking lessons.

• Jesus was worshipping on the Sabbath. He was where He belonged on the Lord’s Day.
• Conflict and discord should not cause us to forsake the Lord’s house. Our first obligation is to love and worship the Lord with our whole being.

2. Christ confronted a man with a withered hand. Note that Jesus had not begun to heal the man. The religionists apparently noticed Jesus eyeing the man or else sensed Jesus’ compassion and movement to heal the man. The religionists were disturbed, deeply so, for Jesus was about to disregard their beliefs and Sabbath rules again.

This man was in the synagogue. He was a man who sensed his dependency upon God. Note two things.

1. A physical handicap does not keep a person from being strong. A person can be handicapped and still be wonderfully strong. He can be strong spiritually and strong mentally, strong in confidence and strong in assurance, strong in a sense of God’s presence and strong in a sense of purpose and meaning. God can give this kind of strength. In fact, physical health is useless and sometimes destructive without the spiritual strength of God. This man with the withered hand evidently knew God’s strength, yet he had a need. These two facts touched Jesus’ heart.
2. A physical handicap can be used by God—greatly so. God uses handicaps…

• to demonstrate great faith.
• to set a vibrant example of trust before loved ones, neighbors, and acquaintances.
• to be a dynamic testimony of God’s saving grace.
• to cause a person’s own salvation.
• to draw a person ever so close to God in a very, very special way.
• to cause a person to become a prayer warrior, an intercessor for both God’s people and for a world reeling from a restless and warring spirit, lost and trying to find its way.

(12:10) Religionists: the truth was questioned. Is a man more important than religion, than Sabbath rules? The law said that persons could not be healed or helped on the Sabbath unless life itself was threatened. However there sat the man and he desperately needed help. Jesus had the power to help him, but should He? If He healed the man, He would be breaking the religious rule. Should Jesus put the man or the ritual first?

The Scribes and Pharisees were not concerned with the man with the paralysed hand; they were concerned only with the minutiae of their rules and regulations.  So they asked Jesus:  “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath day?”  Jesus knew the answer to that question perfectly well; he knew that, as we have seen, unless there was actual danger to life, healing was forbidden, because it was regarded as an act of work.

But Jesus was wise.  If they wished to argue about the Law, he had the skill to meet them on their own ground.  “Tell me,” he said, “suppose a man has a sheep, and that sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not go and haul the sheep out of the pit?”  That was, in fact, a case for which the Law provided.  If an animal fell into a pit on the Sabbath, then it was within the Law to carry food to it, which in any other case would have been a burden, and to render it all assistance.  “So,” said Jesus, “it is permitted to do a good thing on the Sabbath; and, if it is permitted to do a good thing to a sheep, how much more must it be lawful to do it for a man, who is of so much more value than any animal.”

Jesus reversed the argument.  “If,” he argued, “it is right to do good on the Sabbath, then to refuse to do good is evil.”  It was Jesus’ basic principle that there is no time so sacred that it cannot be used for helping a fellow-man who is in need.  We will not be judged by the number of church services we have attended, or by the number of chapters of the Bible we have read, or even by the number of the hours we have spent in prayer, but by the number of people we have helped, when their need came crying to us.  To this, at the moment, the Scribes and Pharisees had nothing to answer, for their argument had recoiled on their own head.

Sabbath—Sunday: the word means rest, cessation of labor. The Sabbath is the seventh day of each week (Saturday). It was the day Israel celebrated by resting and doing absolutely no work. It was based upon the seventh day when God rested following His six days of creation (Genesis 2:2-3).

So far as is known, there was no Sabbath from creation until Moses. The Sabbath was first instituted under Moses’ leadership (Exodus 16:23; Neh. 9:13-14), thereafter it became a part of Israel’s law (Exodus 20:8-11).

The Sabbath was kept as a sign to distinguish Israel as God’s peculiar people. It was never a day of worship or religious service. It was simply a day of complete rest for man and beast. Christ is accused of violating man-made rules encrusted around the Sabbath.

There is a difference between the Sabbath as observed by the Jews and others and Sunday as observed by Christian believers. The Sabbath is the last day of the week. It was a day when Jesus the Messiah was in the tomb, a day of great sadness for the Christian. However, Sunday is the first day of the week. It is a day of great joy, for it was the day of Jesus’ resurrection, the day that He triumphed over death. It is called the Lord’s Day and is celebrated as a day of rest and joy, a glorious day for searching the soul and meditating upon God. It is the day of worship and of Christian fellowship celebrated by believers worldwide (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).

• It was Jesus’ custom to worship on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16).
• It was Paul’s custom to worship on Sunday (Acts 17:2).
• God’s people are not to neglect worship (Hebrews 10:25; cp. Acts 16:13).
• God’s people are to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8; Exodus 31:14; Exodus 34:21).
• God’s people are promised a special blessing for keeping the Sabbath day holy (Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13-14).
• Polluting the Sabbath will bring the judgment of God upon a people (Ezekiel 20:13; Ezekiel 22:8, 15; cp. Numbers 15:32-35; Jeremiah 17:27; Ezekiel 22).
• Buying and selling are not to take place on the Sabbath (Neh. 10:31; Neh. 13:15).
• Helping the needy is lawful on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:12; cp. John 7:23; John 9:14).
• Early believers worshipped on the day that Christ arose from the dead, that is, on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).

Note several lessons.

1. There are reasons why we put religious custom and the present order of things before man and the meeting of his real needs.
2. a) We slip into a routine, a way of doing things, and we just continue in it because it is comfortable.
3. b) We fear change lest we lose some people and their support.
4. c) We fear the loss of position and security.
5. d) We fear failure, the weakening of what we already have, of losing the loyalty of others to our religious position and practices.

2) Every man has need. He needs salvation, a true worship experience, a personal relationship with God day by day, a sense of the Spirit’s presence and direction moment by moment. He needs to know how to live in a world that pulls him away from God, a world that pulls him toward every worldly thing imaginable. Yet, everything is too often put before man: maintaining the religious organization, form, ritual, ceremony, custom, service, order, liturgy, rules, and regulations—all seem to be more important than meeting man’s needs.

3) Nothing should keep us from meeting man’s needs, from putting him and his needs first before all religious ritual and form.

1. a) It is the only way the heart of man can be reached and satisfied (Col. 2:9-10; John 10:10).
2. b) It is the only way the church can stop the loss of people who are being lost by the droves. As we have so often heard: they come in the front door and slip out the back door. Why? Their needs are not being met.

We need to be courageous and come before the Lord searching our hearts and asking several questions. Are we really reaching that many for Christ? Are people really accepting Christ through our ministry? Why not, when the Lord said the fields are white unto harvest? Could it be we are steeped in religion so much that we are putting religion before meeting the needs of people?

4) Man’s basic need is to know and worship God in a personal way. Yet, too often we fail to reach out to man by putting worship, form, order, ritual, and rules before meeting his need. Too often, we act as though…

• man exists for religion, instead of religion existing for man.
• man exists for worship services, instead of worship services existing for man.
• man exists for maintaining the organizations, instead of the organization existing for man.
• man exists for the rules and rituals, instead of the rules and rituals existing for man.

(12:11) Man: the truth was illustrated to prove that man is greater than religion. Jesus asked: If a man had only one sheep, and it fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, would the man not rescue it? Imagine the force of the Lord’s question. It showed just how unreasonable and illogical the religionists were in their thinking. It exposed them as ignorant and blind to real spiritual truth.

The Lord’s question had two points…

• Is an animal’s welfare not put before religious rules?
• Is a man not of more value than an animal?

 Two questions need to be asked, questions that should search our hearts.

1) Is an animal of more value than a man and his needs?

2) Can things (ritual and order) ever be said to be of more value than compassion for man?

How deceived and irresponsible we so often live and act! How often we oppose Jesus Christ and His true mission just as the religionists of His day opposed Him! And we do it for the same reasons.

We have animals today that are put before reaching man and meeting his needs: the animals of religious rituals and rules and of personal position and security. The truth needs to be known and lived. Priorities need to be established.

Man is not only more rational than animals, he is spirit, capable of worshipping and living forever with God. Animals are not spiritual beings; therefore, man and his needs should be placed before animals. If a person has a problem with this fact, it reveals a deceived heart and blinded mind. How many of us follow religious form before reaching out to man and meeting his real needs? How many of us have deceived hearts and blinded minds in our practice of religion?

(12:12) Man: the truth was stated. Christ said that doing good for man supersedes religious and Sabbath rules. We are to help a person who has needs before we worry about keeping the rituals and rules of religion.

(12:13) Man: the truth was demonstrated. Man and his needs are put before the Sabbath and religious rules. Man is greater; he is much more important. Jesus healed the man. Jesus demonstrated in no uncertain terms that there is nothing more sacred to God than man. Man is to be reached and brought into a personal relationship with Him (Luke 19:10), and he is to be helped and brought into a state of abundant living—as much as possible (John 10:10).

 What a lesson for us as we reach out to lead men to God week by week and day by day! How much we need to correct our deceived hearts and blinded minds! How much we need to be freed from being enslaved to our religious order and forms and our own personal position and security!

1) We live only a short time and then we shall give an account to God.

2) We have only a few short years to be about the task of the Lord.

Christ gives us an important lesson: we are to put man and his needs before our religious practices and our personal security. We are not to let our fears stop us

DEEPER STUDY

(12:10) Religionists: the religionists’ conflict with Jesus over religious beliefs and rules is sometimes thought by modern man to be petty and harsh, or else such conflicts are just not understood. Three facts will help a person in understanding why the conflicts happened and were life-threatening, ending in the murder of Jesus Christ.

1. The Jewish nation had been held together by their religious beliefs. Through the centuries the Jewish people had been conquered by army after army, and by the millions they had been deported and scattered over the world. Even in the day of Jesus they were enslaved by Rome. Their religion was the binding force that kept Jews together, in particular…

• their belief that God had called them to be a distinctive people (who worshipped the only true and living God).
• their rules governing the Sabbath and the temple, intermarriage, worship and cleansing, and what foods they could and could not eat.

This belief and these rules protected them from alien beliefs and from being swallowed up by other peoples through intermarriage. Their religion was what maintained their distinctiveness as a people and as a nation.

Jewish leaders knew this. They knew that their religion was the binding force that held their nation together. Therefore, they opposed anyone or anything that threatened to break or weaken the laws of their religion and nation.

3. The religionists were men of deep, deep conviction. They were strong in their beliefs; therefore, they became steeped in religious belief and practice. To break any law or rule governing belief or practice was a serious offense, for it taught loose behavior. And loose behavior, once it had spread enough, would weaken their religion. This is the reason Jesus was committing a great offense by breaking their law. In their minds, He was weakening their religion and threatening their nation.
4. The religionists were men who had profession, position, recognition, esteem, livelihood, and security. Anyone who went contrary to what they believed and taught was a threat to all they had. Some religionists undoubtedly felt that Jesus was a threat to them. Everytime Jesus broke their law, He was undermining their very position and security.

The errors of the religionists were fourfold.

1. They misinterpreted and corrupted God’s Word.
2. They committed serious sin after serious sin in God’s eyes.
3. They rejected God’s way of righteousness, God’s Messiah, which is Jesus Christ.
4. They allowed religion in its tradition and ritual to become more important than meeting the basic needs of human life: the need for God and the need for spiritual, mental, and physical health. Christ, being the true Messiah, was bound to expose such error. Thus the battle lines were drawn.

• The Messiah knew that He had to liberate people from such enslaving behavior. He had to save them so they could worship God in freedom of spirit.
• The religionists felt that they had to oppose Christ because He was a threat to their nation and to their own personal position and security.

The religionists’ attack took two forms.

1. First, they tried to discredit Christ so the multitudes would stop following Him (cp. Matthew 21:46).
2. Second, failing to discredit Him, they sought some way to kill Him

So Jesus healed this man, and in healing him gave him three things.

(i)  He gave him back his health.  Jesus is vitally interested in the bodies of men.  Paul Tournier, in his book A Doctor’s Case Book, has some great things to pass on about healing and God.  Professor Courvoisier writes that the vocation of medicine is “a service to which those are called, who, through their studies and the natural gifts with which the Creator has endowed them . . . are specially fitted to tend the sick and to heal them.  Whether or not they are aware of it, whether or not they are believers, this is from the Christian point of view fundamental, that doctors are, by their profession, fellow-workers with God.” “Sickness and healing,” said Dr. Pouyanne, “are acts of grace.”  “The doctor is an instrument of God’s patience,” writes Pastor Alain Perrot.  “Medicine is a dispensation of the grace of God, who in his goodness takes pity on men and provides remedies for the evil consequences of their sin.”  Calvin described medicine as a gift from God.  He who heals men is helping God.  The cure of men’s bodies is just as much a God-given task as the cure of men’s souls; and the doctor in his practice is just as much a servant of God as the minister in his parish.

(ii)  Because Jesus gave this man back his health, he also gave him back his work.  Without work to do a man is half a man; it is in his work that he finds himself and his satisfaction.  Over the years idleness can be harder than pain to bear; and, if there is work to do, even sorrow loses at least something of its bitterness.  One of the greatest things that any human being can do for any other is to give him work to do.

(iii)  Because Jesus gave this man back his health and his work, he gave him back his self-respect.  We might well add a new beatitude:  Blessed are those who give us back our self respect.  A man becomes a man again when, on his two feet and with his own two hands, he can face life and with independence provide for his own needs and for the needs of those dependent on him.

We have already said that this incident was crisis.  At the end of it the Scribes and Pharisees began to plot the death of Jesus.  In a sense the highest compliment you can pay a man is to persecute him.  It shows that he is regarded not only as dangerous but as effective.  The action of the Scribes and Pharisees is the measure of the power of Jesus Christ.  True Christianity may be hated, but it can never be disregarded.

As Jesus draws his first Galilean tour to a close we find him again in Capernaum, most likely in Simon Peter’s house (Mk 1:29). The healing of the leper (the only incident we are given from his first tour), and the healing of this paralytic, are representative of Jesus’ work and have several things in common: (1) Jesus shows concern for more than their physical well-being. (2) These healings are unprecedented. Nothing like it had ever been done (cf. Mk 2:12). (3) The healing demonstrates divine power. (4) Jesus acts in ways quite contrary to contemporary rabbis.

In our present narrative, we will see, for the first time, official opposition to Jesus from the religious hierarchy. Soon they will object to Jesus at four levels (McGarvey, p. 183): (1) Blasphemy, (2) interaction with tax collectors and sinners, (3) neglect of ascetic duties (washings, fasting, etc.), and (4) Sabbath violations.

Mt 9:1-2 ¹A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ²So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

Lk 5:17-21 with Mk 2:3-4, Mt 9:2 ¹⁷Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸Some [four^MK] men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and [made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it^MK] lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend [take heart, son^MT], your sins are forgiven.”

²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus somehow manages to enter the city unnoticed and takes the opportunity to lay low for a few days. As soon as the rumor spread that Jesus is back, the crowds again assemble at Peter’s front door. Jesus begins to teach the crowds day after day. The Pharisees and teachers of the law hear that his classes are in session and stream to him from the villages scattered across Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. The house is soon packed.^6-24

As near as we can tell, Peter lived in an upper-middle-class home. It would have consisted of a square courtyard with rooms all around it. At one corner of the court would be a door leading to the street. It likely could have been two story with an open rooftop surrounded by a parapet for safety. All around the courtyard would have been an awning which allowed the occupants of the house to move from room to room outside, but still sheltered from the sun and rain. We picture Jesus standing outside his quarters teaching the thronging crowd that pressed into the courtyard. There is a line outside the front gate trying to press their way in.

Luke (5:17) notices what will soon be evident to the entire crowd, that “the power of the Lord was present for him to perform healing.” Four men carry in this paralytic on a “bed” which we would call a “cot” or a “stretcher.” It was probably nothing more than some animal skin and some supporting boards. This poor fellow is used to being carried around. We would like to know a bit more about his condition. Is he paralyzed from birth? Is it a neck injury later in life? Is he married with a family to support? We are simply not told. But this much we can ascertain from Jewish culture—the only job he could hold was to get some friends to lay him by a busy gate where he might beg for alms. It is likely that these same four men carried him everyday to a public place so that he could lay there, looking pathetic, and be gawked at all day, hoping that someone would throw a few pennies at him.

We don’t know whose idea it is to carry the paralytic to Jesus. But it is a cumbersome process. The crowd outside the door won’t budge. A child, perhaps, could squeeze between their legs, but not four grown men with a stretcher. Thus, they climb up on the roof. It is possible that there was an outdoor staircase to the roof, but this is unlikely since it would only invite robbers. It is more likely that they get in the neighbor’s house, go up on their roof and then hop over to Peter’s. The houses were often close enough together to make this possible, but it could not have been done without attracting attention. But then, they have only begun to do that! Why are they so intense about getting this fellow to Jesus TODAY? Answer: Jesus is unpredictable—here today, gone tomorrow. This may, in fact, be their only chance.

They climb down onto the awning above where Jesus stood. They cannot see him, but they can tell where he is by the direction the crowd faces. These awnings were made out of thatched tile pieces. Thus, Mark (2:4) says that these four “dug” through the roof. They pull out some of the grass, mud and sticks until they could finally dismantle a large tile section and lower their friend down.^6-25 The people standing in front of Jesus in the open courtyard can see what was going on. Jesus, no doubt, notices that the crowd is somewhat distracted. Soon bits of grass and dirt and twigs begin to fall around him as he preaches. Suddenly the sunlight streams through the awning and a shadowy figure on a pallet is lowered down. Now don’t you wonder if the fellow on the pallet had an impish little grin on his face as he lay there in front of Jesus? Surely he is just a little embarrassed about breaking up the sermon?

Jesus, respecting the faith of the four men, declares this paralytic forgiven of his sins (cf. Lk 7:48; 23:43). They come to Jesus for a healing (perhaps so that they won’t have to carry their friend around anymore). But what they get is an absolution. That has to be mildly disappointing for the four. But it was extremely infuriating to the Pharisees. You see, Jesus is acting like God!

The Pharisees sit piously in their seats of honor listening to Jesus’ sermon. But when they hear this, they come unglued. They huddle together in a brief conference and unanimously conclude that Jesus had just blasphemed. “Who can forgive sins,” they asked, “but God alone?” Their basic logic is correct: Only God has the moral authority to forgive sins (cf. Isa 43:25). Their theology is correct, but they are badly mistaken in their evaluation of Jesus.

Blasphemy is essentially “reviling” or “insulting” (cf. Titus 3:2; 2 Pet 2:2; Jude 8). One could blaspheme God by (1) insulting him, (2) by refusing to give him due praise, or (3) by raising yourself to the level of God with the result that you bring God down to your level. It was this third form of “blasphemy” that caused the Pharisees to balk at Jesus’ claim. The fact that blasphemy was punishable by death in Jewish law explains their ferocity against Jesus.

Mk 2:8-12 with Mt 9:4 ⁸Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these [evil^MT] things? ⁹Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, ¹¹”I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

Lk 5:25-26 with Mt 9:8  ²⁵Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God [who had given such authority to men^MT]. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus again perceives their thoughts “in his spirit” and even evaluates them as “evil.” Jesus responds, not with mere argumentation, but with undeniable evidence. He asks, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk?’” The fact is, they are both easy to say but quite impossible to do. Furthermore, anyone could say your sins are forgiven and there is no way to prove whether they are or not. But if someone should say, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” that is immediately verifiable.

And so we come to the center of the text: “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….”^6-26 Jesus breaks off his sentence midstream (Mk 2:10), turns to the paralytic and says, “Take up your bed and go home.” It is as if Jesus says, “Just watch this!”

By proving he could heal the paralytic, he also proves that he has forgiven the man’s sin. The Jews, of course, would believe the physical problem is caused by the spiritual problem (cf. Jn 9:2). Thus, Jesus not only releases the man from paralysis but also the social stigma of being a sinner.

Immediately the man obeys Jesus, taking up his stretcher and going home. The crowd that would not let him in, now easily parts to let him through. Wouldn’t you? The paralytic exits, praising God. The crowd is flabbergasted. The Pharisees are silent. What could they say in the face of the people’s assessment? “We have seen remarkable things today. We have never seen anything like this.” The crowd is not responding primarily to the healing. They have seen this kind of thing before in this very house. What they have never seen before is a man with divine authority to forgive sins. Thus, Jesus’ miracle has three parts: (1) Forgiveness of sins, (2) reading minds, (3) healing paralysis. All three are stunning.

VERSE-BY-VERSE STUDY

(9:1-8) Introduction—Jesus Christ—Compassion—Faith, Persistent: Jesus was deeply touched by men who diligently sought Him and persevered in that diligence. These men could not reach Jesus because of the throng of people, but the friends would not give up. They removed the roof and lowered the sick man down to Christ (Mark 2:1-12).

This persistent act gave Christ the opportunity to show His love and power to forgive sins, and to demonstrate that He was beyond question the Messiah.

1. Jesus left Gadara and entered His own city—Capernaum (v.1).
2. Jesus’ power to forgive sins was demonstrated (v.2).
3. Jesus’ power to forgive sins was questioned: He was silently accused of blasphemy (v.3).
4. Jesus’ power to forgive sins was proven (v.4-7).
5. Jesus’ power to forgive sins brought glory to God (v.8).

DEEPER STUDY

(9:1-8) Jesus Christ, Deity—Forgiveness: note several things about this experience.

1. The experience must have embarrassed the sick man. His friends had not waited their turn, and the sick man was unable to stop his friends. He was probably expecting a rebuke. The wording of Jesus’ response indicates embarrassment and fear: “Son, be of good cheer.”
2. The experience touched the heart of Jesus in a very special way. It revealed a persistent faith that would not be stopped until it had experienced its end. The friends had a faith that would not quit, no matter what.
3. The experience caused Jesus to reveal and speak the thoughts that are ever on His mind: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee.” His words are words of compassion, affection, endearment, sympathy, encouragement, assurance, and forgiveness.
4. The experience gave Jesus the unique opportunity to prove His Messiahship: that He is the Son of Man. Note that Jesus did not say “I,” but “the Son of Man has power [authority] on earth to forgive sins.” The people were familiar with the title “the Son of Man” (cp. Daniel 7:13-14). Every phrase is important.
5. The Son of Man is given “authority,” that is, dominion and power over a kingdom, a kingdom that is open to all people.
6. The Son of Man is “given power [authority] over earth” now as well as in the future.
7. The Son of Man’s power includes the power to forgive as well as the power to rule and reign.

(9:1) Jesus Christ, Rejected: Jesus left Gadara and entered His own city, Capernaum. The Gadarenes had asked Him to leave (cp. Matthew 8:34). There is no record of his ever entering their coasts again. He obeyed their wish. Jesus’ experience with the Gadarenes is a warning to every man, city, and nation. He will not force Himself upon any person or society. What a contrast with the people of Capernaum and the paralyzed man of this story.

(9:2) Jesus Christ, Power—Forgiveness: Jesus’ power to forgive sins was demonstrated.

1. There was the friends’ deep care. They brought their disabled friend to Christ. Note four facts.
2. The man was disabled. He was helpless; therefore, he was without hope. But his friends cared and cared deeply for him.
3. The friends had a a very special care, a care that was deeper than the care of mere friendship (Mark and Luke show this). They were obsessed with the mission to get this disabled friend to Jesus. They not only went to him and made his bed as an act of ministry and service, but they went to him, made a pallet, and then brought him to Jesus.
4. The friends acknowledged Jesus’ power to help. They knew He could help and they did not question His power. It was not a spirit of maybe He could, but He could and would help.
5. The friends persisted even to the point of rudeness (Luke 11:5-10; Luke 18:1-8). They would not be stopped (cp. Mark and Luke).

All men are disabled and sick spiritually. Therefore, we must possess the same three qualities as the friends of the disabled did:

1)   We must be obsessed with the mission of getting the disabled to Christ. We must cling to the helpless and hopeless until we can get them to Christ.

2)   We must acknowledge Christ’s power to help—beyond any question.

3)   We must persist and persevere until we get the disabled to Christ.

We cannot save our friends. No man can forgive another man’s sins or heal a man, but we can bring a man to Christ for salvation and deliverance.

2. There was the friends’ great faith. Note the words, “Their faith”: it wastheir faith that saved this man, both the faith of the man and his friends. Their faith was great and persistent. What is a great faith?
3. A great faith is focusing one’s belief on Jesus Christ. It is centering one’s attention and conviction on Christ; that He alone is the answer to the needy and the helpless of the world, no matter who they are.
4. A great faith is acknowledging that a need does exist and must be met.
5. A great faith is doing all one can do to meet the need. These men did all they could do. They went to great effort. They went to the disabled friend’s house, made a pallet, and carried him to Jesus.
6. A great faith persists until the need is met.

Jesus will never fail to acknowledge persistent faith. He saw the faith of these men; He could not miss it. Their faith had caused them to persist—quitting was unthinkable. They persisted until they reached Him.

The faith of friends has a bearing and carries some weight upon the salvation of the hopeless and helpless. It was “their faith” that saved this man. We must go out of the walls of our churches and homes and bring the helpless and hopeless to Christ. Christ will honor our belief and trust in Him. He will save those whom we bring.

Note: the act of these men spoke much louder than words. These men said nothing as far as it is known. They just brought the man to Christ. When the act or behavior is present, there is no need for words. What a lesson in faith! Faith is not profession; it is possession. Faith is not words; it is action (James 2:20; cp. James 2:17-26).

3. There was Jesus’ compassion. The greatest need this crippled man had was to be forgiven his sins. This was the first thing Jesus did: He forgave the man’s sins. This was the most important thing. But note that these friends and the disabled man already had faith. Faith is necessary for one’s sins to be forgiven.

Jesus has compassion for all men—even the rude. Jesus has enormous compassion on a faith that genuinely seeks and believes in Him. What He looks for and sees in a man is faith, faith that causes a man to seek after Him with all his heart.

1) These men had been as rude as possible by breaking into line. They were probably thought selfish and self-centered by pushing ahead. But their heart was crying out in desperation for their friend.

2) The disabled man was probably as embarassed as he could be, but he was desperate, so he was willing to bear the embarrassment.

Jesus did not conduct His services by ceremony and ritual. These men interrupted whatever He was doing. Why? Because they had need and were desperately seeking His help. Ceremony and ritual can never replace compassion. The church needs to keep itself open to the message of compassion, and compassion should always supersede ceremony and ritual. Need should always be met before ceremony and ritual. This is a known fact but a revolutionary practice.

DEEPER STUDY

(26:28) Forgiveness (aphesin): to send off, to send away. The wrong is cut out, sent off, and sent away from the wrongdoer. The sin is separated from the sinner.

There are four main ideas in the Biblical concept of forgiveness.

1. There is the idea of why forgiveness is needed. Forgiveness is needed because of wrongdoing and guilt and the penalty arising from both (cp. Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1).
2. There is the idea of a once-for-all forgiveness, a total forgiveness. A man is once-for-all forgiven when he believes in Jesus Christ and is immersed for remission of sins. Belief in Jesus Christ is the only condition for being forgiven once-for-all (Acts 2:38; Ephes. 1:7; Romans 4:5-8).
3. There is the idea of forgiveness that maintains fellowship. Fellowship exists between God as Father and the believer as His child. When the child does wrong, the fellowship is disturbed and broken. The condition for restoring the fellowship is confessing and forsaking the sin (Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:7).
4. There is the idea of a releasing from guilt. This is one of the differences between man forgiving a man and God forgiving a man. A man may forgive a person for wronging him, but he can never remove the guilt that his friend feels. And often he cannot remove the resentment he feels within his own heart. Only God can remove the guilt and assure the removal of resentment, and God does both. God forgives and erases the guilt and resentment (Psalm 51:2, 7-12; Psalm 103:12; 1 John 1:9).

(9:3) Jesus Christ, Power: Jesus’ power to forgive sins was questioned. He was silently accused of blasphemy. Note: it was the religionists who thought that Jesus could not forgive sins, and the thought was whispered among themselves. Many think this even today. In the inner recesses of their heart they do not think Jesus can really forgive sin. They have the thought and perhaps whisper to their spouses or close associates that He is not really the Son of God, the One who has the power to forgive sins.

The innermost belief of many today is a paradox.

1) Many do not believe that Jesus Christ is truly living, that He is the Son of God, God incarnate in human flesh, who arose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God.

2) Many who disbelieve, however, do accept Jesus Christ to be one of the greatest teachers who ever lived. The paradox with this position is that it makes Christ the biggest fraud in all history, for He did claim to be the Son of God and to possess the power of God to forgive sins.

DEEPER STUDY

(6:2) Scribes—Scribal Law—Pharisees: these Pharisees were probably Scribes. The Scribes were a profession of men sometimes called lawyers. They were some of the most devoted and committed men to religion in all of history, and were of the sect known as the Pharisees. However, every Pharisee was not a Scribe. A Scribe was more of a scholar, more highly trained than the average Pharisee. They had two primary functions.

1. The Scribes copied the written law, the Old Testament Scriptures. In their copying function they were strict copiers, meticulously keeping count of every letter in every word. This exactness was necessary, for God Himself had given the written law to the Jewish nation. Therefore, the law was not only the very Word of God, it was the greatest thing in the life of the Jewish nation. It was considered the most precious possession in all the world; consequently, the Jewish nation was committed to the preservation of the law (Neh. 8:1-8). A young Jew could enter no greater profession than the profession of Scribes.
2. The Scribes  studied, classified, and taught the moral law. This function brought about the Oral or Scribal Law that was so common in Jesus’ day. It was the law of rules and regulations. There were, in fact, so many regulations that over fifty large volumes were required when they were finally put into writing. The great tragedy was that through the centuries, the Jews began to place the Oral law over the written law.

The Scribes felt that the law was God’s final word. Everything God wanted man to do could be deduced from it; therefore, they drew out of the law every possible rule they could and insisted that life was to be lived in conformity to these rules. Rules were to be a way of life, the preoccupation of a man’s thoughts. At first these rules and regulations were taught by word of mouth; however, in the third century after Christ they were put into certain writings.

     The Halachoth: rules that were to govern the ritual of worship.

     The Talmud: made up of two parts.

Þ The Mishnah: sixty-three discussions of various subjects of the law.

Þ Germara: the sacred legends of the people.

     Midrashim: the commentaries on the writings.

     Hagada: thoughts on the commentaries.

DEEPER STUDY

(23:8) Pharisees: the word means the separated ones. The Pharisees were strict religionists. Their religious sect arose about B.C. 175. A Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, tried to stamp out the Jewish religion and replace it with Greek customs and practices. A number of Jewish men opposed this threat and determined among themselves to save the Jewish religion. They refused to practice Greek customs and dedicated themselves to practicing the Jewish law in the strictest sense. They felt that by carrying out every little detail of the Jewish law and by teaching others to do the same, they could save the Jewish religion and nation and keep it from dying out.

Several things should be noted.

1. They were the orthodox of their day—a sect or school of religious thought. They were organized solely for preserving the law and the Jewish religion. Thereby, they were to save the Jewish nation.
2. They were strict literalists. The Jewish law was expanded into thousands and thousands of little rules and regulations by the Scribes. These rules and regulations were known as the Scribal or Oral Law. More than fifty volumes or books were eventually needed to hold the regulations.
3. The Pharisees were a body of the most zealous religionists.
4. There were never many Pharisees—never more than 6,000. The strictness and demands of the sect were too hard for the common people.
5. They were in dead earnest—dedicated and zealous, self-denying, and moral. No man could give his life to so desperate and restrictive a task unless he was totally genuine.
6. They were self-righteous, heartless, and hypocritical (Luke 18:9). They lacked any sense of need or sin (Luke 7:39).
7. They were bitterly opposed to the Sadducees, hating and despising them, feeling that the Sadducees were traitors to the nation. However, the Pharisees were forced to quietly cooperate with the Sadducees because the Sadducees were the primary ruling party of the nation.
8. They were the main opponents of Jesus Christ and were unsparing in their denunciation of Him. Their savage attacks were primarily for two reasons. First, He was not a graduate of any of their rabbinical schools, nor a member of any of their religious sects. Second, He attacked their rules and regulations which had been added to God’s law.

(9:4-7) Jesus Christ, Power: Jesus’ power to forgive sins was proven. Note four steps.

1. Jesus revealed something: He knew the rejection of the religionists. The Scribes’evil was their thinking that Jesus, the Son of God, was not of God, and that He did not have the power to forgive sins (Matthew 9:4). The crowd at least recognized His power as being the power of God, but not the Scribes and religionists. In their pride and hardness of heart, they rejected Him and refused to ascribe any authority to Him. He knew exactly what they were thinking.

Christ knows all our thoughts. No thought and no imagination are hid from Him (cp. Matthew 12:25; Luke 6:8; Luke 9:47; John 2:25). Thoughts that deny Jesus’ deity are evil. Jesus has but one question for the unbeliever: “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4).

2. Jesus something: a test. It is much easier to say something than to do something. Therefore, Jesus suggested that He be put to the test, that He prove His deity by act and not just by word. Note two things.
3. Jesus was acknowledging that profession only was inadequate evidence for a claim. Action is also needed.
4. Jesus’ purpose was to demonstrate that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins. God has committed all judgment into the hands of Jesus, a judgment that either forgives or condemns a person.

It is much easier to say something than to do something. Jesus proved that He was not just speaking words, not just professing to have the power of God to forgive sins. He forcefully spoke and the man arose.

3. Christ did something: He healed the man. Christ proved His deity and Messiahship. This miracle and all others miracles prove two things.
4. His miracles prove exactly what He was claiming: that He is truly the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of the living God. He has the power to forgive sins.
5. His miracles prove that God does care: He cared enough to send His only Son into the world to heal and to save the needy and the hopeless.

Note that Christ did not argue. His purpose was to heal and save the needy, not to argue who He is and by whose authority He possesses the power of God.

1) He revealed His Divine knowledge, His omniscience: “Why think ye?”

2) He revealed His Divine power, His omnipotence: “Arise, take up thy bed, and go….”  How we need to cease arguing and begin carrying out the real mission God has called us to do.

4. Christ commanded something: go to thy house. Why did Christ send the man to his house? Our homes are to be the first recipients of our witness. But the very opposite is too often true; our homes are often overlooked and neglected. Note two facts about the saved man that can teach us a clear lesson.
5. He had been a burden to his loved ones.
6. He could now be a servant who could minister to his loved ones.

DEEPER STUDY

(8:20) The Son of Man: Jesus is not only what an ordinary man is, a son of man; Jesus is what every man ought to be, the Son of Man Himself. He is the Ideal Man, the Representative Man, the Perfect Man, the Pattern, the Embodiment of everything a man ought to be. Jesus Christ is the perfect picture of a man. Everything God wants a man to be is seen perfectly in Jesus Christ (cp. John 1:14; Col. 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:3.

The title also means the Ideal Servant of man. It stresses His sympathy for the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the blind, the bruised, the outcasts, the bereaved (cp. Luke 4:18). Jesus is the Pattern, the Model, the Perfect Example of concern and caring. He served and set a perfect example of how every man ought to serve other men.

Jesus calls Himself “the Son of Man” about eighty times. It is His favorite term. The title Son of Man is probably based upon the Son of Man in Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14). Scripture also gives a picture of Jesus as the heavenly Son of Man contrasted with Adam as the earthly Man (1 Cor. 15:45-47). Each serves as a Representative Man for the human race in God’s plan for world history.

(9:8) Jesus Christ, Power: Jesus’ power to forgive sins brought glory to God.

1) The fact that the Messiah has really come: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

2) The fact that unbelievers can be forgiven their sins, that is, saved: “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Note several warnings.

1) A person can glorify God and still not be saved. The multitudes glorified God, yet they did not receive forgiveness of sins.

2) A person can marvel at Christ, but he may fail to believe that Christ is truly the Son of Man.

3) A person can believe that Jesus Christ was only a man who was given the power of God while on earth, but this person will never be saved as long as he denies that Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16; cp. Matthew 10:33).

^{[MK 1:]29}As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a [high^LK] fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her, [bent over her and rebuked the fever, and^LK] took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

A quick ‘harmony of the gospels’ overview

Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes immediately to the home of Peter and Andrew. Either the two have moved to Capernaum from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44, lit. “House of Fish”), or Bethsaida was actually a suburb of Capernaum.

Peter is caring for his wife’s mother (cf. 1 Cor 9:5). She is in bed with a “great fever.” The physicians of the day categorized fevers into “great” and “small.” A small fever was any minor ailment. The “great fever” might include malaria or some other serious sickness. Peter’s mother-in-law is seriously ill and may have been for some time.

All three accounts offer different details about this healing. Luke says he stood over her; Matthew adds that he touched her hand; and Mark says he took her by the hand and lifted her up. At the same time Jesus “rebuked the fever.” This is the same word used to describe how Jesus rebuked the demon in the synagogue (Lk 4:35). This has led some to speculate that Jesus saw demonic activity behind this and other illnesses. But verses 40 and 41 make a clear distinction between sicknesses and demons.

We cannot blame all sicknesses and mental ills on demons. They are a natural part of our fallen world. However, the fact that Jesus rebukes both demons and diseases shows that he came to destroy all the works of the Devil. The coming of the kingdom marks the beginning of the end for Satan’s dominion through demons as well as the curse of Eden through diseases and death.

Peter’s mother-in-law is so thoroughly healed that she gets up immediately and “began to wait on them.” This phrase is captured in one Greek word. It is the same word from which we get “deacon.” In its simplest form, it means to wait on tables, (not in the sense of a restaurant, but in the home). It is an amazing thing that she was able to do this. Even when a person is healed by natural means from a fever, they still have a loss of energy from which it takes a while to recover. When Jesus heals, he heals so completely that this woman is even released from the aftermath of the fever fatigue.

Lk 4:40-41 with Mk 1:32; Mt 8:16 ⁴⁰When [after^MK] the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴¹Moreover, [he drove out the spirits with a word, and^MT] demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.^NIV-6-7

Mt 8:17 ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities

and carried our diseases.”^NIV-6-8

The sun is setting. The whole city comes out to Jesus. Remembering that this is a Sabbath day, and that the holy day runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, these people are coming to Jesus at the first possible legal time. This is one of the most touching scenes of all the Bible. As dusk gives way to early evening, and as stars begin to appear one by one, cots and stretchers line the streets all around Peter’s house. Without opposition or antagonism, the master walks by each sick person, surrounded by their families, and touches them individually.

Each one is healed; each face has a smile, surely including our Lord’s. Tears of joy flow through the streets. Laughter is heard from corner to corner in Capernaum. We can’t imagine this crowd disassembling until the early morning hours. And up early the next morning they would be in search of the healer.

The demons, as is their custom, are confessing that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus, as is his custom, will not allow them to speak. It is not yet time for Jesus to be revealed as the Christ. The people are expectant for the Messiah, but in no way ready to receive him. They desperately want a Messiah, but only on their terms, to meet their expectations. Jesus is different than their dream … better, but different. Therefore, this announcement by the demons would do more damage than good. Let us not imagine for even a moment that a demon is going to do something to progress the work of the kingdom of God.

Both Mark and Luke use an interesting verb tense. When it says, “They knew he was the Christ,” it indicates that they “had known.” It was no new revelation to the demons. They had known it for quite some time.

At this point, Matthew introduces the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.” This has obvious reference, especially considering the context, to the crucifixion. At the same time, Matthew attributes its fulfillment to this event. This has several important implications: (1) Prophecy may have two valid applications; in this case, one physical and one spiritual. (2) Jesus not only heals us spiritually (1 Pet. 2:24), but also physically. (3) Isaiah 53 is a description of Jesus that is as true today as when it was written. This being the case, Jesus must still be healing today. His method is obviously different, since he is not here physically to personally touch us. But he is still the Great Physician of both body and spirit.

Verse-by-verse detailed analysis

 (8:14-17) The first thing many male Jews did every morning was to pray, “Lord, I thank Thee that I was not born a slave, a Gentile, or a woman.” In the first two miracles of Matthew 8, Jesus showed mercy and compassion not only to an outcast leper but to an outcast Gentile and his slave. Now He shows mercy and compassion to a woman.

The proud, self-righteous Jewish men could not have missed Jesus’ point: physical health, race, social status, or gender made no difference to Him. None of those things in itself was an advantage or disadvantage as far as His ministry and message were concerned. That the disadvantaged more often received His blessing was due to their more often being humble and aware of their need. Likewise, that the advantaged more often failed to receive His blessing was due to their more often being proud and self-satisfied.

One of the purposes for which Jesus came to earth was to meet the needs of individuals and families. The experience in Peter’s home shows this.

Jesus was entering Peter’s home in order to rest. It was the Sabbath and He had just been ministering in the synagogue, teaching and healing (Mark 1:29; Mark 1:21-34). On the way to Peter’s home He encountered a desperate plea to heal the centurion’s servant. Now He was tired, very tired; He needed rest. Yet when He entered the home, there was another demand made upon Him. Another person needed help.

How often Jesus must have felt that He could not put one foot in front of the other! He desperately felt the need to collapse into bed, but He went on. Note several things.

1. This was an individual in a single home. There was no crowd, no publicity, no recognition. There was only a simple lady lying sick in bed.
2. This was the very purpose for which Jesus came: to minister. He loved and had the power to help, so He helped. He did what He could when He could, forgetting all about Himself.

Individuals and families were important to Jesus, just as important as the multitude. He often left the multitude in order to help individuals, and even while ministering to the multitude He often turned His attention to the individual (cp. Matthew 9:18-34; Matthew 12:9-13; Luke 7:11-17; Luke 8:41-56; Luke 13:10-17).

1. Purpose 1: to meet the needs of individuals and families (v.14-15).
2. Purpose 2: to meet the needs of the multitude (v.16).
3. Purpose 3: to prove His Messiahship (v.17).

(8:14-15) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the first purpose of Jesus’ power was to meet the needs of individuals and families. He demonstrated this purpose in two acts.

1. Jesus visited Peter’s home. Jesus visited the homes and families of those who ministered with Him. He had a very special care and love for families. Note the individuals involved in this home:
2. The husband, Peter.
3. The wife.
4. The mother-in-law.
5. The brother-in-law, Andrew.
6. The friends, James and John (Mark 1:29f).

Mark tells us that when Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, and John arrived at Peter’s home, some of the group discovered that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill, “and immediately they spoke to Him about her” (Mark 1:30). Luke adds the information that her fever was high and that the unidentified friends or relatives “made request of Him on her behalf” (Luke 4:38). In response to their request, Jesus then went to her room and saw her lying sick in bed with a fever.

We do not know the cause of the fever, but the facts that it was high and that the woman was too sick to get up suggest an extremely serious and probably life-threatening illness. The demands of everyday living did not allow most people in that day the luxury of going to bed whenever they felt bad. Physical pain and discomfort were a regular part of life, and, unless they were severe, did not normally interfere with a person’s responsibilities.

Also remember the attention Jesus gave to little children (Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 19:13-15; Luke 9:46-48; Luke 18:15-17).

No individual or family is too poor or unimportant for Jesus to visit and help. He cares for all. Who were Peter’s wife and mother-in-law? This is the only time they are mentioned. They represent the quiet and unknown believers. Note that the individual person and family are most important to Jesus. He is not after the recognition of a crowd. He did not serve only when it would gain Him recognition. He willingly ministered quietly, unbeknown to others. He will meet our needs quietly, when we are all alone and unknown to the world.

2. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
3. Note what immediately grabbed the attention of Jesus when he entered Peter’s house: “He saw his [Peter’s] wife’s mother…sick of a fever.”Need grabbed Jesus’ attention. His very purpose on earth was to focus on the needs of individuals and families. He cared about their needs, including their sicknesses (cp. Matthew 9:18-34; Luke 7:11-17; John 4:46-54).
4. Note what Jesus did: He “touched her.” There is something special about a touch between individuals.

               1)   There is a communication of warmth, tenderness, and caring.

               2)   There is also a communication of power when we touch and pray. This power is an infusion of real assurance and confidence over whatever is being prayed. We are assured that “we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

1. Note what Peter’s mother-in-law did: she arose and began to serve the Lord immediately.

               1)   She had been sick with a fever and could have sat around for a while claiming weakness and the need to regain her strength.

               2)   She was not the head of the house. She could have waited to follow the head or wife of the house. But note: she did neither; she immediately arose and began serving her Lord.

Again Jesus’ response and healing were immediate. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and waited on Him. We know from both Mark and Luke that she also served the other people there (Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39), but Matthew emphasizes her special ministry to Jesus: she waited on Him. His healing touch had instantly removed her fever and pain, and most likely saved her life. We can be sure she served her gracious Lord with special attention and care.

Although Peter’s mother-in-law obviously was a woman, she was also a Jew. It may therefore be that, after His strong words of verses 11-12, Jesus did not want to leave the impression that God had forsaken His chosen people, even though most of them had forsaken Him. That the kingdom was open to faithful Gentiles certainly did not mean it was closed to faithful Jews. As Paul makes clear in his letter to the Romans, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew … There has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice … For if you [Gentiles] were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Rom. 11:2, 5, 24).

What a lesson for us…

• When Jesus touches us, we need to get up immediately and begin serving.
• When Jesus touches us with power, it is not to make us feel important. His touch of power is for service, not for feelings of self-importance.
• When Jesus touches us with power we are not to wait until others begin serving. We are to get up ourselves and launch the ministry of reaching others for the Lord.

Peter’s mother-in-law had been favored with the wonderful power of the Lord. She could have felt important enough to be exempt from the menial duties. She could have joined the others waiting to be served.

“He touched her.” Jesus’ purpose on earth was to touch individuals and families. There is no question His touch affected Peter’s mother-in-law. She got up and ministered. But His touch was bound to have affected the others also. A touch intimately communicates what a person is trying to say to another person.

Jesus’ purpose is sumarized by Scripture: He is “touched with the feelings of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

 (8:14) Peter: note these facts about Peter’s home life and family tree.

1. Peter had a wife. He was to live some forty or more years, so he and his wife were probably newlyweds when Christ called him. Interestingly, tradition says that Peter’s wife served with him in the ministry. William Barclay quotes a touching picture by Clement of Alexandria who said that she was martyred with Peter: “On seeing his wife led to death, Peter rejoiced on account of her call and her conveyance home, and called very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, ‘Remember thou the Lord’ ” (Stromateis 7:6. Quoted by Barclay.The Gospel of Matthew, Vol.1, p.313). There is strong evidence that Peter was martyred by crucifixion in Rome. Tradition says he felt so unworthy to be crucified like his Lord that he begged to be crucified upside down.
2. Peter had a house. He was formerly from Bethsaida (John 1:44). Here he is seen in Capernaum. After Jesus called him to be an apostle, he probably moved to Capernaum where the headquarters of Jesus was located.
3. Peter looked after his mother-in-law. Apparently she was old and widowed and needed to be cared for by her children. Peter demonstrated real compassion and a tenderness of heart in allowing her to live with his family.
4. Peter opened his home to guests. Mark says that the home was that of Peter and Andrew; however, it was probably owned by Peter, since his wife and mother-in-law are mentioned. Note that Jesus, James, and John were being entertained by Peter as guests (Mark 1:29f). It is possible that Jesus stayed at Peter’s home when inCapernaum and that Peter’s home was Jesus’ headquarters.
5. Peter’s father was Jona or Jonah (John 21:15-17). He had at least one brother, Andrew (John 1:41).

(8:16) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the second purpose of Jesus’ power was to meet the needs of the multitude. Note three things.

1. Jesus was tired; he was finally getting some rest. But the people heard He was in town and their needs were desperate. They began to gather at the door begging Him to help them.
2. He was faced with man’s unceasing cry for help.
3. He gave up His rest in order to help. He walked on earth for that very purpose.
4. He turned no one away. He “healed all.” As long as there was one person who needed Him, He helped.
5. This scene was a picture of how desperately the world needs Jesus. Not all the city came, just as all the world does not come today. But some did come. Who? Those who knew and confessed their need for His help.
6. It is for the ones who are “lost” that He has come.
7. It is for the ones who are “sick,” the ones who need the Physician, that He has come.
8. It is for all who would “come” that He has come.
9. Jesus had the power to help all. The word “all” is emphasized. There was no need—no matter how desperate—that His power could not reach.
10. His power could “cast out the spirits” of evil (demons). He proved His power over Satan. He had the power to overthrow and destroy Satan.
11. His power could meet all needs, no matter how desperate. Note the words, “He healed all.” The emphasis is upon all.

(8:17) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the third purpose of Jesus’ power was to prove His Messiahship. Jesus was the Messiah. His ministry was beyond question a fulfillment of the Scriptures that predicted the Messiah. This is clearly seen in that He is the “Ideal Servant of God”; that is, He did not just heal our sicknesses as any other minister, but He “Himself took [elaben] our infirmities, and bore [ebastasen] our sicknesses.” This means at least two things.

1. He bore our infirmities and sicknesses to the ultimate degree when He died on the cross for us. It was there that He bore them. (Cp. John 1:29.)
2. He bore each fresh illness in a way that will never be understood.
3. Each need that stood before Him wasa reminderthat He had to bear the sin of the world. He knew what it meant to bear the sin of the world and all that it was to include. So seeing the needs of men standing before Him reminded Him of the suffering He was to bear.
4. Each need that He met was a foretaste of the cross. The thought of what He had to bear was upon His mind day by day and hour by hour as He went about ministering. This was bound to weigh ever so heavily upon Him.

• Mark says that virtue, that is, power, went out of Him when He healed (Mark 5:30; cp. Luke 8:46).
• He sighed heavily at one miracle (Mark 7:34).
• He experienced deep emotion when raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:33).

The following is a simple yet descriptive way to picture how Jesus bore our sins for us.

1. He bore our sins for us: “in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24; cp. Isaiah 53:4-6).
2. He bore our sins off and from us: removed, lifted them off us. He has “carried away” our sins (Matthew 8:17). “He has cast our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) and as far as “the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).

3. He bares our sins with us. He can be “touched with the feelings of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

There is only one sure provision for the needs of the human soul: Jesus Christ. Our needs cannot be met…

• by philosophy and psychology.
• by mental and physical health.

Jesus Christ alone is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). When we turn to Him, then we shall come to know the comfort and support needed to walk through life.

DEEPER STUDY

(8:17) Disease—Sickness—Corruption: the ultimate cause of corruption is sin and evil in the world (Genesis 2:15-3:7). An imperfect and corruptible world produces the seed of imperfection and incompleteness. It produces the seed of aging and deterioration until finally all waste away. Imperfection, sin, and disease are just the way of a world that is imperfect. The seed of corruption eats away until all become diseased and sick and ready for the grave. But this is the object of the glorious gospel, to proclaim.. .

• that Jesus bore the world’s corruption, its disease and sickness (Romans 8:19-23; cp. Isaiah 53:4).
• that Jesus bore the sins and evil of men (1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus also promises to intervene and recreate a new heaven and earth—a new heaven and earth that will be incorruptible and eternal (2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1f). He furthermore promises that the man who believes in Him has everlasting life and shall be a citizen of the new heavens and earth. The believer will never be condemned to corruption and death, but he passes from death to life the very moment he trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior (John 5:24).

This seems like a “minor miracle,” but the results were major; for after sundown (when the Sabbath ended), the whole city gathered at the door that the Lord might meet their needs (Mark 1:32-34). Blessing in the home ought to lead to blessing in the community. The change in one woman’s life led to miracles in the lives of many people.

Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. Please note that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life and not on the cross. He bore man’s sicknesses and infirmities during His ministry on earth. To say that there is “healing in the Atonement,” and that every believer has the “right” to claim it, is to misinterpret Scripture. First Peter 2:24 applies this same truth to the forgiving of our sins which He bore on the cross. Sin and sickness do go together (see Ps. 103:3), since sickness is a consequence of Adam’s sin and also an illustration of sin. But God is not obligated to heal all sicknesses. He is obligated to save all sinners who call on Him.

Jesus was now in the midst of launching His ministry in full force. It might be said that this was the beginning, the opening of His ministry. As He launched forth, just what He did is important for the believer as he goes forth serving his Lord.

1. Jesus began with worship: immediately—in the synagogue (v.21).
2. Jesus seized the opportunity to teach (v.21).
3. Jesus astonished the crowd (v.22).

These next two events take place on a single Sabbath. Here, we get a glimpse of Jesus’ ministry in its pristine state. There are no meddling Pharisees from Jerusalem. Jesus, the great physician, meets the needs of the people who yet adore him. In humility and divinity he touches the crowds. The prophecy Jesus quoted in the synagogue at Nazareth begins to be fulfilled (Lk 4:18-19; Isa 61:1-2). There is no conflict, no complication … yet. We would prefer this simple purity if it were not for the fact that Jesus’ self-revelation cannot exist in such a state. By the nature of Jesus’ miracles and identity, he is going to attract attention, devotion, and controversy.

Mk 1:21-22 — ²¹They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²²The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

Some say this miracle is the same as the healing of the centurion’s son in the synoptics Luke 7:1-10 and Matt 8:5-13. But these are different for the following reasons:

Nobleman’s Son	Centurion’s Servant
Nobleman – royal connections – maybe Jewish or Roman.	Entrusted with 100 men
Son	Servant
Negative rebuke	Positive reinforcement
begging to come touch son	don’t come – just speak
No positive comment on faith	Commendation on faith contrasted with Israel
In Cana	Approaches the man at Capernaum

Luke says that Jesus taught on the Sabbaths (plural), potentially leaving room for several weeks of teaching as well as the call of the four fishermen (Lk 5:1-11). Jesus taught with authority. There was a marked difference between him and the scribes. The common mode of teaching for the scribes was to quote a long list of other scribal authorities. This supposedly gave credibility to their teaching. Jesus, in contrast, simply said, “But I say.” Furthermore, the truth of his words were their own authority. The people needed no “professional stamp of approval” for them to recognize truth as truth. As usual, the crowd was amazed (cf. Mt 7:28; 13:54; 19:25; 22:33; Mk 1:22; 6:2; 7:37; 10:26; 11:18; Lk 2:48; 4:32; 9:43; Acts 13:12).

(1:21) Worship: Jesus began His ministry with worship—immediately. Note the words “straightway [immediately] on the sabbath day He entered into the synagogue.”

     This says several significant things.

1. Jesus launched His ministry in worship. A new ministry should always begin in worship. It should be bathed in worship.
2. Jesus was faithful to weekly worship in the synagogue. The synagogue, with its leaders and its worshippers, was far from perfect, yet on the Sabbath day, Jesus entered and worshipped faithfully. Such an example leaves all without excuse.

 (1:21) Teaching—Time—Initiative: Jesus seized the opportunity to teach. Note the words “straightway [immediately], He entered into the synagogue, and taught.” The idea is that He excitedly entered and immediately began to teach. This was the very day He was to launch His ministry; this was the first chance He had to take the podium and teach. He immediately rushed forth and seized the opportunity.

Opportunities must be seized when they present themselves. We must not let them pass. Several things can make us miss opportunities.

1)   Not looking for opportunities.

2)   Not grasping for the opportunities at the right time.

3)   Not having the initiative to grab an opportunity when it arises.

4)   Not handling the opportunity properly.

Jesus utilized the moment. His time was short, so He seized the opportunity to teach. Time is short. We must use every minute to the fullest, for the night is coming when no man can work. There are several mistakes made with time.

1)   We can lose time: just let it pass, never seize the opportunity.

2)   We can ignore time: pay no attention to it, give it little if any thought.

3)   We can neglect time: be unconcerned and non-caring, fail to realize its potential and exactly what could be achieved with its proper use.

4)   We can abuse time: use time to do the opposite of what we should be doing; misuse time by using it half-heartedly, sloppily, ineffeciently.

(1:22) Jesus Christ, Teaching: Jesus astonished the crowd. The word “astonished” (ekplessonto) is a strong and expressive word. Its literal meaning is to be struck in mind, to be astonished. The people were stricken, stirred, aroused, moved by the Lord’s teaching.

     Jesus astonished the crowd for two reasons.

1. His message was very different
2. His authority was strikingly different. Note the words, “He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” Five comparisons will show this.
3. Tradition vs. authority. Other teachers relied upon esteemed men, their traditions and teachings, and quoted them as their source of authority; but not Jesus. He taught with a personal authority; He spoke independently of all others. He spoke with a certainty, a positiveness, a finality that no one else had ever done.
4. Form vs. power. Other teachers stressed ritual, ceremony, and form. Jesus stressed the need and availability of power to overcome the trials and sufferings of life.
5. Humanism (laws) vs. the spiritual (truth). Other teachers reasoned and formulated law after law, teaching that these were the way to real life. Jesus spoke about matters of the heart and life, of the soul and spirit. The answers He gave were spiritual truths, not human thought and rationalism.
6. Religion vs. life. Other teachers preached their religion; Jesus preached life—a life to be lived abundantly and eternally.
7. Profession vs. possession. Other teachers professed to follow God, but they twisted and interpreted the law of God to their own liking. What they followed was their ownman-made religion. They were anything but followers of God. Jesus practiced and lived what He taught. His life was so different from other teachers that people sat up and took notice of what He had to say.

Lk 4:33-35 with Mk 1:26 — ³³In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil^NIV-6-6 spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴”Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵”Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and [shook him violently and^MK] came out [of him with a shriek^MK] without injuring him.

This is the first of several times that Jesus will confront a demon, or, as Luke calls it “a spirit of an unclean demon.” His culture was riddled with superstitions about demons (cf. Edersheim, Appendix XVI).^6-11 In fact, the Jews had a large body of literature dealing with demons. It dealt primarily with two things: (1) demons being the disembodied spirits of wicked people, and (2) exorcism by magical incantations. Jewish superstitions, however, do not mean that demons don’t exist. Jesus does not deal with superstitions but with realities.

Edersheim (I:480), notices how Jesus dealt with demons as a reality and not merely as superstition or psychosis: (1) He commissioned his disciples to cast them out (Mt 10:8). (2) He thanked God when they were cast out (Lk 10:17-18). (3) He reproved his disciples when they could not cast them out (Mt 17:17). Either Jesus was duped by the superstitions of his day, or he pretended they were real in order to gain a hearing among the crowds, or demons were, in fact, a reality.

While it would be a mistake to deny the reality of Satan’s activity, so also is it a mistake to overemphasize it. Ours is a day of morbid curiosity in the occult, even in Christian circles with our “power encounters.” Here are several truths that should be reflected in our theology and experience of demons:

1. Satan is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. To claim to be tempted by Satan may be a bit boastful—he probably has bigger fish to fry.
2. There is no indication that demons “specialize” in certain activities such as cancer, anger, selfishness, pride, stealing, etc. In other words, although demons appear to have personalities (Mk 5:8; 9:25), there is no indication that a certain affliction is caused by a certain demon and therefore needs to be identified before it can be exorcised.
3. The idea that you must obtain a demon’s name or you will be unable to exorcise it has its roots more in Greek and Jewish magic practices than in Scripture.
4. That we are in spiritual warfare is undeniable. However, it is false and faithless to view this battle as dualistic—fairly equivalent powers of darkness and light and one will barely win over the other. The Holy Spirit is infinitely more powerful than the created, fallen, evil spirits. There is simply no contest.
5. There is no indication that the victory of good angels is contingent upon the prayers of the saints. It is pure fiction that humans empower angelic spirits with their supplications.
6. Demons are not illnesses. In the Gospels sickness and disease are identified as separate from demons. Sickness is a natural part of our fallen world. Demons are a spiritual part of a “heavenly fall.”

After Jesus had taught in the synagogue, this demon-possessed man pipes up, “Ha! What do you want with us?” Luke’s little added expletive “Ha” carries with it extreme emotion. It can indicate fear, hate, and anger all at the same time. The second part of this phrase “What do you want with us?” can also be translated, “What do we have to do with each other?” or even “Why this interference?”

The demons then ask Jesus if he is going to destroy them. This is Jesus’ first confrontation of demons. They give up before the fight even started. Jesus so totally overpowers them that they resign themselves to defeat. We who are filled with the Spirit of Christ have nothing to fear from demons.

The startling thing is that these demons were more aware of Jesus’ true identity than the other attenders of the synagogue, including Jesus’ own disciples. The demoniac said, “I know who you are—the Holy one of God.” We are reminded of James 2:19, “Even the demons believe, and shudder.”

But Jesus forbids them to speak. Why? Because: (1) Jesus has not yet had time to teach and display the true nature of his Messiahship. A mistaken notion of Messiah may do more harm than good. (2) It’s pretty bad publicity to have demons praise you. (3) Works are louder than words. Jesus wanted his actions to speak for themselves.

So Jesus “muzzled” them by ordering [epetime4sen] their silence. This word demands attention. Jesus will use it again in the next pericope (Lk 4:39, 41), when healing Peter’s mother-in-law. It is a key word in understanding the purpose of this section. Kee gives the following definition to epitimao4: “The word of command by which God’s agent defeats his enemies, thus preparing for the coming of God’s kingdom.”^6-13

He traces its use in broader Jewish literature, and finds that it describes God’s cosmic struggle against the forces of darkness, evident in both sickness and demon possession. Therefore, it shows that this one event is but a part of a long-standing battle. Furthermore, this demonstrates the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God which marks the beginning of the end for Satan’s dominion.

The demon reluctantly gives up his prey. As a spoiled child who can’t get his way, he throws the man down. This pathetic, yellow-bellied demon takes one last pot-shot at the man. This cowardly act of defiance is the last pleasure of attack he will know on this man. Luke, the physician, makes a note that the demon did not injure the man. He dare not in the presence of the God/Man.

This was not an exorcism. There was no magical incantation or formula. Actually, this was more like a healing.^6-14 Jesus, simply on the authority of his word, commanded this demon to leave and he did. The point of the story is not demonology but the authority of Jesus.

Let’s remove the false superstition about the undue power of demons. They are real, they are active, and they are in submission to the word of Christ. We who are possessed by the Holy Spirit have nothing to fear from an unholy spirit. “Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). Jesus came to “destroy the works of the Devil” (1 Jn 3:8), and will, on the last day, destroy all his workers (Mt 25:41).

Mk 1:27-28 — ²⁷The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

The crowd is shocked, not by Jesus’ deed, but by the power of his words. The deed serves to validate the word, not the other way around. The powerful word of Jesus is exalted, both his ability to teach and his ability to command demons.

 Jesus’ Power Over Evil Spirits and Its Impact: Delivering the Most Enslaved, 1:23-28

(1:23-28) Introduction: man can be delivered from all the forces of evil by the power of Jesus. He can even be delivered from unclean spirits that enslave him, no matter the grip of the enslavement. Jesus has the power to deliver man (Romans 8:31; 1 John 4:4).

1. Picture 1: the need of the possessed man (v.23-24).
2. Picture 2: the power of Jesus (v.25-26).
3. Picture 3: the impact upon people (v.27-28).

 (1:23-24) Evil Spirits: the first picture is that of the possessed man and his need. The words “with an unclean spirit” (en pneumati akatharto) should be translated “in” (en) an unclean spirit. The man was in the grasp, in the possession of the unclean spirit. He was in the grip, captivated by the unclean spirit. He was under the spell, the will of the unclean spirit. To better understand the meaning, think of all the evil in the world, all the evil that occurs every hour and every day. Then note John’s words, “The whole world lieth in the wicked [or evil] one” (en to ponero, 1 John 5:19). That is, the world lies under the influence, power, bondage, will, and grip of the evil one. In the very same sense, this man was possessed by an unclean spirit.

     Note three things.

1. The possessed man, surprisingly, was in the synagogue. What was he doing there? Was he a regular attender or had he come just to hear Jesus? We are not told. But if he was a regular attender, then the synagogue was spiritually dead. How do we know this? Because the man could attend services time after time and never be helped spiritually.

How many services are dead, so lifeless that men with evil spirits can sit in the services and never be convicted or helped spiritually? How many sit in church and hear the Word of God week after week or live among believers and never make a decision to turn from their evil? They sit in service after service and brush shoulders with believers day by day, but they never decisively turn to God.

2. The possessed man raged and cried out, sensed and recoiled from purity. The unclean spirit recognized and cried three things.
3. The unclean spirit cried, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth?” The unclean spirit was entirely different from the clean spirit of Jesus. Jesus is perfectly pure and sinless. The unclean spirit had nothing to do with the purity of Jesus. The unclean spirit was diametrically opposed to the holiness of Jesus.
4. The unclean spirit recognized that Jesus had come to destroy him. Down deep within, the unclean persons know they are to judged and destroyed. They hate and despise, ignore and neglect, hide and rationalize in order to continue in their unclean ways. The paradox is that they know they will be judged even while they are sinning and rebelling against God. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
5. The unclean spirit identified Jesus. He said, “I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” He confessed Jesus. As James says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).
6. The possessed man identified Jesus. This point is so significant it bears repeating: “I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God,” that is, the Holy Son of God.

The world cries out, “What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?” Why? Because He is the Son of God who demands belief and purity of life, self-denial and a life of sacrifice. “What have we to do with thee…?”

Wealth cries, “Leave us alone. Let us secure ourselves, build up, and bank more and more.”

Power cries, “Leave us alone. Let us take over, exercise authority, rule and reign, dominate, manuever and manipulate as we will.”

Ego cries, “Leave us alone. Let us seek recognition, attention, esteem, honor, and praise as we wish.”

 Flesh cries, “Leave us alone. Let us excite, indulge, stimulate, relax, release, escape, party, revel, and carouse as we desire.”

 (1:25-26) Jesus Christ—Power—Salvation: the second picture is that of the power of Jesus.

1. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit. Note the words, “Hold thy peace.” Jesus did not accept demonic testimony to His Messiahship. Why? Such acknowledgment was involuntary, that is, of the mind only. It was only the mental knowledge that Jesus was the Son of God. It was not of the heart nor of the will to follow Jesus. It did not come from being born again. The witness Jesus wants is the witness of a man who has made a deliberate decision to profess Him as Lord; the witness of a heart truly changed; the witness of a heart moved by the Spirit of God to confess, “Thou art the Holy One of God” (Mark 8:29; cp. Mark 1:34).

     Note also the power of Jesus. He casts the unclean spirit out. How? By His Word, by simply saying, “Come out of him.”

2. The evil spirit obeyed. Note the words “torn him” (sparasso). The words mean to be convulsed. Apparently the man had a convulsion, jerking to and fro and crying out with a loud voice.

     The question is sometimes asked, Why all this? Why such a scene? Why did Jesus not calmly heal the man in a serene atmosphere? There are probably two reasons.

1. The evil and unclean spirits in the world are powerful forces, possessing enormous power to enslave and possess man. Their power could be more clearly seen in a convulsive and noisy scene. People needed to know that the evil and unclean forces of the world are the true enemies of mankind. They are the powerful forces who enslaved men with their dirty, intoxicating, and immoral habits.
2. The man was possessed by an unclean spirit. The convulsion and cry were evidence of the unclean spirit actually being in the man.
3. The convulsion and cry demonstrated the power and Messiahship of Jesus. Jesus was actually conquering the force of evil within a man, and only God had such a power.

Jesus says, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will never believe.” The “you” is in the plural, so Jesus is probably talking to the crowd following Him instead of to the nobleman. The nobleman is not looking for a sign. He just wants his son healed.

Perhaps you are thinking, “I thought that the purpose of the book of John was that “these signs were written that you might believe…” (John 20:31) That is true, but the key word is “written.” It does not say that we should wait to see signs before we believe. The written record of select miracles should be enough to evoke faith.

Remembering the big picture of history in relation to miracles, if you need to see a miracle to believe, then that leaves you out of most of biblical history. God always worked providentially, but only occasionally did He work miraculously.

I think this passage is relevant to the Signs and Wonders debate. I think that to demand signs and wonders is a very dangerous thing. Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who believe who have not seen…” Jesus says that an evil and adulterous generation demands signs and wonders. I have to reconcile those statements of Jesus with the modern day emphasis on the miraculous. If a Signs and Wonders advocate says that people need signs and wonders to believe, then we can say with assurance that that is not biblical.

Sometimes people get the impression that because we are not Signs and Wonders people we don’t believe in miracles nor think it would be good if God did a miracle. I have friends with cancer and other ailments, and I pray for their miraculous healing believing that God can do it. Because I don’t hype miracles doesn’t mean I don’t believe in miracles. Do I expect them? I know that the prayer of a righteous man effects much. And I know that sometimes we have not because we ask not, but I also know that miracles are not the norm for history.

The difference is that I am not demanding a miracle so that I will have faith or so others will believe. If I am, then I am putting people in a precarious position.

Jesus said, “Unless you see, you will not believe.” They could have believed without seeing. The proper belief is not in the miracle. It is in the person of Christ. It is not the act, it is the actor that they need to believe in.

So the condemnation is against people who think they or others need to see a miracle to believe in Jesus.

 (1:27-28) Decision—Jesus Christ, Response to: the third picture is that of the impact upon people. The people reacted in three ways.

1. They were amazed (ethambethesan), astonished. What the people had witnessed was unbelievable. Using no charms, no invocations, no exorcising devices, Jesus simply said, “Come out of him”; and the unclean spirit was dramatically cast out of the man. The people were shocked and stunned.
2. They questioned and buzzed among themselves, “What thing is this? What new power or revelation (doctrine) is this? What is God showing us? Is the revelation, the doctrine, the power from and of the Messiah? ‘For with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.’” The people were doing just what Jesus had wanted. They were questioning if He was the Messiah.
3. They spread His fame everywhere. Imagine the conversation in the stores, businesses, homes, and streets as people travelled throughout the area and throughout the world. The impact upon us should be the same. All three responses should characterize us as we witness the power of God in changing and healing lives. Yet, how gospel-hardened so many of us become.

APPLICATIONS

• Faith is indispensable in pleasing God. Heb 11:6.
• Distance is no barrier to the power of God.
• Sickness is no respecter of age or person. It strikes the young and the old, the rich and the poor. Just because you are faithful, spiritual, a minister or even a missionary, doesn’t mean that your child won’t die in the field.
• Affliction may bring blessing in disguise. What brought the contact with Jesus? Sickness What was the result? Salvation. God may use human tragedy to lead people to Himself as the only answer both for physical life and spiritual life.
• Jesus is not just the creator of life – first miracle – He is the restorer of life – second miracle.
• Faith in God’s word is preferred over faith in God’s wonders. God may not always do wonders. We’ve already discussed how the wonders have only occurred in special times in history, but His word is always around. Trusting in the word of Christ is the key. Throughout the ages, people have continually tried to stress the miracles and perform miracles thinking that people need to “SEE” the miracle in order to believe. But this man believed the Word of Jesus.
• That is why Jesus is perturbed that this people will not believe unless they See. The opportunity to See miracles is so limited that few will have a chance to See and Believe. Most will have to just hear and believe.
• When Jesus says it, it’s done.
• Sometimes God works in the immaturity of our faith to bring us to more complete faith. Maybe it is not complete – saving faith. Another example is Cornelius who was a God-fearer. He had faith, but he didn’t have saving faith in the person of Jesus.