Matthew 8

1When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

·         After the sermon on the mount the great crowds began to follow and love His teachings

2And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

·         This is Matthew’s first account of a miracle, and in this the man comes and says ‘if you want, you can heal me.’ Jesus statement shows that He is also willing to save, not just able. God is willing.

3Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

·         Jesus touched the leper to heal him

4And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

·         Jesus also wanted the even to keep quiet so as not to overwhelm His ministry. The man went and blabbed, see Mark 1:45, and as a result Jesus could not enter the cities because everyone came to Him wanted to be healed rather than to hear the words of life.

·         Jesus withdrew at this point to the wilderness to wait for the fervor to die down.

·         He commanded the law to be followed from Lev 14:4-7 as a testimony to the priests that the man was cured so they would sign off on him.

5Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

·         Luke (7:3) points out that the Gentile didn’t feel worthy, and did not do this personally. He asked the other Jews and they talked him up to Jesus making him look like a worthy candidate for healing. They said he loves our nation and has built a synagogue for us

·         The servant was both paralyzed and in pain, actually on the verge of death, and the man was compassionate enough to ask Jesus, persisting even after the popularity died down.

7And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

·         Here is another remarkable thing, that Jesus deigns to listen to the request, and go to the house.

·         For the sake of the crowd and those around Him mainly it seems

8The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

·         A Jew going into the house of a gentile defiled him. The centurion did not want Jesus to become polluted, and reasoned that if He could heal with physical presence then He could heal without it too.

·         A word is enough from God to completely heal, and the centurion grasped this uniquely, being in the position of commanding his 100 men by words.

·         I am unworthy and I am a man under authority are both striking examples of humility. The man again sent friends not wanting to have Jesus suffer from being associated with a Gentile.

9For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

·         He understands that words are important because he does what others say, and because others do what he says. So since Jesus is supreme all He needs to do is tell someone to go do something and it’s as good as done.  I take ‘under authority’ to mean ‘under God’s authority’

·         He never intended to have Jesus walk, he only wanted to ask if Jesus would speak

10When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

·         This is the hint that the gospel is going to go out to the Gentiles.

·         Only one thing did Jesus marvel at, or despair at: faith. The stubborn hard hearted rejection of Him seemed to surprise Jesus, and the pure, humble trust here seems also to have amazed Him.

11And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

·         Jesus is here talking about the Gentiles coming from all directions, just like what was prophesied in Mal 1:11 or Is 59:19, for example. This reminds us of Naaman who was an honorable soldier who became a believer after healing.

·         The sons of the kingdom refer to the Jews who would not believe, who were the bloodline of Abraham. This is exactly opposite of what the prevailing notion was, that heaven would be a Jewish only affair.

·         Instead they get weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is an expression of anger and lamentation. Hell will be full of anger and sorrow, as opposed to heaven which will be of peace and no longer any crying.

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

·         When the servant returned home he found the other well, and they looked into it and found that it was when Jesus spoke that he was healed.

14Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.

·         Peters mother in law was healed by Jesus. It could be the same day and Peter offered that they go back to his house, and while there Jesus had overwhelming compassion on this woman and decided to heal her.

15So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.

·         Mark tell us that Jesus rebuked the high fever, and this happened after they came out of the synagogue.

16When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:   “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”

·         This comes from Isaiah 53:4. This is talking about those who had physical problems and were healed by Jesus

·         There was not much rest, they came at all times of the day and night to be healed

18And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.

·         Jesus wasn’t really interested in healing the whole time, he came to teach.

19Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

·         Perhaps this disciple came to Him and was hoping to get rich

21Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

·         Let me go and bury my father is an expression similar to our expression of ‘put it to rest.’ The man wanted to return and put some things in order like wait until his father dies and collect an inheritance and straighten out his property, then come back and follow Jesus.

·         They buried a man the same day, so if he was really dead, they wouldn’t be having this conversation.

·         He is told instead that there is no time for that, let the mundane details be worked out by someone else, you come and seize life while you can. Those who are dead in their sins and transgressions will see to putting things to rest.

·         This was one of His disciples who balked at going into the boat across the water. Perhaps he did not want to go among the Gentiles to work there and had an excuse.

23Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.

·         Jesus leads them into the storm.

·         Again His humanity. Being tired and worn out Jesus fell asleep. On a pillow, on the back of the boat, see Peter’s notes in Mark 4:38.

·         Apparently there was a number of other little boats with them, (Mark 4:36), theirs was sinking (Mk 4:37)

25Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

·         It probably was a bad situation when they have to wake Him since they are experienced fishermen.

·         They cry out that He should save them because they are at this moment about to die, it’s not if they are going to die, it’s  a certainty that they will be lost.

26But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”

·         Their faith wasn’t strong enough to believe that Jesus wasn’t going to die on that boat.

·         The reproof comes before the rebuke of the sea. First He attends to them, then He attends to the elements.

Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

·         They didn’t know what manner of man could rebuke the sea. Even Elijah who called down fire had to ask for it. This man just speaks it from His own authority

·         There was not just a calm, there was a great calm

28When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

·         Luke points out that one of the men was from the city, likely indicating he had a prominent position there

·         This place has been found, with the ancient tombs and the steep sloping ground into the water, midway on the eastern shore.

·         The other accounts have the region Jesus was in, Matthew gives the town.

·         The tombs (just like what Jesus was buried in) were caves or cut into the rock. They were also inhabited by robbers. Jesus was having them pass through just so they could fix this man.

29And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

·         They were trying to hide out there, content to ruin the man. They tortured, and could think of no other reason Jesus would come than to do the same.

·         They fall down before Him, recognizing who He was. He then asks their name. Matthew omits these more mundane details to focus more strongly on what was really happening: Jesus as the authority was rebuking the evil spirits.

·         They freely admit there is a time of judgment coming, and are only going to live for the now nonetheless. In this way demons seem to be like people.

30Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.

·         Peter says there were 2,000 swine, which means the region must have fed a lot of nearby Gentile towns. Probably over a far hill they could see some swine feeding.

31So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”

·         Rather than go to hell they wanted to hide in the pigs longer. They had been hiding from Jesus and wanted to continue to do so.

32And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

·         The farmers lost all their money in those pigs when they perished, which is an interesting story.

·         This just makes me have more questions than answers. Why did the pigs not tolerate the demons? Did the demons just need to destroy things and they would take it where they could get it?

33Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.

·         The story is immediately spread in the whole region that Jesus is here and working miracles.

34And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

·         MacArthur thinks that they were begging Him like what Peter did, depart from me for I’m a sinful man. I think this is what Luke substantiates in his account because it’s when they see the man in his right mind they are afraid. Again Matthew shortens to the key element in the story: Jesus is holy and powerful, and gets rejected by sinful men.

·         The man also goes and spreads the word about Jesus abroad in this region.

Matthew 6

1“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

·         Jesus is going to start a sort of new division in the teachings, He’s going to leave the law behind and talk about how to, and how not to, carry out the commands. Not like the hypocrites, but like the faithful.

·         Pure religion is to take care of the helpless widows and orphans.

·         At first glance this looks harsh, but if we are not doing it for God, then why should we be surprised if He doesn’t reward us?

·         MacArthur links this next section to Matt 5:20, pointing out how their righteousness had to be greater than the Pharisees who worshipped outwardly, but needed to do so inwardly as well.

2Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

·         If your goal with Charity is to honor God with your money then you have no need to draw attention to yourself. Jesus didn’t travel to Rome, do many miracles, then die in the arena with the whole city looking on.

·         We are first introduced to the word hypocrite here, which comes from the Greek actors who played a role they were not. This behavior was in the synagogues and streets where a lot of people were there and could see it.

3But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

·         Left hand know what the right is doing is a proverbial expression they used.

·         So if you are going to do a good deed for God, then do it for him quietly, to prove that you are doing it for Him only, and He will see it and reward you. See also Proverbs 19:17 “He will repay for the gracious good.”

5“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

·         Similarly to giving to the poor is praying to God. They would conduct prayers only in public, and sought to do it publicly.

6But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

·         The room on the second story, typically on the roof provided a good place for this, as did the inner storage chambers.

·         This says nothing about when to pray, or how often, it just says with what devotion we are to go.

7And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

·         The heathen gods needed to be placated and moved before they would get off the couch and come see to your business. They were like men, in other words. This is what Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal with in 1 Kings 18:26-29.

·         God hears the prayers no matter how short, therefore, do not try His character by assuming He’s not attentive or uncompassionate.

8“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

·         In fact God is so compassionate that He’s been waiting for you to ask it, so He can give it to you. I sometimes will be holding the thing I know my children are about to ask for behind my back, poised to deliver it. The idea is the same.

·         Jesus appeals to God’s omniscience as the grounds for trust in Him.

 9In this manner, therefore, pray:  

·         The prayer is not to be repeated like the hypocrites, or the heathen, just mindlessly over and over, but it’s a model for how we are to understand prayer, considering that Lukes account in 11:2-4 has the substance but not the same form.

 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

·         Jesus taught them to talk to God as Father, and to remember how Holy He was.

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

·         The first part of the prayer is to request that God be as glorified on Earth like He is surrounded by the angels.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

·         A continual acknowledgement of our needs before God. He made us to need food continually to remember that we are weak, frail, and dependent on Him.

12And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

·         The notion here is of sins. We are in debt to God for our sins, we owe Him restitution for our bad conduct.

·         If we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven, an idea that’s going to be picked up in v14.

 13And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

·         Do not afflict us to try us, or test our faith, but spare us. Do not permit that Satan should sift us like wheat.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  

·         This is an addition to the text not found in the older manuscripts. It reflects how the Christians ended their prayers, in submission.

14“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

·         When men come and ask for forgiveness you are to say yes. If they don’t you are to treat them kindly, and lovingly, and respectfully nonetheless.

·         The parable of the wicked servant comes to mind here.

16“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

·         Jesus picks up the thought He left off earlier about praying and giving openly, now he completes the discussion on hypocrisy with this last statement.

·         Fasting is an expression of grief and sorrow. When the body falls ill we naturally fast, and when we are showing God we are sorry for sins we may fast. The hypocrites did it to let people know they are more pious than others. It did them no good toward God.

17But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

·         There were four official fasts for the Jews, but the Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 17:12)

·         Jesus says that if you are fasting and doing it for God don’t change into special fasting clothes or put ashes on your head and face to make it obvious. Fasting is a matter of the heart over sin.

19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

·         One of the more famous verses in the Bible regarding our future. Their idea of wealth was the same as ours, fine clothes, money, precious metals, oil, lands. Anything that could well be displayed made for good wealth.

·         God of course made the moth to eat fine clothes so people won’t be so attached. All things run down and become nothing on this earth.

20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

·         God protects all of the things we commit to Him.

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

·         This is the reason attached, we by storing treasure places, are making things comfortable for ourselves. I accrue furniture at my house to build up a comfortable place. My acquisitions are driven by desires.

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

·         Jesus will now speak more about the necessity of laying up treasures in heaven. If you want to store things in heaven then fix your eyes on heaven.

23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

·         If your heart is dark and hostile to God, how great that will be for all aspects of your life. The idea is that we all know how bad blindness is, and if we devote ourselves to the pursuit of earthly things we will stricken our soul with darkness.

24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

·         Mammon means literally, ‘the riches.’ It has the notion of money, but not completely so. The hypocrites were all servants of mammon, and did not care for God, in fact they despised Him.

·         This is intuitively obvious, if we have to run back and forth between two masters we cannot be serving either of them at the same time. God and the idol of money cannot exist together.

25“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

·         Jesus displayed this utterly. He fully trusted God to take care of His earthly possessions like food and clothes, and He did. Likewise we are not to fret, panic, and worry about the things God is going to provide, because He will provide them.

·         There are four arguments here for trusting in God and not worrying about, or setting your focus on money, the first here, is that life is more than what you eat. If God has given us life and body, then surely He will give us clothes and food.

26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

·         Birds do not store things up but are continually needing to find food and eat. They are also small and worthless. God knows this, and feeds them still. If they as bad as their situation is and they find favor, should we not also trust God more?

·         God charged Job with answering him if he knew when the young birds were hungry and called out for food.

27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

·         Or minute to his life. It’s impossible, since we do not support our own life but are utterly held at all times by God.

28“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

·         Even with all his money and fortune Solomon was not able to emulate the flowers of the field.

30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

·         This is similar to the birds, if you are more valuable than they, and God cares for you, then do not worry.

·         The ovens in those days were a pit in the earth, with stones on the bottom. And you would put grass and twigs into the oven and it would heat the stones on which you would bake your bread.

31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

·         All of what is key for life is going to be taken care of by God. He will give what is needful, what He sees is best.

32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

·         The Gentiles only and really care of the bestial things of life. The thing

 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

·         Do not worry about your life or possessions, your clothes, but worry about your eternity.

·         God has promised to take care of us, therefore pray to Him, seek Him honestly, and love Him, for the rest of this will come. We are not to pursue like the Mormons wealth and happiness, but to pursue God, and He will give us all things.