Jesus's Authority Over Wind and Demons

Continuing a study of the Gospels:

(Matthew 8:18) Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart to the other side.

In the first part of chapter 8, in the last post, Jesus had healed many people; all who came to Him, He healed.  Obviously, His fame had grown so much that He was thronged by crowds of followers and curious people everywhere He went.  Jesus was in Capernaum, a city on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee.  He commanded His disciples that they go with Him to the other side of the sea.  Although fully God, He was also fully man, and He was probably wearied and needed rest and time for prayer; but there was also a purpose in that He would have opportunity to teach His disciples something.  Jesus did not seek applause and adoration from the crowds.  His teaching was from the heart and had purpose.

(19) And a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Master, I will follow You wherever You go."

This same account in Luke says that as they went their way to the other side of the sea, a scribe came to Jesus.  This man probably desired to be one of Jesus's disciples and wished to follow Him to the other side.  He told Jesus he would follow Him wherever He went.

(20) And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Jesus here called Himself the Son of Man, a name He often gave Himself.  Jesus was God, yet He had humbled Himself to come in the form of man, and was born of a woman.  He said to this scribe that even the lowly creatures of the earth had homes, but He had nowhere to lay His head.  Imagine that!  The Messiah did not have a home of His own to which He could withdraw.  2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us that He, though He was rich, became poor for our sakes.  Christ humbled Himself and submitted to this lowly state to teach us dependence on God for all our needs, and to show the vanity of worldly wealth.  2 Corinthians 8:9 continues to state that through His poverty, we might become rich.  He taught people what true riches were.  If He had had even a modest house, those poorer than He might not believe that they could achieve the riches about which He taught.  In telling the scribe this, He was testing the man's motives, or perhaps proving them to the scribe himself.  Following Jesus would not be a journey filled with worldly grandeur, but quite the opposite.  If the man had any notions of any temporary advantage, Jesus warned him that would not be the case.  

(21) And another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

At this point in time, Jesus still had many followers, or disciples, not just the twelve.  One of these said he was ready to follow Him, but first wanted to go and bury his father.

(22) But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead."

Jesus told the disciple to follow Him at that time, and leave others to bury their dead.  He called the others "the dead" because they were spiritually dead, having not yet received the gift of life through Christ.  It's not that Jesus had any objection to proper burials of relations, but He was calling this disciple to a much greater purpose than the business of the world.  Besides, it's possible the disciple's father was not dead yet, but possibly at a very old age, and the disciple wished to wait until he buried his father before he followed Jesus.  That would certainly explain why Jesus wouldn't allow him the time to do that if he truly wanted to be a disciple of Jesus.  However, even if the father was dead, he was indeed dead and had no knowledge of whether or not this disciple buried him.  There were others to bury him, and the disciple was called to see that many more people did not spiritually die.

(23) And when He had entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him.

This account in Mark states that Jesus and His disciples had sent away the multitudes, and had boarded the ship to separate themselves, and to go to the other side of the sea.  It also says there were with Him other little ships, so these probably had onboard his many disciples following Him.

(24) And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, so that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep.

Again, the account in Mark expounds on this, and explains Jesus was in the back part of the ship asleep, when a great storm arose and whipped the ship with waves causing it to fill with water.

(25) And His disciples came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"

The disciples woke up Jesus crying for Him to save them because they were in danger of drowning.  This demonstrates that His disciples knew where their help would come from.  This is the advantage of trials in that we know our weaknesses and that we rely on God to save us.  

(26) And He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Although the disciples had some faith in Jesus by coming to Him to save them, they still had fear and some measure of disbelief, and that is why Jesus rebuked them.  In the account in Luke, He asked them, "Where is your faith?"  He then arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, calming them.  The account in Mark states he rebuked the winds, and spoke to the sea, "Peace, be still."

(27) But the men marveled, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

Mark and Luke said the men were afraid at this as they wondered what sort of man this could be that the winds and the sea obeyed him.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, pointed out that the original word translated as "what manner of man" was "potapos," and actually did not include the word "man" at all.  It meant simply "what manner of" or "what possible sort," demonstrating that the disciples now realized Jesus was no ordinary man at all.  There was no man ever who could have commanded the winds and the sea and have them obey him; only God could do this, and that had these disciples marveling.

(28) And when He had come to the other side to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

Jesus had gone to the other side of the sea to the country of the Gergesenes or the Gadarenes, as Mark called them in his account.  Gergesa and Gadara were towns near each other; therefore the inhabitants of the country between them were called by either or both names.  There Jesus met two people who were demon possessed.  They came out from among the tombs, in the burying place which would have been a good distance outside the city.  They were exceedingly fierce so that no one could pass by that way safely. 

(29) And behold, 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?"

Isn't it amazing that the demonic spirits that possessed these two recognized Jesus right away?  Those spirits that were so exceedingly fierce to mere men seemed to be in some fear of Jesus, asking why He should concern Himself with them, and whether He had come to torment them before the time.  I find that fascinating, as well, that the demons seemed to know that there was a time in the future when they would be condemned to everlasting punishment.

(30) And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine feeding.

A good distance from them was a herd of swine, about 2000 of them, the account in Mark states.  It was not lawful for Jews to keep swine as they were unclean animals.

(31) So the devils besought Him, saying, "If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."

The demons pleaded with Jesus, that if He cast them out of these men, to send them into the herd of swine.  Isn't it amazing to consider that the demons realized Jesus's authority over them and had to ask His permission to be sent into lowly swine?  May we realize how little is their power to be dreaded by anyone who has Christ as his protector! 

(32) And He said to them, "Go." And when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine; and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

With a mere one word, Jesus cast the demons out of the men's bodies and allowed them to go into the herd of swine.  If it seems strange that Jesus would give the demons what they asked, we must consider that it was not lawful for Jews to raise swine anyway, so it would seem just to allow them to be destroyed.  Perhaps a greater purpose was that it was a visual demonstration of the rage and violent destruction these demons would do if allowed to continue their possession of a man.  Why would the demons ask to be sent to the herd of swine knowing they would be destroyed?  Just as they knew of their eventual demise in the end, they knew they would be destroyed, but they desired to destroy as much as they could on their way out.  Even now, Satan and his demons know their end, but they desire to take as many souls as they can with them!  They destroyed someone's herd; I'm sure their hope was that it might in someway set the people against Jesus and diminish His usefulness among them.  Satan's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

(33) And those who kept them fled, and went their way into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

Those who had kept the swine fled into the city and told everything they had witnessed.  They had witnessed the casting out of demons; they had seen them cast into their herd of swine and their huge herd of 2000 destroyed.  I'm sure they told all of this.

(34) And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they besought Him to depart out of their coasts.

The entire city came out to meet Jesus.  One would think the casting out of demons would be of their utmost interest and awe, but it seems they were more disturbed about the loss of property than the salvation of souls.  They asked Him to leave their country.  Therefore, it seems the demons got their desired result in that the people did blame Jesus for the destruction of the herd and asked Him to leave, which would indeed diminish His usefulness among them.  So why did Jesus do this?  I believe Jesus always gives us a choice.  People have to take some responsibility for their souls.  God gave us this free gift of salvation, but we do have to accept it.  It is not forced upon us.  This incident surely demonstrated the hearts of men who would value property more than men's souls.  Unfortunately, it is no uncommon thing for people to love the world and property so much.  Romans 1:25 describes how people love and worship the created things more than the Creator.

In his thoughts on this chapter in his Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes commented on Jesus's poverty as He told the scribe in verse 20 that He had no place to lay His head, no home.  I think of those, especially in the Word of Faith movement, who would say that to be one of God's children, would have to mean to be blessed by Him, and sadly, to so many, that means blessed by worldly riches.  Mr. Barnes reflected that is was no disgrace to be poor, as the Son of God was poor on this earth.  If our Maker brought us into this world in poverty, or if He allowed worldly possessions to be taken away by sickness or some other means, "let us remember that the Redeemer of mankind trod the same humble path, and that it can be no dishonor to be likened to Him who was the beloved Son of God."  The lesson of the scribe was that we should embrace the gospel without any hope of earthly reward.  The lesson of the man who wanted to bury his father was that we must forsake all for the sake of the gospel.  Our first duty is to God.  

Jesus preserves us in time of danger, as demonstrated in the calming of the storm.  All things that can injure or destroy us are under the authority of Jesus Christ.  Even Satan and his demons are bound and cannot destroy us!  What a comforting thought is that!  However, these are all gifts of Jesus that must be accepted; He would never force us to accept Him against our wills.  If we wish Him to depart from us, as the Gergesenes did, because we value the world and its riches more than we do Him or our own souls, then He will give us over to our worldly pursuits (Romans 1:26, 28).  How awful to hear those words, "Depart from Me, ye cursed..." (Matthew 25:41), because we have said to our Savior, "Depart from us."

Jesus Heals Many

Continuing a study of the Gospels:

(Matthew 8:1) When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

Jesus had just finished His Sermon on the Mount in the last chapter.  He now came down from the mountain and huge multitudes of people followed Him, having heard His sermon and marveling at His teaching.

(2) And behold, a leper came there and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean."

Leprosy was a dreadful, loathsome, and contagious disease, first appearing on the skin in white scaly patches or leprous sores.  It was generally deemed incurable, and because it was so contagious, lepers were segregated from the rest of the people.  It is probable that this leper heard Jesus only from afar, but he came to Jesus and worshiped Him.  The same account in Mark says the leper came beseeching Him and kneeling down to Him; the account in Luke says he fell on his face.  Note the type of faith this leper had.  He didn't say that he believed Jesus could heal him.  He was fully confident that Jesus could heal him; it was just a matter of whether or not Jesus would do it.  

(3) And Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean."  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

In His manner of curing this leper, by reaching out and touching this man who had a most loathsome disease, Jesus demonstrated that no sinner was too abhorrent to come to Him.  Such a touch meant ceremonial defilement in the Levitical law (Leviticus 5:3).  Albert Barnes suggested in his Notes on the Bible, that this meant the leper had already been healed by the time Jesus actually touched the man.  That may be, but it certainly wouldn't be necessarily so.  Jesus transcended the law; He fulfilled the law; His purity and holiness could not be defiled by it.  I believe it is very important to realize that no sinner is too abhorrent to come to Jesus.  There is no sin that Jesus cannot be in the presence of; that is the beautiful sacrifice of Jesus; He came to intercede for us, to cleanse us before God who cannot be in the presence of sin.  The leper had said Jesus could cure him, if He "will."  Jesus replied, "I will," and with the simple words, "be clean," the man was instantly cleansed of his leprosy.  

(4) And Jesus said to him, "See you tell no man, but go your way; show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

Jesus told the man to go straight to the priest to be pronounced clean, and to offer the gifts that had been set forth in the law.  He told him to tell no one that Jesus had cured him before presenting himself to the priest.  The fact that the priest pronounced him clean would be testimony that he had indeed been healed.  We get insight in this same account in Mark, as to the possible reason why Jesus told the man not to say anything to anyone until after he had presented himself to the priest.  Mark 1:45 states the man went out and immediately began telling everyone, and broadcast this miracle so much that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, and had to retire to desert places.  

(5) And when Jesus had entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,

Again the account in Mark expounds on this a bit and states that Jesus again entered Capernaum after some days.  A Roman army commander came to Him.

(6) And saying, "Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented."

Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, suggested that the word "Lord" used by the centurion just meant "Sir," and should always be translated that way when spoken by a Roman.  At this point, the Roman centurion may not have seen Jesus as Lord.  He told Jesus that his servant was in severe torment lying, probably completely confined to a bed, at his home sick of the palsy, that is, probably paralyzed.

(7) And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

Jesus replied to the centurion that He would go and heal the servant.

(8) The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."

The great faith of this centurion has me wondering if Adam Clarke was correct in his assertion that "Lord" always meant "sir" when used by a Roman.  Maybe his point was that it was very unusual for a Roman to mean anything other than that, so that this was an extraordinary salutation.  This man exhibited humility and a great faith that would seem to only come from the Holy Spirit.  This account was expounded upon in Luke, and it appears that the centurion had sent elders to Jesus, rather than approaching Him himself.  When he heard that Jesus was coming to his house, he sent friends out to Him, to say that he was unworthy to have so great a person in his house.  He had great faith that if Jesus merely said the word, he knew his servant would be healed.

(9) "For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this man, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

The centurion explained that he was a man under authority, specifically Caesar, the Roman emperor, and his superior officers.  He was explaining that he understood authority.  As a centurion, he had at least a hundred soldiers under him, and when he said to one, "Come" or "Go," that man did as he commanded.  Likewise, when he commanded his servant to do something, he did it.  The centurion obviously saw Jesus as one in authority, and saw himself as under His authority.  Again, I believe this demonstrated that he must have thought of Jesus as true "Lord," but if not yet, he certainly saw Jesus as having authority over diseases, and had the utmost faith, that if Jesus merely said the word, the disease would obey His command.

(10) When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to them who followed, "Verily, I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

The centurion was a Roman, not an Israelite; therefore, Jesus especially marveled at the fact that this man exhibited more faith than anyone, even in Israel.

(11) "And I say to you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus told His followers that people would come from all corners of the earth, and believe in Him; and they would join the most eminent followers of God in the kingdom of heaven.  To "sit down" with the great patriarchs suggested they would sit down to a banquet with them, a metaphor for being in close communion with them in heaven.

(12) "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

However, the Jews, who were God's own children and subjects of His kingdom, would be cast into outer darkness, meaning they would reject the light of Christ.  There would be weeping and gnashing of teeth by them, expressing the miserable state of those who would reject Christ and be cast out of the kingdom of heaven forever.

(13) And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way, and as you have believed, so be it done for you."  And his servant was healed in the same hour.

Evidently the centurion had come out to Jesus by this time, or perhaps Jesus sent word that the centurion could go about his business, because as he had believed, it would be done for him.  His servant was surely healed that moment, but was seen as within the hour by the witnesses.  The account in Luke states that "they who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole who had been sick" (Luke 7:10).

(14) And when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying and sick of a fever.

Jesus later went to Peter's house, which was also Peter's brother Andrew's house, where he saw Peter's mother-in-law, his wife's mother, lying sick with fever.  Peter, one of Jesus's disciples, was obviously married.  I was amazed at how many of the early Bible commentaries used this passage to condemn the Catholic church's position on celibacy for their priests.  I have to agree, it is obvious that Jesus did not condemn marriage in His disciples.  However, the Catholic church holds up Peter as their first "pope," and then forbids its priests to marry, contrary to the one on whom they established their church.  Not only was Peter married, but he had his wife's mother with him, demonstrating his kindness and care of his extended relations.  It appears then that marriage is no hindrance to virtue and following Christ.  Marriage is one of the first divine institutions of God.  God Himself said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).  How is it the Catholic church insists on celibacy of its priests?  The apostle Paul might have been a better representative for the Catholic church in this regard.  He was celibate, and wished that all could be content to be that way, but he considered this a gift; Paul had the gift of celibacy.  However, he himself stated that if one could not control his passions, then it was better to be married than to burn with desire.  Could that be why the Catholic church has such a problem with sexual abuse?  Priests being forced to celibacy when it is against their nature and contributes to uncontrollable desires?  After all the abuse scandals, why won't the Catholic church change its stance on celibacy?  Adam Clarke muses, "Those who pretend to say that the single state is more holy than the other slander their Maker, and say in effect, “We are too holy to keep the commandments of God.” 

(15) And He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered to them.

Jesus merely touched the woman's hand and she was immediately cured.  Other accounts said that Jesus took her hand and lifted her up.  Jesus healed with His touch.  Sometimes He healed with a word, sometimes a touch, sometimes both, and sometimes an action was required by the recipient.  There was no magic formula, demonstrating Jesus's unlimited power over disease in whatever manner He chose.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the fever didn't just leave her, but she was immediately back to normal and serving and ministering to her guests.

(16) When the evening had come, they brought to Him many who were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all who were sick.

Obviously, the fame of Jesus grew as He healed more and more people.  Many people were brought to Him, and He healed ALL who were sick.  The word of faith bunch use this as proof that Jesus wills all people healed.  At this point in His ministry, He did.  However, there are other instances in scripture where people were not immediately healed, or when they were not healed at all, as with the thorn in Paul's side.  Paul said God's refusal to take that away kept him humble; it had a purpose in making Paul the great apostle he was.  Another example I have often thought of is the time Jesus came upon a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked Him who it was who had sinned that this man was born blind; had it been his parents?  Jesus replied that neither the parents or the man had sinned to bring about his blindness, but that it was for that moment, that the works of God should be revealed in him (John 9:1-3).  I have often thought if the word of faith believers had their way, the man would have been healed long before that time.  However God willed that he remain blind until the right time.  Or how about the time that Paul and Silas were jailed, and they prayed.  Word of faith followers would have you believe that God's will was that they be free.  Well, they prayed, and an earthquake opened all the doors of the prison.  It would seem God answered their prayers and freed them.  However, Paul and Silas did not leave, but stayed and converted the jailer (Acts 16:24-31).  We don't really know what Paul and Silas's prayers were; rather than please free us, as we selfish humans would likely pray, theirs was probably use us in this situation to Your glory, according to Your will.  People can be brought to salvation by watching Christians keep strong faith and give glory to God in all, in their tribulations and infirmities.  There may be purpose in those infirmities, far greater than would be if those infirmities were healed.

In addition to those who were sick, the people brought many to Jesus who were demon possessed.  He cast out those spirits with merely His word.  It could be that Satan and his demons caused many of the diseases as he was allowed to do in the case of Job.  However, it is more likely that these were diseases of the mind that would not be seen by the public as normal sickness.  It is very interesting to note that Josephus the historian wrote that there was not a nation under heaven more wicked than Judea in the time of Christ.  Wow!  How far had God's people fallen!  It seems Judea abounded by demoniacs at that time.  Adam Clarke wrote that the people were strongly addicted to magic, and therefore, invited evil spirits to be familiar with them.  It could be that Satan, who leads the whole word astray (Revelation 12:9), having been thrown out of heaven with his angels, his demons, was working overtime at that time because he knew his time was short (Revelation 12:12).  With so much of Satan's work evident at the time of Jesus, it allowed Him to demonstrate frequently His power over Satan.  Jesus triumphed over Satan when He rose from the dead; He triumphed over death.  We know that He will come again, and I have to believe that time for Satan is again short, as wickedness grows so quickly now.  Things are happening today that one could not imagine would have been just a few short years ago.   

(17) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

Continuing the thought started in verse 16, Jesus healed all who were sick to fulfill the prophecy spoken by Isaiah in Isaiah 53:4.  Our Bible translation of that verse says, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows..."  Yet the primary definition of the original word "choliy" that was translated as "griefs" is actually "malady, disease, sickness" and "griefs" is secondary.  I can't help but notice how similar that word is to our modern "cholic."  The original word translated as "sorrows" was "makob" and the primary definition of that word is "affliction, pain."  Therefore, we can see that the prophecy indeed spoke of Jesus taking our afflictions (infirmities) and bearing our sicknesses.

This seems a good place to end this post, as the first half of Matthew 8 was all about Jesus healing many people, all who came to Him.  Once again, I think of word of faith followers, so prevalent in some of my circles.  Isaiah went on to prophesy in Isaiah 53:5, that "with His stripes we are healed."  They use this as proof that we ARE healed; we just need to have faith enough to accept it.  Healing becomes almost an idol, the main focus.  I believe it is quite obvious that the meaning of Isaiah's prophecy is that we are healed from our sin and from death.  Jesus overcame death through His persecution and cruel death, those stripes of the beatings He received.  He rose again to eternal life, and by our acceptance of His sacrifice for our sins, we may also have assurance of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.  The reason Jesus healed all in His time was to prove His power over Satan.  If He had not healed all the ones who came to Him, it would appear He did not have complete authority over Satan.  It was necessary that He heal all during His time.  That does not mean that all have to be healed today.  Miraculous healing does still occur; I've been witness to it myself.  But it is not a foregone conclusion.  We have been healed!  Death has no hold over us!  There is no fear of death to those who know where their eternity lies.  And I firmly believe that some disease and infirmities are used by God to bring people to salvation.  To prematurely heal them from their physical infirmities might be to doom them to hell.  It might not give many others an opportunity to witness great faith through those infirmities that might bring them to salvation, marveling at the faith of those so opposite from those who grieve over death because they have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).  As Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15, may we be ready to give others reason for that hope that is within us, even in our infirmities.  Paul gladly gloried in his infirmities because the Lord had told him that His strength was made perfect in weakness, so he rejoiced that the power of Christ would rest on him (2 Corinthians 12:9); when he was weak, then he would be strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).  To the Philippians in Philippians 4:13, he stated he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.  We have great hope and faith and knowledge that we should be willing to share and shout from the rooftops.  We have been healed, and so can all who come to salvation in Jesus Christ.