Matthew divides his gospels into narrative and teaching sections. We just got through reading the longest of Matthew's teaching section, the Sermon on the Mount. Here, we have narrative of what Jesus is doing along with his teaching. The Gospel accounts of Jesus show Jesus not only by his words, but his deeds as well. This chapter today shows us some of Jesus' deeds that he performed. He heals a man with leprosy. I like this story because Jesus was willing to touch the man. Jewish law at that time was that men who were sick with leprosy could not be touched because they were "unclean." Jesus had no regard for "unclean" laws, and was willing to touch those who were deemed untouchable. Next a centurion came and asked Jesus to heal his daughter. A centurion had authority over 100 Roman soldiers, so most likely this man would have been a non-Jew or Gentile. Up to this point Jesus had only dealt with Jews, and so when Jesus extends healing to Gentiles, it is making a statement that God is at work for everyone in the world and not just the Jewish people. That was a huge political and theological statement that Jesus made. He heals Peter's mother-in-law and then Jesus opens up a demon-possessed exorcism shop right there in her house! The biggest theme of this chapter is God's activity through Jesus Christ. He heals the sick, touches the untouchable, and goes to people and places that no one else would go.
We see God on a mission in this chapter through his deeds. God was at work in unexpected places: a common house, in an "unclean" leper, in demon-possessed territory, and in a Roman soldier who had authority. The question that I take for us is where is God at work where you are at?
"Lord, help us to become aware of your work in the world. Help us to join in your mission as we live out your words and deeds. Amen."
About Me
- Robert and Ray Miller
- Robert is the pastor of First Baptist Texas City, Tx. And Ray is the pastor of First Baptist Mertens, Tx. Robert brings over 30 years of biblical study as a pastor. Ray brings a younger perspective to the Bible and also a command of the original languages. Our greatest passion is to see lives changed through the good news of Jesus Christ.
2 comments:
The roman soldier story means a great deal to me. I felt the same way as the soldier many times as being unworthy of Gods help for the jobs I did for the military. Upon reading this part of the bible I felt a great relief that my actions of military leadership where still in the realm of what god considered as appropriate as long as I had faith in Jesus
The story of the Roman Soldier is amazing to show how much faith a non-Israelite had to say that Jesus could just say "Be Healed" when Israelites wondered as to "who is this man" and then later wanted Jesus to do some tricks to show them.
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