Matthew 8:14-22 - The Cost

8:14-17

Jesus now heals Peter’s mother-in-law, later that day many who were demon possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the evil spirits, he also healed all who were ill. Note a distinction is drawn between being demon possessed and being ill. Matthew sees this as a fulfilment of Isaiah 53:4. Charismatic churches tend to use Is 53:5, but that is not done in the New Testament, the previous verse is used.

8:18-22

Jesus now gives a warning about following Him, it is not an easy choice to make, for it has consequences. First a teacher of the Law comes to Him, and Jesus warns him that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”, there is no earthly peace. Another disciple wants to bury His father first. He asks to be allowed to go and bury his father, and Jesus’ answer seems rather cruel. There are all sorts of explanations. In Jewish culture there was a very strong obligation for the eldest son to bury his father, this was part of honouring your father and mother. Now it is highly unlikely that the man would be out and about if his father had just died and needed burying that day. So he is probably asking for a lengthy delay, at least months, possibly years. Even so, Jesus; answer of “let the dead bury their dead” still seems brutal. The only one who had a higher claim on someone’s allegiance to one’s parents was God. So Jesus is claiming equivalent authority to God. The man had to put God first, to put Jesus first. Following Jesus is a serious matter.

Matthew 8:1-13 - Healings

8:1-4

Jesus has now finished the “sermon on the mount”, and He is followed by large crowds. It is his healing powers rather than his teaching which interests people.a man with leprosy comes and asks to be healed. He wonders if Jesus would be willing to heal Him. Jesus was willing and healed the man. He also instructed him to go to the priest and offer a sacrifice in accord with the law of Moses. The Pharisees were convinced that Jesus’ acts of healing were against the Law, especially when done on the Sabbath, Jesus knew they were completely in accord with the Law. 

8:5-13

So the first miracle demonstrates Jesus' willingness to heal. This next miracle demonstrates that the faith of Gentiles, even a Roman soldier, was greater than that of Israel. The centurion was concerned about his servant, whether this was because of the utility of the servant, or personal concern is not clear. Remember that the Romans were hated because they were an occupying force. Jews were not supposed to go into the home of a Gentile (see \Peter and Cornelius in Acts), but the centurion knows that a word from Jesus is sufficient. Jesus commends the man on his faith, and declares that many will come from all nations to join in the heavenly banquet, but many Israelites would be rejected. Faith, not ancestry, was the key. The centurion's servants was then healed.

Matthew 7:15-29 - The importance of obedience

7:15-20

There will be false prophets, they will be dressed in sheep’s clothing, adopting a sort of pseudo- Christianity. The give away will be the fruit of their lives, such people cannot produce anything good, we should not listen to such people. The fruit of someone's life, not their words, are a true test.

7:21-23

Saying the right words is not enough. Some may also claim to have prophesied in Christ’s name, and cast out demons, but doing the will of the Father is what counts. Note that casting out demons or prophesying does not in itself prove anything. Indeed Jesus calls these people “evildoers”!

7:24-29

Jesus then backs up his message with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. Note that obeying the Father and obeying Jesus are put on an equal footing. We are wise if we put Jesus’ words into practice. We are building on solid ground if we follow Jesus. Otherwise we are building on sands. Either way storms will come, the question is whether or not we will survive.

Matthew 7:13-20 - Tests

7:13,14

There are many who will try and make the gospel “easy”, by lessening the moral demands, or saying we can give in to persecutors. Such a route will be popular, but leads only to destruction. Conversely the gate to life is small and leads along a narrow way. Few will find it. So we should not be surprised or discouraged if we seem to be on a lonely road.

7:15-20

There will be false prophets, they will be dressed in sheep’s clothing, adopting a sort of pseudo- Christianity. The give away will be the fruit of their lives, such people cannot produce anything good, we should not listen to such people. The fruit of someone's life, not their words, are a true test.

Matthew 7:7-12 - ASk, seek, knock

7:7,8

We should “ask, seek and knock”. We are not to be passive. God wants us to ask, seek and knock. We should pray, we should seek answers. Note that Jesus says “for everyone who asks receives”, We will be successful.

7:9-12

Jesus then gives his justification for this. He likens the situation to a father and son. A father would not maltreat a son, neither will God maltreat us. Note the casual words “though you are evil”. God is good and is for us. As well as a teaching on prayer, Jesus also draws a lesson on how we would treat each other.

Matthew 7:1-6 - Get your own house in order

7:1,2

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”This does NOT mean not saying something is right or wrong, but it does mean that we cannot say that someone else is better or worse than others. If we consider someone to be worse than us, then God will use the same criteria against us, and we will not come off well.

7:3-5

We must be most concerned with our own righteousness (or lack of it), we must be more concerned about getting ourselves right, than getting others right. Having a judgemental attitude is often an indicator that we ourselves have problems.

7:6

This is a difficult verse.Dogs is a term that Jews sometimes used to refer to Gentiles, and pigs were unclean animals. Perhaps Jesus is saying be careful about whom we share spiritual truths with, for they will not understand and it will not produce a good reaction. If we look at it in the immediate context then perhaps it is a warning that just telling people what is wrong with them will do no good.

Matthew 6:25-34 - The futility of worrying

6:25-27

Worry is something no one likes doing, yet is also something we are all prone to do. Jesus tells us plainly not to worry. Is worry a sin? I actually think not, for no one wants to worry. Someone might contemplate going out and getting drunk, or being sexually promiscuous, but no one sets out to spend the weekend worrying! Yet worry is a symptom of our sinful condition, our fallen nature. Life is more important than food or clothes. Jesus then points to the animals, they get the food they need, and do not worry like we do. Yet God feeds them, it is not necessary to worry, and nor doessi t do any good.

6:28-34

Then Jesus points to the flowers, they are more beautiful than anything man makes. God does not require us to worry. We are more important to God than flowers or birds. Life is actually very different than the devil would have us believe.God cares for us. It is not that our daily needs don’t matter, but that there is so much more to life. Worry can distract us from what is really important. We should seek first the kingdom of God.