Daily Devotions
Matthew
The Identity of Jesus the Son of God Settled at Last
Text: Matthew 14 : 22 - 36
Had the disciples finally understood that the Person who stood before them was truly the Son of God? Matthew noted the response of the disciples in the boat when Jesus stepped into it.
“Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him,
saying, ‘Truly, You are the Son of God.'”
MATTHEW 14:33
The disciples had discovered many things about Jesus!
1. A Teacher Par Excellence
None could match Jesus in His knowledge and in His teaching skills! The cleverest scribe was no match for Jesus in public debate! Jesus exuded such power and authority as He taught the Scriptures!
2. A Healer of Great Compassion
The disciples knew how they paled in comparison as they watched the way Jesus expressed His love for the multitudes. He was always gracious and gentle to all who came to Him. No matter how tired He must have been at the end of the day, He cared enough to feed them – literally!
3. The Son of God no less!
The disciples were astonished at the power He had over diseases and demons! Then they became even more intrigued by the fact that He could command the winds and the waves! They gasped and asked among themselves then,
“Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
MATTHEW 8:27
It seems that this question was now completely answered for the disciples. When they saw Jesus walk on the water, they exclaimed.
“Truly, You are the Son of God.”
MATTHEW 14:33
How important it was for the disciples to come to this understanding of the identity of Jesus! This truth had escaped so many people! The multitudes, the religious leaders represented by the scribes and Pharisees. Even His own disciples seemed to vacillate in their conviction concerning the true identity of their beloved Teacher. Yes, they loved Him enough to follow Him wherever He would lead. However, the question of His identity had to be resolved sooner or later! It took the incident of Jesus walking on the sea to convince the disciples that He was indeed the Son of God! How precious this truth was!
THE LAND OF GENNESARET
As the boat landed, the disciples found themselves in the land of Gennesaret. This was a city quite near to Capernaum. Once again, Jesus found Himself surrounded by people.
“When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.
And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out
into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,
and begged Him that they might only touch the hem
of His garment. And as many as touched it were made
perfectly well.”
MATTHEW 14:34-36
As we study this text, we cannot help but feel that Matthew wrote this observation as a contrast to what the disciples had discovered about Him. This text may be seen as a sort of “summary statement” of the ministry of Jesus.
1. Focus on the physical
The people of Gennesaret focused on the physical! That was so obvious! When they recognized Jesus, they called all the sick people to come to Him for healing!
2. Jesus the Healer
The whole region soon came to know that Jesus was in their midst. They had heard that Jesus could heal any and every disease. Thus multitudes soon came to Him. Their cries must have tugged at the heart of Jesus. They begged for permission to touch but the hem of His garment! Many were delighted that they were restored to perfect health the moment they came into contact with Jesus!
3. The absence of recognition of Jesus as the Son of God
The absence of acknowledgement and recognition of Jesus as the Son of God is obvious! This was in stark contrast to the declaration of the disciples!
SUMMARY STATEMENTS IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
Let’s recall the first summary statement Matthew made in his Gospel.
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds
of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought
to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases
and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics;
and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes
followed Him – from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the
Jordan.”
MATTHEW 4:23-25
Was Jesus just a Healer? How the people missed seeing Jesus as the Son of God!