Daily Devotions
Matthew
Matthew's Outline of his Gospel
Text: Matthew 8 : 1 - 4
Matthew’s Gospel seemed to have been carefully divided into a number of sections. Let us look at the natural divisions that suggest themselves:
1. The Birth of Jesus leading to His public ministry. Matthew 1-4
2. The Teachings of Jesus. Matthew 5-7
3. The Itinerant Ministry of Jesus to Israel. Matthew 8-25
4. The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Matthew 26-28
THE ITINERANT MINISTRY OF JESUS
It is one thing to preach and quite another challenge to practice what has been preached! Matthew’s concern was to portray Jesus as One who in perfect consistency practiced all that He taught! Let us bear this thought in mind as we read about how Jesus ministered to Israel. He was not just a great Teacher! He must also be extolled for the great Shepherd that He was to the multitudes!
GREAT MULTITUDES
How many had heard Jesus preaching? Apparently many! Matthew noted the huge crowd that followed Jesus after they had heard Him preach.
“When He had come down from the mountain,
great multitudes followed Him.”
Matthew 8:1
This was just a general observation. Matthew did not make any comments about the multitudes.
1. He did not comment on whether these were true believers.
2. He did not indicate that these were faithful disciples.
3. He only noted that there were ” great multitudes (who) followed Him”.
THE REQUEST OF A LEPER
It is interesting that Matthew placed the incident of a leper seeking healing as the first entry in his record of the public itinerant ministry of Jesus. There couldn’t have been a more difficult or more dramatic way of highlighting the kind of ministry Jesus engaged in.
A leper was prohibited by law to appear in public, on pain of being stoned to death! Lepers lived in little colonies outside towns! The community would try and provide for the needs of lepers. Relatives and concerned friends would provide for their daily needs. However, by and large, lepers were doomed to eke out a living till death took them! Never before had a leper been healed! Could Jesus actually heal a leper?
“And behold, a leper came and worshipped
Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ ”
Matthew 8:2
“And behold…”
Matthew’s use of the word “behold” was meant to highlight something spectacular, unexpected and different. The sudden appearance of a leper among the multitudes must have caused quite a stir. As the leper made his presence known, we can imagine the astonishment of the multitudes! Some must have fled from the leper. Others might have been inclined to take up stones to throw at him. But wait… what did the leper say?
“A leper came and worshipped Him…”
What was this leper doing? He was prostrating himself before Jesus! What a contrast in approach! The multitudes had merely followed Jesus! The leper had prostrated himself in worshipful awe!
“Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean…”
Did this leper somehow hear what Jesus taught? Did he somehow manage to remain hidden as he listened to Jesus teaching about God? Somehow, the leper knew that Jesus was no ordinary man. He was worthy to be called “Lord”. He deserved more than just attention. He deserved worship!
The leper somehow felt or knew that Jesus had all the power in Himself to heal him. His only fear was whether Jesus was willing, not whether He could. Why should the Lord Jesus even be willing to look at him, much less heal him? He was a leper, an outcast waiting to die in due time. Everybody shunned lepers. Why should this great Teacher even give him a second glance?
A GREAT SURPRISE TO EVERYONE
Everyone was hushed as the leper prostrated himself before Jesus! His calling Jesus “Lord” was astonishing. What was even more intriguing was the request for healing. Would Jesus heal him? Could Jesus really help him at all – after all he was a leper! Would anyone blame Jesus if He turned him away? To everyone’s surprise, Jesus did the unthinkable!
“Then Jesus put out His hand and touched
him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’
Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Matthew 8:3
Jesus reached out and touched the leper. Many must have shuddered and recoiled when He did that. Did He know what He was doing? Surely He was now unclean! Worse, He could have caught leprosy – or so some thought. But wait! The leper was healed!