Matthew 8:1–3, 23–27; 9:1–8

Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

Always Trust Christ
Matthew 8:1–3, 23–27; 9:1–8
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus established His authority. The crowds recognized that His teaching was different from that of the religious leaders, for He spoke with power. Now we move into the realm of Jesus’ ministry. Here, He showed authority in His actions. As we look at the various events in which Jesus is ministering to needs, we see that Jesus is always trustworthy, always faithful and always gracious. At the same time, He shows Himself to be more than just another man or prophet or great moral teacher.

When You Are Sick (8:1–3)
Jesus has the authority to heal the sick. When a leper confessed his belief that Jesus could heal if He wanted to, Jesus healed the man. Then He told him to follow the instruction of Moses, obeying the prescribed order for being declared clean by a priest. This was done in accordance with the rules for all skin ailments as found in Leviticus 13.

Some take the Master’s response to suggest that He is willing for all healing to be immediate. Scripture indicates that God does not heal all diseases of believers at the moment of petition. In fact, the real issue here is not the immediacy of the cleansing; it is the authority of Jesus over sickness.

No one has to convince Baptists that Jesus is able to heal. Testimonies are given on a regular basis of how a church member prayed and the Lord took away the pain, the disease or the signs of an infirmity. We spend a great deal of our time praying for physical healing. What believers must recognize is that we can trust Jesus for our healing and more. The passages that follow testify of Jesus’ healing of a Gentile’s servant, His cleansing of demonic spirits and His declaration that discipleship is costly.

When You Are in Danger (8:23–27)
Jesus has the authority to calm storms. At least four of His disciples — Peter, Andrew, James and John — were fishermen who were used to storms on the Sea of Galilee. When the winds of this particular storm arose, even the disciples feared for their lives. They had no idea what was about to happen. As Henry Blackaby has explained, the disciples thought that the truth was that they were going to drown but all along, Truth was asleep in the back of the boat.

The events which occur next are significant. First, He rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. Jesus had already shown His authority over disease. Why did they not trust Him now? Second, He rebuked the storm. The God-man has the authority over the winds and the waves, for He is Lord. Finally the men showed amazement that Jesus has the power to make creation obey Him. And yet Jesus has not finished showing why He can always be trusted.

When You Need Forgiveness (9:1–8)
Jesus has the authority to forgive sin. A paralytic was brought to Jesus and the Master forgave him. What had this handicapped man done to Jesus personally? The answer is nothing. Why then did Jesus tell him that his sins were forgiven? After all, speaking for God in such ways was blasphemous. Some of the scribes knew that no ordinary man could utter such words. Neither a prophet nor a great moral teacher had ever claimed the right to absolve anyone. Only the almighty God Himself had the prerogative to forgive sin. Jesus has such authority.

Jesus declared the paralytic’s forgiveness, and then He spoke of evil in the hearts of critical scribes. This hits close to home, because in my own heart, I am often critical. Jesus called this evil. He then demonstrated to the scribes that He had the authority to forgive sin by healing the man and sending him home. The people who experienced this event were frightened, just as the disciples in the boat. But they also gave God glory, for it belongs to God. Jesus brought glory to the Father and good to a man who needed both physical and spiritual healing.

When you need forgiveness, run to Jesus (or be carried to Him). When you are in danger, call upon Jesus as your Defender and Protector. When you need healing, take your needs to Jesus. You can always trust Him.