Monthly Archives: April 2018

Guilty or Not Guilty

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A demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”  But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”   Matthew 9:32-34 ESV1

Read Matthew 9:32-34, 12:22-32 & 43-45; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-26

Never in my life have I held a dinner party or engaged in festivities at someone else’s home that was as interrupted as the banquet Matthew held in Jesus’ honor. Jesus had been taken from the party to raise a girl from the dead. On His way to do that, He healed a woman from a bleeding condition. On His way back to Matthew’s party, He was approached by two blind men who asked for healing; to get their miracle, they followed Him right into Matthew’s home. “As [the two blind men] were going away [from Matthew’s home], behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons’” (Matthew 9:32-34). Matthew, Jesus, the disciples, tax collectors, sinners, a distraught father, two blind men, the demon-oppressed man, those who accompanied the sick and needy, the Pharisees and scribes, and an amazed crowd all appeared to be at Matthew’s home during the course of this party. I wonder, did Matthew or Jesus ever get a chance to eat? Was this what Matthew expected when he “made [Jesus] a great feast in his house” (Luke 5:29)? But then again, Matthew wasn’t called to be a party host, and Jesus didn’t come to Earth to get good meals.

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According to Your Faith

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When He entered the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”      Matthew 9:28-29 ESV1

Read Matthew 9: 9-13 & 27-31; Mark 2:13-17; and Luke 5:27-32 

Matthew, also known by his Hebrew name, Levi the son of Alphaeus, is the writer of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew wrote his Gospel with a Jewish audience in mind. Matthew knew the Jewish Scriptures “very well. His Gospel quotes the Old Testament ninety-nine times. That is more times than Mark, Luke, and John combined.”2 Matthew was also a man of great faith. “When Jesus showed up and called him to follow Him, [Matthew] had enough faith to drop everything and follow; [he] instantly and without hesitation ‘arose and followed Him’ … He left … his … profession forever. The decision was irreversible as soon as he made it”2 Matthew was also concerned about others. “Matthew’s first impulse after following Jesus was to bring his closest friends and introduce them to the Savior.”2 One would think Matthew was always a righteous and well-liked guy, but that is not his story.

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A Different Touch

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And Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him, immediately turned to the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments.” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing around You, and yet You say, “Who touched Me?” Mark 5:30-31 ESV1

Read Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:24b-34 & Luke 8:42b-48

As Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ home to raise his daughter, something unexpected happened. Something unexpected but not something irrelevant. Something unexpected but not something disregarded. Something unexpected but not something unimportant.

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So Much Confusion

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Taking her by the hand He called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once … And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. Luke 8:54-56 ESV1

Read Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26; Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; & Luke 8:40-42, 49-56

Have you ever been part of an exciting, amazing, or traumatic event, one replete with commotion, lively activity, or frenzy, and one so memorable, you felt you would never forget a moment? Only to find, when it was all over, and as you and others, who were also there, discussed what happened and what was said, you realized you each perceived the happening very differently, so different, in fact, that you wondered if some of the others were even at the same event? I have a feeling that those who hung out with Jesus as He walked the Earth often felt that way. The miracle we will consider now is such an example.

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Friends of a Sinner

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And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.  Luke 5:18-19 ESV1

Read Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12 & Luke 5:17-26

Jesus and His disciples left the country of the Gerasenes and the newly-freed man who was beginning his newly-discovered ministry and returned by boat to Capernaum, Jesus’ home-away-from-home. On this side of the lake, they once again were met by a crowd. Among this crowd were people of two distinct attitudes: one no less evil than the legion of demons He had just exorcised and one no less wonderful the freed man’s desire to serve Jesus.

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Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

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“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”            Mark 5:19 ESV1

Read Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, & Luke 8:26-39

Not only did Jesus cross the Sea of Galilee to get a break from the crowds. Not only did He cross the Sea of Galilee to show His disciples He had authority over the weather. He crossed the Sea of Galilee for an even greater reason— “to proclaim liberty to the captives and … to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). The same disciples who were amazed by His authority over the wind and the waves were to be, in this next adventure, astonished at His power over bondage.

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