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Lesson 30 Ch8 Ch9
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Matthew’s Gospel is a Jewish account containing a number of Jewish cultural expressions that were inherently understood by Jews in that era but can be confusing to gentiles in the modern Church that is so many centuries removed. Taught by Tom Bradford.

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THE BOOK OF MATTHEW

Lesson 30, Chapter 8 and 9

We are in the midst of several miracle stories of Jesus. The first involved cleansing a man who had Tzara'at. The second was healing a house slave of his infirmities (at the request of a Roman army officer), without Christ even being present with the sick person. The third was healing Peter's mother in law. The fourth we'll continue to discuss today, which is Christ compelling the storm and the sea to quiet. The fifth will be about demon possession. 

Before we get there I must say something. These miracles did not, and do not, in general change the minds of staunch non-Believers. Among the Jews of the early 1st century healings occurred (and were expected) when a Tzadik, a Holy Man, came along (as rare as that was). So Yeshua's miracles didn't change many, if any, minds and cause His Jewish countrymen to accept Him as their divine Messiah. When we have our ears and eyes closed, and carry around hearts of stone, no amount of miracles and wonders will turn us to God. This is why when we read about the End of Days in Revelation, with all the amazing and terrifying signs, chaos and cataclysms (happenings foretold in the Bible that can be nothing else but divinely caused) there is no accompanying world-wide revival. We aren't rewarded as we read of the global destruction by being told that millions and millions of non-Believers will turn to God as result. Rather, the majority will shake their fists towards Heaven and curse Him. As it turns out, the purpose of these divine signs and miracles was, and will be, as Matthew says in chapter 8 verse 17 concerning Yeshua's wondrous deeds:

CJB Matthew 8:17 This was done to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Yesha'yahu….

Yeshua's miracles of healing and cleansing were done because the Father keeps His promises. The proof of it is the relative few over the centuries who have accepted Yeshua as God's Son as compared to the countless billions of earthlings that have come and gone into the darkness over the centuries, despite His display of awesome miracles, His undeniable resurrection, and the detailed fulfillment of many ancient prophecies. Was it Christ's miracles that convinced you to trust Him? It certainly wasn't for me. It was that God did a work in me…. while I was completely unaware…. preparing me, and then telling me the truth. Those signs and miracles we read about in the Bible certainly are faith affirming; but they are not what we have faith in, nor are they what leads us to faith. These were done because God is faithful to His Word even when His people aren't. Nothing has changed. And as we read a little more about the sudden storm on the Sea of Galilee, we'll find that Jesus' actions and words that immediately subdued that storm are not what convinced His Disciples that He was far more than a miracle worker. Rather, it simply jarred them and caused them to be astonished, affirming in them that they had hitched their wagons to an incomparable Master. 

Let's re-read a few verses in Matthew chapter 8.

RE-READ MATTHEW CHAPTER 8:23 – end

We left off last week with the knowledge that as the storm that suddenly erupted on the Sea of Galilee began tossing the small fishing vessel that He and His disciples were in, Christ was asleep as the others in the boat with him were afraid and in panic mode. While we could probably read-in some highly spiritual elements and make good allegorical use of the fact that Yeshua was asleep in the tempest, I'm not sure that is Matthew's intent. When we go back to verses 16 – 22 we find that Yeshua had spent the entire day healing and dealing with large crowds of people pressing in all about Him. He was a human being, and subject to getting tired just as with the rest of us. I can't escape the obvious that one of the reasons He got into the boat was as a practical means to escape the demands of the endless crowds, and secondly because He was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. The Book of Mark contains the same story, but it adds a bit different perspective.

CJB Mark 4:35-41 35 That day, when evening had come, Yeshua said to them, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." 36 So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. 37 A furious windstorm arose, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was close to being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern on a cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, "Rabbi, doesn't it matter to you that we're about to be killed?" 39 He awoke, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind subsided, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no trust even now?" 41 But they were terrified and asked each other, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the waves obey him?" 

So, Yeshua laid down in that cramped little boat on top of a cushion and immediately fell off to sleep. As the waves grew and the boat began to be tossed around, it was not sufficient in itself to awaken Him. But, the panicking Disciples (probably a bit reluctantly) roused Him.

Did they waken Him thinking He would calm the storm? Nothing we have read would indicate that they thought He had such powers. Rather, He was their Master and leader, and it was only natural that as their situation appeared to be growing more and more dire, He certainly had to be made aware it. And yet, it is too obvious a matter to bypass that Christ's Disciples were devoted to Him such that they followed Him and obeyed Him in whatever capacity and situation. And so when things got out of control, they quickly turned to Him not knowing what else to do. Yet devotion and trust are two different things. It was typical for disciples to be devoted and loyal to their Master. But trusting in them to the point of releasing their cares to him and even discounting the outcomes of their own lives was another matter. Therefore when Yeshua awakens and sees the situation, He chastises His Disciples and tells them that they have no trust (in Him). Mark adds two words to Christ's chastisement that don't appear in either Matthew's or Luke's version: "even now". Even now. "Even now" implies that the things that He taught His Disciples and the miracles He had performed in their presence ought to have elicited more of their trust; but it hadn't. Christ was none too happy about that. 

We should always notice the frankness of the Gospel accounts concerning the 12 Disciples; nothing is papered over. These men are ordinary. They have their weaknesses and frailties, and their rather small level of faith at this moment (at least it is small in Christ's eyes) is among their human flaws. This takes us back to the beginning of our lesson. As much as one might reason and expect that it should, it would not be His astounding miracles, even ordering the storm to abate, that reveals Yeshua as the Messiah or that He is God incarnate and thus bring about complete trust in Him. It would be two things that makes those hand-picked Jewish disciples true Believers: the Spirit of God preparing them (which is what we are witnessing in progress) and then Yeshua telling them the truth about who He is (this hasn't happened yet in Matthew) and them accepting it. 

I doubt that any of the Jewish Tzadik miracle workers that suddenly appeared in the years before Yeshua calmed waves and stopped storms (there is no record of such a thing). So this was an aspect of Christ that the disciples had never seen before or even imagined. No doubt the image of Jonah had to have been conjured up in their minds as later they thought about what they had experienced; although the circumstances were not identical. We're left to understand in every Gospel version of this event that clearly the Disciples had no explanation for Christ's power and command over nature. Quickly the narrative turns to what happened immediately after the incident of the storm.

The boat arrives on the other side of the Lake, in the territory of the Gadarenes. There is a bit of a scholarly disagreement over who these people might have been, some suggesting they were the Gerasenes and not the Gadarenes. There is a problem with either choice. The former were residents of a city located about 30 miles from the Lake. The latter was associated with a city located nearer to the Lake, but still over 6 miles away. Therefore some scholars think that it was neither. Instead it was the people of Gergesa because indeed it was a lakeside village. The other disagreement is whether or not these people were Jews (or better, Israelites). There is nothing historically recorded that seems to be able to clear up this matter. Names of people and places change over the centuries with alarming regularity, and so we can only speculate. I choose not to speculate about the name of the people because their exact name is not the point of the story. I do agree that whether or not they were Israelites matters significantly, but again, we can't be certain. Samaria, for instance (a region on the west bank of the Jordan) was a mixed population of gentiles, Jews,  Jews married to gentiles, and even some number of other non-Jewish Israelites that had long ago married gentiles and remained in the area. So it is not impossible that the territory Jesus landed in was similarly populated especially because it was on the east side of the Jordan River, outside of the Holy Land. 

Even so, the involvement of pigs in the story of demon possession tells me that gentiles were present because the idea of Jews or leftover Israelites raising herds of pigs is just too farfetched. Thus we begin with two unnamed men of unnamed origin that come out of some burial caves where they were living in order to confront Yeshua. Theses men were controlled by (possessed by) demons and they were so fearsome and unhinged that a road traveling by their area was avoided. 

Let's talk about the mere concept of demon possession because within the Church the subject is controversial and shunned by many who believe that such a thing doesn't exist. Like so many other subjects in the Bible (the opening of the Rea Sea, even Jesus rising from the dead), demon possession is immediately latched onto, declared as suspect, and dismissed by scientists, anthropologists and psychiatrists. Rather they say that these supposed demon possessed people were actually mental patients, because long before the medical field advanced to its present stage the only explanation that the ancients had for the bizarre behavior of some people was demon possession. Therefore the same people depicted in our story could have been treated with psychiatry and medications had it been available.  

And yet I know reliable people who have personally dealt with demon possession, and although I have witnessed but one case of it, there is not a doubt in my mind that it is quite real and still relevant for our era. So while I believe that no doubt mental illness existed among some in Christ's day, that doesn't preclude the existence of demon possession in others. So our story in Matthew (that also appears in Mark 5 and Luke 8) is not about the mentally ill but rather it's about the demon possessed. There are slight differences in this story among the 3 Synoptic Gospels, such as there being 1 possessed person in two of the accounts and two persons in Matthew's. The number of possessed plays no real role in the event; the issue is that they ARE possessed by demons (unclean spirits) and it has caused them to be violent and uncontrollable. How they got that way in the first place is beyond the scope of the story. 

The mention of the possessed men living in a burial cave is important in Matthew's story because it speaks to them wallowing in a ritually unclean state in every way imaginable. A burial cave is an inherently unclean place because a dead body is there. There is little more ritually impure thing in the Jewish religion than a corpse and death. Yet these men were, with little doubt, gentiles and not Jews. Living in a cave that was not also used for burial wasn't unusual; and for pagans, living in burial caves was in some cases not seen as necessarily gross or wrong…..especially for cultures where their religion involved ancestor worship. Caves to this day form good housing in some cultures, as it did in Yeshua's day. Even in Grenada, Spain there are still people who have turned caves into housing. So once the men became demon possessed, and made unclean, then it could do them no more harm to live in a burial cave. Besides; who is to say that they saw themselves as unclean in God's eyes? You see, that is one of the big dangers in gentile Christianity disavowing The Torah of Moses and thus knowing nothing about it. Just because a Christian doesn't KNOW he or she is unclean or breaking God's commands doesn't mean in God's eyes they aren't. Ignorance of God's laws and of one's own spiritual status doesn't excuse it. 

What is fascinating is that these demon possessed men came out of their caves and screamed at Christ; not disrespectfully but rather in fear. They wanted to know why He was here, at this time, and not at the appointed time (which they thought would be at a later date). They called Him Son of God and wondered if He was here to torture them sooner than scheduled. So here we see that these demons know the real identity of Yeshua, even though the 12 Disciples don't. The demons understand that He is divine and that there is an appointed time for them to be dealt with and tormented, and that the timing of it coincides with Jesus being present on earth. These demons know a lot about Christ and their destiny; but evidently they don't know everything. 

I'll pause here to address something important; clearly the New Testament identifies that there are 2 latter days or End Times. If you want a more extensive understanding of this go to my study of the Book of Daniel. But the short version is this: the 1st latter days was that era leading up to and including the 1st coming of Christ. The 2nd latter days will be the era leading up to and including the 2nd coming of Christ (we may well even be living in that era). The people of Christ's time knew only of the 1st latter days and had no expectation of a 2nd. Thus when Yeshua spoke of the Kingdom of God, and of certain things that will happen at the End, the Jews that heard Him thought He was speaking about this happening nearly immediately. For Jews the appearance of the Messiah was concretely associated with the arrival of the End Times. And for them the judgment of demons was also directly tied to the End Times. This is why we see Peter, Paul, and several other New Testament Believers so passionate about getting the message of salvation out; they felt a pressing urgency because they totally believed that the End was imminent and would happen in their lifetimes because the Messiah had come. For them promise and theory became fact and reality. 

Thus when I read the story of these demoniacs who are in terror and surprised at Jesus's appearance, it tells me that they, too, know nothing of 2 latter days and 2 appearances of Christ on earth; they only knew of 1….. a later one. So they were confused. What they did seem to know is that at a divinely preset time, coincidental with the appearance of the Son of God, the condition of their existence as evil, unclean beings would be forever changed. Torment and darkness is their eternal future. However, that time was not yet and just like human beings do, they wanted every last second of existence they could have. Rather than Yeshua judging them and sentencing them to torment (which is what they fear is about to happen, but relieved when it doesn't) the demons plead with Him that they be relocated to another and different unclean place as a kind of interim or partial judgment: inside pigs. And yet, from a Torah perspective pigs are not inherently unclean animals. Rather they are only prohibited as being used for food. Even so, in Christ's day pigs were (by Jewish Tradition) considered inherently unclean, even to touch. Remember who is writing this Gospel and who he is writing it to. Matthew is a learned Believing Jew and his Gospel is being written to Jews. So there is a huge hint in Christ's response to the demons that the Day of Judgment, the End of Days, is not here yet but it will come some unknown time later and judgment that includes the sphere of spiritual evil will be part of that judgment. 

Upon receiving permission to leave the men's bodies and move to the pigs, the now demon possessed herd rushes towards the Lake and drowns. By no means does this intend that the demons have drowned. One must ask what this rush towards the water and mass suicide means? Is it just the demons' desire to harm and kill pigs? Can demons actually inhabit the body of animals and control them? The suggestion of it is certainly present in the narrative. I don't really have all the answers to this dilemma but this much is certain: in God's economy, water is a ritually purifying element for land creatures. Even inanimate pots having ritually impure contents in them can be cleansed by being immersed in water. So since the matter of ritual impurity is such a focus in this story of demon possession then surely the pigs running headlong into water must signal a real danger to these unclean demons. 

In any case the pigs die, and so in another sense the demons are right back into an unclean space…. where they belong. In other words, this story is built upon an irony, perhaps a paradox. Christ allows the unclean spirits to go into the unclean pigs that then run into a source of cleanness, water, only to drown and then have the unclean spirits right back in the unclean corpses of the pigs. Due to their aversion to both gentiles and pigs I suspect that Jews reading this would have found this story to be pretty comical. 

Interestingly Matthew doesn't tell us what happened to the men that had been possessed by these demons but were now freed. No doubt it is because for him they are not the issue. The issue is Christ's command over the spirit world…. including the demonic spirit world…. as well as the demons fully understanding Yeshua's identity and their ultimate destiny of judgment as tied to His presence. Likely it was also because these men were gentiles, making them of little interest to Jews, except that it put gentiles in the unfavorable light that Jews generally viewed them. Even so Mark does tell us that as Christ gets ready to board the boat and depart, the now exorcised men ask Him if they can come with Him; He says no. They need to go back to their own people (gentiles) and tell them how merciful "The Lord" has been to them. Yeshua is not referring to Himself but rather to His Father. I suspect that in the original Hebrew that Matthew penned His Gospel the word was not the Greek kurios (lord) but rather Yehoveh, God's name because that fits the context so much better. 

The men who had tended the now dead pigs (around 2000 of them according to Mark, a sizeable and valuable bunch of animals) go running into their town to tell everyone what happened. The townspeople come out, upset, and insist that Christ leaves, no doubt because pigs represented a big part of the local economy and they didn't want to risk losing their own herds to this mysterious Jewish man's abilities. 

Before we leave chapter 8 I want to address something that is perhaps of interest only to me: why did Jesus go to these particular people on the west side of the Lake? Did He intentionally choose this place, knowing beforehand that He was to go there to have this confrontation with the demons? We have no clue, except to perhaps think about it logically. In Capernaum Jesus boarded a small fishing boat to get out into the Lake to escape the crowds. He was exhausted from a very long day, fell asleep in the boat, and in the meantime a storm blew up. He was awakened, spoke to the storm, and it quieted down. But by now the boat had been pushed along, not controlled by its rudder but rather by the direction of the fierce wind and waves to the southeast corner of the Sea of Galilee. It was by God's providence that they landed where they did, not by intention. 

Folks we can use this adventure as an analogy and a story of encouragement. I know for a fact that many of us have been blown, at times rudderless, on the winds and waves of life to the place where we are today. Some of that journey may have been, maybe it still is, uncomfortable if not terrifying. If we belong to the Lord, however, then unbeknown to us and according to His providence, it was He who controlled those winds and waves of our lives to land us right where we belong; right where He wanted us. And now that we're here we are to embrace the mission and purpose that we never set sail for, and thank Him.

Let's move on to chapter 9.

READ MATTHEW CHAPTER 9 all

We have in chapter 9 another series of miracles performed by Christ, the addition of a new disciple, and some God-principles renewed. We're told that Yeshua and His Disciples returned to the other side of the Lake to what Matthew calls "His town" (no doubt it was Capernaum from where they originally set out). There a paralyzed man was brought to Yeshua in hopes of him being healed. The Gospel of Mark adds some important information to the story.

CJB Mark 2:1-5 1 After a while, Yeshua returned to K'far-Nachum. The word spread that he was back, 2 and so many people gathered around the house that there was no longer any room, not even in front of the door. While he was preaching the message to them, 3 four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. 4 They could not get near Yeshua because of the crowd, so they stripped the roof over the place where he was, made an opening, and lowered the stretcher with the paralytic lying on it. 5 Seeing their trust, Yeshua said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 

Perhaps the main addition has to do with how the paralyzed man was brought to Jesus. Four men who must have cared deeply for him went so far as to cut an area through the roof of the house where Yeshua was and then lowered the man down. We're told that they did this because the house was so crowded. We don't know whose house He was in; perhaps it was Peter's. One can only imagine the crowds that anxiously waited for this miracle healer to return with the hope that somehow they might get near enough to get Yeshua's attention and have their afflictions cured. 

Many years ago I heard a Pastor speak about this in a message he entitled "The Stretcher Bearers". It made such an impact upon me that I want to share just a bit of it with you. In this story we have a very ill man that could not help himself because he was unable to move. However 4 men who cared enough…. no doubt close friends or family….. each took a corner of a stretcher and did what had to be done. The human reality is that it is kind of rewarding if not exciting to be a stretcher bearer. To be a stretcher bearer one has to have the health and strength to do it. It means that as a stretcher bearer your health, and probably your life, is in some kind of good order. Not everyone wants to bother to be a stretcher bearer; but Christ has taught us that we all should be. That is how we love our neighbor. 

An old adage is that it is easier to give than to receive. So true. But it is also easier to carry the corner of a stretcher than to be laying on it. As a stretcher bearer we still have some control; as for the passenger, life has become somewhat out of control. Nobody wants to be the person on the stretcher because it means some tragedy, accident or illness has unfolded upon us. Especially men are wired to be stretcher bearers; but we're not wired to be on that stretcher. It hurts our pride, our ego, and makes us feel impotent. So the real story is not about the bearers of the stretcher, it's about the man that is on it. And Matthew being Matthew he focuses not on the carriers….he doesn't even mention them… but the victim. 

The harsh reality is that while most Believers don't mind being a stretcher bearer it is nearly devastating to have to give up our independence and become the one who needs to be carried. The even harsher reality is that at some point probably all of us will be on that stretcher. Will we have those around us who want to pick up a corner and lift us up? How will we react? Might we be grateful to be carried? Or will we be in denial and bitter? Will we shake our fist at God, angry because we've been such a faithful stretcher bearer for others, so we think that we don't deserve to be the one that now needs help? Or will we bend to God's will and allow ourselves to grow in faith as a result?

The thing I've learned that has been most valuable to me having been both the carried and the carrier is this: as the one on the stretcher we should never take away the blessing of the bearers by being bitter, ungrateful, angry, or ashamed. We should never try to shoo them away and declare that we don't need their help when in fact everyone can see that we do. If we're the Lord's, and we're in need of being carried, then God has placed us there for a reason. Maybe it is because one or all of those carrying our stretcher needs a blessing. Often it is for us to learn humility. There is little more humbling…. especially to a male…. of having to be carried. 

So whoever this paralyzed man was that was being carried to Jesus, even let down through a ceiling, he was not in the happiest of positions. As a paralytic in the 1st century, he was in control of nothing. His future was bleak. In his humbled state this afflicted man received from Yeshua exactly what he needed to, and could, hear: forgiveness from the sin that he was full of. And yet, was atonement what the man or his 4 friends were looking to Christ for? No; it was healing. So now after our speaking to the principle of the stretcher bearer, we find this challenging matter of sin being coupled with infirmity. 

Biblically, what is the connection between sin and illness? Yeshua didn't say "arise and walk" to the paralyzed man. He didn't say "be healed". He said "have courage, son, your sins are forgiven". It is interesting that in only one other place in the New Testament do we find Yeshua directly forgiving the sins of a particular person. In Luke 7 we read this:

CJB Luke 7:44-48 44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim'on, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house- you didn't give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair! 45 You didn't give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! 46 You didn't put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet! 47 Because of this, I tell you that her sins- which are many!- have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little." 48 Then he said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."

 In the case of the paralyzed man are we to conclude that it was sin that caused this man's condition? And if that is the case, then what Jesus did was to address the underlying cause of this man's disability (sin) as opposed to the disability itself. No doubt in that era sin and physical affliction were connected. There was another important incident whereby Yeshu connected sin and sickness. 

CJB John 5:5-14 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Yeshua, seeing this man and knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" 7 The sick man answered, "I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I'm trying to get there, someone goes in ahead of me." 8 Yeshua said to him, "Get up, pick up your mat and walk!" 9 Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was Shabbat, 10 so the Judeans said to the man who had been healed, "It's Shabbat! It's against Torah for you to carry your mat!" 11 But he answered them, "The man who healed me- he's the one who told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 But the man who had been healed didn't know who it was, because Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd. 14 Afterwards Yeshua found him in the Temple court and said to him, "See, you are well! Now stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you!" 

To this point it certainly sounds like Yeshua is instructing that sin causes infirmities and sickness. And we have many people and denominations that take hold of this and make it a doctrine that if one is sick or disabled then it was because of some sin or another that this person committed, so until they confess that sin and are forgiven they have no hope of being healed. Unfortunately, this also labels that person as an especially egregious sinner and Believers tend to accuse that person of causing their own illness. 

Despite what Christ has said thus far about sin and sickness, we also read this in John. 

CJB John 9:1-3 1 As Yeshua passed along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His talmidim asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned- this man or his parents- to cause him to be born blind?" 3 Yeshua answered, "His blindness is due neither to his sin nor to that of his parents; it happened so that God's power might be seen at work in him. 

The Early Church Fathers had different takes on sin and sickness with Hilary of Poitiers in the 4th century probably coming closest to a middle ground. In his commentary on Matthew 9 and the man on the stretcher he says:

The paralytic is a descendant of the original man, Adam. In on person, Christ, all of the sins of Adam are forgiven………. we do not believe the paralytic committed any sin that resulted in his illness, especially since the Lord said elsewhere that blindness from birth had no been contracted from someone's sin or that of his parents.

So, this is our dilemma. Is sin and sickness directly connected or is there no connection or is there a connection sometimes? Or are we to look at it more like Hilary in that what causes illness is the sin nature that we all inherit from Adam, as opposed to sins of breaking the Law of Moses? If so, why do staunch, faithful Believers get sick? 

In the end I cannot provide a simple answer. Assuming that Christ was not merely mouthing words in order to play into the traditions and customs of His Jewish culture, then it is undeniable that He indeed drew a direct link between sin and sickness. Even so, it seems to be on an almost case by case basis such that only God knows when a person is ill due to sin, and when he or she isn't. Perhaps the only thing that we can do…. and maybe that is the lesson…. is to not suppose that we are in a position to make that judgment about an ill person.  Rather, not knowing the source of their infirmity, we pray for them asking both for forgiveness of sins and for their healing. This seems to be what James is saying at the end of his letter.

CJB James 5:13-16 13 Is someone among you in trouble? He should pray. Is someone feeling good? He should sing songs of praise. 14 Is someone among you ill? He should call for the elders of the congregation. They will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer offered with trust will heal the one who is ill- the Lord will restore his health; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 

We'll continue in Matthew chapter 9 next week.

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    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 10, Chapter 4 Continued The Early Church Father Chrysostom said this about the temptations of Christ: "The devil begins with the temptation to indulge the belly. By this same means he cast out the first man, and by this means many are still cast down."  In…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 11, Chapters 4 and 5 Our previous lesson in Matthew chapter 4 left off at a time when Christ was gathering His first disciples. Teachers and Holy Men gathering disciples was nothing new; in fact John's Gospel says that Andrew was John the Baptist's disciple…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 12, Chapter 5 The Sermon on the Mount will be our topic for the next few weeks as it takes up Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. I think I can say without much objection that the Sermon on the Mount represents the most consequential…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 13, Chapter 5 Continued The richness and depth of instruction contained in the Sermon on the Mount is so breathtaking and yet foundational to the life of a Believer in the Father and in Messiah Yeshua, that after much time studying and researching it, I…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 14, Chapter 5 Continued 2 We have now completed studying 7 of the Beatitudes. It is usually said that there are 8 of them, but some Bible commentators say there are 9, and others say 10. My position is that the separating away of the…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 15, Chapter 5 Continued 3 I want to begin by acknowledging that we've spent the better part of 3 lessons covering only the first 16 verses of Matthew chapter 5; I know this is a very slow pace. I'm afraid that it is not likely…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 16, Chapter 5 Continued 4 Today we continue our careful and deliberate study in Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Last week we spent our entire time together on the pivotal verses 17 – 20 because these form the basis and the backstop…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 17, Chapter 5 Continued 5 We've been in Matthew chapter 5 long enough that a reminder of the setting and background for the Sermon on the Mount is in order.  The setting is the Galilee. It is the serene rural agricultural and shepherding center of…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 18, Chapter 5 Conclusion Despite the happy fiction that in Yeshua's day the Jewish people practiced a religion that was rather pure and Torah driven, in reality what they practiced was a religion based mostly on Tradition. Naturally the Jews were not a monolithic culture;…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 19, Chapter 6 Our duty, and our hope, as followers of the Messiah Yeshua is to place our feet into His footprints. The Sermon on the Mount is showing us the way. Matthew recognizes how crucial Yeshua's speech is and so takes 3 full chapters…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 20, Chapter 6 Continued We'll continue in Matthew chapter 6 directing our focus upon the Lord's Prayer of verses 9 – 13. Leading up to this prayer example that Christ presented to those listening to His Sermon on the Mount, He gave His listeners a…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 21, Chapter 6 Continued 2 As we continue today in the Lord's Prayer, we'll begin at verse 13. Verses 11, 12, and 13 are sometimes called the "we petitions". This is because of the use of the plural "us" to begin each of these verses.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 22, Chapter 6 Continued 3 We ended last week by discussing Matthew 6 verse 19. Beginning with this verse and on into the first part of chapter 7 Yeshua deals with an array of matters that in modern vocabulary we would probably label as "social…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 23, Chapter 7 We have now completed 2 of the 3 chapters that Matthew devoted to Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount. Every now and then it is probably profitable to remind you that Matthew did not write in chapters; ending one and beginning another. Rather…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 24, Chapter 7 Continued As we continue in Matthew chapter 7, we will review what we covered in the prior lesson. Let's begin by opening our Bibles and reading the opening verses.  RE-READ MATTHEW 7:1 – 6 Around a century ago, Thomas Walter Manson, a…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 25, Chapter 7 Continued 2 Matthew chapter 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount that began in chapter 5. I'm hoping that by this point a better understanding is being gained about the context and intent of Yeshua's long speech; a context that has been…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 26, Chapter 7 Continued 3 In our previous lesson in Matthew chapter 7, Christ continues His Sermon on the Mount by making this unnerving statement in verses 22 and 23. CJB Matthew 7:22-23 22 On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 27, Chapter 7 and 8 We'll conclude Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount today, which we have spent 17 lessons studying because of its incomparable value, and we'll also open the door into Matthew chapter 8. But first let's take a look back on the all-important…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 28, Chapter 8 Continued As we delve deeper and deeper into Matthew's Gospel, to this point we have found three elements to be always present and repetitive; therefore it is crucial for us to notice them and to understand that Matthew has constructed his Gospel…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 29, Chapter 8 Continued 2 We took another extensive detour last week in our continuing study of Matthew Chapter 8 to explore some of the Early Church Fathers in order to trace their viewpoint on the all-important matter of Believers in Christ having an obligation…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 30, Chapter 8 and 9 We are in the midst of several miracle stories of Jesus. The first involved cleansing a man who had Tzara'at. The second was healing a house slave of his infirmities (at the request of a Roman army officer), without Christ even…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 31, Chapter 9 We're going to spend a little more time today with the story that opens Matthew 9; that of the paralytic man who was brought to Christ so that he might be healed. Let's begin by re-reading verses 1 – 7. RE-READ MATTHEW…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 32, Chapter 9 Continued The subject that we'll focus on to begin today's lesson is a dispute between John the Baptist's disciples and Yeshua's disciples, ostensibly over the subject of fasting; this is what Matthew 9:14 – 17 revolves around. We'll go forward today in…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 33, Chapter 9 Continued 2 As we continue in Matthew chapter 9, we left off last time with verse 27 that says: CJB Matthew 9:27 27 As Yeshua went on from there, two blind men began following him, shouting, "Son of David! Take pity on…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 34, Chapter 9 and 10 We'll conclude Matthew chapter 9 today and get into Matthew chapter 10.  What we've been reading in chapter 9 has all been occurring on the shores of the Sea of Galilee; largely in Yeshua's new hometown of Capernaum, itself a…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 35, Chapter 10 Miracles are at the foundation of biblical faith. It begins with Creation itself as a miracle. After all, how does a Universe that never before existed have a definite beginning? Yet beyond simply declaring something a "miracle", we tend not to think…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 36, Chapter 10 Continued As we continue today in our study of Matthew chapter 10 there's a couple of important context items to keep in mind. First, Matthew lived and wrote well after the events he is speaking about. He was not the Matthew (also…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 37, Chapter 10 Continued 2 The topic of what Christ signified when He called Himself "the Son of Man" is how we ended our last lesson. In the Torah Class study of the Book of Daniel, lessons 20 and 21, I spent extensive time explaining…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 38, Chapter 10 and 11 Of the several passages in Matthew chapter 10 that we studied last week, verses 26 – 31 dealt with fear, death, and the problem of evil. In context it had primarily to do with what Yeshua's 12 Disciples might face…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 39, Chapter 11 From the panoramic view perhaps one of the main take-aways from all 4 Gospel accounts is that Yeshua was misunderstood by His own Jewish countrymen; and surprisingly by those one might think would have understood Him best. Since it is various individuals…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 40, Chapter 11 Continued Perhaps one of the more important, yet difficult to capture, statements made by Christ is found in Matthew 11:11 – 15. Another comes at the end of the chapter that we'll get to later. We're going to get pretty detailed and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 41, Chapter 11 Continued 2 Before we continue in Matthew chapter 11, let's back-up a wee bit and reset the context. The first 19 verses of this chapter were about John the Baptist in relation to his connection with Christ. First, he was the foretold…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 42, Chapter 11 and 12 We wrapped up the prior lesson with a message of awareness to a sad but dangerous reality within Christianity in modern times, in which not only is it acceptable within the academic branch of the Church for agnostics or even…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 43, Chapter 12 We closed last week with discussing the establishment, purpose and ongoing relevance of the Sabbath. This stems from the opening verse of Matthew 12. CJB Matthew 12:1 One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry,…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 44, Chapter 12 Continued While every chapter of the Book of Matthew is packed with important information for the Believer, chapter 12 is one of the meatiest of them all. This chapter also helps us to recognize something I highlight in the very first lesson…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 45, Chapter 12 Continued 2 Of the several things Matthew continues to underscore in his Gospel, here in chapter 12 we seen this growing contrast… an unfriendly polarization, if you would… between Christ and the leaders of the Synagogue. As we read let's always remember…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 46, Chapter 12 Continued 3 Last week in Matthew chapter 12 we left off with the thorny issue of what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit amounts to. And the reason that is important is because even Christ's death on the Cross can't atone for it.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 47, Chapter 13 Matthew chapter 13 begins this way: CJB Matthew 13:1 That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake; 2 but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 48, Chapter 13 Continued We began last week's lesson with a somewhat long dissertation about the true nature of parables because in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13 is where Christ's use of parables begins in earnest. I'll briefly review.  One of the most important elements of…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 49, Chapter 13 Continued 2 Do you want to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? Assuming you are Believers in the God of Israel and His Son, Yeshua, then little is more important in our faith journey than to pursue this understanding. In…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 50, Chapter 13 Conclusion "Communion with God by means of prayer, through the removal of all intruding elements between man and his Maker, and through the implicit acceptance of God's unity, as well as an unconditional surrender of mind and heart to His holy will,…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 51, Chapter 14 The first dozen verses of Matthew chapter 14 bring us back to the subject of John the Immerser; more specifically it tells us of his death. That he was in prison was already established back in chapter 11. Now chapter 14 begins…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 52, Chapter 14 Continued Keep your Bibles open and handy as we're going to do much reading today.  The beginning of Matthew chapter 14 was covered in the previous lesson. It is the story of the execution of John the Baptist. The request for his…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 53, Chapter 15 Today we start Matthew chapter 15. The first 20 verses represent perhaps one of the most controversial segments of any Gospel account. There is a parallel account of this same incident in Mark 7. We'll look it at as well because it…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 54, Chapter 15 Continued We'll continue this week in Matthew 15, one of the more challenging (and therefore controversial) chapters in the New Testament. At the same it is one of the most inspirational, instructional, and therefore among the most important for Believers to get…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 55, Chapter 15 Conclusion Before we continue in Matthew 15 today there's a couple of housekeeping issues I would like to get out of the way because I am regularly asked about it and enjoy the opportunity to offer an explanation. The first is my…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 56, Chapter 16 Who is Yeshua? What is Yeshua? This is a question that has yet to be fully answered to this point in Matthew, and even though most 21st century Christians think it is an answered and settled matter in The Church, it is far from…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 57, Chapter 16 Continued I began the previous lesson with the rhetorical questions: who is Yeshua? What is Yeshua? It is such a complex issue that as we go through this chapter I'll continue to weave-in some needed background about the historical Jesus so that…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 58, Chapter 16 Continued 2 We will continue to carefully work our way through Matthew in this chapter that is nearly a Gospel within a Gospel. Some of the more elite Bible scholars of the past make chapter 16 of Matthew among their most extensive…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 59, Chapter 16 and 17 Last week in our study of Matthew chapter 16 we ended with an important topic Yeshua raised beginning in verse 24, which is the high cost of being His disciple. Let's immediately go to our Bibles and read from verse…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 60, Chapter 17 We opened Matthew chapter 17 last week, which begins with one of the landmark occurrences within Yeshua's short ministry on earth: The Transfiguration. I promised that we'd try to untangle the meaning of it and we'll do that shortly. This is going…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 61, Chapter 17 Continued Last week we concluded our study of the opening portion of Matthew chapter 17 that focused on The Transfiguration. Truly this nearly unfathomable event of an epiphany of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus together is one of the most mysterious in the…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 62, Chapter 17 and 18 Last week we began to delve into the interesting story that ends Matthew chapter 17 about a certain tax collector coming to Capernaum where Yeshua was residing with Peter, and the tax collector asks the question " doesn't your Master…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 63, Chapter 18 We began chapter 18 last week and immediately the topic became humility. It is that humility is to be perhaps the chief virtue for anyone hoping to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Verses 1 – 14 are essentially an examination of Godly…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 64, Chapter 18 Conclusion We began to study Matthew 18:15 – 20 last week and shortly we'll re-read that section. Before we do that we need to set the context. This is necessarily going to involve some amount of sermonizing to go along with the…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 65, Chapter 19 We begin chapter 19 of Matthew's Gospel today, and it begins with a bang. Immediately some dicey subjects arise; dicey for the 1st-century Jewish community and they remain problematic for God worshippers to this day. The subjects are divorce, monogamy, and celibacy.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 66, Chapter 19 Continued Marriage, divorce, polygamy versus monogamy, and celibacy… these were all important issues in Yeshua's time, and remain so in the modern era. While polygamy in the Western developed world is found only in smallish and offbeat remnants of our societies and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 67, Chapters 19 and 20 In Matthew chapter 19 we find the story of the rich man who asked Yeshua how he could obtain eternal life. We find this same story in Mark and Luke as well, with only minor differences. Let's re-read it. RE-READ…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 68, Chapter 20 We began Matthew 20 last week and dealt with the Parable of the Fair Farmer who paid the same amount of money to workers that had labored from dawn to dusk equally as workers that had worked perhaps no more than an…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 69, Chapter 21 The first 20 chapters of Matthew have set the stage for what we'll encounter beginning in chapter 21. Those chapters could almost be set apart and in summation titled "How We Got Here From There".  Thus far we have learned much about…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 70, Chapter 21 Continued As we opened Matthew chapter 21 last week we read about what Christianity calls the Triumphal Entry. In this short but revealing action in Yeshua's life and mission, He enters Jerusalem riding upon a donkey, accompanied with the donkey's foal. This…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 71, Chapter 21 Continued 2 In Matthew chapter 21 Yeshua's journey to the cross is gaining speed as the proverbial snowball rolling down a steep hill. We find Him having now arrived at the place of His foretold and impending death: Jerusalem. In many ways…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 72, Chapter 22 Today we open Matthew chapter 22. It begins with quite a long Parable. Unlike some of the other metaphorical and symbolic illustrations that Jesus has been using to instruct and to reply, this is a true Parable in the Hebrew literary sense…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 73, Chapter 22 Continued Matthew chapter 22 records a series of hard-hitting verbal reprimands and instruction that Jesus had with some representatives of the Temple organization and others from the Synagogue organization. Generally speaking, these two organizations were populated and led by members of two…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 74, Chapter 22 Continued 2 When we follow Yeshua's career on earth and especially His Wisdom teachings, we find that just as in the manner our teachers taught us in elementary, High School and college, over time He built-up knowledge in His followers by starting…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 75, Chapter 23 In opening Matthew 23, if I were to give it a title, it would be "Exposing the Hypocrisy of the Leadership". It is an interesting reality that as a person gets older and knows that death is not far off, or at…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 76, Chapter 23 Continued Our study of Matthew 23 continues today, but bear with me before we re-open it's inspired pages. Early in the Book of Genesis we learned of a fundamental governing dynamic of God: He divides, elects, and separates. One of the most…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 77, Chapter 23 Continued 2 Because I had the great privilege of being raised in a Christian household from my earliest age, my family and I spent every Sunday in Church. Child Psychologists and most parents (especially moms) can verify that even when a child…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 78, Chapter 23 Conclusion As we inch closer and closer to Yeshua's death on the cross in Matthew's Gospel, there's so much context and background and many subjects that we encounter that are in need of explanation and fleshing out that at times we're going…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 79, Chapter 24 Before we dive into Matthew chapter 24, I think it is best to first offer you an exposition and summary of not only what we have learned thus far in Matthew about the crucial role that Jesus plays in Redemption History, but…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 80, Chapter 24 Continued Last week I installed a framework for us to try to better comprehend not only what we have learned thus far in the Gospels about Yeshua's role in Redemption History, but also about the several stages of it. And that beginning…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 81, Chapter 24 Continued 2 The Gospel of Matthew is a delight to teach because it offers such opportunities to provide application to our modern lives, as well as to prepare us for what lay ahead. Chapters 24 and 25 form what is nearly universally…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 82, Chapter 24 Continued 3 If the End Times matters to you; if where we likely stand in the timeline of Redemption History matters to you; then the study of Matthew chapter 24 and 25 are crucial to your understanding and I don't want to…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 83, Chapter 24 Continued 4 For the majority of New Testament commentators, the explanation of Matthew chapter 24 is among the most (if not the most) extensive required of all the Gospels combined. The main reason is because Yeshua speaks so considerably about the future…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 84, Chapter 24 Continued 5 Matthew 24:30 says: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 85, Chapter 24 and 25 Verse 42 of Matthew chapter 24 sums up perhaps Yeshua’s most indispensable teaching about the End Times: CJB Matthew 24:42 So stay alert, because you don't know on what day your Lord will come.  Awareness, alertness, and preparedness form the recurring…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 86, Chapter 25 Continued In our previous lesson we ended with delving into the fascinating and illuminating Parable of the Talents. The most common method within Christianity (and often within Messianic Judaism) to study or preach this parable is by using allegories to separate out…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 87, Chapter 25 and 26 Last week the ending portion of our study was essentially a word picture of the final judgment that also goes by the name Judgment Day. This is one of those things that isn’t particularly pleasant for a Pastor or Bible…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 88, Chapter 26 Last week we began what is popularly known as the Passion Narrative, which essentially dominates the remaining chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. The circumstances of leading up to Christ’s execution, burial, resurrection, and the immediate aftermath represents probably the most focused upon portion…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 89, Chapter 26 Continued When we closed our study on Matthew chapter 26 last time, we had been looking at the rather strange act of the common Jewish woman in Bethany that had just poured a great deal of costly perfumed ointment on Christ’s head.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 90, Chapter 26 Continued 2 We open today with what is known as the very intriguing Last Supper. Clearly from the way in which this event is covered in all the Gospel accounts, each writer sees it as dramatically meaningful for those who love and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 91, Chapter 26 Continued 3 In our previous study of Matthew chapter 26 we took a careful look at a rather peculiar ceremony that took place at an unknown location within the city walls of Jerusalem, with Jesus and His 12 disciples in attendance. It…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 92, Chapter 26 Continued 4 When we left off last time in Matthew 26, Yeshua had just been identified by Judas and betrayed to the Temple authorities. It was nighttime, a short time after the Last Supper, and so it occurred within the first few…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 93, Chapter 27 Matthew chapter 26 concluded with a mixed group of Jewish religious leadership, representing both the Temple and the Synagogue authorities, gathering at night in an official capacity at the High Priest Caiaphas’s home with one purpose in mind: to find false allegations…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 94, Chapter 27 Continued Verses 11 through 26 in Matthew chapter 27 have been perhaps the chief source for persistent anti-Semitism within our faith; and this has been so for as much as 1800 years. The question these verses have been alleged to deal with…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 95, Chapter 27 Continued 2 As we are nearing the end of our extensive study of Matthew’s Gospel and all that has been revealed about Jesus’s life and teachings along the way, we have arrived at the epic Redemption History milestone that had it’s beginning…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 96, Chapter 28 END Today, we shall conclude what amounts to a 2-year study of the Gospel of Matthew. Although there are some additional facts and events surrounding Christ’s death, resurrection is far and away the central matter of chapter 28, as it ought to…