|
|
8:1-4
Jesus demonstrates his power
What follows, dear reader, is not an exhaustive or complete account of
Jesus' ministry. That would be too bulky, and there would also be a point when
too much evidence might bury the subject. So what I have done is pick out of all
the many things which Jesus said and did, the most appropriate examples,
sufficient to prove beyond question that he is who he claims to be - as the
prophets of the Old Testament predicted. (For example Is.35:5,6)
When you have gone through chapters 8 to 12 you will see the following
qualities in Jesus : 1. He has absolute authority over all disease, demons,
death and the elements of Nature, 2. He has supreme lordship over all his
followers, 3. He is rejected by the nation of the Jews, just as the prophets of
old said he would be, 4. He is accepted eagerly by many Gentiles - again, as the
prophets of old said he would be. In the above four areas, Jesus is clearly seen
as the one whom the Old Testament prophets described as the Messiah, and
therefore he must be the King of Israel, and the Son of God.
Jesus came back down from the crest of the hill, and as he walked through
the crowds of people who had been waiting for him, they began to fall in behind.
Now very popular, He was ready to begin the practical side of his work.
A leprous man, dirty, and in rags, and twisted with the crippling
disease, came to him, and kneeled down close to where Jesus was walking. When
the people saw the leper they drew back, afraid to touch him, but the leper
ignored them and called to Jesus.
"Lord" said the leper, "If you want to heal me, I know you
can do it."
Jesus went over to the leper and placed his hand on the man. The crowd
gasped in fright. It was extremely risky to touch a leper, because the disease
was thought to be contagious.
But Jesus wanted to show the people that he was immune from disease, and
more - that he was able to reverse the effects.
"I do want to heal you" said Jesus.
Immediately the leper felt a power rushing trough his body. His bent
joints began to move again, the dry, wrinkled patches of skin on his face became
smooth, and the twisted limbs became supple and healthy. The leper examined
himself, full of wonder and amazement.
"Now" said Jesus, "I want you to go to the priest and have
him verify that you are no longer a leper. (Lev. 14:4-6) Don't forget to make
the offering which Moses prescribed, and don't go blabbing about this to
everyone on the way!"
The leper went off, overjoyed at his new body, but also obedient. Though
he was bursting to tell everyone what had just happened, he managed to keep his
mouth shut.
8:5-13
Jesus cures paralysis
Jesus walked, with his large, interested crowd clustering close behind,
as far as Capernaum, and as he entered the town and came down the street, a
Roman military officer, a centurion (in charge of 100 men) came to him.
"Please help me!" the centurion pleaded, "I have a servant
at home who is paralysed! He was fine one minute, and then he just suddenly
collapsed! We can't do a thing for him - he's in terrible pain! He . . ."
"I'm on my way!" said Jesus.
"No wait" said the centurion, "I understand your power . .
. you are like me. I can give orders, and I can take them, from my superiors. I
have authority over other men. You are the same. You have the authority to order
sickness about. Just say the word and my servant will be healed!"
Jesus was amazed. This centurion, a mere Gentile, had grasped something
which most of the learned Jewish scholars had completely missed.
(Of the two times Jesus was seen to marvel, the other time was when he
came across Jewish unbelief - Mark 6:6)
Jesus turned to the people around him, and his face showed great wonder.
"You know" he said, "This Roman has more faith in me than
most of the Israelites ever had, except for the outstanding ones, like Abraham,
and Isaac and Jacob! In fact, this Roman is a taste of things to come. One day
there will be thousands of people like him, all Gentiles, and all foreigners to
the Covenants, but they will be inside the kingdom, and having a great time!
On the other hand, the people who should be there will be missing, yes,
I'm talking about the Israelites. They have been given every opportunity to be
God's kingdom people, but huge numbers of them will be turfed out. They will be
miserable, and angry, and they will try to get in, but once the doors are shut,
they stay shut."
Then Jesus turned to the
centurion and smiled.
"You can go no" he said, "You have acknowledged my
authority over sickness, so I hereby grant you your request."
The centurion saluted and walked away. When he reached his home, he found
his servant up and about, with no trace of the illness. I have this on good
account, thanks to several witnesses who verified this for me.
8:14,15
Peter's wife's mother
Jesus continued to heal people for a while, until about lunch-time, by
which hour he was feeling hungry, so he made his way across town and went into
Peter's house. The crowd followed him all the way, then it stood respectfully
outside on the street, talking and discussing things, and hoping to catch a
glimpse of Jesus when he had eaten and come back out to them.
There, on the couch, was Peter's wife's mother, suffering from a fever.
Jesus went over to the poor woman and, reached down to her, took the woman's
hand. It was hot, and limp, as the fever sapped the strength from her body, but
Jesus released his power and healed her. Immediately she was well, and strong,
and full of energy. She stood up, happy beyond expression, and ran to the
kitchen cupboards to prepare a meal for her guests.
8:16,17
Healing all the people
Jesus rested at Peter's place for the afternoon, then in the evening, he
went out again and started to work more healing miracles. He also delivered many
people who were possessed by demons - these were people who were controlled or
influenced by evil sprits (fallen angels). Often they exhibited superhuman
knowledge or power, or they were tormented with strange, horrible or frightening
thoughts. Sometimes these people were considered insane, or mentally unbalanced,
but Jesus knew which was which, and sorted them out accordingly. He told the
evil spirits to go away, and they did, because he had the authority over them.
But it was the physical healings which were most significant, because
they identified Jesus as the Messiah. As the prophet Isaiah predicted -
"The Messiah will be known by his ability to heal all kinds of sickness and
disease." It is therefore the earthly healing ministry, and not the death
on the cross, to which this verse applies.
8:18-22
Discipleship
Jesus had complete authority over bacteria and viruses, all forms of
disease and degeneration. He also had full control over evil spirits. But
humans, with their free will, were able to resist and reject him. This is truly
remarkable.
This situation is illustrated by the following events :
Jesus noticed that a huge crowd had gathered around him, and as it was
growing darker by the minute, he decided to leave the area, and cross over the
Sea of Galilee before the night fell completely. Accordingly, he told someone to
prepare a boat and started to walk down the slope towards the water, but as he
approached the beach, a scribe intercepted him politely.
"I am willing to go all the way as one of your disciples . . ."
"Oh really?" said Jesus, "Do you have any idea what that
will cost? You'll be like a fox with no burrow; a bird with no nest. Everywhere
you go the doors will shut, and the people you thought were your friends will
become your enemies. I'm not welcome in this world you know, regardless of how
it may appear to you at the moment, and you'll be the same if you identify with
me - unwelcome."
The scribe went away, subdued, and reconsidered his plans.
Then, before Jesus could step into the boat, another would-be disciple
said : "I'd like to follow you, but I have a funeral to go to. My father
has died . . . but I'll be with you just as soon as I get back, OK Lord?"
Jesus smiled. He knew a pathetic excuse when he heard one. When someone
died, they were buried the same day, and all the friends and relatives stayed in
the house for the day, so the man was pretending.
"If you really wanted to follow me" said Jesus, "You'd
stay right here! The people of this world are already dead anyway, spiritually,
so let them have their funeral. Your father was dead before he died!"
8:23-27
Jesus commands the natural elements
After these two interruptions, Jesus finally got into a small fishing
boat, with his hand-picked disciples, and began to move away from the shore. The
people on the beach watched sadly as the boat sailed away (eastward), then they
turned and headed home.
But not long after disembarking, one of those sudden, violent storms, for
which the Sea of Galilee is known, came roaring down the Jordan valley, whipping
the water into a churning mass of white-topped waves. Jesus had gone down below,
and had found a bed below deck where he had fallen asleep. He was exhausted.
Meanwhile, above deck, the storm gathered in strength. It was also
complicated by an earthquake, which helped to throw large waves over the sides,
threatening to swamp the boat. The disciples were frightened, and decided that
any second they would be drowned, so they ran to the cabins and shook Jesus
roughly.
"Wake up!" they shouted, "We're dying!"
Jesus looked at them in disgust.
"Scared are you?" he said, "Like a bunch of silly rabbits!
I thought you had a bit more faith in me that that!"
The disciples averted their eyes, feeling ashamed, and Jesus pushed past
them, leaving them to think about what they had done. He strode across the deck,
facing the stinging rain, and bracing himself against the wind.
"Stop!" he shouted angrily.
Instantly the wind died and the clouds began to dissipate. Stars began to
appear in a clear sky and the Sea fell silent. Only the gentle lapping of tiny
waves against the sides of the boat could be heard.
The disciples crept guiltily on to the deck. In the gathering darkness
they could see the figure of Jesus, standing on the deck. He was looking at
them.
"Who is he?" they whispered, "What is he? What's going on?
He controls the wind and the sea! What kind of power are we dealing with
here?"
8:28-34
Two demon-possessed men
The journey across the lake was over, and Jesus stepped ashore, with his
disciples, subdued and awestruck, close behind. Jesus had hardly walked off the
wet stones of the beach when two demoniacs came to meet him. These two men were
usually violent cases of demon-possession, in fact, they were so fierce they had
made it dangerous for people to pass through that area. They lived in the
cemetery and they attacked and robbed anyone who was foolish (or unlucky enough)
to pass that way.
Undeterred by their appearance, Jesus continued to walk towards them. As
soon as the demons inside the men saw Jesus, they started to speak, using the
men's vocal chords.
"We know who you are!" they shouted, "You're Jesus! You're
the Son of God! Why have you come here? Are you going to destroy us ahead of
time?"
The demons knew that, at some time in the future, God was going to call
every one of them to His throne, and sentence them to everlasting destruction.
Jesus didn't answer. He looked about him, scanning the hills, until he
spotted a large herd of pigs. They were oblivious to the drama not far from
them, being content to fossick amongst the roots for food.
The demons saw where Jesus was looking and screamed desperately.
"Send us into those pigs!" they shouted.
"Go on then" said Jesus.
The demons streamed out of the two men like smoke out of a chimney, then
they raced across the ground and dived into the pigs. The pigs reacted
violently, screaming with discomfort and shrieking wildly. They began to
stampede blindly down the slope, whipped up into a terrified panic, and fell in
their hundreds off the edge of the land, and down into the water. After a minute
or two the last of the pigs had thrashed itself to death and drowned.
You see, demons prefer to inhabit bodies, human or otherwise, and their
whole purpose in life is to destroy whatever God has made. If Jesus had simply
cast the demons out, and left them disembodied, they would have gone looking for
other people to inhabit, so he sent them into animals. What happened to the
demons after that we are not told.
Not far from where the pigs had been grazing were some herdsmen, who,
when they saw the demoniacs delivered, and the pigs running madly into the Sea,
went back to the village and reported the matter. Soon a small crowd of people
was on its way to meet Jesus, but instead of being thrilled at the way two men
had been set free from demons, they were more concerned about their missing
pigs!
"Go away!" they shouted, "Leave us alone!"
Those people missed the whole point of what Jesus was doing. They
couldn't see that human life is far more valuable and precious than any amount
of material possessions- be it pigs or ponies. They preferred to have it this
way : a herd of pigs, and a couple of wild, miserable men living in their local
cemetery. (Just like today . . . people don't mind a bit of Christianity around,
provided there aren't any radical changes, or personal demands, or challenges to
the status quo)