Matthew 8 - Healing is His Will!

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:2-3. 

We started out by looking at the parable of the two houses built on the rock and sand--when the rains and winds came, the house on the rock stood firm, but the house on sand suffered a great fall. This was a prophecy of the coming destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD. We know that Jesus represents the firm foundation of a rock and anyone who builds their house on this foundation will always prevail!

The first healing described in the Book of Matthew is the healing of the leprous man. He was desperate to be made whole and knew Jesus could heal but wasn't sure if the Lord was willing to heal him. Does this sound familiar? All of us who have been in denominationalism have heard this theology espoused. And yet the Bible clearly states that Jesus went about healing all; all who came to Him in faith were healed!

We are to look to the Word to learn truth and not to our experiences and circumstances. All of us have known believers who died before their time due to sickness or disease. It was tragic and sad, because we know it is not God's best and it doesn't seem to line up with what we see on the pages of the Bible. But we are to continue to believe the Scriptures, knowing that revelation and knowledge of the truth will come if we press in with faith.

The healing of the leprous man was important because Jesus indicated His willingness to heal AND He took authority over the situation by declaring the man clean. Under the Old Covenant, only the priests had the authority to declare the unclean clean. History shows that no one was ever known to be healed of leprosy through the Temple system--if they had, they would need to complete a laborious system before being declared clean.

Jesus instantly healed the man, and then directed him to go to the temple, show himself to the priest, and go through this legalistic cleansing process. Why? As a sign to the Jewish leadership that Messiah had come.

What the law was incapable of doing, Jesus did in an instant. God's righteousness through grace far exceeds any righteousness know to man through the Mosaic, Levitical system. A new age was dawning!! Praise God it is now here!

Matthew 7 - Judge Not, but Ask, Seek & Knock!

Judge not, that ye be not judged.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Matthew 7:7-8.

Under the Old Covenant, righteousness was based on works, particularly keeping the law. Anyone seen bearing the effects of sin and the curse, such as sickness, etc., and/or blatantly violating the law was guilty and subject to judgment. And yet, Jesus is instructing His disciples that those who have sin cannot truly judge others who likewise have sin, because, in that circumstance, the same judgment meted out to the accused will turn around and be applicable to the accuser.

Therefore, a new system was in order. Sin and judgment must be handled in a different way. This is where Jesus Christ came in as savior. He fulfilled the law, removed sin and the curse, and opened a way for mankind to be restored to the heavenly Father. That generation living during His lifetime would need to accept this new and living way of righteousness or they would experience the wrath of God which came in 70 AD. We too need to accept this truth.

As new creations on the other side of the cross, we are not to judge the world of sin but instead spread the truth of the Gospel, issuing the invitation to lost and dying people to get born again. However, in the church, we are to judge those claiming to be Christians by their fruit; basically we are to test what comes out of their mouth and observe their actions. If their words and behavior don't line up with God's Word, we need to confront in love.

This area of church judgment is hard at times, but it is so important. We cannot let God's standards slip for a moment. This Gospel must be guarded from the wolves in sheep's clothing who lurk in our congregations, desiring to destroy the beauty of the freedom Jesus brings!

Under this New Covenant, we are to ask, seek, and knock, and all good things will be given to us by the heavenly Father. He has given us His son, Jesus, His Holy Spirit, His very self. What greater gift is there?!