Matthew 9 - Pick Up Your Mat and Walk!

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. Matthew 9:5-8

After Jesus was asked to leave the area of Gadera, He went back to His home town of Capernaum and healed all those who came to Him. Because the house where He was ministering was so packed, several men had to go to great lengths to get their paralytic friend before Jesus. We learn from the other Gospels that they actually cut a hole in the roof and lowered their afflicted friend down from the ceiling! When Jesus saw their faith (their extraordinary measures), He declared the man His "son," AND declared him forgiven of his sins!

Why was this so shocking? Because the scribes and teachers of the law knew full well that, under the Law, only God has the authority to forgive sin. Therefore, Jesus was declaring Himself God by making this proclamation--and He did it in a new way, without going to the temple and sacrificing an innocent animal before the priest, shedding its blood. God was issuing in a new order under a new covenant.

To prove this amazing authority to forgive sin, Jesus looked at the man, commanding him to rise, pick up his mat, and return home. While the scribes declared blasphemy in their evil hearts, the multitudes marveled that God had given this kind of power to men.

As born again children of God, IN Christ, we need to accept what the heavenly father has said about us, that our sin has been forgiven once and for all! As new creations in Christ, we likewise need to rise up from the bondage of denominationalism and false teaching, pick up our mats and return home, declaring the good news of ALL Jesus died to give us!

Matthew 8 - Authority Over Demons

And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. Matthew 8:29-32.

Everywhere Jesus went, He cast demons out of people and healed all who were sick, proving that He was the promised Messiah of whom the Old Testament prophets spoke. But when He ventured over to the area of Gadera, which was east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, He proved He had power and authority over an entire legion of demons who had infiltrated that area by possessing several men (other Gospel accounts say it was one man). In any event, it appears that there were many in that land possessed by demons, and one man in particular who was more vicious than the others.

We see in Matthew's account that the legion of demons begged not to be tormented and were eventually allowed to enter a herd of pigs. These animals are considered unclean under Jewish law and yet they were being herded in this area, possibly for sacrifice to Zeus and other pagan gods.

At the moment the demons entered the pigs, they ran like crazy and threw themselves off a cliff, giving new meaning to the term "when pigs fly!" This one act by Jesus reveals that even an unclean fleshly being cannot tolerate an unclean spiritual being. Therefore, if unclean pigs desire to be rid of unclean spirits, how much more should unclean men desire to be rid of the unclean demons of this world! Selah ... think about that!

Thank God, Jesus came and has given the church, which is His body, authority and power over ALL demonic principalities, including Satan. When we are made clean IN HIM, then all things unclean flee! There is really no need to go through long, drawn-out demonic deliverance anymore. Once you become a born-again, child of God, you are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Just as Satan and his demons have no connection or affiliation with Jesus, the Son of God, they likewise have no connection or affiliation with you because you are IN HIM.

Renew your mind and get it in line with what Scripture says about you now that you have been born again IN CHRIST.

Matthew 8 - Power Over the Storms of Life

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! Matthew 8:26-27. 

The disciples marveled at how Jesus displayed power over the wind and waves as they crossed the Sea of Galilee to deliver the good news of the kingdom. While Jesus slept in the back of the boat, a storm began to rage such that the disciples were afraid for their lives. They had to wake Him, wondering why He didn't seem concerned that they were about to perish.

Hard to imagine, but this is exactly how the Bible relays the incident. Jesus was content in the arms of His heavenly father, completely at peace as the wind and waves roared about Him. He was displaying to the disciples that He is ABOVE all earthly circumstances, even those things that are part of nature, such as tumultuous seas.

When He awoke, He rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith and then calmed the wind and waves with His word. This is the power and authority that the heavenly father had given Him BEFORE the cross. Imagine the power and authority available to Him now, post cross and resurrection! We are part of His body, and all the authority He has, we have too, In Him! See Ephesians 1-2.

In Jesus, we have the power and authority to be victorious in every storm of life! Selah!

Matthew 8 - He Healed Them All!

When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. Matthew 8:16-17

Matthew tells us that after Jesus healed the leprous man, He healed the Centurion's servant who was grievously afflicted by demons. The unique thing about the Centurion is that he was a gentile pagan who recognized Jesus as Messiah and treated Him with the same respect as a ruler or king. He saw and understood the authority Jesus had over demons and disease and KNEW He could heal at the spoken word - no prayers or fanfare, but just a word of authority, the same way the Centurion would speak to his soldiers. Jesus told His disciples He had not seen such great faith in all of Israel.

In Peter's house, Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever, and again, the multitudes thronged Him. All who came to Him at Peter's house that night who were demon afflicted and sick were healed. ALL. Matthew said this was to fulfill Isaiah 53, that "surely He has born all our sicknesses and diseases."

When looking at the original Hebrew language in Isaiah, it appears that prophet also says that Messiah bore all of mankind's sicknesses and disease, NOT griefs and sorrows as the KJV states. Praise God for the Internet that enables us non-scholars to see the original language!

He healed them ALL because He bore ALL sickness and disease!

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?!

The Parousia - a different look at End Times

Read this book if you want to see what the overwhelming majority of respected theologians believed about biblical end times for over 1800 years! All of this dispensarionalist/futurism/left behind nonsense is not based in scripture. Fabulous read!!

http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/1878_russell_parousia.html