Exposition of Matthew (Mathew 8:14-17)

October 20, 2020

(The miracles of Jesus)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was the primary purpose of the miracles Jesus performed during His Galilean ministry?
2. What is the definition of a miracle?
3. Although the healing miracles of Jesus were to prove He was the Messiah, does that mean there is no miracle healing today?
4. Should we depend on miracle healing alone?
5. Did Peter have a wife?
6. Did Paul have a wife?
7. What were the three methods Jeusu used to heal the first three times?
8. When does God always say no to healing the body?
9. What will the new glorified body be like that believer’s receive after they leave this world?
10. How did Paul describe our experiences on earth, the ones we lose sleep over and worry about?

Introduction

Today we return to Matthew chapter 8, the section on Jesus’ miracles during His Galilean ministry. His miracles were a way to prove His claim to be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. The miracles could not be denied or explained by the Jews of Jesus’ day other than recognizing Jesus for who He was. The definition of miracles is those things that can’t be defined according to natural means. The only way to explain the miracles was to acknowledge that the power of God accompanied them.

The Jews were forced to accept the miracles or try to explain them away. They had an impossible task, for how do you explain away a leprous man in the last stages of leprosy being wholly restored? The 10 miracles are presented in three groups:

• Jesus’ power and authority over the body
• Jesus’ power over heaven and earth, this age and the one to come
• Jesus’ power over the spiritual realm

In today’s study, we cover the final miracle in the first group, His authority over the body:

Matthew 8:14-15, “And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick of a fever. 15And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.”

Last week we talked about the fact that the miracles of the New Testament were sign miracles to prove to the world that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament, but does that mean that God does not heal today. No! God certainly does heal today, but not through so-called faith healers. I cited some time ago, in a study, two instances that I witnessed where God healed someone. I was in a worship service at Belview Church in Memphis, Tennessee, several years ago when Marylin Ford gave her testimony on how God cured her blindness. She had prayed for some time for healing. One morning she and her husband prayed once again for God to heal her. When she opened her eyes, she could see for the first time in years. She returned to her doctor for another examination. The doctor concluded that her condition had not changed, and he could not explain how she could see. The retinas of her eyes were still deteriorated.

The second person to be healed was me: Starting in the 1970s, I began to have some difficulty swallowing. It was minor at first, but as years went by, it continued to worsen. One day in the spring of 2014, I could no longer swallow solid food. For two and a half months, I lived on liquid meal replacement shakes. I prayed each day that God would heal me. I tried from time to time to eat something as simple as potato chips but could not. In the fall, I attended a motorcycle mission trip in Townsend, Tennessee. One morning it suddenly came to mind to go to a local restaurant and eat breakfast. Well, I said OK. So, I went there and ordered a full breakfast and had no trouble eating. That was six years ago, and I have had no difficulty swallowing since then.

We need to consider that God uses natural means such as doctors and medication 99% of the time rather than the supernatural. God gave them knowledge of the human body and the medicines that can heal the body. All knowledge comes from God. Therefore, all healing also comes from God. God makes something available as simple as aspirin that can do the job sometimes.

Today, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His church. He can and does heal by His will from a distance without His touch or His word. He hears our prayers but does He always heal? No, sometimes, for His reasons, he does not. Paul the Apostle prayed that God removes a thorn from his flesh, and God’s answer was no, and He told Paul that His grace (God’s grace) was sufficient.

The miracles were not recorded in chronological order. In the gospel of Matthew, this miracle followed the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant. Still, in real-time, it occurred following a Sabbath service in the synagogue at Capernaum where Jesus healed a man possessed with a demon. After that service Jesus went to Peter’s house.

When Margaret and I visited Capernaum in January, we traveled the same course, first the synagogue and then the remains of Peter’s house. Today, a new church structure is built over Peter’s place, which is elevated to show the excavated remains of Peter’s house below. The church floor is also covered with glass in sections so you can view the remains from above.

In this section of the gospel, Matthew points out that Peter had a mother-in-law and, therefore, a wife, of which we know nothing. Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 9:5 that the apostles and the brothers of Jesus had wives, which was the right of any servant of Christ, although Paul himself didn’t. Where did that doctrine come from that claims that God’s servants must remain single? Not from the Bible.

Probably Peter had invited Jesus to his house following the service for a meal. At that time, Peter told Jesus of his mother-in-law’s condition, which was very serious. She had a fever, which was thought to be a disease in those days and not as a symptom, as we know today. We are not told what illness she had, but she was bedfast. In those days, many times, a person got a fever and eventually died.

Mathew tells us that Jesus went in to see the woman, touching her hand and rebuking the fever; she was immediately healed. Jesus spoke against the disease, touched the woman’s hand, and lifted her out of bed. Again, we have the reminder that He touched someone and made them whole again.

The present section looks at Jesus healing three devastating diseases: leprosy, paralysis, and general fever. Notice that Jesus healed the first time by His touch, the second time by His word, and the third by His word and communication, and it was instantaneous. The point Matthew is making is, Jesus has inherent power over the body to heal any condition. It is good to know that Jesus cannot only save but correct any physical weaknesses, illnesses, and all our physical limitations.

No matter what, the death rate is still the same, 100%. God may heal the body many times, but He must say no when the time of our departure comes. Understand, we don’t have a guarantee that this body will permanently get fixed. It is only a temporary dwelling place for the soul and spirit until we receive the perfect glorified body in heaven.

If you own an automobile, you know it is best to keep it in the best running condition possible. So, it is with our body. Take care of it; it has to last until it is time to go. The present body is defective, flawed, broken from birth; it has been afflicted by sin and cannot be made perfect. It just cannot be fixed entirely in this life. The body must return to the dust from which it came, but that part of you, the real you, your soul, and your spirit, lives eternally, either in heaven or hell.

Much of the world prioritize getting the most from the world while neglecting the question of eternity or heaven and hell. The world is temporary. The Bible says it will end one day, but you will last all eternity. Here is the question of the greatest priority: “If I were to die today, where would I spend eternity?” The Bible tells us it will either be heaven or hell. You are the one who decides which it will be. Click here to find out how to make it heaven.

The Bible says that we in Christ will be resurrected with a new, eternal, glorified body one day in the future. Paul says, our new bodies will be like Christ after he rose from the dead and that we shall never experience death again or the infirmities experienced while on earth, like sickness and weakness, and we will never grow old. What an extraordinary life that will be, and it is not too far away for us here today.

We who have believed in Jesus have eternal life; we will live with Christ who suffered and died for us one day. We have the assurance given us in Matthew chapters 8 and 9 that Jesus, by His miracles, has power over death and disease. He can make us into the person He created us to be. He promised those who come to Him an abundant life. Even Covid-19 can’t take that away. This world is not our home with all its tears, sorrow, problems, and limitations. We are just traveling through this world. Death is not something to fear for the believer; it is our incarnation day when we will receive a body that never grows old, weak, and wrinkled.

The Apostle Paul assures us of the glory of the life to come: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (KJV), “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” And again in 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 (KJV),“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”

I think Paul is trying to relieve some of the anxiety we feel concerning the body and death. Sometimes Hollywood movie stars try to slow the body from showing its age by plastic surgery, and in some instances, it only aggravates it, and they turn out looking artificial. Paul tells us not to place our attention on the failing physical body. I’m not advocating that we should not take care of the body; as I said earlier. I read an article a few months ago that I should be walking more, at least 6 miles a week; so, I started walking around 14 miles a week. I believe in eating food that is good for me and keeping my weight in check. I also realize we can’t save the body forever; it’s hopeless. Eventually, we grow old and weak, and finally, the body dies. I think we should, but our main hope should be our glorified body of the future.

However, while the body fails, our spirit is being strengthened. Our trials on earth are teachers training us for the things God has in store for us in the future. Paul says, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Would to God, like Paul, we viewed our experiences on earth as light afflictions. All the things we are experiencing today, the disappointments, the setbacks, hurts, and persecutions, are just momentary, light afflictions compared to the glorious life to come. We will receive a new glorified body that will serve us throughout eternity. It will never grow old. Therein lies our hope. There is no hope in this present world filled with violence and hate. Matthew wants us to see through eternal eyes and not hang upon our current life and experiences.

And now notice what Matthew 8:16-17, “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: 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

Jesus healed all who came to Him on that sabbath evening. There were no demands placed on them that they had to have enough faith. Jesus just healed them. The Pharisees had put so many restrictions on the sabbath until the people of the small city had to wait until evening, which would be counted the next day, to come to Jesus for healing.

In v.17, Matthew quotes from Isaiah 53:4 (KJV): “Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.” This is the actual quote from Isaiah: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah is describing the death of Jesus was to atone for our sins, and ironically, the Messiah would be despised by men in His day. Christ was bearing our griefs, our sorrows, our transgressions. He suffered in our stead for our sins and iniquities. Isaiah says that by Jesus’ stripes, we are healed. Isaiah is talking about our spiritual healing. Jesus suffered our griefs as He hung on the cross. He bore our sorrows suffering in our place. He paid the price for our sin that we could receive spiritual healing.

There is some confusion concerning Matthew’s version of the Isaiah quote. Matthew was applying it to the healing Jesus did and not that people suffering with illness would always be healed even if they asked in prayer to be healed. The word for “sorrows” is the word “pain” in Hebrew. The ones Jesus healed were suffering pain. So, Isaiah can be translated to sound as if it describes physical healing when it represents the penalties deserved because of sin. Not that Mattew was wrong; it is a matter of correctly determining the meaning he intended.

Christ took our place, also, being pierced, enduring grief and sorrow, smitten of God and afflicted in our site. The question is, why did Matthew use the quote here in the context of physical healings? The answer is that Matthew wants us to see the physical healings of Jesus and His spiritual Healing for those who would believe in Him. Matthew did not want us to be distracted from the eternal healing Jesus offers, and that is spiritual healing.

Jesus did not come to this earth to heal the body from disease; He came to replace the body with an eternal glorified body for those who would trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. Without the sacrifice Christ made for us, there’s no spiritual rebirth, only judgment. We all need spiritual healing, which resolves our sin problem and is the solution to our body’s decay and death. Our worst problem is sin sickness. Physical healing is temporary, but when Jesus heals the soul, there is both a spiritual healing and in the future, a new body that will never die.