“The King’s Authority”
Matthew 8:1-17
“When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’” - Matthew 8:1-2
This is right on the heels of the Sermon on the Mount. After Jesus taught the precepts of the Kingdom, He “came down from the mountain” and showed His authority. He immediately met a leper and healed him.
His walk ratified His talk. Our Lord’s ministry was not only preaching and teaching; He healed every disease and sickness [ref. Matt 4:23]. He ministered in tangible ways. He did not just stay behind a pulpit. He was not only a man of words, even though He is the very Word of God. His words were exercised in His life. Jesus ministered to people. He touched the leper. He tended to the unclean!
While words of ministry are important [i.e., Jesus’ five Matthew discourses], equally important are works of personal ministry. Jesus personally touched and healed. The challenge, however, was that He was only one person. He would physically touch and heal those He encountered. That is why the multitude pushed and shoved to get to Him. But that is also why Jesus sent out the Twelve with power and authority for ministry as well [ref. Matt 10].
This next section will show that Jesus had authority over everything in heaven and on earth. He will cleanse the leper, heal the paralytic, give sight to the blind, cast out demons, calm the storm, and even raise the dead. He will show in tangible ways His authority over disease [8:1-15]; the spiritual realm [8:16-17]; nature [8:23-27]; sin [9:1-8]; religious tradition [9:10-13]; death [9:18-26]; darkness [9:27-31]; and dumbness [9:32-34].
He will even display His authority to give others authority of the Kingdom, perhaps His greatest work! It is the miracle of multiplication. Jesus multiplies workers of the Kingdom. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” [Matt 9:37-38]
The “laborers” are the church. We, like our Master, ought to be filling our days with preaching, teaching, and ministering to others!
Miracle and Message was the cadence of Jesus’ ministry. His works in Matt 8-9 work in conjunction with His message. Why would one listen to Jesus? It is because He calmed the storm and raised the dead.
His ministry ratified His message, and His works affirmed His words, and we, too, are called to the same example. Our pattern in this life should be the same; preaching, teaching, and personally ministering to others.
