Take the Long Way Home

Matthew 8-9  (once again, the ideas expressed here are those of Dr. Tim Gray)

There are 5 major speeches, given by Jesus, in Matthew. Chap 4-7 is the 1^st speech (the Sermon on the Mount). The second speech comes in chap 10, chap 13 is 3^rd, 18 is the 4^th, then finally chap 23-25 is the 5th. The Pentateuch is the 1^st five books of Bible, the giving of the law. Jesus gives us 5 speeches or discourses in Matthews gospel to parallel the giving of the law. He is presenting the new law, the Christian law. In the OT the way of life for a Jew is given in the torah/pentateuch. Matthew has Jesus giving a new way of life, a new law for the Christian. Also emphasizing Jesus as the new Moses.

In chapters 8-9 Jesus heals 10 people, the theme of this section of Matthew is Jesus’s authority. Chap 7 ends with the crowds being amazed by Jesus’ teaching because he spoke as one with authority, not as the scribes.

Story of Leper (Mt 8:1-4) - Jesus called Lord. His will is emphasized here. The leper says, if you will it, and Jesus answers, I will it. Then Jesus reaches out his hand to touch the leper, ignoring the Jewish prohibition to NOT touch someone unclean (Lev 13-14, 22:4-7). In the OT when an unclean person touches a clean person the clean person becomes unclean, with Jesus a clean person touches the unclean person and the unclean person becomes clean. So with Jesus the unclean becomes clean! Notice that Jesus never approaches someone and simply says, be healed; he always gives them a word that is symbolic. Here he says be clean.

Story of Centurian’s servant (Mt 8:5-13) - Jesus again called Lord. Centurian understood that Jesus had authority - all Jesus had to do was speak and his will would be carried out. The Centurian compares this to the authority that he has as a Centurian, all he has to do is give orders and they are carried out.

Peter’s mother in law (8:14-15, 16-17) shows authority and power over sickness

disciples in boat (8:23-27) - (Jesus is asleep in the boat even with the waves and the storm. Here we see Jesus living out the law he gives in the sermon on the mount. He says don’t be anxious, and He is not anxious! We see His trust in the Father. He tells those who don’t trust God in chap 6 that they are men of little faith, He says the same thing to his disciples here - He is awakened by the disciples, who are in a panic, and says, Oh you men of little faith! He does it again later in chap 14, Peter walks on t he water, but when he falls Jesus says, Oh man of little faith. In chap 16 Jesus says this again to his disciples. 4 times Jesus says this) After Jesus calms the storm the disciples are amazed saying, what kind of man is this that the wind and sea obey him? Answer - a man with authority!

Casts out demons (8:28-34)- the demons obey Him!

Story of the paralytic (Mt 9: 1-8) - (notice that the first thing Jesus takes note of is faith! vs 2) The scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy when he forgives the sins of the paralytic, but Jesus says, what is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or rise up and walk? Of course it’s easier to say, your sins are forgiven because there is no way to prove if it’s happened or not! Then Jesus says “so you will know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins he says, rise and walk”. The phrase “so that you may know” is found in Exodus (chap 7:17, 8:18 9:14, 11:7). Moses says this to Pharaoh, now Jesus is saying it to the Pharisees. This is another parallel between Jesus and Moses, the Pharisees are parallel to Pharaoh because they saw all the signs but did not believe!

The son of man is mentioned in Daniel ,chap 7 - in Daniels vision after the four beasts rule over Israel, one like the son of man comes with all power and authority and his kingdom will never end. Jesus is calling himself the son of man! In Daniels vision the son of man has power and authority in heaven, but Jesus says, so you will know that the son of man has authority on earth.

After Jesus says this he heals the man and the crowds are afraid and amazed “that God had given such authority to men“. Why does Matthew use the plural here? Jesus says son of man, but Matthew says the crowds are amazed because God had given this authority to men. Matthew is emphasizing the authority given later to the apostles. In chapters 8-9 we see the kind of authority that Jesus has, so in chap 10 when Jesus gives His authority to his disciples we know what kind of authority they had - the authority to forgive sins! The King has come to re establish His Kingdom and he has given it authority. The one who is sent has the authority of the one who sent him. The Father sent Jesus, and Jesus had the Father’s authority. Jesus sends the twelve, and they have His authority. When a priest today absolves us of our sins, he does so because of this same pattern. In chap 10 Jesus tells the disciples that whoever hears them, hears Him. They speak with His authority. That’s the good news of the Kingdom, that Jesus has given authority on earth to forgive sins!

I have had nothing but problems with my cable since switching from satellite!  For some unknown reason, the tv attatched to my DVR decided that we didn’t get EWTN for a couple of weeks, so I missed a couple of Gospel of Matthew shows!  (insert here whatever smilie looks really pissed off!).  But for now, it’s working again.  So, apologies if this sounds like I’m missing some information, I probably am!  As always, most of the info here is not my own personal musing, but the opinion of dr. Tim Gray

Matthew chap 4-5

Jesus is, in a sense, the “New Isreal”.  Jesus takes on himself the mission that God had given to Isreal.  He fasted for 40 days in the wilderness (paralell to Isreal wandering in the desert for 40 years).  He was tempted three times (this somehow paralells the tests given to Isreal).  But Jesus succeeds where Isreal failed.

Matthew refers to the “Kingdom of Heaven”, where Luke and Mark refer to the “Kingdom of God”.  Why?  Gray suggests that this is because Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience and they would avoid saying the name of God in any form out of respect.  Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are same thing.  Heaven is simply a substitution for God.  So, Jesus is not talking purely about heaven, or getting to heaven, but how to bring about the Kingdom of God now.

Gray provides some background to the idea of the Kingdom of God by going back to the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 13).  The Kingdom is divided, and Isreal (10 tribes) outnumber Judah (2 tribes).  Abijah, King of Judah, calls out to Jereboam, King of Isreal, “do you think you are a match for the kindgom of the Lord commanded by the sons of David, simply because you are a huge multitude?”.  The Kingdom that was ruled by the descendents of David was the “true” Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Lord (literally, in Hebrew, the Kingdom of Yahweh).  The Davidic Kingdom = the Kingdom of Yahweh.  Back in 1 Chronicles 29 when David hands over his kingdom to Solomon it is described as his annointing as the “Lord’s prince” (the prince of Yahweh), and that Solomon “sat on the throne of the Lord” (the throne of Yahweh).  The Kingdom belongs to God, David and his descendents sit on God’s throne in God’s Kingdom. 

So when Jesus announces “the Kingdom of Heaven/God is at hand” 1st century Jews would hear that David’s descendent was coming back to reign.  500 years had passed since the last king sat on the throne of David, the throne of Yaweh, and Jesus is announcing “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”  You can see why Rome wouldn’t like it, but the Jewish people would love it!

Another catch phrase of Matthew is that of the “gospel of the kingdom”.  According to Matthew the “good news” IS the Kingdom.  Isaiah 52 is a beautiful prophecy about the coming Kingdom of God, that God will again rule over his people.  This is what Jesus is announcing.

So what does a King do?  A king administers law to his kingdom.  Jesus, as king, gives the new laws for the new kingdom (Matt 5 - the sermon on the mount - the beatitudes).

Moses fasted on a mountain for forty days and then came down with the law.  Jesus is the “new Moses”; he fasts for forty days and then preaches the beatitudes - the new law.  These beatitudes are blessings - this paralells the giving of the law in the OT.  Following the law brings blessings, disobeying the law brings curses (Dt 28).  Matthew begins Jesus’ ministry with the blessings (Mat 5,6) and ends it with curses (Mat 23).  This follows the form of a covenant - a new covenant.  

How do these blessings relate to the people of God?  They/we are called to be the light of the world (we are to show the world how the people of the Kingdom live).  John calls Jesus the light of the world.  Jesus calls us the light of the world.  We take up the mission of God.  Jesus embodies the mission of Isreal, he embodies the beatitudes.  We, too, are called to embody this.

Isreal was supposed to be a light to the nations (Is 49), but they failed.  Jesus takes on this mission and we are supposed to take it on also (and can only accomplish it through Jesus!).