poolsandpastures
Thoughts on the Gospel, Life, and Ministry
The NT365 Experiment: Matthew 8
Matthew makes it abundantly clear that Jesus brought about God’s kingdom — God’s active rule and reign. Jesus is the king. He is the one who is more than worthy of praise and glory. In chapter 8, Matthew begins to illustrate the activity of God’s kingdom on earth.
A Kingdom of Restoration
God’s kingdom is a kingdom of restoration. The prophets of the Old Testament told of this restorative quality often. And, here Matthew illustrates it in four stories. The first two are stories of miraculous healing. Broken bodies are restored to wholeness. The third story is about Jesus calming a storm. Broken nature is restored by the powerful word of God in Christ. And, the final story is one in which Jesus casts out demons from two men at the Gadarenes. Broken humanity is restored by the grace of God in Christ.
A Kingdom of Faith
In each of the stories, faith in Jesus is front and center. The leper receives healing by God’s grace in Christ through his faith in the Lord’s ability to heal him. Similarly, the Centurion’s servant is healed by God’s grace through the faith of the Centurion who believed that Jesus’ word was powerful enough to heal. Also, Peter’s mother-in-law and others were healed through faith.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith after he had calmed the storm. This is interesting. The disciples, who were learning what it meant to follow Christ, found themselves in a boat during a massive storm. Jesus was sound asleep. The disciples panicked, but Jesus remained calm. Jesus trusted his Father in Heaven to care for him, while the disciples failed to trust in Jesus. Their panic resulted from their fear and lack of faith in Jesus. Some in chapter 8 receive the blessings and praise of the kingdom through faith and others received chastisement for their lack of faith.
Two Takeaways
I take two things from this passage for my life today. They are:
- Jesus is big, and he brings a big, powerful kingdom. — Let there be no mistake about it. Jesus is big and powerful. His kingdom is big and powerful. My life needs to be informed by this glorious truth.
- Life in Christ’s kingdom requires faith in him. — Faith is central. The restorative blessings of kingdom life come as a result of God’s grace and are received through faith. Those who faithfully rely on and pursue Christ and his kingdom receive the blessing of life in God’s big, powerful kingdom. Do I have the kind of faith that Jesus praises in Matthew 8, or am I like the disciples and fail to trust him fully in the midst of my storms?
These truths have a tremendous impact on my daily life. I can actively apply them by identifying one issue in my life today in which I struggle to submit to Christ’s reign and then bring it into submission. For instance, if I have a health issue that I is of grave concern, then I can pray that God would give me a clear sense of his size and restorative work in that area of my health. I can also trust that he will be faithful to do all that he has promised to do.
May God grant us the grace to explore our lives and find out where we fail to see him as a big, powerful God and to repent from our failure to trust him with our lives. May he grant us the grace to faithfully pursue him in his grace.
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