Who is Jesus? According to Matthew 8:

In this chapter Jesus is identified as "Lord," "teacher," "Son of Man," and "Son of God."  Jesus is one with authority to heal the sick, deliver the possessed, and command the weather. He only needs to say the word and the current conditions immediately change. Thus, he fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which reads, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases." 

To become a follower of Jesus, one needs to be willing to give up the temporary of this life: our homes, our families, and our traditions.

Big Idea:  Jesus has the real authority to command both the physical and spiritual realm with only a word and they both respond in obedience.

Profound Identity:

• Crowds followed Jesus (Matthew 8:1).
• A leper knelt before him and called him "Lord" (Matthew 8:2).
• A leper believed that Jesus had the ability to choose to make the leper clean (Matthew 8:2).
• With a touch and a few words, Jesus cleansed/healed a leper (Matthew 8:3).
• Jesus chose to heal (Matthew 8:3).
• Jesus spoke with authority, saying such things as "be" and it was (Matthew 8:3).
• There is an immediate response to the words of Jesus (Matthew 8:3).
• Jesus respected the traditions of the Mosaic law and taught other's to respect them as well  (Matthew 8:4).
• Jesus entered Capernaum (Matthew 8:5).
• A centurion addressed Jesus as "Lord" (Matthew 8:5).
• Jesus responds to hearing about a paralyzed man, by saying "I will come and cure him" (Matthew 8:7).
• The centurion felt unworthy of Jesus' presence in his home (Matthew 8:8).
• The centurion recognized that Jesus only needed to speak the word and the servant would be healed (Matthew 8:8).
• The centurion recognized that Jesus did not need to be physically present in order to heal a person (Matthew 8:8).
• Jesus was one with authority to give orders that were obeyed (Matthew 8:9).
• Jesus was amazed with the centurion's faith (Matthew 8:10).
• Jesus is attentive to people's faith (Matthew 8:10).
• Jesus is aware of the reality of the conditions for entering the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11-12).
• Jesus said the word and the servant was healed (Matthew 8:13).
• Jesus was impressed with the centurion's faith and healed according to it (Matthew 8:13).
• Jesus was physically present on the earth (Matthew 8:14).
• When Jesus observed that someone was sick, he didn't even need to be asked in order to heal the person (Matthew 8:14-15).
• Jesus touched Peter's mother-in-law's hand and the fever left her (Matthew 8:15).
• People brought other people who were possessed with demons to Jesus to be healed (Matthew 8:16).
• With a spoken word Jesus drove out demons (Matthew 8:16).
• Jesus cured all who were sick who were brought to him (Matthew 8:16).
• Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4 when he "took our infirmities and bore our diseases" (Matthew 8:17).
• When crowds surrounded Jesus, he went elsewhere (Matthew 8:18).
• A scribed offered to follow Jesus (Matthew 8:19).
• Jesus was called "teacher" by a scribe (Matthew 8:19).
• Jesus explained that "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20).
• A disciple calls Jesus "Lord" (Matthew 8:21).
• Sometimes the words of Jesus seemed harsh (Matthew 8:20, 22).
• Jesus seemed to say that following Him would be difficult (Matthew 8:19-22).
• Jesus disciples followed him (Matthew 8:23).
• Jesus used a boat for transportation (Matthew 8:23).
• Jesus was able to sleep through a storm on the water (Matthew 8:24).
• The disciples called on Jesus to save them when they thought their boat would sink (Matthew 8:25).
• The disciples asked Jesus to save them when they thought they were perishing (Matthew 8:25).
• The disciples called Jesus "Lord" (Matthew 8:25).
• Jesus commands the wind and the sea and nature obeys (Matthew 8:26-27).
• Jesus pointed out the emotional reality of the situation when he acknowledged that the disciples were needlessly afraid (Matthew 8:26).
• The disciples recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man (Matthew 8:27).
• Two people possessed by evil approached and confronted Jesus (Matthew 8:28).
• Two demoniacs recognized Jesus as the "Son of God" (Matthew 8:29).
• Two demoniacs were afraid that Jesus had come to them to torment them prior to an appointed time (Matthew 8:29).
• The demoniacs recognized that Jesus could cast out the evil spirits (Matthew 8:31).
• Jesus only had to offer the command "Go" and the demons left the people and went into the swine, just as they had suggested (Matthew 8:32).
• One town did not want Jesus to remain in their neighborhood (Matthew 8:34).

Prayer:


What amazing power and authority!  Gracious God, sometimes I forget that you really are God!  Forgive me in my unbelief and help me to recognize your power in my life, but also in all of reality.  Amen.


This blog entry is one of a series of entries in my quest to go chapter-by-chapter through the New Testament answering the question "Who is Jesus?"