What Jesus Did

Key Passage
Then a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow you any place you go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests to live in. But the Son of Man has no place where he can rest his head." Another man, one of Jesus' followers, said to Jesus, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first. {Then I will follow you.}" But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the people that are dead bury their own dead."

— Matthew 8:19-22 ERV...

 

Key Passage
Jesus saw that all the people were around him. So Jesus told his followers to go to the other side of the lake.

— Matthew 8:18 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
Jesus had this intriguing habit of withdrawing from the crowds. At first glance, we want to correct him, and remind him, that he is trying to win the world for God. How is he going to do that by running away from folks who are seeking him? Then we realize how ludicrous such a thought is, and we realize the audacity...

 

Key Passage
That evening people brought to Jesus many people that had demons inside them. Jesus spoke and the demons left the people. Jesus healed all the people that were sick. Jesus did these things to make happen what Isaiah the prophet said: "He took away our diseases and carried away our sicknesses."

— Matthew 8:16-17 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
Matthew continues to show us Jesus' power over what destroys our lives. Interestingly, it is Jesus' touch and word that are so...

 

Key Passage
Jesus went to Peter's house. There Jesus saw that Peter's mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever. Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began to serve Jesus.

— Matthew 8:14-15 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
This final episode in this series of miracle stories is told carefully and succinctly. Clearly Jesus has the power to heal and Matthew shows us who he gladly heals in these stories. He heals an outcast and helpless leper with a...

 

Key Passage
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus said to those people that were with him, "I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any person I have found, even in Israel. Many people will come from the east and from the west. Those people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And those people (the Jews) that should have the kingdom will be thrown out. They will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind...

 

Key Passage
Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When Jesus entered the city, an army officer came to him and begged for help. The officer said, "Lord, my servant is very sick at home in bed. He can't move his body and has much pain." Jesus said to the officer, "I will go and heal him." The officer answered, "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. I myself am a man under the authority (power)...

 

Key Passage
Jesus touched the man. Jesus said, "I want to heal you. Be healed!" And immediately the man was healed from his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "Don't tell any person about what happened. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the gift that Moses commanded {for people that are made well}. This will show people that you are healed."

— Matthew 8:3-4 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
This is a mini-story of the Incarnation. God saw that humankind had a need and...

 

Key Passage
Jesus came down from the hill. Many, many people followed him. Then a man sick with leprosy came to Jesus. The man bowed down before Jesus and said, "Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want."

— Matthew 8:1-2 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
Sooner or later, after our moment in the sun, we all have to come down from the mountain. Jesus has taught his disciples wondrously and authoritatively. But no sooner does he come down from the mountain than he is hit with...

 

Key Passage
When Jesus finished saying these things, the people were amazed at his teaching. Jesus did not teach like their teachers of the law. Jesus taught like a person that had authority (power).

— Matthew 7:28-29 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought
That's the point. Jesus is not like the teachers of the Law. They're expertise came from knowing the many different interpretations of the Jewish Law over the years. Jesus comes and teaches us the heart of God's will in the Sermon on the...

 

Key Passage
"Every person that hears these things I say and obeys is like a wise man. The wise man built his house on rock. It rained hard and the water rose. The winds blew and hit that house. But the house did not fall, because the house was built on rock. But the person that hears the things I teach and does not obey those things is like a foolish man. The foolish man built his house on sand. It rained hard, the water rose, and the winds blew and hit that house. And the house fell with a...