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Matthew 8:1-4
When Jesus had finished His “Sermon on the Mount,” He came down from the mountain (Matthew 8:1). This is unique in His teaching as when He began teaching about the condition of the heart (Matthew 5:21) He states, “You have heard that it was said to those of old,” and is in reference to Moses when he taught the people the commandments that he was given by God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-31). When God had finished giving Moses the instructions on Mount Sinai, he came down from the mountain; When Jesus had finished teaching the people about these same things, He came down from the mountain. God works in mysterious ways and places these connections in His word for us to see in the importance of the connection of these two events between God and Moses, and between God and Jesus.
One big difference between when Moses came down from the mountain, and when Jesus came down from the mountain is the reaction of the people; both returned to a large number of people but the people that Moses returned to had given up hope and had made a god for themselves to worship, but the people that Jesus returned to still had hope as we learn in Matthew 8:2 (NKJV) which states, “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moses became angry with the disobedience of the people and broke the tablets containing the words written by the LORD (Exodus 32:19), but Jesus showed the compassion of God for one who came to Him with great faith to be healed, and Jesus healed him (Matthew 8:3). But in Matthew 8:3 Jesus commands the person that He had just healed to, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priests, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Matthew 8:4). This seems odd that Jesus would not desire to have His healing powers made known to everyone everywhere, but Jesus did not come to bring attention to Himself but to spread the good news of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 4:17). Jesus was also humble in His ministry and states in Matthew 20:27-28 (NIV), “and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This is an example of the power of God working through His One and only Son Jesus to provide understanding and healing.
Jesus has taught the way in which the Law was supposed to be followed in His “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus was not changing the Law but preparing the way in which it should be followed – from the heart, not by simply going through the motions. When Jesus healed the person in Matthew 8:2-4, He was showing those around Him what it is like to put faith in action and believe in one’s heart, as did the man in which He healed. But He is also showing respect for the Law as it is until His death, burial, and resurrection, the governing authority.
Dear LORD,
We take for granted that Jesus had already been crucified, buried, and resurrected from the grave. But it must have been tough for people to grasp an understanding of salvation before Jesus had been crucified and opened the door to it. We have Your word today in the New Testament which teaches us these things. Please give us understanding to Your word so we will grow in our faith in our Savior Jesus and in our knowledge of Your kingdom of heaven and share the good news with others. In Jesus name I pray, amen.