Bible Study on Matthew 8, verses 5 to 13, I will come and heal him

 

Matthew 8:5 ¶  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

 

A centurion was an officer in the Roman Army, the commander of a century, about 80 legionnaires. Centuries were grouped into cohorts under senior centurions.

 

The palsy is a reference to a form of paralysis (we saw in Matthew 4 and will see in Mark 2 instances of this.)

 

The Roman officer declares an important point about God’s sovereignty. God created the universe by a word, His Word, capital W, even, and controls the universe, the one spoken sentence, by His words. It is by Him that all things are held together.

 

Colossians 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 

Christ’s authority and power is underscored elsewhere;

 

Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power…36  And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

 

Matthew 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

 

The centurion’s declaration leads Jesus to make an important point of prophecy for all of us Gentile Christians whose ancestors at this time were worshipping the dead, some of them practicing human sacrifice, worshipping trees, fire, water, and all manner of diverse vanities, living in utter and complete darkness.

 

Jesus declares that such faith is not found in Israel. This becomes one of the statements that open up the gospel and salvation to Gentiles, as in all of the people of the earth, not just the Jews.

 

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

 

Genesis 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

 

Genesis 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

 

Psalm 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

 

Psalm 98:3  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

 

Isaiah 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

 

Luke 13:29  And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

 

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

 

Verse 13 has its parallels also. Here are a few examples. 13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

 

John 4:50  Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

 

Matthew 9:29  Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

 

Matthew 15:28  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Bible Study on Genesis 37, verses 23 to 30, Joseph is sold by his brothers

 

Genesis 37:23 ¶  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 24  And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 25  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26  And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. 28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 29  And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. 30  And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Joseph is now cast into a dry pit and they took off his coat of many colors much like Jesus’ garment was removed in Matthew 27:35 and John 19:23 although the similarity is limited to the removal only. Notice the difference in the nastiness of the dungeon Jeremiah will be thrown into in Jeremiah 38:6. It is then Judah, without Reuben present, who suggests they sell their brother to the Ishmaelite traders who are traveling to Egypt. This is done as an act of mercy as Judah says that it would be better to do this than to kill him. The brothers consent. This passage seems to indicate that the Midianites were also Ishmaelities; Midianites through Abraham’s wife, Keturah;

Genesis 25:1 ¶  Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2  And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

…and Ishmaelites through his concubine, Sarai’s handmaid, Hagar;

Genesis 16:15  And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

So, we see how quickly the genealogies of the Ancient Near East became muddled.

Joseph’s life was worth twenty pieces of silver to the traders. Jesus was betrayed for thirty. To Reuben’s dismay, when he returned from wherever he had gone not knowing about or approving the sale of Joseph, his brother was gone. Tearing one’s clothing was a sign of grief in the Ancient Near East as evident in many places throughout the Bible. Did not the Jewish authorities turn Christ over to the Romans out of envy and malice?

What was Reuben going to do now?

Bible Study on Matthew 8, verses 1 to 4, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean

 

Matthew 8:1 ¶  When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

 

Chapter 8 of Matthew is the one that calls into question my belief that the sermon in Luke 6 is a different sermon rather than a differently remembered account of the one here in Matthew. Here in Matthew, before Jesus encounters the Centurion’s sick servant he heals a leper. In Luke 7 He goes right to Capernaum and His encounter with the sick servant of the Centurion.

 

So, if it is true that the Sermon on the Mount is the same event in Matthew and in Luke then we come to a very important point of Biblical interpretation. These writers are going on the memory of eyewitnesses and participants of the importance and meaning of what Jesus said. We have the meaning, the points made, here in Matthew and Luke’s accounts (Matthew isn’t present until 9:9 and both were writing, I think, from the memories of others under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit).

 

But different events are emphasized and different conditions are explained. When things happened in reference to others is not as important as the teachings given to us. Still, I am inclined to believe that these sermons were given at different times, even if only slightly different, due to the details. Think about that and pray. Most evangelicals believe they are the same sermon, just different recollections. Just remember you cannot read the Bible like you would your car owners’ manual. And if two people’s accounts on any historical event are exactly the same either they copied from each other or some scribe altered the content to make it match. Two accounts of the same event, especially if neither of the authors were actually present and they depended on witnesses, are going to have differences. It is only the error of modernism that forces us to treat the Bible accounts like the instruction manual for our computer.

 

We are reminded in this discussion that given by inspiration does not mean word for word dictation and even uses, not only the writing skills of the men who wrote, but their human memories. Keep in mind what God has said about inspiration.

 

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

 

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

 

Keep in mind also that Matthew, an exacting collector and recorder of taxes, relates a very spiritual message while Luke is recounting eyewitness accounts he has gathered together. If they are the same sermon then we can use Matthew to define what is meant by Luke’s account and compare the two sermons carefully as Matthew’s thought is more complete.

 

What do you think? Do you believe they are the same sermon, just two different versions, or are they different sermons given at different times to different audiences?

 

Jesus is willing to heal the leper and the leper is willing to be healed. This is very important for us. We ask for healing, spiritual and physical, but are we willing to be healed? I remember a book by a pop-psychiatrist named M. Scott Peck. I think it was People of the Lie. He said, if I recall correctly, that he was amazed at the number of people with severe mental illness who clearly resisted the efforts to heal them. The leper was willing to be healed and Christ was willing to do the healing. Perfect arrangement. What about us?

 

Jesus tells the healed leper to go to the priest and follow the Law to be a testimony to the priests. See Leviticus, chapter 14. As one sermon possibility when we follow the rules and are not rebellious as Christians we testify to God’s power before those over us in authority. However, that is difficult in reality in today’s world where outright communists rule over us using a twisted definition of democracy as a cloak for their evil designs.

 

Another possible sermon illustration is that the Jews looked upon someone with leprosy as a shameful recipient of God’s particular displeasure, much like poverty was sometimes looked at in the past. Jesus was willing to heal even the outcasts of society as He is willing to save even the bottommost part of the social web.

Bible Study on Genesis 37, verses 12 to 22, cast him into this pit

 

Genesis 37:12 ¶  And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13  And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14  And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15  And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16  And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. 17  And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18  And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21  And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22  And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

Here goes Joseph on another reporting expedition for his father. No wonder his brothers can’t stand him. Are they expecting another evil report?

Introduced into the narrative is someone who enters the picture several times in the Bible. He or she is a seemingly random person who accomplishes something important or is used as an example. His or her existence makes one wonder about the place of so-called “divine appointments” in our everyday lives denying our very concepts of randomness, luck, and chance. I am referring to the references to a certain man or a certain woman who do something noteworthy but whose name isn’t given. As two examples;

Judges 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.

1Kings 22:34  And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

A certain man found Joseph wandering, unsure of where to find his brothers. This anonymous individual lets Joseph know where to find them and exits the narrative.

Their hatred of Joseph is so great, their envy is so murderous, that they conspire against him as they see him approaching them. Jesus’ own brethren would not receive Him and conspired against Him.

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

He spoke against the Jews’ practices of His time and they conspired against Him. But, Joseph will yet save them all as we will see, as Christ came to save His own people.

They cynically and with blood in their hearts want to kill Joseph but Reuben, Jacob and Leah’s firstborn, refuses them their wish to end Joseph’s life and blame it on an animal. Here we see one of the definitions of evil as intending to do violence. Imagine Christ being hated by the Jewish authorities because He convicted them of their sin.

Reuben’s desire is to deliver Joseph, to return him to their father, Jacob. Reuben, who had before this committed the grievous sin of having sex with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, has a heart of mercy toward Joseph. This goes to show just how complex and really normal these patriarchs were in that they were not two dimensional but like us and all men were capable of evil and good. We do err when we paint the Bible’s human characters as having only one side; when we ignore Moses’ temper, Jeremiah’s doubts, or David’s sexual weakness. Only Christ, who is God in the flesh, was without sin, and, pastors, that includes Paul.

Bible Study on Matthew 7, verses 21 to 29, depart from me, ye that work iniquity

 

Matthew 7:21 ¶  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

 

This is a continuation of the last passage in this sermon. The fate of false prophets and those who deliberately counteract his teachings is given in metaphor.

 

Notice these interesting cross-references to verse 23 in regard to working iniquity calling these false teachers wicked.

 

Psalm 141:4  Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.

 

Isaiah 31:2  Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

 

Isaiah 32:6  For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

 

Here is underscored that an outward profession of religious faith, no matter how impressive, will not lead us into Heaven without a saving relationship with Christ. American churches are filled with people who do wonderful works in assisting the poor and downtrodden, who make great sermons about helping one’s fellow man, but fall short of salvation by denying the Saviour who purchased them with His own blood. They have built their house on sand.

 

The Christian who bases his works for God on His trusting in Christ’s righteousness and not His own has a far surer rock to stand on than the person who bases his works for God on his own principles and goodness.

 

This ends, perhaps, the greatest sermon ever made. Hearing Christ’s words and obeying them, keeping them in one’s heart is the key to the Christian’s happiness. We underestimate how God’s standard of righteousness can make us happy.

Bible Study on Genesis 37, verses 5 to 11, Joseph dreamed a dream

 

Genesis 37:5 ¶  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11  And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Joseph’s two dreams indicate that he has been given knowledge that he will have supremacy over his brothers and, indeed, even over his father, in a manner of speaking. This adds fuel to the fire of his brothers’ envy against him. Jacob’s statement about Joseph’s mother, who was Rachel who died giving birth to Benjamin, seems to indicate that these dreams had been something he revealed some time previously that had helped create the resentment that his brothers felt for their father’s favorite. Matthew Henry noted that Joseph is more of a prophet than a politician in that he blurts these things out. He is a very young man, still a child by our standards today, though. But, while Jacob objected he still pondered what the dream that was spoken that seemed to include him meant.

One valuable note here of Bible definitions of words is the context of to reign over and to have dominion over in verse 8. To have dominion means to reign over here as it means to have power over and authority over in other places.

Psalm 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

And did not man have power and authority over life on earth?

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Joseph’s dreams will yet save a heathen nation from ruin and save his own people from starvation, setting off events that will reverberate through all history.

Bible Study with Fred, Matthew 7, verses 15 to 20, Beware of false prophets

 

Matthew 7:15 ¶  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

 

Prophets foretell things to come and teach as most commentators agree. Prophets teach about what God is going to do and what God has said. So, they are also teachers.  

 

We have another warning against false prophets and teachers in Peter’s letters.

 

2Peter 2:1 ¶  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

 

    3 ¶  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

 

    7 ¶  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

 

    10 ¶  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

 

Matthew Henry links false prophets and teachers with false apostles warned about in Revelation.

 

Revelation 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

 

Paul warns about these false workers.

 

2Corinthians 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

 

What are the fruits of what a prophet prophesies or a teacher teaches? Does their teaching draw you closer to the Bible and to God or does it cause you to doubt and have anxiety over God’s words and over His will and your salvation?

 

Does it deny God’s authority even or Christ’s incarnation?

 

Jude 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

1John 2:21  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

 

This warning is continued in the next passage.