Matt. 8:1-4; Hebrews 2:1-4, Signs, Miracles, Wonders

Matthew’s account of the life of our Lord is given, we believe, in more of a thematic way, presenting Jesus as Israel’s King.  The theme is given chronologically in the sense that Matthew begins with His birth, then presents His earthly ministry, ending with the “passion” week and His death, resurrection and ascension.  But within that general chronology Matthew seems to “group” together various themes. 

One example of this is in Matt. 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount.  We believe that Jesus gave this sermon, in this form, on one occasion, on a mountain in Galilee.  But we also know that various parts of this sermon were preached at other times in His ministry.  Luke, in 6:20-49, records a sermon that Jesus preached at a different time and place, but which included many of the same teachings seen in Matt. 5-7.  Both sermons come from early points in Jesus’ ministry, indicating that the content of this message was important in the early stages of Jesus’ ministry.  What Matthew chose was a version of this sermon that was more complete and that made a clear contrast between life in Jesus’ Kingdom and the typical life of Jews at the time.  There was a clear dealing with the role of the Law of Moses and a clear understanding of that law from the point of view of the Messiah.

With that in mind we can summarize Matthews gospel, to this point, like this:

I.      The birth of the King, Ch. 1-2.  The ancestry and the visit of the Magi show Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus as Israel’s King.

II.   The presentation of the King, Ch. 3-4.  The connection with the ministry of John the Baptist is important in identifying Jesus as the promised Christ.  Remember too how both John and Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom (repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand). 

III.The platform of the King, Ch. 5-7.  The sermon continues by detailing what life is like in Jesus’ kingdom.  He is calling people to follow Him and they need to know what this means.

This now brings us to Matthew 8-9.  In these chapters, again, we see that Matthew tells various stories that, in the other gospels, are seen as occurring at different times throughout Jesus’ ministry.  Mt. 8:1 tells us that, after the sermon, many followed Jesus.  Then it says, “and behold, a leper came.”  That may sound at first that Matthew is saying this event happened immediately after coming down from the mountain.  But that is not the case, nor is it required to understand it that way.  If you look quickly down Matt. 8 you will see this …

8:2: and behold, a leper came …

8:5: now when Jesus had entered Capernaum …

8:14: now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house …

8:23: now when He got into a boat …

The words “now when” makes it sound like these events happened one after another.  But actually, the Greek does not indicate successive events.  Matthew says, “there was a time when a leper came …”; and “on one occasion when Jesus entered Capernaum …”; and “once when Jesus came into Peter’s house …” and so forth. 

Why does Matthew present these events together in chapters 8-9?  It is because these are a sampling of events that provide evidence for the claim that Jesus is making as Israel’s King.  Jesus said that one proof of His Messiahship was the works that the Father gave Him to do (John 5:36).  The signs, miracles and wonders are thus …

IV. The proofs of the King, Ch. 8-9.