After the calming of the storm, Jesus was not finished showing His disciples His power, or His love for the most lost and enslaved of all people. The demoniacs of Matthew 8:28-34 were dangerous and no one could go near them.
In Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus taught the disciples a lesson of faith they could never forget. They had seen many miracles already, and they had seen Him teach with great authority, but the storm on the Sea of Galilee would leave an indelible mark on their lives.
In Matthew 8 after Jesus healed many people (8:1-17) He decided to depart and venture over the sea to another place. When He gave orders to depart, two men indicated that they wanted to follow Him. The first, a scribe, desired to go but was told that the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. The second, a disciple, said that he first wanted to bury his father. Jesus responded by telling him to leave the dead to bury their own.
Jesus came down after the great Sermon on the Mount, and continued to amaze the crowds as He healed all who came to Him. Healing a leper (and outcast), and the slave of a centurion (a gentile), and Peter's mother-in-law and many others who were brought to Him, we learn more about the theology of His mandate.
After the great Sermon on the Mount, "the crowds were amazed". In this message, we look at what this reaction meant, along with what it did not mean. What was the reason that they recognized that Jesus had an authority unlike the scribes and the Pharisees?
In our final message on the Manger and the Cross, we looked at the hope of the incarnation for Israel. Many in the evangelical world are surprised to learn that God is not finished with Israel, and that His promises to them have not been cancelled...
The shepherds long ago went away glorifying and praising God for what they had heard and seen. They heard the promise of the Saviour, and they saw Him with their own eyes.
What can we offer to the One who offered His life as a substitute for ours? What can we give to the Babe born in Bethlehem of Judea that He has not already given to us?
