Matthew 8 – Such Great Faith

This twelfth chapter of Matthew contains a series of Jesus’ healing miracles. He healed a man with a skin disease, the servant of a Roman centurion, Peter’s mother-in-law, and a pair of demon-possessed men, among others.

The healing of the centurion’s servant is significant because of his faith and recognition of Jesus’ authority. The centurion was confident that Jesus had the authority/ability to heal people, even from a distance. All He had to do was say the word, wherever He was, and his servant would be healed.

Jesus commended him for his faith. A faith greater than that of His own people. There will be many more with that faith, from all over the world, who will come to Jesus and join Him in heaven’s feast. While many of His own people will be on the outside looking in.

In this chapter, we see a couple of people who wanted to follow Jesus. But they wanted to do it on their own terms. But Jesus was unwilling to accept that. If you are going to follow Jesus, you must do so on His terms.

One of my favorite miracles is Jesus’ calming of a storm. He and His disciples are in a boat being tossed by a storm. And at His command, the wind quit, and the sea became calm. Quite a demonstration of His authority over creation.

The chapter ends with the deliverance of a couple of demon-possessed men. When the demons leave them, they enter a herd of pigs, who then rushed into the lake and were drowned. The pigs could not tolerate the presence of these demons.

When the townsfolk heard about it, they came out to investigate. Then they begged Jesus to leave the area. Were they afraid of what else He might do? Or upset because of the economic loss of a herd of pigs? Matthew does not tell us.

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