In Matthew 8:1-17, we see
Jesus' healing ministry. There are three miracles - healing people who
were suffering from "a skin disease" (Matthew 8:1-4), paralysis (Matthew
8:5-13) and "a fever" (Matthew 8:14-15). After these three miracles, we
have a more general statement about the ministry of casting out demons
(Matthew 8:16-17). This is followed by Matthew 8:18 - "Now, when Jesus
saw a crowd around Him, He ordered His disciples to cross to the other
side of the Sea of Galilee." Jesus was moving from place to place,
taking His ministry to more people.
In Matthew 8:19-34, we
learn about discipleship (Matthew 8:19-22), peace (Matthew 8:23-27) and
deliverance (Matthew 8:28-34). How sad it is that this chapter ends with
these words: "Everyone from the city went to meet Jesus. When they saw
Him, they begged him to leave their territory" (Matthew 8:34). If it had
ended with the words, "Everyone went out to meet Jesus", we would say,
"Wonderful! We want more of this." When this is followed by the
sentence, "When they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their territory",
we sense that we are in the presence of something solemn, even
something sinister. What we have here is the activity of Satan. Even
when the Lord is working powerfully, Satan is also at work, seeking to
hinder the work of God, creating resistance in the hearts of those who
have begun to show an initial interest in Jesus. Satan gets worried. He
does everything he can to prevent people moving from seeking to finding.
Let us take our stand against Satan. Let us take our stand in the Name
of Christ. Let us take our stand in the power of Christ.
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