Matthew 8 & 9

Miracles of Jesus 35 in all Gospels 20 in Matthew 10 in these 2 chapters (plus some unspecified ones!) Demonstrate Jesus’ power in biological; physiological; natural; spiritual worlds

1. Cleansing a man with leprosy (8:1–4);8:1–4 2. Healing the centurion’s servant who lay paralysed in his home (8:5–13);8:5–13 3. Healing Peter’s mother-in-law of fever (8:14–15);8:14–15 4. Calming a storm on Galilee (8:23–27);8:23–27 5. Exorcising two violent demon possessed men and driving the demons into a herd of pigs (8:28–34);8:28–34 6. Healing a paralysed man brought to Jesus on a mat (9:1–8);9:1–8 7. Raising a dead girl to life (9:18–26);9:18–26 8. Healing of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and who came up behind him in a crowd and touched the edge of his cloak (9:20–22);9:20–22 9. Restoring sight to two blind men (9:27–31);9:27– Driving demons from a dumb man, enabling him to speak (9:32–33).9:32–33

What do the miracles of Jesus prove? His deity? OR His humanity? If it’s His deity then what of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Stephen, Philip and Paul? ‘Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among you through him’ (Acts 2:22)Acts 2:22 ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’ (John 5:19)John 5:19 ‘it is the Father living in me who is doing his own work‘ (John 14:10)John 14:10

How does Jesus work? Is it a formula? NO! Look at all the different ways he heals people in these miracles! Don’t ever try to reproduce a work of Jesus by formula! Consider the Deaf & Mute Man (Mark 7) & the Blind Man (Mark 8) The issue is not HOW it happened but WHO did it! Not the nature of the experience but the origin of it!

God may work in various ways but there is one common response to His work: FAITH Faith is not vain hope and will power “The evidence of faith is not seen in what we do for the object of our faith, but in what we allow the object of our faith to do for us” Faith in God allows Him to do in us whatever he wants to do, however He wants to do it!

Sometimes He will heal Sometimes He will not (Gal. 4:13) It’s His business and both require faith Look at Hebrews 11 Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Moses lived by faith! However consider Heb. 11: = approved by faith Our faith is not measured by the consequences!

“How God works in our circumstances is His business, but the reality of His working is always in response to faith”