Matthew 8

Healing

Yeshua walked down the mountain after teaching the crowd on the Sermon on the Mount.  His main thrust of the sermon was to teach how Torah applied during that day.  The secondary thrust was to demonstrate that He was the Messiah.  Up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew the only time that we see Yeshua called the “Christ” or Messiah is when His birth was discussed (Matt 1:18).  The next time that we see Jesus called Messiah (Christ) is when John hears about His work while he is imprisoned (Matt 11:2).

Prophecy determined that the Messiah will perform works of miracles, healing the sick, blind, deaf and lame (Isa 35:4-6; 2 Ki 5:14). God spoke to Moses as the creator of the mouth, mute, seeing and blind (Ex 4:11).  God has control over these things and can change them at His will. When Jesus came on the scene as the Messiah, He demonstrated His office as Messiah by performing the works of YHVH.  We will be looking back and forth to the Old Testament in the following studies to compare Jesus’ works with Gods Old Testament works.  Initially after the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua is demonstrating through actions that He is the Messiah.

Matthew 8:1–4 (NASB95)

¹ When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. ² And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ³ Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Discussion of Leprosy according to Torah and modern medicine:

Leprosy was an incurable disease at that time and is still very difficult to treat.  Today we have medications that can stop it. It takes upwards of two years for treatment to get it under control, depending on the severity and type.  Leprosy is a bacterial infection that causes the skin to literally rot off.  It was and still is a significantly infectious disease.  It is easily spread through bodily contact or airborne after someone sneezes.

Lepers were to be quarantined from the rest of society until they were cured (Leviticus 13:45-46).  Torah gave detailed instructions on how to diagnose and deal with those who have leprosy (Lev 13). Since it is a bacterial infection, it was able to infect houses, leather goods and garments.  Torah gave instructions on how to deal with each case.  Lepers were quarantined because of their disease.  They were considered unclean because of the disease.  The leper is not touched by the priest until he is declared clean and proven to be clean (Lev 14:14 ff).  Yeshua had the ability to completely and immediately cure leprosy in order to protect against becoming unclean (Matt 8:3).

Back to the Passage:

Yeshua came down from the mountain with a large crowd following Him.  Get this picture in your brain.  Lepers were not allowed inside the city since they were unclean.  This leper met him and asked to be healed.  The leper understood that Yeshua had the power to heal.  His simple statement was that if Yeshua was willing, he would be healed.  This leper picked a critical point where Jesus had declared to be the Messiah and gave a proof case to the crowds.  However, he was not allowed to talk to anyone about the healing!  This was because until the priest declared him clean, he was not ceremonially clean.  Everyone he talked to would potentially become unclean, especially if they touched him.  The nature of God through Yeshua immediately healed and thereby prevented Yeshua from becoming unclean.  I am convinced that the leper was completely and totally healed before Jesus’ hand made contact with the leper.  The touching and healing take place immediately (simultaneously) according to my understanding of the Greek sense.

Yeshua was the Messiah.  He sent the word through the Sermon on the Mount.  Now he sends a character study to the priests at the temple this is indicated by “as a testimony to them”.  According to Torah, the Leper had to go to the priest and go through a cleansing ritual. This took literally eight days to complete the cycle (Leviticus 14:1-32). It involved careful diagnosis, intense observation and finally a lot of physical contact by the priest at the end. We do not know how often lepers were healed.  Due to the bacterial nature of the disease, it was very rare.  Yet, God made provision in the law for the healing of lepers, and how to diagnose it.  There are two miraculous healings of leprosy in the Bible with Miriam and Naaman; but none from natural sources (Num 12:10-15; 2 Ki 5:1-14). The priests were fully aware of Torah and had to deal with the miracle on an intimate level.  They also had to deal with God working in a new way and were required by Torah to validate it.

Summary and Lessons: This man went from having leprosy one minute to being totally healed the next. Yeshua sent three clear messages to the people that could not be ignored.  First, it sent a message to the crowds that He was truly the Messiah. Second, it sent the message to the priest that Jesus had healed the man, establishing that He was the Messiah.  Third, since Jesus demanded that the man see the priest and not speak to anyone, he sent the message that Torah was in full effect.  This simple point is missed mainly because we ignore it.  Yeshua not only taught Torah, He instructed the healed leper to follow Torah.  Yeshua did not come to abolish Torah, He came to put it into full effect (Matt 5:17).

Gentile being Healed indicates “One New Man” attitude of YEshua

There is a pattern that runs through the scriptures where God brings along both Jew and Gentile together in significant undertakings.  For example, Joshua and Caleb were the two spies that felt that the land was safe to take.  Joshua, a Jew and Caleb, a Gentile.  Caleb was a Kenizzite by birth, his name meant “dog” or possibly “rabid dog” which is a slang term that the Jewish people give to the Gentiles (Josh 14:6).  When you look at the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, it is clear that Matthew’s account of Joseph is polluted with gentile women. Therefore, we have a blend of Jew and Gentile in the parental heritage of our Messiah, Jesus.  In the New Testament times we see this as Paul teaches that both Jew and Gentile will be formed into “one new man” (Eph 2:15).  In the end God will blend Judaism and Christianity into a single entity.  This single religion will be built on Torah, which is built upon the revelation of God through the work of Yeshua through all of history (Eph 2:19-22).  This story about the centurion is an example of God bringing both groups along together toward salvation.

Matthew 8:5–13 (NASB95)

⁵ And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, ⁶ and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

Elements of the story:  First, we have the centurion. He was a gentile captain of 100 roman soldiers.  Second, The Greek indicates that the servant was a young boy under the age of puberty.  Third, we have the issue of an unrighteous Gentile who understood that he was not Jewish (Matt 15:26).  Forth, the centurion recognized Yeshua had God-like power, and probably understood that he was actually talking to God.  It would be inconceivable that a natural man could command sickness to go away over a distance. Fifth, the Jewish people were reasoning as to whether or not Jesus was the Messiah while the Roman centurion accepted that as fact.  Now, let’s discuss the story.

There was an attitude at the time that Jewish people did not enter associate with Gentiles; they certainly did not enter their homes (Acts 10:28).  The centurion probably knew this.  He probably reasoned that since Jesus had healed the leper, he was obviously God.  Try to wrap your mind around the Greek mindset of the time.  They believed that the gods interacted with man.  Mythology was built on the reasoning that gods and men were interactive in nature.  The centurion had no doubt that the man who healed the leper was not a normal man.  In his eyes this man had to be God in the flesh.  The centurion also understood that he was not deserving of the Jewish God’s favor, yet in humility asked anyway.  Jesus used him as a character study.

This centurion understood his trade.  He understood that he had men under submission to him, and that by giving orders these men carried them out.  He took a simple step by applying that principal to the Kingdom of God.  Yeshua honored his request and healed the boy instantly.

The lesson: Faith is acting upon the revelation that God has given to you.  This centurion acted upon his revelation by asking for the child to be healed. The writer of Hebrews summed this up: “¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old gained approval” (Hebrews 11:1–2 NASB95).  The centurion understood who Jesus was and asked according to that truth.

The second part of the lesson looks at how that God makes room for Gentiles in the kingdom.  Over the last two thousand years many gentiles have come to know the Lord.  We have done this well.  Prophecy from the Isaiah looks forward to the day when all nations will come to a feast before the Lord (Isa 25:6-7).  It looks forward to when the nations are made into one nation of believers before the Lord.  Isaiah speaks of God wiping away the tears from all peoples and removing the reproach from His people (Isa 25:8). Look at what is said after Isaiah prophesies the blending of Jew and Gentile into one new congregation:

Isaiah 25:9 (NASB95)

⁹ And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

The word for “salvation” is the word “Yeshua”.  Coincidence?  Isaiah foretells gentiles becoming equal participants with the Hebrew people by keeping Sabbaths, holding fast to the covenant, and gathering with Israel who was dispersed among the nations (Isa 56:1-8).  God’s house of prayer will be a single congregation of Jew and Gentile as we join together to worship the Lord (Isa 56:8).

The main thrust of Yeshua’s healing was not to show us compassion for a Gentile centurion.  The main idea is the blending of Jew and Gentile into one congregation.  The main idea looks at Jew and Gentile feasting before the Lord.  How do we know this?  The idea is that the nations will come to Torah which is represented by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Mentioning these three men represents the covenant that God made with them and instructions that they were given to follow.  Just as all gentiles will not get into heaven, all Jews will not make it either.  Many from both sides will spend eternity “weeping and gnashing” their teeth.

Yeshua came to teach Torah.  He came to bring the writings of the Old Testament to full effect so that each man can draw close to God.  He came to reach out to both the lost of Israel and the lost of the nations for salvation.  Yeshua means “Salvation”.

Peter’s Mother-in-law healed

Yeshua made two significant healings in the beginning of this chapter.  We looked at how that He demonstrated that He came to both Jew and Gentile.  In this discussion we will look at the way that He demonstrates that He is the Messiah.  We will see His ministry take off at this point as He demonstrates that He is the Messiah.  The major part of the rest of the book looks at Yeshua teaching Torah.

Matthew 8:14–17 (NASB95) ¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. ¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

Matt 8:14-15  Jesus entered Peter’s home, and healed Peter’s mother.  She was very sick; this is indicated by her being bedridden.  The healing was complete and immediate to the point that she did not need a recovery period. Her strength enough to where she started waiting on them immediately demonstrating a complete recovery.  Most of the time when a fever has broken, it takes a few days for complete recovery.

Matt 8:16-17  Jesus delivered those who were demon-possessed and healed the sick.  Often when a person has been healed it acts as a seed of faith for other people.  In churches where healing takes place, one healing will lead to an entire congregation coming forward for healing of various problems.  We see this taking place with Yeshua.  What is also interesting is that the Messiah was prophesied by Isaiah that he will heal diseases:

Isaiah 53:4 (NASB95) “ ⁴ Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

The word “griefs” can also be translated as sicknesses.  Torah promised that if people follow Torah, God will not visit on them the sicknesses and diseases of Egypt:

Deuteronomy 7:15 (NASB95) “¹⁵ The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.”

Jesus demonstrated by healing and casting out demons that He is the Messiah.  He carries the authority of the Father.  As a character study following the Sermon on the Mount, if people return to Torah they are healed.  Everyone who was sick or demon possessed were healed.  Let’s discuss this a little further.

Demon-possession is not something that we are very familiar with here in the United States.  It is a phenomenon which is not well known, yet it still exists on a grand scale.  When you speak to missionaries who have served in other countries, they will tell you that demon possession is still an obvious reality.  The real question is why is it that we don’t deal with this?  Part of the reason we do not recognize demon possession is because of bad teaching from our pulpits.  We have been taught that since we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, demons cannot possess our bodies.  If you speak to a person who deals in this arena, you will soon find that that is not true.  Deliverance ministers do not cast demons off or out of a person who is a non-believer very often.  Those who are not following the Lord are not a threat to Satan, and not worth harassing.  Believers who play both sides of the fence are easy prey.

I have also felt that many do not recognize demon possession because we have sold ourselves into his system. Americans have abandoned God’s principles on a major scale.  Even Christian believers are so worldly that it is often difficult to see the difference between them and the world.  Why would the devil dispatch his demons here when we effectively do his work for him? He sends them to other parts of the world where they will be used more effectively.  The demons are finite beings, and cannot be in two places at once.  Another reason could be that we are so spiritually blind that we do not recognize the demon-possessed.  They are diagnosed as mentally ill, with the symptoms being treated and not the root cause.

I am not an authority on this.  I can tell you from experience that during my time on Okinawa, demons were obvious to believers.  Here in America demons are becoming more active as we compromise God’s word.  Horror movies are open doors to the way that Satan works.  As believers embrace and accept these movies and the morality which they promote, I believe we will see significantly more satanic activity.  Movies are not the only problem.  With the advent of “social media”, I am noticing an increasingly anti-social society. As we step further and into perversion, drug use, divorce and redefining sin as psychological handicaps, we will see increased demonic activity. But, that is my opinion.

Matthew 8:16 (NASB95) “¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

The word for “healed” in verse 16 is in the aorist tense in the Greek.  That means that the act was completed, totally finished, as if the person had never been sick before, and will never be sick again.  It would give the picture of total health.  Jesus healed the people completely.  If someone were to heal people like that today, we would certainly have people flocking to see Him.  At that time in history, if you were sick, you were in trouble.  They did not have antibiotics or any of the modern medicines that we have today, to find someone who could actually cure you was incredible.  During Yeshua’s ministry on earth, Israel must have had the healthiest nation in the world.

Editorial: I have taught in the past that our doctors have received the gift of healing.  God has blessed them with tremendous healing power, amazing knowledge and this should be the healthiest time in history.  But it is not.  Perhaps since God has provided doctors for us, the need for divine healing has gone away.  As a result of this attitude, some believe that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit have been done away with.  I believe they are still active. Some believe that the healings of Jesus were limited to Him and to His Apostles.

Recently, I was reading through Chronicles and found that King Asa died because he sought the physicians rather than the Lord (2 Ch 16:12-13).  I have often wondered about this. Many illnesses are psychosomatic in nature. Other illnesses are physical and may look toward healing, or God may be using them to position us in places of better ministry to others.  Often people go to the doctors to be healed and come home with drugs which treat the symptoms, rather than curing the disease.  The cure is often worse than the problem.  How often have you heard about someone going to the doctor and being instantly healed?  Perhaps as we experience illness, we should change our attitude toward it.  We should use the time to draw near to the Lord in order to see what He is doing in our lives.  We also need to use God’s trained healers, our incredible doctors.

When my wife went through brain surgery, we were immensely grateful that God had provided doctors with such incredible skills.  The drug therapy that followed was a nightmare.  God has progressively healed her brain since then.  We have followed both arenas, and have experienced miraculous healing of the brain.  Today with a combination of God’s healing and the trained doctors, my wife is almost totally restored.  In some ways she has become better than before the surgery.  On the same plane, we now understand what it means when someone is fighting cancer or dealing with terminal illnesses.  We understand what it means to be in a hopeless situation.  God used the brain tumor to His glory.  He is using the healing to His glory now.  Perhaps most Christians today are short-changing themselves, failing to believe in the Yeshua of the Bible, and making Him to fit to the doctrines of our churches. We have forgotten the promises for following Torah (Deut 7:15).  So much for the editorial…

Yeshua: Son of Man

The New American Standard Bible puts the subheading “Discipleship Tested”, New King James “Demands of Discipleship”, New Living Translation “ The Cost of Following Jesus”; they all miss the point of the passage.  Yeshua did not say, “This is what it costs”, He was saying “This is who I am.”  Let’s take a look at the passage:

Matthew 8:18–22 (NASB95) ” ¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. ¹⁹ Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ²¹ Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

One of the Scribes, a learned man in Torah promised to follow Jesus wherever he would go.  Jesus did not discourage him.  He replied to the scribe according to the Talmud and the writings of the prophet Daniel, both of which the scribe was intimately familiar.  His job as a scribe was to study the scriptures.  Let’s look a little closer at his response.

Jesus refers to Daniel and Ezekiel and indirectly refers to the Rabbi’s:

Birds: We will first discuss the Ezekiel passage.  Jesus referred to a passage that the Rabbi’s had been discussing in the Talmud regarding birds and beasts having homes (Eze 39:17).  These were sent to cleanse the land after the great judgment of God at the battle of Gog.  The argument hinged upon the most insignificant command in Torah:

Deuteronomy 22:6–7 (NASB95) “⁶ “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; ⁷ you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.”

Believe it or not, the Rabbi’s discuss this command at length puzzling over how to treat the mother bird. Eventually they reach the conclusion that if the mother bird is disturbed and treated unfairly the guilty party is subject to “stripes” or whipping.  The discussion of the state of the bird is huge in the Talmud if you are interested, look at the Babylonian Talmud, b. Hul. 12:1 or Hullin chapter 12.  The argument is extensive.  Dead center of the argument is a reference to the “son of man” drawn out of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 39:17 (NASB95) “¹⁷ “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. “

The significant issue with this passage is that even with the judgment of God falling on man, God provides food and presumably shelter for the birds and the beasts.  The Ezekiel passage moves forward to look at the coming of the Messiah and His restoration of Israel:

Ezekiel 39:25–29 (NASB95) “²⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. ²⁶ “They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ “When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. ²⁸ “Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. ²⁹ “I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.”

Foxes are also discussed in reference to the returning Messiah.  In the Talmud the Rabbi’s have a story about a fox that makes its home in a sixty-pound turnip.[1]  The idea is that once the Messiah restores the land the fruit of the land will be of immense size.  Foxes in the Hebrew literature are treated with incredible interest.  They carry a comical reverence that seems to almost make them into a constant serious joke on reality.  For example, there is one story of a fox that was seen exiting the Holy of Holies, a place of extremely restricted access: priests only.  The people freaked out!  Yet one Rabbi rejoiced because of prophecies about Zion becoming like a ploughed field and the fox was his evidence (Mic 3:12).[2]

Although you might think I am drawing deep on a simple statement, I want to remind you that Jesus was speaking to a Scribe!  This man was schooled in Torah, all of the Old Testament, and especially in the writings of the Talmud.

Son of Man: Here is the next note from the Talmud regarding the coming Messiah:

I.100 A.   Said R. Alexandri, “R. Joshua b. Levi contrasted verses as follows:

1. “It is written; ‘in its time [will the Messiah come],’ and it is also written; ‘I [the Lord] will hasten it.’
2. “[What is the meaning of the contrast?]
3. “If [the Israelites] have merit, I will hasten it, if they do not, [the messiah] will come in due course.
4. “ ‘It is written, “And behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13, and it is written, “Behold your king comes to you … lowly and riding upon an ass” (Zech. 9:7). [What is the meaning of the contrast?]
5. “ ‘If [the Israelites] have merit, it will be “with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13), and if they do not have merit, it will be “lowly and riding upon an ass” (Zech. 9:7).’ ”^[3]

Reading further on in the Talmud, the Rabbi’s had figured out that the Messiah would come during Roman oppression.  They also knew that the Messiah would be healing the sick.  Now let’s look at the Daniel passage that is quoted regarding the “Son of Man”:

Daniel 7:13–14 (NASB95) “¹³ “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. ¹⁴ “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

The Scribe knew the prophecies regarding the Messiah and was watching for him.  Jesus used the term “Son of man” to refer to himself eighty-four times in the Gospels.  This messianic term was a simple one that clearly marked the Messiah.  Jesus identified himself as the Messiah by using this name.  Any learned Scribe would not miss the reference.

Nowhere to lay his head: The Talmud refers to the Messiah as “the leper of the school house”.[4]  The idea is that since the Messiah carries the sorrows of men, he must be outside of the city (Is 53:4).  The Messiah is pictured sitting in the unclean places changing the bandages of the injured and thus healing them.  Although the Messiah is seen by the Rabbi’s as the deliverer, He is also pictured as an outcast.  This contrast must have baffled the Rabbi’s as they wrestled through the Messianic prophecies.

Back to the Matthew:  We are not told if the scribe followed Jesus or not.  We are given a huge messianic reply that indicates that Jesus is the promised Messiah.  He also depicts the suffering Messiah prophesied by the prophets as one who is more concerned with His creation than he is of personal need.  In other words, Yeshua was not concerned to find a permanent home.  His reply to the scribe was to validate that He is the Son of Man, The prophesied Messiah.

The second disciple that requested to bury his own dead is also interesting.  Stern noted that the man’s father must not be dead yet or the man would have been at home mourning (Jn 11:19-20).  “The son wishes to go home, live in comfort with his father till his death perhaps years hence, collect his inheritance and then, at his leisure, become a disciple. On this and other excuses see Lk 9:57–62&N.”^[5]  This captures the essence of the statement.  Jesus’ response to let the dead bury their own dead simply diffuses his excuse.  Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.  Yeshua’s mission had begun.  If the disciple wished to follow Him, time was of the essence.

Storm at Sea

Matthew 8:23–27 (NASB95) “²³ When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

What power does it take to stop a wave from moving, or the wind from blowing?  Imagine stopping them instantly, amazed is probably an understatement.  Yet Jesus called them men of little faith.  Do you think that this was because they did not believe in the power of Jesus as He was with them, or do you think that He was pointing out that their faith was not up to speed?  Think of the displays of faith that Jesus had already shown them in this chapter, the healing of the sick and driving out demons, as well as the show of stilling the sea and wind.  To picture the wind going from a storm force gale to complete stillness, and waves going from capsizing strength to a sea of glass, perfectly calm, is beyond the imagination.

Yet, who was Yeshua our Messiah?  He established that He is the “Son of Man”.  His authority overrides nature.  We are reminded of the way that God split the Red Sea, and the Jordan River (three times) (Ex 14:16; Josh 4; 2 Ki 2:8-14).  It is clear from the scriptures that God has control over water.  Yeshua demonstrates this through His earthly ministry.  At the time it was critical for His followers to understand that His claims were validated by evidence of the earth obeying him.  The Rhetorical question that the disciples asked had an obvious answer.  Yeshua was the “Son of Man”, the promised Messiah.

Yeshua cast demons into pigs

Demon possession is a mystery to us.  We do not know where demons come from, what they are, or where they originated.  Church doctrine says that demons are fallen angels.  The Bible does not back this claim up.  Church doctrine says that Satan took one third of the angels from heaven when he rebelled against God.  The Bible also does not back this up.  We have only one reference in Revelation that seems to support this theory (Rev 12:4).  We have one reference in the Old Testament that appears to speak about Lucifer (The Morning Star) yet he has to be read into the text (Isaiah 14:12-17). But no actual definitive statement that Satan or his demons are fallen angels.  Here is the puzzling thing, if these teachings did not come from the Bible, where did they come from?

We teach this doctrine based upon first of all the overwhelming evidence that the devil and his demons exist.  There is no doubt that these beings are very real and very active in our world today.  We also hold firmly to the false teaching that true believers cannot be demon possessed.  First off, we do not know what a demon is, and second, we have evidence otherwise.  Look at this excerpt written by Edward Murphy who held this belief and switched position later in his ministry:

“Finally, hundreds of Christian leaders counseling traumatized believers have discovered demonic personalities linked to the believers’ lives, often dwelling inside of them and in conflict with the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must accept this reality and help them into freedom without tearing away their Christian faith by telling them that since they have demons they are not true Christians and on their way to hell. How dare anyone, to defend a theological presupposition, inflict further pain upon them!”^[6]

We will discuss demons more as we study the following passage:

Matthew 8:28–34 (NASB95)

²⁸ When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.

First of all, let’s look at the name that the demons give Jesus.  They referred to Him as the literal “Huios ho Theos” or Son of God.  The demons recognized Yeshua to be God. Not only did they recognize Him as God, they recognized Him as being the one who would eventually punish them at the appointed time for judgment.  We see this time when Satan and his demons are cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:8-15).  Hell was not created for humans.  It was created for the devil and his messengers (demons or angels depending on translation Matt 25:41).  The Greek word “angelios” is never translated in Matthew 25:41, it is transliterated.  The actual meaning points to messengers.  Therefore, the messenger could be demons or fallen angels.  The idea is these are the devil’s workers.

Paul referred to Satan as the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2).  This is significant because Satan is seen as being restricted to the atmosphere of the earth.  The fallen angels are locked up in prison until the day of judgment (Jude 6).  Some believe these to be the watchers who God sent to the earth to assist man at the beginning (Dan 4:13, 17, 23).  The watchers show up in many psuedapigraphal books such as the Book of Enoch.

Book of Enoch: We will discuss this Enoch briefly because it gives the background for much of the demonology or doctrine of demons that churches teach today.  It is rather interesting that Biblical commentators will dodge Enoch even though it is the source material for its teachings on demons.  Enoch is referred to in several places in the Bible.  Although it is not a biblical book, it is given enough credibility to be considered seriously.

Jude called it a prophecy regarding both the disposition of the body of Moses and regarding the judgment of the Lord (Jude 9, 14-15).  His treatment of the book of Enoch really disturbs Christian theologians.  Read the commentaries.  Many consider the Epistles of Peter to draw heavily on the teachings of Enoch.

The term that we discussed earlier “Son of Man” is used 25 times in the book of Enoch.  Every single time that the term is used it refers to the creator God.

Jesus quoted extensively from Enoch, look at this quote I copied off of one pastor’s website.  I cannot say if all the stuff that is on the site is good, his quotes and comparisons are very interesting[7]:

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Mat 5:5) The elect shall possess light, joy and peace, and they shall inherit the earth. (Enoch 5:7 {6:9}) the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son (John 5:22). the principal part of the judgment was assigned to him, the Son of man. (Enoch 69:27 {68:39}) shall inherit everlasting life (Mat. 19:29) those who will inherit eternal life (Enoch 40:9 {40:9}) “Wo unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24) Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed. (Enoch 94:8 {93:7}). Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mat. 19:28) I will place each of them on a throne of glory (Enoch 108:12 {105:26}) Woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born. (Mat. 26:24) Where will the habitation of sinners be . . . who have rejected the Lord of spirits. It would have been better for them, had they never been born. (Enoch 38:2 {38:2}) between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. (Luke 16:26) by a chasm . . . [are] their souls are separated (Enoch 22: 9,11{22:10,12})
In my Father’s house are many mansions (John 14:2) In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory, and shall choose their conditions and countless habitations. (Enoch 45:3 {45:3}) that ye may be called the children of light (John 12:36) the good from the generation of light (Enoch 108:11 {105: 25}) the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14) all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy. (Enoch 48:1 {48:1})”

So although Enoch is not a biblical book, it might be something to consider.  In the following Enoch quote, we can see where the teaching in the church that Satan and his demons are bound to the air.  We can see the reference that the demons are making regarding the time of judgment.  It is intriguing that the evil spirits are seen to be the offspring of the watchers who had intercourse with earthly women.  These offspring are the evil spirits that are bound to the earth according to Enoch.  It could be possible that this is the origin of demons. The watchers (spirits of heaven) have been bound in hell until judgment according to Jude (Jude 6). So when we see God destroy the earth because of the Nephilim (Hebrew word) had relations with women, we start to see an interesting parallel (Gen 6:1-5).  We have no idea how many offspring that these Nephilim had.  The number could have been immense. But, like I said, Enoch is not a biblical book, everything here must be taken as a credible ancient historical document which may or may not be true. Here is the quote, this is absolutely not scripture, but gives the basis for our doctrines…to me that is funny:

⁶ But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. ⁷ And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling. ⁸ And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. ⁹ Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men, and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. ¹⁰ As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling. ¹¹ And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. ¹² And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.

^16.1 From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement—thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated.”^[8]

Let’s return to the Passage:  The demons could possibly be referring to the book of Enoch regarding their coming judgment. According to Enoch, they are left to cause havoc on the earth and are bound to the earth.  Yeshua had the authority to send the multitude of demons to the place of judgment.

The demons requested to be sent into the swine.  Yeshua gave them permission and they left the demon possessed men.  Can you imagine the shock when the entire herd rushed down the hill to drown themselves?  It is highly possible that the demons killed the swine so that they could be released in order to find another host.

A final note on the passage is that just as the demons begged Jesus to send them into the swine, the townspeople begged Jesus to leave their region (same Greek word).  We have to take into account that Yeshua was reaching out to Hebrew people at this time.  He was not approaching a town of gentile origin.  The nature of the town is demonstrated as a town that did not follow Torah or the commands of God since they allowed pig herding to take place.  They also were sympathetic to the pig farmers and fully supported them.  It would be safe to say that the economic base of this city may have been pork.  Therefore, the demon possessed men may have been a character study for the reader to understand that the nature of the town was against God’s word.  It was a place where people compromised their morality for the sake of money.

Summary:  We have covered a lot in this section.  Demon possession is a huge topic that we barely touched.  The nature of our Messiah is also revealed as the one who has authority over all spiritual beings.  Lastly we see a character study in compromise.  The city compromised their ethics and chose money rather than following Torah.  They asked Jesus to leave their region, He did.  This should be a warning to all, if we exercise our free will to walk away from God the results could be disastrous.  Remember, Yeshua came to validate and teach Torah.  This passage gives us one of the reasons why He was able to do that.

Lord, as we study Your word today, I pray that each one of us will check our faith against Your standard.  That we will evaluate ourselves and surrender ourselves to Your will, bowing and submitting completely to Your will in our lives.

On Yeshua’s journey,

Joe Turner.

[1] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 9 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 516.

[2] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 17a (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 123.

^[3] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 16 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 524–525.

[4] Ibid., 528.

^[5] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 8:21.

^[6] Edward F. Murphy, Handbook for Spiritual Warfare (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 429–430.

[7] http://www.nairaland.com/1080843/book-enoch-jesus-quoted-it, accessed 2/12/16.

^[8] R. H. Charles and W. O. E. Oesterley, The Book of Enoch (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917), Enoch 15:6–16:1.