Matthew 8 - Authority & power of Lord Jesus Christ

This chapter surrounds about the authority & power of our Lord Jesus Christ in relation to faith & those without faith. There are three categories of the faith in the people here,

• active faith in Christ.
• passive faith.
• doubt or without faith.

The message though is that within these three different categories, our Lord Jesus Christ’s power was not limited by them. First it was a man with skin disease that had such faith that if only the Lord wills, he will be healed & so he was healed. Then the centurion with such a faith that’s never been seen in Israel that Jesus Christ healed his servant only by word & He said “Go, let it be done for you according to your faith”. Peter’s mother-in-law was also healed as they asked Him about her (Mark 1:29-31).

The story then proceed to those who wanted to follow our Lord Jesus Christ with passive faith meaning that they follow Jesus Christ for certain improper intentions, a scribe always strive for more knowledge & may have wanted to follow Jesus Christ for some security in his life based on how Jesus Christ answered him that following Him doesn’t lead to security in the current life. Another deeper meaning of the “bury my father” was a way of saying to wait until the death of his father so that he can receive his inheritance. So Jesus Christ wanted to encourage them to follow Him but with the right intention out of the purity of heart.

As for the ones with doubt & without faith, that did not stop Jesus Christ from working as well. The disciples too were in doubt even after experiencing much miracles, it shows that experience doesn’t always increase faith but the key is never giving up. When they reach the place where the village was a gentile village as there were swine, non-Kosher, the two men possessed by demons were very fierce & under the influence of the demons. The demons begged Jesus Christ to let them go into the swine & then the people there begged Him to leave the region even after seeing such a miracle or had a powerful encounter. However the deeper level is because of their heart depended on livelihood as well. A herd of swine meant a lot of economy resources was involved & they lost it all.

With all that, it shows a clear trail of faith in following Jesus Christ, serves as a reminder to follow Him with faith & put our trust in Him with our whole heart, may our Lord Jesus Christ help us to stay faithful & fix our eyes & hearts on Him.