Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Matthew 8 and Psalm 8

When Jesus ended His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ at the end of Matthew 7, everyone was amazed at the way He taught, because he taught with such authority. In Matthew 8, Jesus demonstrated that His authority was not only in the realm of Truth; He also had authority over disease, demons and the elemental forces of nature. He showed that He was the fulfilment of Isaiah 53:4! He healed dreaded diseases with His touch and/or His words of command. He even exercised authority over the storm and stilled it with a command.

Jesus intended us to realise that He has all authority. However, the one passage that seems out of place might actually be the main point of Matthew 8. Hidden away between all the miracles are the stories of two men who came to Jesus when He had instructed His disciples to go to the other side of the Lake (v.18-22). One by one, these men approached Jesus intent on following Him, but Jesus ultimately left the choice up to them. He warned them of the cost (v.20) and the commitment (v.22), but he left the choice up to them. I suspect this moment is carefully recorded to teach us that while Jesus has authority over demons, disease and nature as a matter of course, God has left human beings with the freedom to choose whether we will surrender willingly to His authority and follow Him as His disciples in loving obedience, whatever the cost.

Life Application: Keep your heart carefully attuned to the inner voice of Jesus today. In other words, be sensitive to the prompting of His Spirit. And when he issues a word of command, or calls you to some course of action, do not hesitate to obey. After all, even the winds and waves obey Him. Shouldn’t we?

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)