Evangelical Bible College of Western Australia s11

EVANGELICAL BIBLE COLLEGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

EVANGELICAL BIBLE COLLEGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.

VOLUME 2.

[CHAPTERS 8-14]

by

DR PETER MOSES

Revised by Dr John C McEwan

[BOOK 70-2A]

REVISED 14 February 2015

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

Professor Simon Greenleaf was one of the most eminent lawyers of all time. His “Laws of Evidence” for many years were accepted by all States in the United States as the standard methodology for evaluating cases. He was teaching law at a university in the United States when one of his students asked Professor Greenleaf if he would apply his “Laws of Evidence” to evaluate an historical figure. When Greenleaf agreed to the project he asked the student who was to be the subject of the review. The student replied that the person to be examined would be Jesus Christ. Professor Greenleaf agreed to undertake the examination of Jesus Christ and as a result, when he had finished the review, Simon Greenleaf personally accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

Professor Greenleaf then sent an open letter to all jurists in the United States jurists saying in part “I personally have investigated one called Jesus Christ. I have found the evidence concerning him to be historically accurate. I have also discovered that Jesus Christ is more than a human being, he is either God or nothing and having examined the evidence it is impossible to conclude other than he is God. Having concluded that he is God I have accepted him as my personal Saviour. I urge all members of the legal profession to use the “Laws of Evidence” to investigate the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and if you find that he is wrong expose him as a faker but if not consider him as your Saviour and Lord”

HOW CAN I BE SAVED?

Salvation is available for all members of the human race.

Salvation is the most important undertaking in all of God's universe. The salvation of sinners is never on the basis of God's merely passing over or closing His eyes to sin. God saves sinners on a completely righteous basis consistent with the divine holiness of His character. This is called grace. It relies on God so man cannot work for salvation, neither can he deserve it. We need to realise that the creation of this vast unmeasured universe was far less an undertaking than the working out of God's plan to save sinners.

However the acceptance of God's salvation by the sinner is the most simple thing in all of life. One need not be rich, nor wise, nor educated. Age is no barrier nor the colour of one's skin. The reception of the enormous benefits of God's redemption is based upon the simplest of terms so that there is no one in all this wide universe who need be turned away.

How do I become a Christian?

There is but one simple step divided into three parts. First of all I have to recognise that I am a sinner (Romans 3:23; 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4; John 5:24).

Secondly, realising that if I want a relationship with Almighty God who is perfect, and recognising that I am not perfect, I need to look to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour (I Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6; John 3:16).

Thirdly, by the exercise of my own free will I personally receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour, believing that He died personally for me and that He is what He claims to be in an individual, personal and living way (John 1:12; 3:36; Acts 16:31; 4:12).

The results of Salvation

The results of this are unbelievably wonderful:

My sins are taken away (John 1:29),

I possess eternal life now (I John 5:11,12),

I become a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17),

The Holy Spirit takes up His residence in my life (I Corinthians 6:19),

And I will never perish (John 10:28-30).

This truthfully is life's greatest transaction. This is the goal of all people; this is the ultimate of our existence. We invite and exhort any reader who has not become a Christian by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to follow these simple instructions and be born again eternally into God's family (Matthew 11:28; John 1:12; Acts 4:12; 16:31).

© Evangelical Bible College of Western Australia 2004 - PO Box 163 Armadale Western Australia 6992

Many other Christian resources are available freely from our internet web site: www.ebcwa.org.au and www.http://ebcwa.free.org.nz for weekly messages.

For further information contact Dr Peter Moses at PO Box 163 Armadale WA 6992 or email Brian Huggett

We encourage you to freely copy and distribute these materials to your Pastor and friends. You only, need written permission from EBCWA if you intend using the materials in publications for resale. We encourage wide distribution freely!

NOTE: In this volume the text of the Gospel of Matthew is reviewed verse by verse but parallel texts are noted at the start of each section and the application and doctrines relate to the whole story by using material from the other gospels. For composite evaluation please see Harmony of the Gospels volumes.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 8

CURE OF A LEPER

MATTHEW 8:1-4 [MARK 1:40-45, 5:12-16] see HARMONY 74-4

1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS

1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

Jesus descended from the mountain where he had delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ teaching had attracted great attention, and the fame of it drew together great multitudes, who were convinced that he had come from God, but what as; was he prophet, preacher, herald, law giver, or King? He had spoken like Moses, and so he needed to have Moses’ accreditation and work the miracles that Moses worked. Deuteronomy 18:15-22, 34:10-12. They needed to see the “finger of God” working, Exodus 8:19, and hopefully not “harden their heart” as Pharaoh had done when he saw the miracles of Moses and Aaron. Hebrews 3:17-4:4.

From this point onwards in Matthew there follows a succession of five “miracles” not less remarkable than his teaching was; miracles that confirmed beyond a doubt the impression made by his sermon, that he was sent from God and was indeed the hope of Israel. There were very specific “messianic signs”, and each of these will be worked after giving this sermon. He will heal the leper, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead. Only Messiah was expected to be able to do these things and there were twelve witnesses required for each messianic sign under the Rabbinic Rules of the time.

2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

The dramatic nature of the action described in this verse is often lost upon a modern audience, for we are used to skin conditions being healed with steroidal creams and other medications, and leprosy has been defeated for a hundred years now. All skin specialists take the suffering patient into their rooms and explore the skin with their hands, and have no fear, but will wash their hands carefully after seeing each patient. Leprosy, like some other skin conditions, stems from unhygienic living conditions, and so it forms a very good picture of man’s sinfulness, and the insidious nature of the destructiveness of unresolved sin in a person’s life.

The curse of leprosy is graphically expressed by an eyewitness on the island of Guadeloupe, in the West Indies, about 1730, which describes its progress. It was then noted by an early Bible commentator and remains the best short account of the disease. “Its commencement is imperceptible. There appear only some few white spots on the skin. At first they are attended with no pain or inconvenience, but no means whatever will remove them. The disease imperceptibly increases for many years. The spots become larger, and spread over the whole body. When the disease advances, the upper part of the nose swells, the nostrils become enlarged, and the nose itself grows soft. Tumours appear on the jaws; the eyebrows swell; the ears become thick; the points of the fingers, as also the feet and the toes, swell; the nails become scaly; the joints of the hands and feet separate and drop off. In the last stage of the disease the patient becomes a hideous spectacle, and falls to pieces.” Refer to the EBCWA study on Leviticus chapters 13 – 14, as they describe the specific Mosaic Law regarding leprosy’s diagnosis and the sacrifices required to cleanse it after its divine healing.

The disease did some times spontaneously remit, but such things are extremely rare, and a direct healing by an act of God was the normal cause of any healing. 2 Kings 5 – the healing of Naaman by Elisha the prophet. The leper was made a formal outcast and had to live apart from the rest of society. They were not to approach any whole person, and to become a leper meant never entering the Temple or embracing your family and friends again. This leper showed great faith, a risk of being stoned – as he approached the Lord when forbidden to approach any man, and also total dependence on the will of Jesus, in order to be healed. It was a physically disgusting disease, and so to be “healed,” was expressed by being “cleansed” from it.

The leper knew that Jesus had the power to heal him. His only doubt was about Jesus’ willingness. The commentator F F Bruce has made the comment, “Men more easily believe in miraculous power than in miraculous love”. This man risks all, for he has nothing to lose and see that – he is desperate, as desperate as any man needs to be to find a Saviour from his sin. This man will do anything that Jesus tells him to do – but does Jesus care enough to do anything for him? Most shunned the leper and judged by God for some uncleanness in their earlier life. People were blamed for this disease, as it was seen as a judgment for sin in many cases; would Jesus blame him or heal him? Numbers 12:1-15.

It is worship by the leper that begins the process of recovery for him. It is worship that gives the clue to the healing also, for this man has heard enough to believe that Jesus is indeed Messiah, and Messiah can heal leprosy. This man operates on the basis of faith in the Word of God. Whatever the reason for his decline into this disease, he was previously a student of the Word of God and he believes that Jesus is who he claims to be and shows that faith in worship of him. He was despised by his fellow Jews, but he worships in spirit and in truth, and so the door is open to the despised to become accepted, in their recognition of Messiah. Matthew 14:33-36, 15:22-28, 26:6, 1 Corinthians 14:25.

In this passage the Greek moods of the verbs clearly and dramatically follow the story, as follows. Verse 2. “Lord, if thou wilt” [subjunctive mood - maybe you will and maybe you will not], “thou canst make” [indicative-reality of his power], “me clean” [infinitive –purpose of removing the leprosy]. 3. “And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will” [indicative mood – reality of the will of the Lord to cure the leper]; “be thou clean” [imperative – a command for cleansing]. “And immediately his leprosy was cleansed”. [Indicative mood – the reality of cleansing]. Luke 17:14-17.