Overview: Jesus’ Authority Over All Things

🔹 Timeframe: After the Sermon on the Mount, early in Jesus’ ministry.

🔹 Setting: Various locations—Galilee, the sea, and the Gadarenes.

🔹 Theme: Jesus demonstrates divine power over sickness, storms, and spirits, calling for true faith and discipleship.

Key Takeaways

🔑 Jesus’ healings display His compassion and power.

🔑 Faith, not background, grants access to God’s Kingdom (as seen in the centurion).

🔑 Following Jesus requires sacrifice.

🔑 Jesus commands nature and spiritual forces, proving His divine authority.

🔑 Some reject Christ despite seeing His power firsthand.

Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment

🔮 Jesus as the Suffering Servant – Fulfilled in Isaiah 53:4.

🔮 Calming the Storm as a Foreshadowing of His Authority – Psalm 107:28-29 speaks of God stilling storms.

🔮 Demons Recognizing Christ – A preview of Philippians 2:10, where every knee shall bow before Jesus

Historical & Cultural Context

📜 Lepers were outcasts – Jesus’ healing of a leper was socially shocking.

📜 Roman centurions were seen as oppressors – Yet one of them demonstrates greater faith than Israel.

📜 The Sea of Galilee was known for sudden storms – Jesus’ control over them reinforced His divine nature.

📜 The region of the Gadarenes was Gentile territory – Explaining why pigs were present and why Jesus’ Jewish audience found the exorcism significant.

Matthew 8:5-13 – The Centurion’s Faith and Jesus’ Authority

📖 Matthew 8:5-6 – “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.”
🔎 A Roman centurion was a high-ranking officer, typically commanding 100 soldiers. As a Gentile, he was an outsider to Jewish faith and worship. Yet, he approaches Jesus with humility and urgency for his suffering servant.
🔎 Slaves were often seen as disposable in Roman society. Yet, this centurion’s compassion for his servant reveals his uncommon character and kindness.

📖 Matthew 8:7 – “And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.”
🔎 Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, offers to enter a Gentile’s home—something that would have been unthinkable for Jewish leaders (Acts 10:28).
🔎 This shows Jesus’ willingness to break social and religious barriers to extend grace.

📖 Matthew 8:8-9 – “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed… For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me…”
🔎 The centurion recognizes Jesus’ divine authority. Just as he commands soldiers who obey without question, he believes Jesus has command over sickness and unseen forces.
🔎 This suggests the centurion understood something deeper—that Jesus had supernatural authority. This aligns with:

• Psalm 103:20 – “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.”
• Matthew 26:53 – Jesus later confirms, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”
  🔎 By faith, the centurion acknowledges Jesus as a divine commander, whose word alone is enough to command healing.

📖 Matthew 8:10 – “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said… I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
🔎 Jesus only ‘marveled’ twice in the Gospels:

• At the centurion’s great faith (Matthew 8:10).
• At the unbelief of His own people (Mark 6:6).
  🔎 The centurion surpasses Israel in faith. Many Jews demanded signs and physical presence, but this Gentile believed in Jesus’ authority at a distance.

📖 Matthew 8:11-12 – “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness…”
🔎 This is a direct prophecy about the inclusion of the Gentiles and the rejection of unbelieving Jews.

• The phrase “many shall come from the east and west” refers to Gentiles being brought into the Kingdom (Isaiah 49:6).
• “Children of the kingdom” refers to Israelites who assumed they were saved based on their heritage but rejected Christ.
  🔎 This foreshadows the Great Commission, where the Gospel spreads beyond Israel (Matthew 28:19).

💡 Final Reflection: Do We Recognize Jesus’ Authority?

Matthew 8 presents a series of confrontations that test faith. Some respond in belief (the centurion, the healed), while others reject Jesus (the townspeople). This chapter challenges us:

📌 Do we trust Jesus even in life’s storms?
📌 Are we willing to follow Him, despite the cost?
📌 Do we recognize His power over all things?

🚀 Jesus is Lord over sickness, nature, and the spiritual realm—will we submit to His authority?

Jesus Cleanses a Leper
Mat 8:1  When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 
Mat 8:2  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 
Mat 8:3  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 
Mat 8:4  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. 

The Faith of a Centurion
Mat 8:5  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 
Mat 8:6  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 
Mat 8:7  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 
Mat 8:8  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 
Mat 8:9  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 
Mat 8:10  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 
Mat 8:11  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
Mat 8:13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. 

Jesus Heals Many
Mat 8:14  And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. 
Mat 8:15  And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 
Mat 8:16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 
Mat 8:17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. 

The Cost of Following Jesus
Mat 8:18  Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 
Mat 8:19  And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 
Mat 8:20  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 
Mat 8:21  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 
Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. 

Jesus Calms a Storm
Mat 8:23  And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 
Mat 8:24  And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 
Mat 8:25  And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 
Mat 8:26  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 
Mat 8:27  But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! 

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons
Mat 8:28  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 
Mat 8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 
Mat 8:30  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 
Mat 8:31  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 
Mat 8:32  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 
Mat 8:33  And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 
Mat 8:34  And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.