"Three Healings" in Matthew's Gospel

• Going forward in Matthew’s gospel, readers will see how Jesus puts his words of the Sermon into action. 
• He continues in Chapters 8 and 9 with accounts of Jesus’ great works of healing. 
• Each of these healings is unique and contributes an important element to Jesus’ overall ministry. 
• In this second trio of healings, Jesus demonstrates his power over nature, demons, and sin.
• In so doing, Jesus expresses his authority over the most vicious evil forces, over every insidious power known to humankind. 

Power over Nature—Stilling the Storm

• In the first story, Jesus and his disciples are in a boat.
• “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.”  
• Such storms are common on the Sea of Galilee because it lies in a deep basin with hills all around.  Sudden winds often sweep down from the heights upon the lake.
• Jesus, however, is fast asleep and unaware of any danger. 
• He trusts the sea-worthiness of the fishermen as well as the power of God. 
• Such undisturbed, peaceful sleep presents a tremendous contrast to the storm raging about.
• The disciples, however, are fearful and wake him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
• It must have been a treacherous storm to frighten seasoned fishermen.
• It is not at all clear whether they expect him to do anything about their situation.
• Getting into the boat was Jesus’ idea; perhaps he could pray/worry with them.
• He replies, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” 
• “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves.”
• The word for rebuke, literally, means “be muzzled.”  It’s as if the storm is a wild animal that needs to be tamed. 
• The response is immediate: “and it was completely calm.”
• The men are amazed and ask, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
• The word “amazed” has the connotation of a reverential awe. 
• It is true that they have already seen wonderful healings, but never have they seen anything like this. 
• They have now been personally touched—and greatly impressed. 
• It is very likely they are so moved because they are fishermen, and have seen the ways of the sea, the wind, and waves.
• “Who is this?” springs from their lips—even the forces of nature obey him.
• It is the question that Matthew wants everyone to grapple with.
• They realize that Jesus is not just a preacher of God’s word, a healer of the masses.  Now, he has demonstrated his mastery over nature. 
• But this also serves as a parable—that regardless of how insidious or dangerous or threatening things appear, they cannot withstand the touch of Christ.
• If they had had any doubts about Jesus, surely they now realize God’s work through him.
• Presumably, the disciples have time to mull this over as they continue on their journey across the lake. 
• They also fade into the background for the next story. 

Power over Demons—Restoring Sanity to Men of the Gadarenes

• Just as Jesus demonstrates his mastery over a violent storm, he will exercise mastery over a violent demon. 
• When they arrive at the other side, they are in Gentile territory, in the region of the Gadarenes.
• All three synoptics tell this story, but each locates it in a different place, Gadara, Gerasa, or Gergasa. 
• This poses great difficulties for historical scholars who can locate the first two, but admit they are nowhere near the coastline, and who don’t have a clue about the third one, but insist it must have been on the coast. 
• The actual location is not so important if one understands, at the very least, that all of these are in pagan territory. 
• They have sailed into Gentile territory, and Jesus will now see to their needs. 
• However, this isn’t an ordinary, respectable Gentile town. 
• Jesus is in the countryside. Pigs are grazing in the fields. Tombs are nearby. 
• Everything around him is to be considered unclean. 
• Any self-respecting Jew would quickly become polluted, contaminated, and unclean just by being there.
• Yet, this is the very place Jesus chooses to get out of the boat.
• “Two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs approach him.”
• In Mark, there is only one man, and much emphasis is placed upon his restoration to wholeness and sanity.
• Matthew describes two men, and his focus is on the healing authority of Jesus.
• These men live in the tombs, with the people who are already dead. 
• It says a lot about them. As far as their society is concerned, they are as good as dead.
• Society’s ultimate solution has been to isolate them. 
• They have been exiled, cast off, sent away from normal people, normal living, and normal communication. 
• “They are so violent that no one could come near that way.”
• Their banishment allows society to function normally; it is a protection for all concerned! 
• Their presence, therefore, sets up a big dichotomy—dead men who are still alive versus a living community that might be dead. 
• They ask, “What do you want with us, Son of God?”
• They shout, “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
• It’s as though they know there is an end one day.
• Their reign of terror and destruction will be halted.  But surely that day hadn’t come yet.  It was too soon. 
• Jesus, however, doesn’t even say a word before they simply concede the contest. 
• Despite the seeming power of these two men, they are rendered powerless before Jesus. 
• Seeing a herd of pigs feeding nearby, they beg Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
• Jews would have heard the humor in this.  Pigs are unclean and forbidden.
• Jesus’ authority over the demons is so complete that they want to leave. 
• The demons are about as unclean as anything can get, so it is entirely appropriate for them to choose a new dwelling, which is also considered to be unclean. 
• Without any further ado, Jesus simply says, “Go!”
• Absent any yelling, shouting, or strong incantations, the demons are “given permission” to leave. 
• So, they come out and “fly into the pigs.”
• There is so much confusion that “the pigs race headlong into the sea and die in the water.”
• Perhaps these pigs have been quietly grazing on the hillside, behaving the way pigs normally behave, but when they are entered by the demons, they rush headlong down the cliff into the sea and are drowned. 
• Whether the demons had anticipated these results is open to sheer speculation. 
• They did not want to leave the area, but they are obviously gone now. 
• They will not be wandering around looking for a new host in this area anymore.
• On the other hand, the sea has long been associated with images of chaos. 
• Leviathan, beasts, and dragons have had their origin in the sea.  Many believed they still lived there. 
• So in a larger sense, these demons return home, back to the abyss from which they should never have emerged. 
• And one might say that Jesus’ healing authority has returned order to the world.
• However, some people might question the wholesale destruction and monetary loss of such a large herd, even asking if this is fair for the pigs.
• They had been quietly grazing and appear to be, at the very least, completely innocent. 
• Such questions or concerns are anachronistic to this story.
• Scholarly attempts to modify and/or explain this aspect of the story are modernistic and would be irrelevant to Matthew’s purposes. 
• In Jewish eyes, these pigs are just as unclean as the demons, and their destruction would have been equally celebrated. 
• Additionally, their removal from the land would be viewed as a blessing because the land would no longer be required to sustain unclean animals!
• This is all part of the order that Jesus has come to restore.
• Those tending the pigs, however, “ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.”
• It is implied that the demon-possessed men are now completely normal.
• Then the “whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.”
• Some think this is because they are upset about the pigs, but then we might have expected a reaction of anger or intimidation, or some threatening behavior. 
• Pleading does not fit that image. 
• It is more likely that these folks are fearful of Jesus’ power. 
• They express no interest in the source of that power. 
• They do not recognize that they, too, have been freed from the threat of the demons. 
• They do not marvel at the healing of the men, of their restoration as functioning members of their community.
• They don’t even lament the economic loss of the pigs. 
• They would prefer the known quality of the demons, to the unknown quality of the power of God.
• They just want Jesus to get out of there and to leave them alone.
• Jesus is willing to oblige them, crossing over and coming into his own town for the third healing. 
• This one involves the healing of a paralyzed man.
• This the last of the second group in this major section of Matthew, which is devoted to the powerful deeds of the Messiah.

Power over Sins—Healing the Paralyzed Man

• Now, for the first time the theme of forgiveness of sins is introduced into a healing narrative.
• It is presumed that Jesus is back in Capernaum.
• “Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat.”
• In Jesus’ day most people slept on mattress-like pads on the floor.
• Thus, the mat would be a sort of pallet or stretcher that could be carried without undue difficulty.
• When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
• This is the first occasion where the faith of those seeking healing has been mentioned.  
• One might argue that “faith” has been present all along. 
• Obviously, those who have pursued Jesus had faith that they would be made whole. 
• But here, it is “their faith.” 
• This undoubtedly includes the paralytic, but it is more specifically directed at the men bringing him. 
• In the absence of any conversation, their faith can only be determined through their conduct. 
• Here, the action of these people is an expression of their “faith.”
• Jesus commends them for it by saying to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 
• We might have expected a word of healing at this point, not a word of forgiveness. 
• But, in fact, there is a close connection between sin and sickness in Jewish thought.  
• A famous rabbinical saying proclaims, “There is no sick man healed of his sickness, until all of his sins have been forgiven him.” 
• Jesus has come to heal both the sick and the sinner. 
• In this healing Jesus begins from the spiritual side, with a word of forgiveness. 
• Bodily healing will be a natural effect.  
• But nothing happens. Why is that?  Perhaps it is because…
• Some of the teachers of the law say to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
• These are the scribes, the ones who have been trained to interpret the Law. 
• They are the ones who usually speak in the synagogues, the ones who speak with little authority, but quote extensively from others.
• Their introduction has been abrupt. 
• They haven’t even said a word; they are “talking to themselves, ‘This man has blasphemed.’”
• The verb “blasphemed” is blasphemeo, which really means “slander.”
• In relation to God, it means to do or say anything that is insulting to His name or honor, or conveys an unfavorable impression of God, or usurps His power or activity.
• Technically speaking, blasphemy is speech that is hurtful to the honor of God.   
• What about Jesus’ statement could be hurtful to God’s honor? 
• From the scribes’ point of view, Jesus has implicitly claimed the power to forgive sins as his own. 
• This is something that only God can do; therefore, Jesus has made himself equal to God. 
• Hence, he has blasphemed. 
• This is an important point because this same accusation will be made at his trial.  People will again say, “He has blasphemed.” 
• The penalty for blasphemy is death, and he will be killed. 
• Yet here, the charge is not spoken; it is only present in murmurings. 
• Is the accusation valid? 
• What Jesus said was, “Your sins are forgiven.” 
• It is in the passive.  
• Who is doing the forgiving?  At best the statement is ambiguous. 
• Even the best scholars, who defend the deity of Jesus and who would have no trouble with him claiming the authority to forgive sins as his own, concede the possibility of the divine passive. 
• It is God who is doing the forgiving. 
• Jesus is stating a spiritual fact. 
• It is not, however, just a word of assurance: “Don’t worry, God will forgive you.”
• It is a word of truth: “God has forgiven you. You are whole.” 
• Jesus knows the difference, and he knows what the scribes are mumbling. 
• He feels their accusation in his spirit, and he meets it head on.
• Knowing their thoughts, Jesus says, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?”
• Of course, for the scribes, reading hearts is also an activity relegated to God.
• These evil thoughts are most likely directed toward Jesus.  The scribes hope to expose him, injure him, and ultimately destroy him.
• So, Jesus issues a strong challenge:  “Which will be easier to do—tell the man his sins are forgiven, or to tell him to get up and walk?”
• The answer is quite obvious.  It is very easy to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” Who would know?  How could they check? 
• Any charlatan could say those words. 
• In the eyes of the scribes these words are pompous, pretentious, and blasphemous. 
• On the other hand, they know that telling the man to get up and go home, would be easily verifiable. 
• At that point, he would either get up or he wouldn’t. 
• So pulling that off would be quite hard. 
• Implicit in Jesus’ challenge is the assumption that it’s harder to say the one that can be verified. 
• But if someone can do the “harder” one that can be seen, surely they can also do the “easier” one because it cannot be seen.
• Jesus decides to demonstrate what they can’t see by means of what they can see.  
• With that, Jesus states, “I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” 
• This is the second time Matthew has used the term, “Son of Man.” (See 8:20.)
• Jesus uses this term as a self-designation, a way of referring to himself. 
• But that still doesn’t tell us what he means by it. 
• Without getting into a lot of the technical arguments, suffice it to say that there are really three main choices. 
• Some think that it is simply a generic expression for man. 
• Others say that it’s a way of saying, “I.” 
• Still others think it’s an oblique reference to the Son of Man imagery found in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel, where it refers to the role of some heavenly, apocalyptic figure. 
• That would be akin to saying that through his presence, Jesus is already bringing to bear the blessings of the last day (and one of these would have been the forgiveness of all sins).
• So it comes as no surprise that Jesus’ ministry includes the authority to forgive sins on the earth.   
• Additional facets of this heavenly role include a prophetic calling, a time of trials and suffering, and ultimately vindication.  The connections are pretty obvious and might account for why this third one has been favored for a long time. 
• But most recently, scholars opt for the second, that it’s merely a way of saying, “I.” 
• If that is true, it has the sense of someone expressing humble obedience to God. 
• And Jesus states that it is this man, the humble, obedient man that has authority to forgive sins. 
• So he says to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
• On cue, the “man got up and went home,” demonstrating that he’s completely healed.
• He doesn’t even give thanks; he just leaves.
• Imagine the stir that caused! 
• Again, the scribes say nothing.  One can only guess at their reaction. 
• When the crowd, on the other hand, sees this, they “are filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.”
• “Filled with awe” has the connotation of being afraid.
• Scholars don’t know exactly who the “men” are that the crowd refers to.
• Perhaps it is a reference to Jesus’ disciples, for Jesus will give them authority over unclean spirits, and sickness. 
• Nonetheless, while the scribes remain speechless, the crowds praise God.
• Because the man was healed, they have to accept his healing as evidence that he was also forgiven, and they have to accept Jesus’ right to make such a claim. 
• If Jesus’ words are true, they cannot be blasphemous. 
• This would not have been an easy conclusion to accept. 
• Clearly, Jesus is a force the scribes will have to reckon with, and they will be watching him. 
• According to them, he is dangerous and a threat to the entire religious institution. 
• By now they are all wondering just who is he, acting in such a way, completely outside the parameters of religious life.
• Matthew devotes the remainder of his Gospel to answering that question.