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  MATTHEW 8-12
  by Chuck Smith
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Summary: Jesus demonstrates his power to heal and forgive sins as he
ministers in Galilee.

Duration: 1:02:38 Topics: "Jesus Teachings", "Faith And Trust"
Scripture References: Matthew 8, Matthew 9:9, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Matthew 18:3

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon delves into the teachings and miracles of Jesus in Matthew's
Gospel, Chapter 8, focusing on the compassion and power of Jesus
displayed through healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the
dead, and preaching the gospel. It emphasizes the importance of coming
to Jesus for rest, learning from Him, and finding peace for our souls.
The sermon also highlights the need to prioritize Jesus above all else,
even family, and the significance of having faith in Him despite
challenges and persecutions.

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CONTENT
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So let's turn now in our Bibles to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 8, as we
continue our journey through the Word from Genesis to Revelation, now
into the New Testament, exciting times as we study the New Testament
together. In Chapter 5, we read, seeing the multitudes, he went up into
a mountain and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him and he
taught them saying. And thus we have what is known as the Sermon on the
Mount.

He had gone into the mountain. So Chapter 8, the Sermon on the Mountain
is over. And so when he was come down from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him.

We don't know but what just the disciples were with him there on the
mountain, but as he comes down, again, the great multitudes following
Jesus. Behold, there came a leper and worshiped him saying, Lord, if you
will, you can make me clean. Really, if you are willing, is the Lord
willing to help you? Is the Lord willing to heal you? And Jesus here
responds by showing that he indeed was willing.

Jesus put forth his hand and touched him. Now, according to the law of
the leper in the Old Testament, you weren't to touch a person who had
leprosy. And if you did touch a person that had leprosy, you would be
considered unclean.

And you would have to go through this process of examination to make
sure that you didn't contract this loathsome disease. So Jesus, though,
reached forth his hand and touched him. I wonder how long this fellow
had gone without being touched by a loving hand.

And here he is with Jesus saying, Lord, if you will, you could make me
clean. And here Jesus is touching the fellow's hand and reaching out to
him. I will, Jesus said, be thou clean.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. So often, when we pray for
healing, we do pray, Lord, if it is your will, we ask that you will
heal, we ask that you will help. And it is always comforting to know
that he is willing.

I will, he said, be thou cleansed. And immediately, his leprosy left
him. Jesus said to him, see that you tell no man, but go your way, show
yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a
testimony unto them.

Here's an interesting thing. Leprosy was, as far as man and human means,
was incurable. It was known as an incurable disease.

And yet the amazing thing in the law, God gave to Moses the law
concerning the leper in the day of his cleansing. Interesting that God
would give such a law because the cleansing of a leper or the healing of
the leper was an impossibility, humanly speaking. And yet God, and I
love this, makes provision for him to work outside of the natural laws
that we understand or know.

And with the leper, this is the law concerning the leper in the day of
his cleansing. And of course, it prescribed how he was to come to the
priest, show himself to the priest, be examined, and be set in a
separate compartment for a while, and then be examined again. And if
there be no further sign of the development of the leprosy, he was to be
declared cleansed by the priest, and he could offer then some sacrifices
and be rejoined to his family and to the community.

A leper was ostracized from society. He couldn't live with his family.
He couldn't live in a neighborhood.

He had to live in a, well, he usually lived outside of the city walls,
and they wouldn't even let them into the city. And they survived on the
garbage that was thrown over the wall. And so it was a miserable life
indeed.

And God had made provision though for their cleansing and the means by
which they could be rejoined to the society in which they lived. And so
when Jesus was entered then into Capernaum. Capernaum is on the Sea of
Galilee.

It is there on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, right almost at
the place where the Jordan River comes in, probably three or four miles
from where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee, is this little
village of Capernaum, or was a village of Capernaum. Today it's just a
ruins, and there is a Catholic church there, and there is a fancy house
or fancy structure that they have built over what they call the House of
Peter. How in the world they ever figured out that Peter was living in
this one little house, we don't know, but they have this fancy structure
over the top.

And you can go there to Capernaum and see what they claim to be the
House of Peter. I have my doubts, but you know it's an interesting thing
how that they have selected many sites, and they want to give you sort
of a biblical basis to attract you to go and to see that site. So they
usually call it by a particular, you know, event of the Bible.

And I was reading concerning this guy that was taking this group around
and showing them the various sites there in the Holy Land, and he showed
him this site, and he said, this is Peter's house, and this is where
Peter lived. And so a few days later as they were in another place, he
said, now this is Peter's house and where Peter lived. And the fellow
spoke up and said, well, now yesterday we were several miles from here,
and you showed us a house, and you said it was Peter's house and where
Peter lived, and now you tell us this is Peter's house and where he
lived.

And he said, how can that be? And he said, well, this is second Peter.
So when Jesus entered Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion. A
centurion was a Roman soldier who was over a hundred men, and thus
centurion from the Latin century, so a hundred men.

And this centurion, and we have a couple of them in the New Testament,
and they seem to be very quality men, the centurions that we come across
in the New Testament. And the centurion came to Jesus, this Roman
soldier, and he was beseeching or begging him and saying, Lord, my
servant is at home sick of the palsy and is grievously tormented. And
Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.

And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that you
should come under my roof, but just speak the word only and my servant
shall be healed. For I am a man under authority and having soldiers
under me. And I can say to this man, go, and he goes, and to another,
come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it.

And when Jesus heard it, he marveled. And he said unto him that
followed, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and
the west, will 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,
and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the
centurion, go thy way. And as thou hast believed, so be it done unto
thee.

And the servant was healed in that very same hour. And so the healing of
the centurion's servant, and the things that are worthy of noting here,
he said, I understand authority. I'm a man of authority, having under me
men.

In other words, he understands the chain of command. I have certain
authority, but I am under authority, but I do have men under me. And I
can understand how authority works.

I can say to one, go, and he goes, to another, come, and he comes. And
so I know, and sort of recognizing, I recognize your authority. I know
that you can just speak the word, and that's all that's necessary, and
my servant will be healed.

Jesus marveled at the faith of this centurion, said, I haven't found it
in all of Israel. I haven't found it among the Jews, you know, this kind
of faith. And he commended him for the tremendous faith that he had.

And of course, the faith was honored with the healing of his servant. So
when Jesus was coming to Peter's house, and so this is first Peter, and
he saw his wife's mother laying there, and she was sick of a fever. And
he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose, and she
ministered unto them.

So Peter's mother-in-law, so you know, the Catholics like to claim that
Peter was the first pope, but he was a married man, obviously, and so
where they got the custom that the priest shouldn't get married, surely
he didn't come from their first pope. So he healed Peter's mother-in-law
of this fever, and she ministered unto them. So when the evening was
come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils.

And he cast out the spirits with his word, and he healed all that were
sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
saying, himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses, a
quotation from Isaiah 53. Now when Jesus saw the great multitudes about
him, he gave commandment to depart to the other side. So they got in
this little boat, and Jesus commanded to head to the other side of the
Sea of Galilee.

Now at Capernaum, you're actually at the upper end, as we said, of the
Sea of Galilee, and it isn't that far over to the other side from
Capernaum, maybe a distance of three or four miles across the Sea of
Galilee at that particular point. And so we read that he went over to
the other side, and a certain scribe came and said to him, Master, I
will follow thee wherever you go. Sounds like a great commitment.

And Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes, the birds of the air have
their nest, but the Son of Man doesn't have any place to lay his head.
And another of his disciples said to him, Lord, allow me first to go and
bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, follow me and let the dead bury
their dead.

So the first fellow is saying, Lord, I'll go wherever you go. And Jesus
is saying to him, count the cost. You know, just foxes have their holes,
birds of the air have their nest.

I don't have any place to lay my head. Count the cost of following me.
To the other, it was allow me first.

If you're going to follow Christ, it can't be a me first kind of a
thing. It's got to be Christ first. And he was using a common kind of a
excuse that people would give in those days of wanting to postpone
things.

Let me bury my father first. That is, his father probably wasn't sick,
probably was strong and healthy. But I want to stick around home until
my dad dies.

And then once he dies, I'll follow you. And so he's just postponing or
seeking to postpone his following Jesus Christ. But Jesus is saying, you
know, let the dead bury their dead.

You follow me. So when he entered into the ship, his disciples followed
him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch the
ship was covered with the waves.

But he was asleep and his disciples came to him and they awoke him and
they said, Lord, save us. We perish. And he said unto them, why are you
fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and he rebuked the winds
and the sea, and there was a great calm.

But the men marveled, saying, what manner of man is this that even the
winds and the sea obey him? And so here is Jesus stilling the waves. And
there was then a great calm when he had rebuked them. And they were
marveling at the power of Jesus being able to command the elements
themselves.

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the
Gergesnes, and there met him two possessed with devils coming out of the
tombs, exceeding fears so that no man might pass by that way. When you
go across on that upper end of the Sea of Galilee, you come over into
the area known as the Gadarenes. And there was this one village over
there.

And next to that village, there is this mountain and up on the mountain
is this large cave. And they do point that out as the cave where these
men were living. Whether or not that is so, can't tell for sure.

But it is interesting that this certainly would be the spot where Jesus
did meet these men in that around the Sea of Galilee, usually there is a
gentle slope of the terrain leading into the Sea of Galilee. And this is
the only place where you have a steep cliff leading into the Sea of
Galilee. And so with the swine actually going over the cliff and
drowning in the Sea of Galilee, this is the only place where that could
have happened there in the northern part of the Sea of Galilee across
from Capernaum.

And so when you're there, you're pretty much sure that this is the spot
where this particular experience took place. So when he was come to the
other side of the country of the Gergesnes, there met him two that were
possessed with devils coming out of the tombs. They were exceeding
fierce so that no man might pass by that way.

The other Gospels tell us of just one, but Matthew tells of two that
were there. 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? And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine that
were feeding. And so the devils besought him, saying, If you cast us
out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

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 they perished in the water.

And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and
told everything of what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And
behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him,
interesting, they besought him that he would depart out of their coast.

First case of deviled ham here in Matthew, where Jesus allowed the
devils to go into the swine. And of course, they had enough sense to
just destroy themselves, rather than to be possessed by these demonic
spirits. But they perished there in the sea.

And the thing that really gets me is that the people of that city, and
no doubt it was that city of Gedera there, that came out and they said
to Jesus, you know, we don't want you here. They valued the swine more
than they valued the presence of Jesus. And they were asking Jesus to
please leave.

We, you know, under the law, the Jews were not to keep pigs. And it was
a forbidden a industry for the Jews to keep pigs. And yet, here was this
herd of swine, it was really a unlawful kind of activity.

And Jesus destroys this unlawful activity. And the people would prefer
the pigs to the presence of Jesus. Hard to understand or believe.

When he entered into the, and he entered into the ship, and he passed
over and came to his own city, that is, he crossed back over to
Capernaum from, and it looks like that was all that he went there for,
is just to have this one incident take place. Behold, they brought to
him a man that was sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing
their fate, said to the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer.

Your sins are forgiven thee. It is thought that this form palsy was
actually a indication that the fellow probably had a syphilis. And it
was something that probably, again, from immoral activities and so
forth, that he contracted this horrible disease.

And he was, it was in its advanced stages. He was lying on the bed, sick
of the palsy. And Jesus said, Your sins are forgiven thee.

Interesting, he sort of relates the illness to his sins. Your sins are
forgiven thee. Now, it is interesting, we are told in the other Gospels
that this man's friends actually carried him and brought him to Jesus.

And this was where Jesus was in the house, and they removed the roof and
let him down in the presence of Jesus, where Jesus said, Your sins are
forgiven. And I'm sure that the fellows that brought him went to all of
the trouble of bringing him to Jesus, carrying him there, removing the
tiles from the roof and letting the guys down in the presence of Jesus.
When he said, Your sins are forgiven.

I'm sure that they must have said, No, no, no, no. That's not what we
wanted. We wanted you to heal him, you know, not to forgive his sins,
but heal him, Lord.

And I'm sure that they were probably a little disturbed with him just
saying, Your sins are forgiven thee. And yet, because the possibility
that this problem, the disease and the palsy that he had came from
sinful activity, it probably was plaguing his mind. Oh, why did I do
that? You know, why? I knew better.

Why? Why? Why? And probably just plaguing his mind. And when Jesus said,
Your sin is forgiven. He probably felt a great relief.

Oh, praise God, you know, I'm forgiven. But the scribes that were
standing by, they were saying, you know, that's blasphemy. And Jesus,
knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? For
what is easier to say, Your sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise and
walk? What's easier to say? Well, it's easy to say, Your sins are
forgiven.

Why? Because you can't see that anything really happened. You can't see
the sin flying out of the man's heart and say, Wow, isn't that great?
You know, his sins are forgiven. They've disappeared.

Because you can't see that. What you can see, if the guy is, Jesus says,
Rise up and walk. If the guy stands up and begins to walk, that you can
see.

That would be much harder to say, Rise up and walk. And so, when Jesus
said, Your sins are forgiven you, the people were really upset and
saying, That's blasphemy. And so, Jesus said, What's easier to say? Your
sins are forgiven, or to arise and walk? But that you might know that
the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.

He said to him that was sick of the palsy, Arise, take up your bed and
go to your house. And he arose and departed to his house. And when the
multitude saw it, they marveled and they glorified God, which had given
such power unto men.

So, Jesus heals this fellow. And he uses it to put across a good point,
proving to the people that were there that he had the power to forgive
sins. And it would be a, as I said, a harder thing to say, Arise, take
up your bed and walk.

Because then you can see the evidence of the power of his word, where
you couldn't see the evidence with just declaring, Your sins are
forgiven. So, as Jesus passed forth from there, he saw a man named
Matthew. And he was sitting at the receipt of customs.

He was a tax collector. And he said then to him, Follow me. And he arose
and followed him.

And it came to pass, as Jesus said it, meet in the house. And this is
the house of Matthew, the tax collector. He is going to follow Jesus.

But he, first of all, invites all of his cohorts, the other tax
collectors, and sort of a farewell dinner for them. And he's going to be
following Jesus. So, it came to pass, as Jesus said it, meet in the
house.

Behold, many publicans and sinners came. And they sat down with him and
with his disciples. So, here's sort of an open kind of a meal.

Jesus is eating with these tax collectors and these sinners that were
there. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why
does your master eat with publicans, our tax collectors and sinners? And
when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that are whole don't need
a physician, but they that are sick. But go and learn what that means.

And I will have mercy and not sacrifice. I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. And so, then came to him the
disciples of John.

And they said, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your
disciples don't fast? And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the
bride chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days
will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then shall
they fast. And so, the question of fasting and that they are challenging
Jesus, why the disciples of John, the Baptists, they fasted and all, but
your disciples don't fast. So, Jesus said, No man puts a piece of a new
cloth onto an old garment, for that which is put on it to fill it up
taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

In those days, they didn't have sand fries shrunk material. And so, you
would have a dress or something that you would tear it. And so, you
would patch it with a new cloth that hadn't been sand fries shrunk.

And that when you would patch the garment that you were patching,
putting this new patch on, the first time you would wash it, the new
patch would shrink, and it would cause the garment to tear even worse.
And so, he's using that as an illustration, you know, that you put a
piece of new cloth into an old garment, and that which puts in it fills
up from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Neither do men put new
wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runs out,
and the bottles perish.

But they put the new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. Now,
bottle would be a wine skin, and of course, they would take these wine
skins, and they would use them to, they would use them, of course, for
water, or for wine, or whatever. But with wine, when you would put the
wine into these new wine skins, as long as you put it into new wine
skins, you were all right, because the leather was still supple enough
that as it began to ferment and expand, it would just expand, and you
would be okay.

But if you would put the new wine into old skins that had already dried
and were set, as it fermented and would expand, it would tear the old
skins, and they would, of course, the wine would leak out. And so, Jesus
is just actually sort of illustrating, you've got a new work that's
going. And, you know, you don't try to attach it to the old.

In other words, we're leaving Judaism and the religion that had been the
predominant religion of the people, and new things are going to be
happening. And so, you don't try to keep them in the old skins or in the
old garment, but God has a new work that's going to be going on. So,
while he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain
ruler and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead, but come
and lay your hand upon her, and she shall live.

And Jesus arose and followed him, and so did his disciples. And behold,
a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years came
behind him and touched the hem of his garment. For she had said within
herself, If I might just but touch his garment, I'll be healed.

But Jesus turned about, and he saw her, and he said, Daughter, be of
good comfort. Your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made
whole from that hour.

And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, he saw the minstrels and the
people making a noise. And he said unto them, Give place or get out of
here, for the maid is not dead, she's only sleeping. And they left him
to scorn.

But when the people were put forth, he went in and took her by the hand,
and the maid arose, and the fame thereof went abroad into all of the
land. And so the healing of this little girl by Jesus. Now we are told
in the other Gospels that she was twelve years old.

And so for twelve years she had been, of course, her father's delight,
as little girls are. And now she dies. And the father comes to Jesus and
says, You know, come and heal my little girl.

I know that if you'll just lay your hand on her, she shall live. Twelve
years of joy and blessing with this little girl. Now she's dead.

Here's another woman, an older woman, no doubt. And she has this
hemorrhaging that has been going on for twelve years. Life slowly going
out of her for twelve years.

And she comes through the crowd and grabs the hem of Jesus' garment with
the thought, If I can just but touch the hem of his garment, I know that
I'll be healed. And probably, you know, it's interesting, Jesus stopped
and he called attention to what she had done. And so probably it was a
thing to just encourage Jairus, the name of the man whose daughter had
died.

And the fact that this woman had been for twelve years hemorrhaging and
now is healed. And he probably related his little daughter twelve years
of life and now dead. But, you know, the touch of Jesus is all that's
necessary.

So when Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him and they
were crying out and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And
when he was coming to the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus
said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? And they said,
Yes, Lord. And he touched their eyes saying, According to your faith, be
it unto you.

And their eyes were opened and Jesus immediately charged them saying,
See that no man knows it. But when they were departed, they spread
abroad his fame throughout all the country. And they went out and
behold, they brought to him a dumb man that is mute, and he was
possessed with the devil.

And when the devil was cast out, the mute spake and the multitude
marveled saying, It was never seen like this before in Israel. So the
Pharisees said, He is casting out devils through the prince of devils.
Now, we'll get this again a little later on.

And Jesus will warn them at that point of the unpardonable sin,
attributing the works of God to Satan. But here they begin this
explanation. You see, they've got to explain how he's doing it.

It's a miracle. And it's obviously a miracle. Here's a man who can't
speak.

Jesus touches him, and the guy is now able to speak. And so they're
saying, Well, he's doing it through the powers of darkness through the
devils. And Jesus is, as I said, going to warn them the next time they
make this accusation.

So Jesus went about all of the cities and the villages teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness,
every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was
moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and they were
scattered abroad as sheep, having no shepherd. And then he said to his
disciples, The harvest is truly plenteous, but the labors are few.

Pray ye therefore, the Lord of harvest, that he will send forth laborers
into his harvest. Interesting, the crowds always moved Jesus. He had
compassion upon them, seeing their needs, seeing their hunger.

He had compassion on them. So when he had called unto him his 12
disciples, he gave them the power over unclean spirits to cast them out
and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. And now
the names of the 12 are these.

First of all, Simon, who is called Peter, then Andrew, his brother,
James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, Philip and
Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the publican, and who we met earlier,
James, the son of Alpheus, and Levitas, whose surname was Thaddeus,
Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. Now
these 12 Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, Go not into the
way of the Gentiles or into any city of the Samaritans. Do not enter,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal
the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely you
have received, freely give.

So the commissioning of the disciples, sending them forth. Basically,
they were to go forth as sort of an advanced team. He's going to be
going into these villages.

He's going to be coming along. They are front men for him. They are to
go, and they are to work miracles in these villages.

But they are really to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming
of Jesus, who will be following them through these same villages later.
So he said, Don't provide gold, nor silver, nor brass for your purses,
nor script for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor
stays, for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city
or town you will enter, inquire who is worthy, and abide there until you
go from there.

And when you come into a house, greet it, and the house will be worthy.
Let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace
return to you.

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you
depart out of that house and city, shake off the dust from your feet.
Verily I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. Behold, I send
you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of
men, for they will deliver you into their councils. They will scourge
you in their synagogues.

And you shall be brought before the kings for my sake and as a testimony
against them and the Gentiles. And when they deliver you up, take no
thought of what you're going to speak, for it shall be given to you in
that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but
the spirit of your father which speaks in you.

And a brother will deliver up a brother to death. And the father, the
child, and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause
them to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all men for my
namesake.

But he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute
you in the city, flee into another. And verily I say unto you, you shall
not have gone over all of the cities of Israel until the Son of Man
become.

In other words, I'll be coming behind you. You won't finish this journey
until I'm there behind you. So you are there to let the people know that
I'm on my way.

The disciple is not above his master nor the servant above his Lord. It
is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as
his Lord. If they have called the master of the house, Beelzebub, how
much more shall they call them of his household? Fear not them,
therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and
hid that shall not be known.

What I tell you in darkness that speak in the light and what you hear in
the ear that preach upon the housetops. And don't fear those which can
kill your body, but after that are not able to kill the soul, but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both your soul and body in hell. Are
not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall to
the ground without your father, but the very hairs of your head are all
numbered.

I'm giving the Lord an easier task. Fear ye not, therefore, for you are
of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my father, which is in
heaven.

But this, whoever shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before
my father, which is in heaven. Don't think that I'm come to send peace
on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set man at variance against his father and the daughter
against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes shall be those of his own household. He that loves
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

He that loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He
that takes not his cross and follows after me is not worthy of me. He
that finds his life shall lose it.

He that loses his life for my sake shall find it. And he that receives
you receives me. He that receives me receives him that sent me.

And he that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a
prophet's reward. And he that receives a righteous man in the name of a
righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall
give to a drink unto those little ones a cup of cold water only in the
name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his
reward.

And so the commissioning of the disciples, going out and telling them,
you know, the ministry that they are to have as they are to prepare the
people for his coming and how that, you know, it's not going to be an
easy task. I'm not calling you to a bed of roses or whatever, but you're
going to have, you're going to have difficulties and in following me. So
it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of the commanding of the
twelve disciples.

He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. So
following after them. So John the Baptist sends his disciples to
question Jesus.

And now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent
two of his disciples and they said unto him, are you he that should come
or do we look for another? And Jesus answered and said unto them, go and
show John again those things which you do here and see. The blind
receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf
are hearing, and the dead are raised up, and to the poor the gospel is
preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall be that is not
offended in me.

And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the John, what went you out
into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind. But what went
you out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Those that wear soft
raiment are in king's houses, not in king's prisons. But what did you go
out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, more than a prophet, for
this is he of whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before thy
face, which shall prepare the way before thee.

Verily I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not
risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding, he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John
the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the
violent take it by force. For all of the prophets in the law prophesied
until John, and if you will receive it, this is Elijah, which was to
come.

For he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But whereunto shall I liken
this generation? Like unto children sitting in the markets, and their
calling to their fellows. And they said, we have piped unto you, but
you've not danced.

We've mourned with you, but you have not lamented. For John came neither
eating nor drinking, and you say he has a devil. The son of man came
eating and drinking, and they say, a man who is gluttonous, he's a
winebibber, a friend of the publicans and the sinners.

But wisdom is justified of our children. So Jesus is testifying to them
of the ministry of John the Baptist here. And so John at this point was
in prison because of Herod the king, and he had told Herod that he
should not be married to his wife, that she was the wife of his brother,
and he had sort of vamped her away from his brother.

And so John the Baptist was rebuking him for that, and it made her
angry. And so she had John arrested and put in prison. And John has been
sitting there in prison for a while, and it's more or less like he's
trying to prod Jesus on into action.

He sends his disciples to Jesus and said, are you the one we are looking
for, or shall we start looking for someone else? And in other words, you
know, let's get the show on the road. Let's get, you know, I'm tired of
being in this prison, you know, and go ahead, establish yourself and
establish your kingdom and get me out of here, you know, basically is
what John is saying. And so Jesus, of course, when he didn't give a
direct answer to John, are you the one that we're looking for, or shall
we look for someone else? He just went ahead with this ministry, healing
all manner of sicknesses that were there, raising the dead and doing
these wonderful works.

And he just said, go and tell John what you see. The lame are walking,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being
raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Those were his
credentials.

Those were to assure that he was the one that John was looking for. He
was doing the works of the Messiah. And so it was confirmation and to be
confirmation to John that he indeed was the Messiah, the one that they
were anticipating and looking for.

And so Jesus speaking of John saying, those that were born of women,
there hasn't been a greater than John the Baptist, but yet he who is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. You have greater
privileges than did John the Baptist. You have a greater power given to
you than did John the Baptist.

The indwelling presence of Jesus Christ in our lives, the power of the
Holy Spirit working in us and through us, greater privileges than John
the Baptist. So he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, the least of
us here tonight, are really greater in privileges that we have than John
the Baptist. And so Jesus is here commending John to them.

And so in verse 20, Jesus begins to speak the judgment against the
various cities. Then began he to upbraid the cities where most of the
mighty works were done because they did not repent. Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were
done in you have been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the
day of judgment than for you. And now Capernaum, which are exalted unto
heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which
have been done in thee have been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day.

But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
in the day of judgment than for thee. And at that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou
hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and you revealed it
unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.

All things, he said, are delivered unto me of my father. And no man
knows the son but the father. Neither knows any man the father except
the son, and to whomsoever the son will reveal him.

So then this beautiful invitation, come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn of
me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your
souls.

For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. And so Jesus talking to them
now, and as he pronounces the woes upon these various cities, and he'll
tell us in another chapter or two that these people from these cities
will rise up in the day of judgment with this generation, and they'll
condemn it because they repented at the preaching that they received,
and a greater than Jonah is here. So the men of Nineveh will be
condemning this generation because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, but a greater than Jonah is here.

And so Jesus then, the invitation, and this is to you tonight, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. Does the load sometime get so
heavy that you become weary of trying to carry it? All ye that labor and
are heavy laden. He said, come to me.

I will give you rest. I will give you peace. Take my yoke upon you.

The yoke was the thing they put on an ox so it could pull the plow. What
Jesus is saying is, let me have the reins to your life. Let me begin to
guide and direct you into my way, into my path.

Take my yoke upon you, and then learn of me. The invitation to learn
about Jesus Christ. You know, there's nothing in the world that is more
important to know than the truth of Jesus Christ.

Learn of me. It's interesting how that we learn of so many people. We
read our history books and we learn of those who have done outstanding
things in history, but none have equaled what Jesus did.

There's no one in history that has had the same effect upon the history
of mankind than Jesus. He had more impact upon the history of our world
than any other individual. And yet, it's amazing, though he has impacted
each of our lives in impacting the history of our world, yet people know
so little about him.

And that's to me great mystery. Surely if someone had had the impact on
history that Jesus has had, everyone would want to know about him. How
is it that he could impact and change history and alter history as much
as he did? He had to have something special.

And surely it should have sort of created an interest in our minds and
in our hearts. How is it that he could have such an influence? What did
he teach? What was he like? How much do you know him? How well do you
know him? And, you know, it's interesting that you probably know more
about Madonna than you do about Jesus. But what you know about Madonna
won't get you a pass into one of her performances.

But what you know about Jesus will get you a pass into heaven. So, you
know, let's learn about him. That's what he said, learn of me.

For I am meek and lowly in heart. And he said, you will find rest unto
your souls. That beautiful peace that comes when you know Jesus Christ.

Rest in your souls, no longer concerned about your relationship with
God. That's all been established now through Jesus Christ. Rest for your
souls.

What a wonderful thing. For he said, my yoke is easy. My burden is
light.

Be careful of those people who keep talking about heavy, heavy burdens.
Oh, God laid such a heavy burden on me. I don't know if I can handle
this.

If the burden is too heavy for you to handle, it's not his. He didn't
lay it on you. You've taken something on yourself.

And that's something that we often do. Take upon ourselves burdens, but
God didn't put them there. We accepted them ourselves and we took them
upon ourselves.

But he said, my yoke is easy. My burden is light. So be careful if
you're complaining about a heavy burden that you're trying to carry,
because it's not his.

It's one that you've taken yourself. He's not requiring it of you. So
the words of Jesus, how rich and full they are.

And let's just continue as we go through the gospels, studying the life
of Jesus. And that's what we're going to be doing. He said, learn of me.

And that's what this is all about. As we go through these gospels,
learning about him, learning what he has done for us, learning who he
is, and the provisions that he has made for us to spend eternity with
him in his kingdom forever, forever, and evermore.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/OOMG3rnPi7I.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/chuck-smith/matthew-8-12/
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