Matthew 4:23-25

(Text and Audio)

Title: Teaching, Preaching, Healing

Today we see Jesus begin doing the work of ministry.  He has called the first of his disciples to follow him, and now we will look at the three-phase ministry that he begins in Galilee.

Let me also offer a preview:  For those of you that love lists (like I do) this may be your favorite sermon of all time.

1. Teaching

In verse 23 we read that the first component was Jesus’ “teaching in their synagogues.”

This, in and of itself, tells us a great deal about the initial push of Jesus ministry:

1. He spoke to the Jews first.
   1. fulfilling scripture (first for the Jew, then for the Gentile, perhaps a popular theme to Matthew’s original audience)
   2. He attempted to show the connection between the prophecies of the coming Messiah and himself.
   3. He attempted to show the true point of the Law, and that fulfillment of the Law could only be found in him.
   4. He taught where and how other Rabbis did, in the synagogues, using the O.T.

Application:

1. As Jesus was consistent and obedient to scripture, so should we be.
2. As Jesus made his arguments from scripture so should we.
3. As Jesus went to where they were, met them on their terms, and spoke to them in a familiar way, so should we.  (In other words, how effective is the missionary to Brazil who refuses to study Portuguese?  How effective is the missionary to inner-city Cleveland who refuses to understand the culture, custom, and lingo?)

2. Preaching

We see the next phase of Jesus’ ministry being that he was “preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”

Again, we can note some important points:

1. To preach is to proclaim a truth.  In this regard, we are all called to be “preachers.”  If you are not proclaiming the truth of Jesus, you are not evangelizing.  (St. Francis of Assisi:  “Share the gospel at all times, use words if you have to.”  Garbage!)
2. What was Jesus preaching?  The Gospel of the Kingdom.  He was preaching hope (the Gospel) in the coming of a new age, where sin will no longer have dominion (the Kingdom coming).  So my question as your pastor quickly becomes, what do you proclaim when you share the gospel?  Here are some things that need to be in your Gospel presentation for it to be complete:
   1. The reality of Sin
   2. The need for a savior
   3. The message of Christ as the Messiah
   4. The sacrifice of Christ as a substitutionary atonement
   5. The availability of Christ to them personally (Admit, Believe, Commit)

3. Healing

Next we see that Matthew records that Jesus went about, “healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”  And Matthew then goes into detail with the fame that spread as a result of these miraculous signs and wonders.  

Of the three phases of Jesus’ ministry that we are looking at today, this last one, healing, tends to be the hardest one for us to relate to…why?

Why do we shy away from healing?

1. Not many of us have directly healed anyone else.
2. Does direct healing even still exist today?
3. We’ve seen such a misuse of this “power” in the church, on television by faith healers, that we tend to avoid the subject all together.

How many of you today have heard the term “cessationist”?  Does anyone know what this term means?  A cessationist is someone who believe that that miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit such as tongues, healing, and prophecy only existed in the first century and they existed for the purposes of jump starting the early church.  Once the church was an established, these miraculous gifts ceased.

Many leading evangelical scholars today are cessationists.  On a famous note, the theologian and writer John MacArthur is a cessationist, on a more personal note, Ron Cooper also considers himself a cessationist.  And let me be clear on something, cessationists still believe that God can use anyone or any circumstance to perform miracles, it’s just not the norm like it was in the first century.

I will tell you two things about where I stand this morning:  I am not quite a cessationist, but I also grew up in a pentecostal church and never, not ONCE, saw what I would consider to be a biblical representation of tongues or healing.  I have heard of some legitimate uses of these gifts from very credible sources (Chris Rufener’s story from Russia comes to mind) but I, myself have never seen these things with my own eyes.

So then, how do we apply a teaching on healing?  How do I tell you to go heal, as Jesus healed?  Is it, in fact, irresponsible of me to even suggest such a thing?  These are fair questions to be sure, but I think they lead us to a bigger question.  This is a great question that Mike Ringler brought up to me about four months ago after one of our Wednesday night studies.

Mike asked me, “Pastor Ben, do you think Christ had the power in himself to perform miracles, or do you think that his faith and his will was so perfectly inclined to the father that God was able to to do miracles through him at will?  

I think it’s the second option.  Christ, as a man, was able to do miraculous things, but only because that was the will of the father at the time, and Christ was in such perfect obedience that he was able to be used freely.  Also, Christ’s trust in the father was so complete, so secure that there was zero hesitation. Jesus Christ was the instrument used to show God’s power, as a man, Christ himself was not that instrument.

Everyone following me here?

If we accept that understanding of how Christ did miracles, then, yes, I do tell you, I command you, as your pastor, to go into the world in perfect obedience to Christ as Lord, and if it is His will to use you to move mountains, you only need to have faith, and that mountain will be moved in the name of Jesus Christ.

And I would say the same thing about demon possession.  If you, whether stateside or in the foreign mission field, run into demon possession, I tell you that you have the authority, and the power to drive that demon out in Jesus name, just make sure you are saved, your may end up in the woods, naked and bleeding, like the story of the seven sons of Sceva in the N.T. who thought it would be cool to drive out demons in Jesus’ name even though they didn’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Close:  

The result of Jesus beginning His ministry in this dynamic three-fold way is that his fame, popularity, and message spread all over the region.  As his following is increasing, as curiosity in this Jesus of Nazareth is growing, Jesus begins to teach to masses in a way that both convicts them and confuses them.  It challenges them to re-think their understanding of the Law.  

That is what he does with the beatitudes, which we will begin looking at next week.

(pray)