St Matthew, Chapter 8, verses: 18-20, The Gathering Storm.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Sacrifice to follow Christ) Part 1.  

Christ now begins to set the stage for his travels.  He is moving around in the territory meeting people, curing the sick, healing the lame, and casting out demons.  Matthew begins this paragraph by telling us that Christ recognized that great crowds were gathering around him wherever he went.  The word had spread, his location was known, and people begin to gather to him.  They wanted to touch him.  They wanted to hear him.  They wanted to see him.  They wanted to be where he was.  All, were coming out of the woodwork to be around this great movement that was taking place.  

Christ had now become very popular.  What could we compare him to in our time?  Could he be a great movie star?  Could he be a great rock star?  Could he be a president?  What comparison could we make to him today?  In his time, the word spread by word of mouth.  There must have been those who wanted to use him to make money.  There must have been those who wanted him to meet influential people.  There must have been those who wanted him to speak at special gatherings.  But Christ had his own agenda and his mission.  He did not come to be popular.  He did not come to have fame and fortune.  He did not come to be a movie star or a rock star.  He came to heal.  He came to cast out.  He came to teach.  He came to restore. 

The people of his time had forgotten the joy of their God.  Christ came to restore that joy.  Christ came to demonstrate that there is a true God.  Christ came to give back the love and peace that comes with the knowledge of the one true God.  Christ came to build faith.  Christ came to restore trust.  Christ came to show the people that God lives.  And the crowds gathered.  Realizing that the storm was gathering he gave orders to his disciples to go across the sea.  He gave orders that they should get into their boats and go to another place.  He gave orders and they were fulfilled.

When crowds gather, all kinds of people come forth.  There are those who are genuine in their faith and love.  But there are those who were seeking opportunity.  When a large event takes place today, like maybe the Superbowl or World Cup Soccer, everyone wants to come to the event.  The scalpers come out.  The divas come out looking for players.  The hustlers come out looking for suckers.  The police are out to maintain the crowds.  The promoters are there.  The people that work the event  are working.  The big names come out to get their special seating at the event.  The fans are there to see their favorite stars.  And those who can not attend watch from their homes on televisions.  Everyone comes out to see.  And so it was in Christ's time. 

And here it was, a scribe, a fan, a groupie that follows everywhere the group goes, came out to be a part of this event.  The groupie told Christ that he would follow him where ever he goes.  The scribe said:  "Master, I will follow thee wherever thou goest."   Christ said to the groupie:  "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."   

Christ tells us that this is the way it must be.  Everyone has a place of rest, even the animals. But the place of rest for the Son of Man is not on this earth.  For he will be the object of pursuit from this point on and there will be no rest for him.  He told his disciples, "Let us go across the sea."  For the pursuit of those seeking opportunity weighed greatly upon him.  He told his disciples let us cross the sea to get away from the great crowds.  He told his disciples, let us cross the sea, to rest.  

St Matthew, Chapter 8, verse: 17, Miracles.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Other miracles) Part 2.  

Christ is still in Peter's house where he cures all that are brought to him.  The word goes out to all the villages about the things that he is doing and the people that are being cured.  Information travels by word of mouth.  The journalist who make it their business to carry the word have spread the good news throughout the villages during the entire day.  They have added their spin on the news and embellished it so that it is exciting and captures the attention of the people.  Matthew, the author of this book, reflects back on this time and tells us that the prophet Isaias spoke of Christ and the deeds that he would perform.  Isaias said:  "He himself took up our infirmities, and bore the burden of our ills."  And now the prophesy is being fulfilled through the miracles that Christ is performing. 

Every person that they brought to him with illness he took up the illness.  Every person that was possessed he cast out the demons.  Every person with afflictions he healed.  He fulfilled the prophesy.  He is the Christ.  All who came to him with sorrow left with joy.  All who came to him with sadness, left with happiness.  All who came to him with doubt, left with hope.  All who came to him with fear left with faith.  He took up all the infirmities and cast out all the demons.  He lifted the weight from their shoulders.  He gave them a new light.  He brought them from darkness into the light.  He is the Christ.

Many people say to the young, this is my loved one.  And would give their life if something happened to that little one.  When one is sick the whole family is sick.  They bear the burden of that family member.  Friends feel the suffering of a friend that is ill.  Loved ones understand the suffering of one that has pain.  We make an effort to bring relief through our actions and our words and our love for that person that is in pain.  If one is hospitalized with a disease that requires surgery we gather around that person to share in the prognosis of that disease and to assist with the recovery of the loved one after they have completed the surgery.  When one is depressed with the loss of a loved one or a child we gather around to lift the spirits of that person, to remind of the happy times, to restore the faith of the one depressed.  Christ bore our depression.  He took away our ills.  He gave joy where there was sorrow.  He brought happiness where there was pain.  Through his miracles he restored us to our faith in more than the pain and suffering that surrounds us daily.  Through his  miralces he gave hope to those cured in that day when he walked the earth.  He fulfilled the prophesy.

We have come through these lessons that Christ has taught us, from the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, to the lessions on faith, and now to the miracles that he performs.  The Spirit in Christ teaches us how to live on this earth.  He has given us the lessons to follow.  He has taught us the truth of faith and what it brings.  He teaches us the joy of the love of Christ and how he restores us to health and wellness, joy and happiness, peace and love.  He took up all our infirmities.  He bore all our ills.  He restores us to hope and faith.

He shows us that he is the way and the truth and the life.  Christ is our answer.  He is the joy of our heart.  In him there is no sorrow.  In him there is no loss.  In him there is no aches and pains and suffering.  He takes them all away.  He bears them up.  He cast them out so that we are able to see the full glory of his Father through his works.  Rejoice in him.  Be glad in him.  Know him.  For through Christ we come to know the one true God who is the source of all our needs.  
                     

St Matthew, Chapter 8, verse: 16, Miracles

Our paragraph topic today is:  (Other miracles) Part 1.  

Christ remained at Peter's  house through the evening and Matthew tells us that many who were possessed and sick were brought to him.  He cast out all those who were possessed with a word.  He cured all who were sick.  We do not know how many there were who came to Christ that day.  Matthew does not tell us this information.  But the word spread by the mouth of those who carried the word.  The word was taken in the homes of those with loved ones that were sick.  The word was carried by mouth to those who had loved ones that were possessed.  They heard of Jesus Christ who performed miracles.  They heard of the great things that he did.  They heard of the wonders that he performed and all who heard were amazed.  All who heard wanted to learn about this Jesus.  All who heard wanted to meet this Jesus.  All who heard wanted to touch him so that they too could be cured.

Christ's ministry is just beginning according to Matthew.  He has not done much up to this point.  He gave a sermon on the mountain where he taught things that were new.  He spoke of principles and ideas that people had not heard before.  He told of existing laws that were expanded so that people would have a better understanding of their purpose and meaning.  He finished his sermon and he rested at Peter's home that day.  And the word spread.

If a great leader came to your town today, what would he have to do to get your attention?  A completely unknown person who was not popular in the news, who was not popular in the media, who no one knew in the government, comes to your town and begins to stir up the people.  This person would not get very far today because we do not rely on word of mouth for our news.  Our news comes from the TV.  Our news comes through the newspaper.  Our news comes via the Internet.  Our news comes via the radio.  We can hear about earthquakes.  We can hear about tornadoes.  We can watch volcano eruptions.  We can see the destruction of tidal waves.  We can read about the devastation and destruction of bombings and war.  All this information comes to us via our media.  And those who control that media determine what we see, what we hear, and what we know about our world.

In that day and time word of mouth was the medium of providing information.  The information about Christ spread like wild fire.  Knowledge of him spread through the village.  It spread through the neighboring villages.  It spread through the region.  And finally it spread to far off places where it would take days for that information to travel to reach a curious ear.

Christ became popular because of his miracles.  You could compare his news today to the news of a bombing.  You could compare his news today to the news of a devastating tornado.  You could compare his news today to the news of a international plane crash.  You could compare his news today to the news of any event that captures the interest of the people.

He would get millions of hits on Youtube.  His news would be the trending news on Yahoo and Twitter.  His news would be explosive because everyone would want to hear of it, everyone would want to see it, everyone would want to talk about him.  The news media would want to publish it because they will make a fortune in selling it.  Ratings would rise to levels not seen before.  Advertisers would want to have their ads placed during the time slot when his news is broadcast.  All would hear of the miracles that he was performing and want to know where he was, where he was going, where he will be next.  Promoters would want to have him under contract.  Event planners would want to plan events for him to speak before.  Heads of state would want to meet him and to know of his work.  This would be our way of following Christ today.  This would be our response and how we would hear of him.

He cast out demons.  He cured the sick.  He cured them all .