Pseudo-Recognized Authority

Pseudo-Recognized Authority - Matthew 8:14-17

Tonight, we are continuing our series called Unrecognized Authority where we are going through Matthew chapters 8-10

The over-arching theme of these three chapters is this… even though Jesus’ authority is clearly displayed through many might works, most of those who see Jesus’ works don’t even recognize who Jesus is or what he came to do.

The last two weeks we have seen Jesus heal a leper simply by touching him… and then Jesus healed the centurion’s servant simply by saying a word… And tonight we conclude the first block of three healings where Jesus heal’s Peter’s mother in law

Tonight’s sermon is titled: Pseudo-Recognized Authority, more on that in a moment, but first let’s hear from God through his word as we conclude the first section of miracles.

Matthew 8:14–17 ESV

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Pseudo-Recognized Authority - Matthew 8:14-17

The word ‘pseudo’ is a prefix that is used to describes something that is fake but comes off as being the real thing…

Often times we call people who dress a certain way to give the impression that they are something that they are not a POSER

That is to say, they dress in a pseudo-fashion (that is a fake outfit) to give the impression that they are athletic when in fact they are not

But in tonight’s text, people are not trying to put on a show to look a certain way.

Tonight’s text isn’t about the pharisees or the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who are putting on a show to look righteous even though they really weren’t

Rather tonight’s text is about Jesus’ disciples, and others who truly do recognize Jesus authority… at least to an extent…

They recognize Jesus’ authority to heal, but they do not fully grasp who Jesus is, and what his authority actually means.

But before we look at what was less obvious, that being what they don’t recognize about Jesus, let’s just look at what is plain and clear in the text:

Matthew 8:14–15 ESV

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

Matthew 8:16 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

these verses act as a capstone to summarize this first block of miracles here in chapter 8

And through chapters 8 and 9 thee blocks of three miracles making a total of nine stories that demonstrate the authority of Jesus, and between these blocks of healings Jesus will teach about what it means to follow him.

Tonights text serves to summarize what has already been described when Jesus heals the leper and the centurion’s servant from the previous two healings…

Just as Jesus touched the leper to heal him… so to Jesus touches Peter’s mother in law… and she is made well

Matthew 8:15 ESV

15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

And with a word, Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, so too with a word, Jesus cast out the demons from those who were oppressed and sick…

Matthew 8:16 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

So what are we supposed to see from this repetition?

Well if nothing else, we are see this:

1. Jesus’ authority is clear and obvious.

You really can’t miss that Jesus has the authority to heal…

And this none of the disciples who were with Jesus missed this either…

It was like the smoke that filled the air last week… the only way you could have missed it is if you literally weren’t paying attention.

So too, there is no way that the disciples were not able to recognize the authority of Jesus… and yet somehow they don’t truly recognize who Jesus is as we wills see all the more clearly in the weeks ahead

Now there is nothing unique about this point compared to the last two weeks that where we have seen that Jesus has ultimate authority such that when Jesus speaks God speaks…

But if one is tempted to think that the first to healings were anomalies or coincidences, Jesus demonstrates here that he truly has ultimate authority that comes from God…

First of all take the healing of Peter’s mother in law

Matthew 8:14–15 ESV

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

Has anyone ever had a fever so bad that all you can do is lay down?

So much so that if you are vomiting at the toilet, you can barely keep yourself awake…

If you have been this sick, you probably have experienced that that even the thought of food, much less the smell of it makes feel all the more sick right?

And at Jesus touch, she is made well such that she is able to get up from her bed and serve Jesus immediately…

What’s the point of this? It serves as a demonstration of how effective Jesus’ touch is to heal … such that she is made well so that she can serve Jesus…

But the authority of Jesus is not known only by Peter’s mother-in-law… but it is also recognized by the disciples and those who bring the oppressed and sick to Jesus to be made well!

Matthew 8:16 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

First of all, who is brining those who are oppressed and sick?

They… they, is likely, peter, and the other disciples who are with Jesus in the house.

Why would they bring all these people to Jesus?

because they have seen Jesus heal the leper....

and word has likely traveled throughout the city that the Centurion’s servant was healed by the word of Jesus

And now Jesus too heals Peter’s mother in law…

So the disciples begin to recognize that there is no sickness or suffering that lies outside of Jesus’ authority…

1. Jesus’ authority is clear and obvious.

Surely, Matthew could have continued to write about some of the other healings happened that night as there were many who were healed…

in fact, John tells us

John 21:25 ESV

25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Jesus did many works that aren’t recored in Scripture, but what is clear from tonight’s Scripture is this:

Matthew 8:16 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

all who were sick were healed…

Such is the authority of Jesus, that there is no sickness that lies outside of his authority…

Notice… everyone seems to recognize Jesus’ authority… So why are we calling this series unrecognized authority?

we are barely three weeks into this series and everyone seems to know that Jesus can heal… They all recognize who Jesus is...

or do they?

On the surface they do, but remember even last week Jesus said this about the Roman centurion:

Matthew 8:10 ESV

10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

But in this passage, we see the disciples, all who are Jews, who have been following Jesus and have even been raised with the Scriptures bringing the sick to Jesus, and somehow their faith was not as great as the centurion? What’s up with this… what are they missing that the centurion had?

While the disciples and the crowds recognize that Jesus has authority to heal sickness… they don’t seem to recognize what Jesus’ authority to heal actually means. Such that in next week’s text when others wish to follow Jesus he begins to tell them the hard truth about what it costs to follow him… and these truths that he tells them about are truths that they do not recognize.

So even though Jesus’ authority is clear and obvious to the disciples, what are they (and possibly we) failing to recognize about Jesus

2. Jesus’ rule over sickness demonstrates his rule over sin and Satan.

Throughout the Scriptures this is made clear… sickness is a result of sin

The work of Satan who tempted man to sin against God by doubting his authority and disobeying his word, is the root cause of all sickness and suffering.

Suffering can be either the direct result of sin, or the indirect result of sin… but make no mistake, at the root of all sickness and suffering is sin, and the one who works tempt us to sin is Satan and his demons.

This is hinted at in v 16

Matthew 8:16 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

Satans influence and sin that is practices is clearly shown to be the cause of all suffering throughout the Scriptures

Gen 3 - where the serpent deceives Adam and Eve to disobey God… and the effect of this is

- separation from God who is the very source of life

- Suffering in life

- and ultimately death

Now, suffering does not always have a one-to-one correlation with sin…

This is shown in Jn 9

John 9:1–3 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The man’s blindness was indirect effect of living in a fallen world that is marked by sin and suffering…

This is similarly expressed with regard to Job’s suffering

so too we see throughout the book of Acts the many sufferings of the Apostles who were suffering not because of their sin, but because of others sin

But make no mistake… sin and the fallen nature of this world because of sin is at the root of all suffering

And more than this, sin is often directly followed by sickness, suffering, and even death…

Sin is what caused the Children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years

Sin is what caused Moses to not enter into the promised land

Even David’s child died because of his adultery…

And suffering because of sin is not just seen in the OT but look at what Paul writes

1 Corinthians 11:29–30 ESV

29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So why is this important to recognize?

it’s important, because when Jesus is healing the sick and casting out demons.... he is demonstrating his authority over our sin and Satan…

And it’s important to see that these enemies are no match for Jesus…

We often fall into this mistake of making Satan the opposite of Jesus

Some kind of yin and yang

where we have equal forces of good and evil

We watch super hero movies where there is a hero, who is strong fighting a formidable villain

But we see here that sickness, sin, and Satan have no authority over Jesus… such that Jesus simply says the word, and the demons are cast out…

Such is the authority of Jesus

Consider this:

Much like Peter’s mother in law, did we come to Jesus when we were saved in our own ability?

Absolutely not, rather we were dead in our sins unable to do anything to save ourselves… and Jesus came to us, and touched us making us well...

and how long did it take for us to be made well?

or to ask it a different way… how long does it take for a sinner to be justified?

does it take a year of good works?

Does it take a better record of fighting temptation?

Is there anything that we do to receive salvation?

We are no more able to help ourselves in our justification that the sinner who was nailed to the cross next to Jesus Christ.

Our forgiveness of sins and justification with God takes just a moment… and just as fast as we are made right with God through the atoning work of Jesus, so too do we inherit eternal life, where we say with all the redeemed:

1 Corinthians 15:55–56 ESV

55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Jesus’ authority is not just one to heals with sickness… but his authority is also that which defeats sin. But this is why these disciples have only a Pseudo-recognition of Jesus authority…

it’s only a partial recognition of who Jesus is… for they see him as a healer, but they don’t recognize that he is so much more than just a healer…for he has the authority to deal with sickness, because he alone has the authority to deal with sin. They do not yet recognize that Jesus is God

Matthew, the writer of this account of Jesus’ life adds this comment following these miracles:

Matthew 8:17 ESV

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Matthew sees these healings not as a mere demonstration of Jesus’ authority to heal… but he sees this too:

3. Jesus’ healing was a demonstration of the work that He would accomplish on the cross.

This is what Matthew is alluding to when he quoted from Isaiah

because Isa 53 is about more than Jesus healing our illnesses and diseases… it’s about Jesus’ forgiveness of transgression and sin by taking all our sin into himself and being punished in our place on the cross that we deserved

Isaiah 53:4–5 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

There are many churches and Christians who would teach much on the authority of Jesus to heal, but they fail to recognize that his authority to heal is directly linked to the cross… They teach God wants to heal them and bless them here on earth today and now, but these same teachers have a pseudo-recognition of Jesus. For they fail to recognize the same God who is able to heal is the God who has reconciled us to himself through the cross

One commentator writes to correct this error in thinking that “Christians should not think of the benefits that they have in Christ Jesus apart from thinking about his atoning death.”

that is, if we go to Jesus only when we are sick…

or only when we have a test and need help…

but not when we are struggling with sin

or feeling the condemnation by satan… then we don’t truly recognize the authority of Jesus

Throughout the Scriptures, the gospel message is preached with the death and resurrection of Jesus in the place of sinners at the heart of what is proclaimed.

And while some would like to make all the other benefits of following Jesus the heart of the message, things like, healing, blessing, and every other miracles while saying little to nothing of the forgiveness of sins because of Jesus work on the cross, then they fail to see what the authority of Jesus over sickness was truly pointing to…

Jesus’ healing is but a for taste of what is to come

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

If people look to Jesus merely as one who will bless them with health, wealth, on this side of eternity, without first and for most seeing Jesus as one who reconciles sinners to God by forgiving them of their sins, then their recognition of Jesus and their faith in him is a Pseudo recognition and faith in Jesus.

And Isaiah 53 acknowledges this too.

Not only is Isa 53 not only about healing, nor is it just about Jesus’ death for our sins… but it’s even about his rejection… as he the source of life was not recognized

Go back a verse:

Isaiah 53:3 ESV

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:4 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

Notice, in all that Jesus did for us… we rejected him.

And yet so many would say, well if I saw such signs, I would believe…

To which Paul writes, that we have always has a clear demonstration of God’s power:

Romans 1:19–21 ESV

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Ps 19 says that the heavens themselves are declaring the glory of God, but even still…we have rejected him and not recognized him for who he is

but if we do recognize Jesus for who he is… it is because God has done another miracle in our hearts:

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And so may we too have our hearts enlighten with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.... and may we be like the leper and the Centurion to and even those who brought all the sick to Jesus… may we like them go to God and and ask with faith for him to give us such a vision that we would recognize Jesus for who he truly is such that we would be transformed.

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.