"The Authority of Jesus"_Matthew 8_Aug 22 2021

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

(Pray…)

The Structure of Matthew

Before I get into my message - I want us to consider some of the structure of the Gospel of Matthew - many scholars: “The Gospel of the Messiah”

Mark: The Gospel of the Suffering Son of God

Luke: The Gospel of the Savior for All People

John: The Gospel of the Son Who Reveals the Father

Another way to look at it:

Matthew is the most structured

Mark is the most dramatic

Luke is the most thematic

John is the most theological

The main audience Matthew was written to: The Jew - to substantiate the fact that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah to come as told by the prophets

Over and over, the Gospel of Matthew will say, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying...” - and then quote it in the OT

And many of the events of the life of Jesus written in Matthew are a fulfillment of OT scripture:

The virgin birth - Isaiah 7:14

Jesus fulfilling his ministry in Galilee - Isaiah 9:2

Jesus healing disease - Isaiah 53:4

John the Baptist - Isaiah 40:3

Jesus speaking in parables - Psalm 78:2

The basic structure of the gospel is shaped from the first five books of the OT - “The Pentateuch” - Sometimes referred to as “Christian Pentateuch”

Matthew is very structured

You first have a preamble - first two chapters

And an epilogue - The Passion & the Resurrection (26-28)

But then you have, what’s referred to as the Five Books of Matthew (like the first five books of the OT)

Each book ends with its own discourse. where Jesus speaks at length

We just finished Book One - Discipleship (3-7)

Followed by the first discourse, the SOTM

These “books” are usually referred to by the names scholars have given them:

Book One - Discipleship (3-7)

Book Two - Apostleship (8-10)

Book Three - Hiding of the Revelation (11-13) - (the Jews are confused - Jesus begins speaking in parables)

Book Four - Church Administration (14-18)

Book Five - Judgment (19-25)

Now we’re in Book Two - Apostleship (8-10)

The discourse in Book Two is found in Chapter 10 - Where he gives authority to his disciples - this is where people see this second book as “apostleship”

It’s also about authority - first, the authority of Jesus - and then Jesus giving part of that authority and responsibility to his disciples

Brief Recap

My message is on Matthew 8 - “The Authority of Jesus”

Before we get into that - let’s look at where we are in Matthew

We are in the eighth chapter - still, the beginning phases of the ministry of Jesus

Everything has led up to this point:

The birth and genealogy of Jesus

The Wise Men

All the drama with King Herod who tried to kill Jesus when he was little

We read about the prophet, John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus

We looked at the “ordination” if you will, of Jesus:

When he came up from the waters of baptism - the Spirit of God descending and resting on Jesus - and the Father declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”

Jesus was then immediately led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil

Remember, Jesus was alone - this all took place before he called his disciples

When he heard John was arrested, he withdrew into Galilee

Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Then he called his first disciples: Simon Peter and Andrew - James & John

Then at the end of Chapter 4, it tells us that Jesus went throughout all Galilee, “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

And then it says that he started to become famous throughout all Syria - and then it says

English Standard Version Chapter 4

they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

This is all found in Matthew 4:23-25

Then we come to Matthew 5-7 The Sermon on the Mount - sort of known as the “inaugural address” of Jesus

Jesus is essentially saying, “This is what my kingdom is all about - and it’s unlike any other. This kingdom is for those who recognize their desperate need for redemption. I require obedience, but not hypocrisy. I am a personal King, who deeply loves all of my subjects. Follow me and I will be your solid foundation, no storm can destroy.”

Last two weeks: Sermon on the Mount

Ends with: A parable about two homeowners

Lesson was: build your house on a rock - build your foundation on Jesus

Obey Jesus

Not as a hypocrite - but serve him so that the Lord gets the glory, not you

In that parable - the two homeowners received the same treatment from the elements of the world:

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house...”

If God is real in your life – you'll build your foundation on him

If you build your foundation on Jesus:

“The house did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock”

In the end, it doesn’t matter what the storms of life are like - as long as our foundation is in Jesus

As long as your sins are forgiven - the storms ultimately have nothing on you

Luther said, “Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is forgiven; if thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard as thou wilt.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Send sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, persecution, what thou wilt, thou hast forgiven me, and my soul is glad.”

Ultimately, my soul can only be glad if my sins are forgiven - if my foundation is in Jesus

There is no way to avoid the storms of life

There are no “ten steps” to avoid bad things in life - no method of meditation

There are no good works to perform to avoid the storms - the storms are coming - for the sinner and the saved

To the foolish man who refused to obey Jesus:

“His house fell, and great was the fall of it”

This was not a subtle thing - the house didn’t merely receive damage

There was more that took place than just getting water damage - and damage to the roof

Great was its fall!

It fell with a great crash

Remember – we talked about is God real to you

This morning: Who is the authority in your life?

Everyone has an authority – even if it's themselves

You'll never recognize Jesus as your authority – until you realize that he is the ultimate authority by the Father

But at the same time – it really doesn't matter that Jesus is the authority of the whole universe – if you don't allow him to be the authority of your heart

[the gospels are more than just cataloging events of the life of Jesus - they are intended to teach us about Jesus and admonish us so that we will believe in him.]

[this section of Matthew teaches more than just the healings of Jesus - it highlights the authority of Jesus and his love for us - with the backdrop of those who completely need him. You need to first recognize your utter need of Jesus and confess his authority in your life.]