Matthew 8:11-15

 

Mat 8:11 (KJB)

And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

 

(Isa 45:22 KJV) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Here Jesus is looking forward to the time when the Gospel will be going forth to the entire world and there will be believers from every country in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is also stating that the Patriarchs were saved. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have been people everyone there would be associated with. The centurion which approached Jesus was just a small foreshadow of the millions of Gentiles which would become saved. We live in a day when we see evangelism in every country and the fulfillment of Isaiah 45:22 happening right before our eyes, in fact, if you are involved in evangelism in some way, then you are part of that fulfillment.

 

Mat 8:12 (KJB)

But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Jesus now turns to the other side of the salvation issue. (John 8:39 KJV) They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. The Pharisees and Scribes were counting their salvation on the fact that Israel was a direct descendant of the patriarchs and since they believes that Abraham was their father, they also believed that they were automatically going to Heaven. Here Jesus disabuses them of that idea because it is not salvation by race but by grace. Those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and challenged His earthly ministry to the point they had Him crucified would not be those who are going to Heaven. It does not matter that they had the Hebrew Scriptures or if they could trace their lineage back to Abraham. The only ones who would be going to Heaven, would be those in Christ. (Gal 3:16 KJV) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The great mistake that the Jews had made was that they were looking to their relationship with Abraham as their source of salvation but they should have been looking to his seed, the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:6 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus is the way, not Abraham. It is also a deception when people think that the source of salvation is a connection to a church or some other group. Salvation is only in Christ and that is it!

 

Mat 8:13 (KJB)

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

 

Jesus then turns back to the centurion and tells him to go his way and according to his belief and faith in the Lord Jesus, his request would be granted and as we read in the last part of the verse, that his servant was healed that hour. There was no waiting because his faith in Jesus was strong and his request was immediately granted.

 

Mat 8:14 (KJB)

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

 

(1 Cor 9:5 KJV) Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Peter was married and according to 1 Corinthians 9:5, his wife would accompany them on their missionary journeys. It is believed that that archeologists have found the ruins of Peter’s house in Capernaum. Here Jesus enters the home of Peter in Capernaum and finds that his mother in law is sick with a fever. In those days, even a simple fever could be a death sentence. From the verse, it seems that her fever was so bad that she had to be bedridden.

 

Mat 8:15 (KJB)

And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

 

Jesus seeing that she was bedridden with a fever, takes her by the hand and instantly the fever left her and she gained back her strength in an instant and was able to minister to their needs. The Lord Jesus Christ did not only heal by speaking the words but also through just holding the hand of a sick person. This gives us another insight into the fact that when a person become saved, they are instantly qualified to begin working in the Kingdom of God. Peter’s mother in law did not stay in bed but she got up immediately and ministered. This is how we must teach young Christians, that they are to become involved with ministry as soon as they can and this trains them in the early years and as they get older in the faith, they will continue to desire to do ministry. (Prov 22:6 KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. It is not only training a little child from birth but training of a new Christian at the point of their new birth also. If we wait for laziness to set in then we will have just one more church person with excuses.

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