After Jesus’ sermon from yesterday, Matthew transitions into telling us that Jesus is not just a great teacher, but also carries out miracles. These miracles are not those of a mere prophet, but of God himself. He heals a leper with simply a touch and a word, in a way that also demonstrates that he is not made unclean by disease but rather transfers his own clean-ness to the unclean. He heals the suffering and paralyzed servant of a Roman centurion from a great distance away with a simple word, showing again his great power (as God himself) and also his expansion of the Kingdom of God to all peoples, not just to Israel. In fact, he praises this centurion’s faith as being greater than anything he’s encountered in Israel. He even casts out demons with a word, calms a raging storm with a word, and forgives sins with a word.
Jesus is not just a man. He is not just a prophet. His voice and words carry the power of God. In the same way that God’s words brought all creation into existence, so Jesus’ words begin to bring the chaotic and cursed creation back into order. Jesus is God himself, and he is to be taken seriously as such.
In these chapters, Matthew also introduces the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders (Pharisees and scribes) of the day. These are people who had been looked to as the authorities on who God is, how he was to be worshipped, and what the Old Testament Scriptures meant. However, Jesus comes in doing things differently than they anticipated and redefining what the mindset about the Law should be (think back to the Sermon on the Mount yesterday). The people Jesus calls to follow him, the people he chooses to eat with, and the way he goes about his ministry are all the opposite of the way the world expects. The Kingdom of God is just as much for those who have nothing, who have been truly broken by sin, and who put no confidence in themselves but in God alone. As he shakes things up, showing what the Law truly taught, the Pharisees and scribes begin to come in conflict with him—a conflict which will ultimately lead to his death.
We saw yesterday that life in the Kingdom of God is not easy, and today we see Jesus build upon that. He commissions his disciples to go out and minister with much of the same power he has demonstrated. He tells them to teach the good news that Jesus is the coming King they have been waiting for. But he warns them that there will be many who reject them, or even persecute them, for their faith in Jesus and the message they proclaim. But he assures them that it is worth it. Even in the suffering they may face for his sake, the Spirit of God will be with them, giving them the right words to speak and the faith to endure the suffering. If they remain faithful to Christ and endure to the end, there will be eternal life waiting for them that far outweighs the suffering. But he also tells them that those who stand against Christ and resist him will face great suffering and destruction. The life of following Christ is not easy, but it is walked together with him by his Spirit each and every step of the way. In Christ, and in Christ alone, is the life that we were created to live.
