1When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
3Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4Jesus said to him, “See that you tell nobody; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
5When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him for help, 6saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”
7Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel. 11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, 12but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.
14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 15He touched her hand, and the fever left her. So she got up and served him. 16When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
19A scribe came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
21Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
23When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. 24Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. 25The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
26He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
28When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. 29Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. 31The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
32He said to them, “Go!”
They came out and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. 33Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. 34Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
Faith in the storm
23 When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. 24 Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. 25 The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Almost the entire eighth chapter of Matthew’s account is about deliverance. It is full of healings of all kinds. The Hebrew concept of salvation is about deliverance. God is ready to deliver us from all sorts of things. He is in the business of coming after broken people. Jesus spoke in a parable about the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine and going in search of the one lost sheep. You and I are that lost sheep. He hunts us down and is ready to deliver us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We see all those forms of deliverance in this chapter. Are you in need of deliverance? Perhaps you are depressed. Perhaps you are overwhelmed. Perhaps you feel like you’re in a boat about to be overcome by the storm, and you feel like Jesus is asleep, unaware of your need for deliverance. In that moment of need, the disciples sought physical and emotional deliverance. They felt their lives were in danger, and they were eaten up by fear.
The same thing happens with us. The storms of life sometimes feel overwhelming. It might be a grandchild with an emotional or physical issue that seems to have no solution. It might be that your own children are struggling with a job or a lack of a job. Or you, the reader, might feel like you're alone in a boat without Jesus or any companions. The loneliness can seem overwhelming. It is in times like these that you must CHOOSE to believe that God is who He says that He is and that He'll do what He says He'll do. It's all going to be alright. Some adjustments will be made. God makes a way when we're not sure how we ourselves can get out of our circumstances. Sometimes it is just moment-by-moment trusting. You're in the storm. Don't give up. Don't surrender. Choose to say, "Lord, my faith in you is the only solid thing I can stand on and you tell me in Your word that hope is born out of that." (Hebrews 11:1)
Jesus can indeed free you from your physical danger, which often brings unrelenting fear into your life. Jesus can indeed free you from the emotional storms raging in your soul. Jesus can indeed satisfy your spiritual hunger and thirst. Give it all to Him today. He promises that He is indeed aware and He is listening. When it is the right time, He will wake up and calm the storms in your life. Reader, commit to walking in faith, not in fear, at this very moment. He is there with you. He promised to be there. HIs deliverance is available for you.