In the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7, Jesus teaches—a lot of information. In chapter 8, he is on the move, and here in chapters 9-10 he continues moving about the countryside, covering a lot of territory (by walking, remember!) and doing a wide variety of things.
The main things that are happening in these chapters are healing and calling of the disciples. In both of these things, there is a distinction, a setting apart: the kinds of things Jesus does in his ministry are different from what religious leaders have traditionally done, different from what the scribes and Pharisees do.
1. Jesus is a healer, and a very comprehensive one. Jesus heals leprosy, fever, paralysis, demon possession, hemorrhage, blindness, muteness, those near death, and “every disease and every sickness”. Without medical training or equipment, Jesus can make people whole with just a word and a touch.
Q: Do you think this catalog of Jesus’ healing feats is meant to convince us that God can cure the same things among us? Or does it show us the breadth of God’s care, how deep and broad is the arena in which God does wonders?
Many of these stories include an aspect of spiritual or communal healing that we may miss, in addition to the physical healing. Skin conditions and ailments involving blood were violations of purity laws in Jewish culture, which resulted in the ostracizing of those who suffered them. By restoring the skin or healing the wound or condition, Jesus also repaired the social and legal gap, enabling the person to return to community, including living among family, working in their trade, and participating in worship.
Q: How has Jesus healed you, physically, spiritually, or emotionally?
2. Jesus gathers people to work with him, and seems to be fairly lax in his standards. He does not invite the scribes and Pharisees--religious leaders—to do religious work with him. He invites ordinary people to be holy together, to be God’s presence in the world however they can do that. The fishermen bring what they know (those nets and boats get used a lot!), the tax collector brings what he knows, they learn together and do more things. But they aren’t just squeezing this work in on the side—Jesus sets them apart for a specific purpose, to follow him, not only where he goes but HOW he lives, works, moves, interacts in the world.
Q: What would Jesus ask you to “bring along” for ministry?
The “setting apart” is quickly noticed: the disciples and Jesus are criticized for doing things their own way. They don’t wash right, they don’t eat with the right people, they don’t follow the rules; they’re not very popular but they are very noticeable. In chapter 10, Jesus begins to warn them that the going will get rough, but it’s time to get going, nonetheless.
Q: What things do you do because of your faith that are not popular or are misunderstood by others?
Q: What “rules” does our church/tradition have that are more a hindrance than a help for God’s mission?
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