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In Jesus’ time, it was customary for a would-be disciple to pick the rabbi who would become his mentor/teacher. He would scout a “master” much the same way an aspiring student today picks a college, studying his options and picking the rabbi he felt would best equip him for future success. In this kind of…

Jesus’ encounter with would-be disciples (Matthew 8:18-22) is the first time that Matthew records Christ calling himself the “Son of Man.” In all, Matthew will document 32 times that Jesus used this culturally-charged title for himself. The phrase “Son of Man” was not unique to Jesus. In the Old Testament it generally referred simply to…

In Matthew 8:16-17, the gospel writer reports that Jesus “healed all the sick” in order to fulfill the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53:4, which Matthew paraphrases as, “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” This is an odd Scriptural connection given the circumstances just described. There’s no indication here or anywhere in the…

In both the Jewish and pagan cultures of Jesus’ time, exorcising demons was a strict ritual, fraught with risks. Magical incantations (preserved for us today in some ancient texts) were used in many attempts at exorcism. Other efforts to expel demons included supposedly magical objects, special word formulas, and even invoking the name of a…
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