Having concluded recording the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew continues in chapters 8 and 9 to describe the events that follow, as Jesus comes down from the mountain where he taught. These chapters describe ten miracles that Jesus executed. The same Jesus who is the Preacher of the Sermon of the Mount, now cleanses a leper, heals a Centurion’s servant, heals Peter’s mother-in-law, stills a storm, and casts out demons. One might be tempted to marginalize the valley of healings of an unnamed leper or demoniac, compared to the mountain top of ethical and spiritual teaching of Jesus’ great sermon. After all doesn’t physical affliction pale in comparison to great spiritual truth? Yes … unless you’re the one who is afflicted; to the one afflicted, healing becomes very important.
Jesus not only powerfully preaches on mountains, but He graciously heals in valleys. In chapters 8 and 9 we see the loving care of Shepherd Jesus for individual sheep. It is His tenderness and concern for individuals that actually embodies the words of the Sermon. We as a church, understanding the grace of Jesus and Christ and following after our Master, must not only seek to learn and apply the teachings of Jesus, but also regularly pray for and care for the sick. So as we come down from the mount of the sermon, to the valley of real suffering, may we be a known as a people of the book – both in our learning as well as in our mercy for those individuals who are in need around us.
