Compassionate Authority

We recommence our series through Matthew's gospel this week, from Chapter 8. Having taught the crowds with the Sermon on the Mount, astonishing them with the authority of his teaching, we now see that authority at work as Jesus heals many in the ensuing chapters. This is not simply the work of someone with great power and authority, but one with great compassion. Jesus truly is the "man of sorrows" who "took our illnesses and bore our diseases."