Episode Notes

Episode 96: Matthew 8-9 - Reporting Safe From a Cross-Reference Tornado

November 11, 2025 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall

In this episode we’ll be introducing you to the idea of a cross-reference tornado. That’s the term I’ve given to those Bible stories that send you spinning through several other passages in rapid succession. It’s a cross-reference tornado… and so hold on to Toto… cause were not in Kansas anymore.

Resources Referenced and/or Read:

Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew. W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press. -

"By casting out demons outside Israel, Jesus shows that his authority is not limited by geography, ethnicity, or ritual purity. Evil spirits recognize and submit to him even in foreign soil — implying that God’s reign is breaking into all creation, not just within the covenant land.
This anticipates the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20), where the resurrected Christ claims, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” and sends his disciples “to all nations.” The Gerasene exorcism is an early foreshadowing of that global mission."

Lindsey, R. (2009) 2nd ed. Jesus, Rabbi and Lord: A Lifetime’s Search for the Meaning of Jesus’ Words. Jerusalem Perspective, LLC.— specifically in chapter 13 titled “Healing Everywhere.” Available at www.JerusalemPerspective.com

Dr. Halvor Ronning discussed Dr. Robert Lindsey's work on my first trip to Israel in 2007. We were in the synagogue in Capernaum. Dr. Robert L. Lindsey treats Matthew 9:2 in his book

Read... but not used in this episode:

Ingolfsland, D. (2004). Review of Christianity in the Making, vol. 1: Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 47(4), 715. "… in his discussion of a passage in which Jesus heals a paralyzed man and announces that the man’s sins are forgiven (Mark 2, Matthew 9, Luke 5), Dunn argues that the passive form of the verb (ἀψἰδνται) shows that Jesus was not usurping a prerogative that belonged only to God, but was simply announcing forgiveness the way a modern priest would declare a penitent sinner forgiven. According to Dunn, the subsequent protest by the religious leadership occurred simply because Jesus exceeded his authority by pronouncing forgiveness outside of the Temple cult."

Show Music:

Intro/Outro - "Growth" by Armani Delos Santos
Transition Music - produced by Jacob A. Hall

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96. Matthew 8-9 - Reporting Safe From a Cross-Reference Tornado