May 30, 2021
Morning Service

Last week we completed the Sermon on the Mount discovering three very important points we need to understand as we follow Jesus.  We are not to judge others, but we can be “fruit inspectors” to determine if someone’s testimony matches up to their walk.  Are they practicing what they preach?  This is done so we can discern between what is the truth from God and what is not so we will not be deceived along our journey.  We then saw that following Jesus is not about a religion, rules and regulations, but about relationship, knowing and being known.  In Jesus’ teaching it was not what the person had or had not done that qualified him for heaven, but it was his relationship with our Savior that mattered.  The third point tied in well as Jesus gave the parable of building upon the sand, this world and its rewards, or upon the Rock of faith in Jesus alone.  The solid foundation of Jesus will NEVER be moved and we cannot lose anything we build upon it, but the world’s foundation will slip away like sand and “great will be its fall.”  With the beginning of chapter 8 we “hit the road with Jesus.”  He begins His ministry of going town to town but now He has “great multitudes” that are following.  Our goal is to imagine that we are one of that crowd and we are walking the same path.

Mat 8:1-4 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  (2)  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  (3)  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  (4)  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

            Leprosy was like Covid 19 on steroids.  It was a terrifying disease that was very contagious and there was no known cure.  It usually begins with red patches on arms, legs or back that become numb and lose the hair upon them. If left untreated it causes nerve damage and muscle weakness that can lead to deformities, crippling, blindness and isolation.  Over 4 million people are still infected today around the world.  In Jesus’ time this was a death sentence and not a pleasant one either.  A priest would declare a person to have leprosy and then banish him from his home and city; he would lose everything. They would be sent to live in a community with other lepers until they recovered or died.  If diagnosed, you would feel hopeless of returning to any kind of a normal life as you knew it.  You would be an outcast and if seen in public people would avoid you at all cost out of fear for their own well-being.  The leper here approaches Jesus asking, seeking and knocking for a healing from this terrible disease and hopeless lifestyle.  He has nowhere else to turn for help or compassion.  Was Jesus afraid or unwelcoming to this man riddled with this deadly and contagious disease?  No not at all; He received him with a compassion as one of His own children and said as He touched him; “I am willing be cleansed.”  A picture is worth a thousand words, so let’s watch how this event was shown on “The Chosen.”

 

Episode 6 Season 1

Place yourself in the leper’s shoes.  How would you feel as you looked down and the thing that had plagued you was removed?  I want to hug Jesus like that for what He has done for me. How many people are in the world today just like this leper including some of us?  We find ourselves somewhere that we did not want to be in a situation that seemed hopeless, without an escape route, and nobody seemed to care or understand. Jesus did and He still cares.  “I am willing; be cleansed.”  By His touch the man’s life was changed forever.  Mary told Nicodemus this in the Chosen as well; “I was one way and now I am completely different and the thing that happened in between was Him.”  Jesus changed everything for her, for the leper, and has done that for many of us as well.  His touch can change everything, not only deliver us from illness, but He can deliver us the most common terminal disease that we all have and that is sin. We are hopeless to be able to deliver ourselves from it, but Jesus can. In fact, that is why He came; not to condemn us but to save us.

 

Joh 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 Jesus came to save us by creating the cure that would heal us from this awful disease of sin that we all have (Rom. 3:23).  We like the leper need only to come and ask for the healing we need and accept the gift of salvation as our cure.  Jesus paid the price for our sin upon the cross (Rom. 6:23) and gave us the “gift of eternal life in Him!”  Ask Him for it and He will be more than willing to give it.  The work is complete and we only need to accept it as our own and call on Him as our Lord and Savior.  Jesus now shows us His reaction to someone showing humility, faith and compassion.

 

Mat 8:5-13 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, (6) saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  (7)  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  (8)  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  (9)  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  (10)  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  (11)  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  (12)  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  (13)  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

            First I want to point out that as fruit inspectors we see Jesus say that the servant is healed and then He is.  What does that do for us?  It builds our faith in Him that what He says will come to pass.  Secondly, we see a great humility, faith, and compassion in a person who has a position of authority.  “I am not worthy, but only speak the word and my servant will be healed.”  These attitudes in this Roman centurion caused Jesus to “marvel” (verse 10) so much that it was not present in even in all of Israel.  This was a prophecy that we, the non-Jewish Gentiles, would soon be added into those who are called and chosen to follow Jesus.  How is your faith?  Is it on this level yet?  What about your humility?  Does it resemble what the centurion displayed?  Are you showing compassion to others, or have do you turn a blind eye?  We learn from this passage that these qualities in our lives can cause even Jesus to marvel at us.  Matthew now records more healings as we are walking the road with Jesus.

 

Mat 8:14-17 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  (15)  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.  (16)  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, (17) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND BORE OUR SICKNESSES."

            The fruits Jesus is displaying certainly point to the conclusion that He is the long awaited Messiah.  “He cast out spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.”  There is nothing beyond His control, if He is willing.  If we have a need, our part consists coming before Him in humility by faith and ask; we are commanded to do so.  He can deliver us from a hopeless situation and make all things new.  An honest, sincere cry for salvation will always be granted.   Know that when it comes to healing He does not always say “I am willing,” but there are times He does.  Are you willing to follow even if the answer is “no”?  The Lord told Paul when he asked for deliverance from a “thorn in the flesh” that “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Either way we are comforted by His healing or by His grace to endure knowing He is the One choosing that path for us.  May His will be done in each of our lives.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the hope and comfort Jesus brings into our lives, and may we follow Him faithfully, trusting Him to lead us to His will for our lives.