Just Say The Word

 

"And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, ⁶ and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” ⁷ Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment."

Matthew 8:5-13

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my honor and great privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website, and social media platforms with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People all around the world are responding to God's Word, with more and more coming to Christ. This is so amazing!

 

Therefore, we ask you to pray that God will continue to give those of who teach the Word of God the courage and boldness to speak the truth in ministry, as we continue increasing face of adversity in the coming days! It's becoming increasingly difficult in the world in which we live to speak truth to a culture that's literally offended by everything, especially biblical truth. Pastors are being silenced for speaking the truth in God's Word. 

 

 

As we noted in our last message, after Jesus finished His great Discourse on the Mount of Olives, which He preached authority,it commanded attention. When He came down and large crowds followed Him. Throughout Matthew's gospel, he has presented us with a tremendous amount of evidence of Jesus demonstrating authority, authority over sickness and disease, authority over demons, even authority over sin and authority over death. 

 

As we continue forward in our fascinating study of Matthew, here in chapters 8 and nine, Matthew now gives us nine wonderful manifestations of Christ’s power. The three miracles we're looking at in this portion of Scripture, is the cleansing of the leper, the healing of the centurion’s servant, and the restoration to health of Peter’s mother-in-law. In each of three miracles the healing is immediate.

 

It is worth mentioning, that healing miracle of the centurion’s servant in our text today, verses 5 through 13, is described in considerably greater detail than the healing of the leper. Obviously, Matthew felt it was important. I believe it is because the centurion is a Gentile. After all, who would have expected a Roman centurion to demonstrate such incredible faith.

In Luke chapter 7, Luke tells us "And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die."

 

So that you better understand, in Jesus' day medical science was, for all intents and purposes, non-existent. There were no vaccines to prevent diseases, no host of medications to cure infections, or alleviate pain. Disease was rampant. 2000 years ago, most people did not have private bathrooms with bathtubs with the exception of the wealthy, water was often scarce, they used a multi-seat stone public  latrine. I've heard it's been said the seats were surprisingly comfortable. When flushed with water, the waste was carried into a municipal drainage system. However, between flushing, there was the potential for certain bodily discharges and intestinal parasites such as tapeworm and whipworm. The ruins of one such bath can be found today in Beit She’an National Park.  

 

In the City of David, after a lengthy excavation a courtyard with four columns made of stone and a stone toilet seat built over a pit that would absorb the human waste was discovered at the House of Ahiel, since the Ahiel family had social standing and wealth. The western end was well preserved, however the eastern end was not. Due to the incredible famine that plagued the besieged city, the diet consisted of wild plants.When the famine worsened, they would slaughter their animals and ate them uncooked.

Long story short, the sick and the dying was always in your midst. Because there were more incurable diseases than we have today, it was not abnormal to die in your 20's from disease. The centurion must have been deeply moved by the suffering of his servant to approach Jesus. And with such great faith.

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

Father, we thank You for Your Word and for those You have chosen to gather together with us today from all around the planet. We are so blessed to have Matthew's account of these wondrous miracles, that if someone has not faith, it is surely not because there is a lack of evidence. Let our lives demonstrate to others that because our lives have been touched by You, we’ve been healed of sin, that we are dead to the world and Satan's evil system because we have been made whole in You. May there never be a diminishing to the gratitude for salvation, the faithfulness of our service and our thankfulness.

 

Lord, we are walking through a season of unprecedented deception and distortion, the truth has become a lie and a lie the truth. Your Word is being twisted, misinterpreted and misused. May we be a people with unwavering faith and godly character, whose values and morality come from Your Word and not the world. I pray that we would be a people who not only know the truth but that we would also be willing to defend it at any cost. 

 

Grant us the faithfulness to pray for the lost and may we be reminded that we were once among them. To pray for our enemies and those who have hurt us. May we share the message of the Gospel with the same mercy, love, grace and compassion that brought us to you. Grant us the boldness and courage to confront sin and error in the church, while remembering to do it in love with the focus of restoring a brother or sister, not winning an argument or discussion. Lord, create in us through Your Holy Spirit, a desire to be the people You have called us to be, who would rather live for You and be judged by the world than to live for the world and be judged by You. May we accomplish our assignment with dignity and integrity, honoring to You. May we all express our gratitude for the gift of salvation by our faithfulness in obedience and a life of service. All for Your glory and Christ's sake. 

We ask and pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen

Today's Message: Just Say The Word

The lesson in this portion of the Scripture is on faith, with an emphasis on the power of the Word of the Lord, that by His command He was able to heal the sick. The fact that Jesus is demonstrating the faith of a Gentile and not a Jew, has a certain sense of foreboding about it here in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus draws attention to Himself as the Messiah who has come to restore a lost order to what God had originally intended. Jesus understood all of mankind’s disabilities, people who were afflicted and suffering, did not stay on the mountain making declarations. He addressed humanity's need at its lowest level with humility and compassion. Jesus demonstrates His power to deal with sin and its devastating effects and to make people whole. 

 

In Luke's account, the facts are elucidated, he fills in the blanks. In his comparative passage, Luke tells us that the centurion did not actually go to Jesus himself, but rather sent Jewish people with his message. From our text, we can ascertain that the centurion felt unworthy to have Christ in his home, therefore likely felt unworthy to be in the presence of Christ. I believe it's note worthy that we see a centurion appearing in the New Testament, who were among some of the most hated people in Israel, he's a good guy. Jesus is demonstrating that the extent of His kingdom is to reach beyond Israel and the exclusivity that existed among the Jews. I believe that we can all learn a profound lesson from Christ's illustration here.

 

Open your Bibles with me if you would to the eighth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. As we continue in our study of the eighth chapter, we have the great privilege of our Lord's demonstration of His authority, His power and His deity through a series of incredible miracles that can only be explained as supernatural. In these all-encompassing miracles of healing, He demonstrates that He has the power and authority to do what what men cannot. I trust that you will find in this portion of God's Word, this powerful teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ not only enlightening, but challenging that God's Kingdom has room for the outcasts, the despised and the hated. The healing power of salvation is for those are outside the exclusivity of our circle, those called by God, the chosen. It is a lesson in faith in the reality of who Christ is.

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you verses one through seventeen, though we will only be looking at verses thirteen to seventeen. Let us prepare our hearts for the Spirit of God has to say to each of us. Matthew chapter 8:1-17. 

"When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus *said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus *said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.

When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases."

In Jesus' day it was bad enough to be a Gentile, much less to be a Roman soldier. I hasten to add, that the Roman soldiers, those of the Roman occupation army, were not actually sent from Rome. Rather the non-Jewish in the area, so they were recruited and trained in the area of occupation. This particular Roman soldier would have been in the troops under Antipas. It is possible that he may have been a Samaritan, a Jew who had intermarried with a Gentile. 

Samaria was a region north of Jerusalem. Allow me to remind you that to the Jew, a Samaritan, was viewed as a mixed race, someone who practiced an impure, half-pagan religion. Therefore, the Jews despised Samaritans and would have nothing to do with them. In Luke chapter 9, we know that Jesus when ministering to the people in Samaritan villages, was met with difficulty. Nonetheless, Christ shared the good news with the woman at the well in Samaria. And, in doing so Samaria would become an early mission field for the spreading of the first-century church.

In the book of Acts, we learn that Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. As we being our study I trust that you will pay close attention, with great joy to the lesson our Lord is teaching us here. That we too are to follow in the footsteps of Christ and the Apostles who clearly illustrate to all of us today, that God's authentic love must transcend all human boundaries of race, religion, nationality, economic class, and educational status and share the gospel message of salvation everyone. I believe there’s something beautiful happening in this passage, it is the reality of His command to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Let's look at verses 5-6, "And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."

I'd like to point out that Romans viewed a slave as a thing; less than a person but that was not the case with this centurion, he wasn't asking on his own behalf. He was asking on behalf of his servant who was home, lying sick of the paralysis  that grievously tormented him. He knew Jesus could heal him. In fact, everybody knew that Jesus could heal, but because of the sickness of hardness in their hearts, many refused to accept Him as Messiah and as Savior. 

In Luke's parallel account he tells that when the Jews came to Jesus with the message from the centurion, they said "He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue." He seems to have had an understanding of the truthfulness and tradition of their religion, that according to Jewish teaching, a Jew was never to enter into the house of a Gentile. He knew they were a covenant people and respected that. I'd also like you to notice, that this centurion made a significant investment in them by building a them synagogue demonstrating his love for them. Luke focuses more on the details of the centurion and the way he communicated with Christ; whereas Matthew simply records the request from the centurion and focuses more on Jesus’ teaching about faith and about Gentiles in the kingdom.

How often do we make an investment in others that costs us something? Especially those who we tend to view as "different" than ourselves?

This centurion man was humble, he was sensitive to their need and respected their teaching. I believe that we could all take a lesson in humility, sensitivity and respect from this exemplary man. May we come to Christ, in humility with our need, lay it before Him with a sense of unworthiness, and accepting His sovereignty. I believe this is a strong rebuke to the church today, who come to Jesus with a laundry list of demands, commanding Him to fulfill them. My what a distorted, upside down view of our Lord modern Christianity has today treating our sovereign Lord, the Son of God, Creator of the universe, as though He's some kind of spiritual genie, waiting to grant our wishes.

Now notice Jesus' response in verse 7, "Jesus *said to him, "I will come and heal him." It's important to notice that against traditional teaching, Jesus says "I will come, and I will heal him" He is willing to go out of His way go to the to home of this centurion Gentile. While Jesus is en route to his house, the centurion met Jesus as we see in verse 8, follow along if you would as I read. I believe it bears asking the question, "How far are willing to go out of our way for someone in need of help?" 

"But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed." This Gentile man's reverence, meekness and faith becomes even more evident calling Him Lord, acknowledging his unworthiness, faith and His authority. Keep in mind this man was a centurion soldier, trained for combat, in charge of leading hundreds of men. Yet he demonstrates that he is humble, meek, sensitive, and loving. 

As a footnote, during His earthly ministry Jesus would frequently tell people not to tell anyone, to keep a secret, I believe that's because He didn't want to be known as primarily a healer, He is the Savior whose healing served to validate the saving. However, after His death and resurrection, He wanted everyone to be told. We are a peculiar people with a unique message, to proclaim to the contemporary culture our testimony in that Jesus Christ is Lord and He is Savior. Sadly, it would appear to me that many, if not most Christians remain silent. 

In verse 9, the focus is on the authority of the spoken word. "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it." 

The centurion understood the power of authoritative commands, he's not questioning Jesus authority, as did the Jewish religious leaders, this man not only understands it, he recognizes Jesus' power and authority. It’s reasoning from the lesser to the greater,  how much more authority must You have than I, the supreme authority of the universe? I am under authority, and yet I can command things to happen. He understood that the authority of Jesus was infinitely greater. You are above all authorities! Jesus is not only surprised, He literally amazed at the faith of this centurion Gentile. 

Look at verse 10 "Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel."

While it is true, that Jesus is commending this man for his faith, the underlying implication here is a strong rebuke. Jesus saying to Israel "You’re the people of the covenant. You’re the people of the promise. You’re the people of the inheritance. It is you who should’ve had this kind of faith; yet I have never found it here, I found it in a Gentile." There's no doubt that Jesus had found some in Israel who had found faith; but never this kind; faith with virtue and absolute confidence.

Not even His disciples, remember after Jesus' resurrection Thomas doubted, after Jesus had been with them for some time, Philip said show us the Father. To which Jesus responded "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?" In casting out the demon, Jesus said they had little faith. The ones with the greatest faith were Gentiles. This remains true even today, the church predominantly is Gentile holds to the belief that Jesus as both Lord and Savior; the King of kings; Lord of lords, while Israel and the Jews still reject Jesus as the Messiah.

In verses 11-12, Jesus goes on to say, "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

Jesus is talking about the essence of Jewishness, God’s wonderful promise, the covenant of faith to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. This would have been a devastating statement to the Jews. Our salvation is part of that same Abrahamic covenant, as sons of Abraham by faith. Jesus' statement that God's Kingdom will be filled with Gentiles, was a contradiction to all their teaching. They could not believe that Gentiles would be reclining at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. In fact, they believed Gentiles would all be destroyed before the kingdom came. Now, Jesus says these Gentiles will be the kingdom? And they, who are the sons of the kingdom are going to be thrown out. In speaking about the outer darkness, Jesus is telling them they had lost their kingdom rights, forfeited their inheritance by unbelief, and declared their promises invalid.  Outer darkness is a real place, just like heaven. It was created by God for eternal punishment.Jesus talking about hell. That beloved, is a strong rebuke, and oh how they hated Him for that!

In spite what is often being taught in contemporary churches, Jesus talked about hell. In fact, He spoke about it a lot, more than anyone else in Scripture. I'm often told my teaching is too strong on the subject of hell and judgement. I've yet to preach a sermon with as strong language and rebuke as what Jesus preached. Jesus teaching wasn't all about love.

We should remember that this man, the centurion asked nothing for himself, only for his servant. Yet he receives two of the finest blessings for which a man could ever hope. Here we learn that Jesus honored the centurion's humility and great faith with the highest praise any man and the servant was healed, and he receives the Lord’s promise of inclusion, he was spiritually healed. This centurion has surely doubly blessed.

That brings us to our closing verse, verse 13. "And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment."

Jesus is teaching us a profound lesson, it is not one’s ethnicity or heritage, not even one’s works that determines one’s eternal destiny, but one's authentic saving faith. Many today are perishing in the midst of plenty, starving with the bread of life which is in their grasp and tragically leading others to the same damning destiny. Many pastors today avoid teaching much of Christ's teaching because someone might be offended. Jesus' teaching often included condemnation of false teachers for their misappropriation of truth and stands as a rebuke and a warning to false teachers of the Word for their misleading teaching.

Jesus was not passive in confronting those who misrepresented the Word of God, in fact, He intimidated them every way possible. As we see in His blistering rebuke. For which they ultimately sought to eliminate Him. Just as many today have eliminated His teaching. God is loving, He is Righteous and He is Just. That's why Jesus focused on His teaching on sin, judgment, repentance, God’s holiness, Hell and the Lake of Fire. 

In Closing..

If someone you love was in danger, wouldn't you also want to warn them? To put it another way, what if your doctor read the tests results and knew you had a devastating illness that would cost you your life and said "You're fine, go home and enjoy your life," because he/she didn't want to "offend you." Even though he/she has access to the cure. God is the Great Physician with power and the cure for your perishing soul through true salvation.

I believe that you must be firm when you teach the Word of God, just as Jesus was. When you eliminate uncomfortable teaching, you also eliminate the power of transformation. Jesus didn't sugarcoat His teaching to make people feel better about themselves, He told them the absolute truth! And so should we. 

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen 

 

 

 

 

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