Amazing Faith Series

“Amazing Faith...”

Matthew 8:5-13

Prayer...

OKAY – let’s do this!

We are in a verse by verse study of the Gospel of Matthew.

AND LISTEN – from our very first week diving into these 2000 year old words written by the x-tax collector,

Our goal has been the same...

The goal - to have a greater understanding of both who Jesus is, and of what it looks to live in the Kingdom that He established 2000 years ago.

SO THAT - we can follower Jesus better.

SO THAT – we can become more fully devoted to Him.

SO THAT – we can follow Him in spirit and in truth.

AND LISTEN – one thing that Matthew wants to make clear from the very first words that Holy Spirit had him put down on paper... is who Jesus is.

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham... – Matthew 1:1

I MEAN – Matthew is like, okay you want to know who Jesus is...

Who is Jesus, HE IS...

• The promised King, who through His earthy Father Joseph has the legal right to the throne of David.

• The Son of God, born to a virgin who shall be called, ‘Immanuel’... which means? God with is

• The promised Messiah (the Christ) who came to save people from their sins

• The One who wiseman from the east came to worship as the King of the Jews

• The One whose arrival is announced by JTB

• The One, who when baptized in the Jordan, the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove and the Father proclaimed, ‘This is My Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.’

• The One who battled the evil one in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and came out victorious.

• The who spoke with authority when He gave His Kingdom Manifesto on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

• The One who demonstrates in Matthew chapters 8 and 9 that He has authority over all things: over nature, over sickness, over demons, over sin death, over the grave and over how we are to live out our lives if we choose to follow after Him.

AND AGAIN...

Here’s s the deal, Here’s the point Matthew is making in these two chapters...

Since Jesus possess absolute authority in the world, He warrants absolute allegiance from the world.

NOW – last week we saw that Jesus has authority over disease, as He cleanses a man who was covered in leprosy (Matthew 8:2-4)

AND – the two truths we took away from this encounter were Jesus saying to us...

“I am willing” – understand, if you feel alone, isolated, hurt, shut out, afraid, doubtful or unworthy... Jesus says I am willing to step into your circumstances and help you.

You matter to me!

“Be my touch in the world”

God calls us, His church, to be His healing touch for those whose feel: left out, unworthy, unacceptable, unclean and banished to a life outside the gates.

He calls us to touch the untouchable and to love the unlovable.

AMEN

I really love what a guy named Leonard Sweet wrote...

When the church stops looking out for the little guys or caring for the bottom heap or specializing in the forgotten, the freaks, and the mistakes, it has ceased being the church.

THIS MORNING... we will be unpacking Matthew 8:5-13 in a conversation called, ‘Amazing Faith”

When Jesus had entered Capernaum,

Literally Village of Nahum (comfort and consolation)

• Located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee

• According to Matthew 4:13 Jesus moved there from Nazareth to kind of set up His base camp. Capernaum was ground zero for His Galilean ministry.

• Peter and his brother Andrew had a home in Capernaum

• Probably had a population of 12-15,000.

• It basically was a blue collar, uneducated fishing village, looked down upon by the religious elite class back in Jerusalem.

• The Romans had a garrison there

• There were quite a few gentiles living there... in fact the area was known a Galilee of the Gentiles

YOU KNOW – I think it is so God, that when Jesus ‘came down’ from the mountain (yes, we worship and serve a God who came and comes down) He came to an area looked down upon by others.

UNDERSTAND – typically when God moves He moves among the most unlikely people, because He loves to take the weak to shame the wise.

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly (and is about to die).” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.