Passage: Matthew 8:1-13
Intro: We make it so complex, this thing we call the Christian life.
1. we come up with all kinds of plans for success, the TV guys tell us that if we do A and B we will get the reward of C.
2. we have secrets, power plans, ways to make the hand of God move for our benefit.
3. as if it were an unrevealed mystery.
4. God has told us again and again, with positive example and negative, what it is that He wants from us, what He is seeking. Here’s one:
PP 2 Chronicles 16:7-9
5. we know the names of those who have trusted God: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Daniel…
6. and here in Matthew 8, we run into two guys, nameless rejects in the society in which they lived, but full of faith.
7. and as we look at them, God will reveal to us once again what true faith looks like.
8. in addition, how absolutely central it is to God.
9. so first, what defines real faith?
I. Real Faith is Open to a Better Plan Than Mine
1. these first 4 verses tell a touching story.
2. following Jesus after the sermon was over was a large crowd.
3. “when he came down…” ties this event in time to Sermon on the Mount.
4. and if we remember back to chapter 4, we will be reminded that Jesus was the focus of a huge group of people looking to be healed.
PP Matthew 4:24-25.
5. These large crowds are in the context of a healing ministry.
6. so after the sermon, they once again followed him for the purpose of healing.
7. we may wonder how the man in v2 got so close to Jesus until we recognize the disease he had.
8. “leper” would be able to clear a path, even in such a crowd. Last thing they needed was leprosy in addition to their other sickness.
9. this disease, which we now know is caused by a bacteria, required several things of a person acc. to the OT
PP Leviticus 13:45-46 Quarantine!
10. here was a man defined by his disease, a humanly hopeless case.
11. but look what he says to Jesus: “You have the power if it is within your purpose for me.”
12. there is a beautiful submission in this wonderful statement of faith.
13. it is a recognition that God’s will might include my remaining in the condition I am in.
PP) great example, Joni Eareckson Tada, who broke her neck and is a quadraplegic. Of course the object of many attempts to demand healing. Does she look forward to heaven? Sure! Is she an effective servant of God. Absolutely! Is it God’s plan for her to be in that wheelchair? Apparently. And she is OK with that.
14. and that is faith.
15. faith trusts that the way God is working in my life is the best way.
16. I may ask Him to change things, and He might.
17. but my asking recognizes that His plan is the best plan, and resting in that.
Il) the person who lives with a chronic disease may well have more faith than the person who is healed.
18. be careful not to make this a new “secret way” to twist God’s arm.
19. it is a statement of submission, and that means it prefers God’s will, even if it not my will. I’d rather have God’s way than my way.
II. Real Faith Does Not Specify How God Should Act.
1. Here’s another guy rejected in the Jewish culture.
2. centurion in the Roman army, not a Jew, so not really welcome.
3. he came with a different problem, servant is paralyzed and suffering terribly.
4. v7, Jesus offers to do something a self- respecting Jew would not do.
5. like touching the leper in v3, Jesus offers to go to his house. (complete identification with sinners)
6. many scholars think it was a question, but the purpose is the same.
7. this was a huge no-no in the culture.
8. in fact, the early church, even after Pentecost, wrestled with this question.
PP Acts 11:1
9. but look at the response! This really caught Jesus’ attention!
10. I believe in you, and you don’t have to perform to make me believe. Just say the word, just command from here, and it will happen.
11. then he gives this example from his own military experience.
12. I am under authority, and others are under mine.
13. I don’t have to be there to see my orders carried out. My word is enough.
15. this faith amazed Jesus, best He had ever seen! Why?
16. centurion didn’t require Jesus to perform according to a formula or some preconceived idea of what Jesus would or should do.
17. His trust was in the person, the character of God.
18. he did not set up a series of hoops for Jesus to jump thru in order for him to believe.
19. this is what Herod did when Jesus was brought before him during his trial.
PP Luke 23:8
20. Jesus was amazed at the pure faith of this centurion and healed his servant remotely in space but at that very hour!
21. this faith lets God be God, and lets him answer any way that He chooses.
22. in His time, according to His plan, using whatever means He wishes to use.
III. Faith Changes Everything
1. it isn’t often that Jesus comments on the faith He sees, so we need to examine this.
2. we would be content with v10; “Wow, what faith!”
3. but Jesus is compelled to make some startling statements, completely unacceptable to His Jewish audience.
4. v11, introduces statement with “I say to you”=listen up!!
5. v11 “faithful Gentiles are going to be part of the Messianic feast that you think is your exclusive territory.”
6. but this should not be a surprise, because it has always been about faith, not genetics.
PP Genesis 15:6
7. and not only that, but those who believe themselves to be children of God because they are Jews will be cast outside and be eternally tormented.
8. brothers and sisters, faith is not just something we use to get things we want from God.
9. without it, we remain estranged from God and objects of His wrath.
PP Hebrews 11:6
10. faith, trust, believing in God so much that you put His words into practice, that is what God gives and seeks and builds and honors. And tough times are where faith really shines and grows.
11. the greatest thing that it produces is our reconciliation to God.
12. that is the greatest miracle.
Conc. Here is the bottom line.
1. obey God because it is an act of faith.
2. pray because it is an act of faith.
3. ask God to do powerful things because it is an act of faith.
4. trust what God has said, not what man may say or do.
5. to believe God is to worship God
6. let radical faith define you
