“Living in the Moment”
Matthew 8:5-13
There are certain events that many of us have seen take place in our lifetime and when they happened it was as though we were frozen in time because we can still remember exactly where we were when they took place. I remember talking with my father in law some years ago about December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. He could recall exactly where he was when he got the news. He along with my father and many others soon enlisted to serve our country.
In my era on November 22, 1963 JFK was assassinated. I was 10 years old and still recall exactly where I was sitting in my 5th grade class when the news came over the intercom.
And there are many other events like these I can recall as well. Where were you when the events of September 11. 2001 occurred? Because most of us in this room can recall. For me this church was just a year old and I was seated at my desk early that morning when a church member called me and said Pastor have you seen the news? A plane has just flown into the twin towers. America is under attack. We have no television service in the building so I went next door to the Bank of America where 5 minutes later thinking I was seeing a repeat of the news I witnessed the 2nd plane live as it flew into the 2nd tower.
There are events that are etched into our minds and hearts and will be there forever. Because in each case there was a moment in time when everything seemed to change. There are times when God gives me a sermon and it all starts with one word and it happened again this week and the word was “moment” and it grew to the phrase “a moment in time” and I started thinking about how life is often built around brief moments in time where everything changes – often for the worse but many times for the better. Some are spontaneous, some are planned. But it is always better when we learn to live in the moment. Fully present. Fully committed. Fully aware. Let’s walk through this passage together.
First of all we see the centurion’s request. Vs. 5-7. This miracle takes place in the town of Capernaum. It’s a small fishing town just N of Galilee. At the time the population was about 1500. Now an important fact to remember is that this was the home town for 5 of the 12 disciples. Jesus was from Nazareth but Capernaum would become the focal point of much of his ministry.
And as Jesus comes into Capernaum this centurion comes to him asking for help. A centurion btw was an officer in the Roman army who was in charge of 100 men. So this man would have been a Gentile not a Jew and he comes asking for help with his servant. His condition—the servant was described as being paralyzed and in terrible agony. Luke tells us he was in critical condition as close to death.
Now this centurion being a Gentile, not a Jew reminds us that anyone who is in need can come to Jesus. You just need to be willing. And he was. So in that moment the Centurion brought his request to Jesus.
2. In that moment, Jesus was willing to help. He helped the centurion. He will help you. Look at the conversation. The centurion asks for nothing for himself. But here is what you need to know. When you come to Jesus with a need he is more willing to help than you are willing to ask. He is more willing to give than you are to receive. God wants more for you than you want.
Ephesians 3:20. To him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think.
Now look again at v. 7. The Rabbis of that day taught that any Jew who enters a Gentile’s home was considered unclean. In the book of Acts Peter says….. NLT… Acts 10:28. But remember if breaking the law of the day allowed you to accomplish good Jesus always chose good. He healed on the Sabbath. In fact he performed at least 7 separate miracles on the Sabbath. He healed the sick, he fed the hungry. He did what was necessary to carry out his ministry and to do the will of the father.
Here is a truth to remember. Jesus not only wants to help, he is actually eager to do so. To help. Jesus did not say to the Centurion, I will come and see what I can do. He said I will come and heal him. He didn’t doubt the power of the Father and you and I should never doubt his willing ness to help. Now look at the authority of the centurion. Which translates to the authority of the believer. The authority you and I have. Vs. 8-9. There are at least two things that stand out about his authority.
• When you claim authority you should remember you place/position. It is a place of humility. He doesn’t claim his own authority --- doesn’t think he is worthy or deserving. He just calls out for the mercy of Jesus.
A man and his wife had their pictures taken at a photography studio. She said I don’t like these pictures. I don’t like the way I look. They just don’t do me justice. The photographer replied mam, you don’t need justice, you need mercy. So do we.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To be poor in spirit means you recognize:
• Your spiritual poverty. You recognize your
• Spiritual bankruptcy. You recognize your
• Complete lack of resources and your
• Complete dependency on God.
We are absolutely NOTHING without Jesus. The humbling of self is absolutely necessary when we come to Christ. The truth is none of us are worthy. Jesus is not here to do our will. We are here to do His. So know your place.
• When we claim authority we must remember God’s place. The centurion comes with humility but he also comes with confidence. Matthew 8:8.
“Just say the word.” That’s authority. The centurion knew God’s place. He doesn’t ask Jesus to pray for his servant to get better – he asks him to command the healing. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. That is authority. He knew what it was like to command and to be commanded. Remember he was in charge of 100 men. He knew that when orders were given that people obey. He tells Jesus, I, myself, am a man under authority. Authority goes all the way up. His orders only carried weight with his men because he, himself was under the command of someone else. That chain of authority went all the way up. If you disobeyed one you were also disobeying the next one in the chain of command.
This a very important principle in scripture. The Bible teaches us that authority is given. Jesus said all authority has been given to him on heaven and on earth. And it is his now to give to us. We cannot earn it, buy it or borrow it. It must be given to us by God himself. Authority goes all the way up—all the way up to God. Romans 13:1. There is no authority except that which God has established. All authority comes from Him.
Now look at the Centurion’s faith. Vs. 8-12. Here we find two important teachings about faith.
1. First of all, Faith pleases God. Mark 6:6. Hebrews 11:6. The scripture says Jesus was amazed. There are only 2 times in scripture when the Bible says Jesus was amazed. One was in Mark 6. Jesus could not do any mighty miracles among the people because of their unbelief. It matters when we believe and it matters what we believe. The 2nd time is right here when Jesus is amazed and this time it not because of the unbelief; it is because of their belief.
It takes a lot to amaze Jesus. He knows everything that is going to happen. All the details. But the one thing that could amaze him the amount of faith his people had or did not have. Jesus is likely amazed at our faith. Either your great amount of it or your lack of it. Faith pleases God.
2. Faith alone can save. Ephesians 2:8-9. Romans 4:13-16. Malachi 1:11.
Vs. 10-12. Those who come from the east and the west again refers to the Gentiles. Jesus says many Gentiles will be saved by faith while many Jews will find themselves outside of the kingdom because of their lack of faith. This should not surprise us. Today far more Gentiles have accepted Christ than Jews. Of course in the last days there will be many Jews coming to Christ. So what does this mean? You and I are saved by faith not by our heritage. Not by our race. Not by our works. Unfortunately there will be those who will be greatly surprised by this in judgment day. Doesn’t have to be that way. But it will be.
Finally take a look with me at the centurion’s reward. V. 13. Two things here.
1. God works in response to faith. It is faith that secures the healing. It’s interesting that nothing is said about the servant’s faith or lack of faith. That wasn’t the point. It was the faith of the one who spoke to Jesus on his behalf. Of course this does not imply that Jesus will heal every time.
2. Distance is not a barrier to God. God is omnipresent; meaning he is present everywhere at all times. There is no such thing as distance when it comes to God.
Jesus heals the centurion from a distance. In fact the servant is healed as soon as Jesus speaks. Distance is never a barrier for God. But if we are honest, it is a barrier for us. It is a problem for us both physically and spiritually. Paul refers to Gentiles and says “but now in Christ you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Where are you this morning? The Bible says our sins have separated us from God but that God sent Jesus to bring us near. Distance is not a barrier for God. It is not a barrier for healing. And it is not a barrier for salvation.
Nika Maples thought they she was all alone. Lupus had invaded her body. Her speech was slurred. Her eyesight was failing. Couldn’t walk, talk or sit up. Could hardly sleep. And she was only 20 years old. She was in ICU fighting for her life. She knew if she could just have someone come in and hold her hand she would feel better. But she had no way of telling anyone. Her mother was in the room but she was asleep. So Nika began to pray. “God I need you. I can’t go to sleep tonight.… will you please send someone to hold my hand? I can’t tell anyone what I need….I can’t ask anyone. Will you please just tell my Mom or a nurse to come over and hold my hand? Minutes passed. The mattress rolled her over on her side and then returned her to her back. And as it did, someone came in the room. All she knew was that it was a man… his steps were very quiet.... her mother didn’t even notice. This person took her right hand and held it. She said she tried to open her eyes but couldn’t. She then drifted off to sleep. Her mother continued to sleep. She tried again to open her eyes and this time she succeeded. But no one was there. And at that very moment the grip on her hand was gone. Nika said I know it was Jesus who was with me.
Christ has not barriers. He is there no matter how far we may feel from Him. He is always there. He was there for Nika. He was there for the disciples. And he is there for you today. Just reach out for Him and He will respond.
