Title: “Credentials of the King” Scripture: Mt. 8:1-17
Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 3-6-22
Intro: Credentials are a qualifications, achievements, personal qualities, or aspects of a person's background, typically when used to indicate that they are suitable for something. State Licensure for teachers, CPA and Bar exams for accountants and lawyers. Boards for doctors and nurses. ASE certification for mechanics. According to “Indeed Career Guide”, 10-13-21, 10 most lucrative certifications/credentials in today’s market are: 1. Project Managers 2. Business Analyst 3. Supply Chain 4. Marketing 5. Skilled Trade 6. Human Resources 7. Sales 8. Accounting 9. Computer Networking 10. Health Care Certifications. We live in a world that regards and values credentials and questions the competency of those who do not. I would like you to think in these terms as we examine a section of Mt. 8 today. We have just studied the SOM where Christ laid out the requirements for Kingdom Living. Now, in chapters 8-9, Christ will demonstrate His credentials to prove that He is the Messiah. We begin to see this identification in today’s passage where we will see Christ’s interaction with a leper, a Gentile, and a little old lady (Sounds like the start to a bad Irish joke!).
Prop: Exam. Mt. 8:1-17 we’ll see 3 interactions Christ had w/individuals demonstrating His credentials as Messiah/King.
BG: 1. Mt. 5-7 – Sermon on the Mount. Chapters 8-9 contain no less than 10 miracles demonstrating the power of Christ. 2. In the Bible, miracles are never separated from the message, but rather are used to further validate the message or the messenger. No exception here. 10 miracles all validating the message and the Messenger, the Messiah, King Jesus. 3. 9 of miracles were healing related. One was related to nature – stilling of a storm.
Prop: Let’s look at Mt. 8 to see 3 interactions Christ had w/individuals that demonstrated His credentials as Messiah/King.
I. 1st Interaction: A Leper is Made Whole. vv. 1-4
A. First we see a Physical and Social Pariah comes seeking the Lord.
1. What was the physical and social condition of this desperate man?
a. Verse 1 indicates to the reader that what follows is tied to what has just happened on the SOM. Jesus came down from the mountain, and from His teaching, and great crowds were following Him. They must have witnessed many of the healings that Jesus performed in the days that immediately followed His teaching on the mountain. Now the Gospels record what happens next. From great crowds to one very troubled individual…and that a leper!
b. The physical effects of leprosy in the ancient world were more dreadful than either I could or should state in a message. Leprosy has terrified humanity since ancient times and was reported as early as 600 BC in India, China, and Egypt. Hansen’s (1873 Gerhard Hansen) disease is still a major health problem in many parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It did not immediately kill, but neither did it seem to end. Instead, it lingered for years, causing the tissues to degenerate and deforming the body. Nerve endings were destroyed and multiple injuries would often taken place by accident. Leprosy - 68x in the Bible, 13 of these NT.
2. Christ was willing to overcome the Spiritual Bigotry this man faced.
a. At the time of Christ, Leprosy was considered a curse. Miriam was stricken with leprosy for her rebellion against Moses (Numbers 12:9-15). So, too, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, was stricken for his greed (2 Kings 5:20-27). David’s curse on Joab’s descendants included leprosy (2 Samuel 3:29). King Uzziah was stricken with leprosy because he presumptuously offered incense in the temple (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Leprosy was about as bad as it could get. It was incurable and apparently deadly, the equivalent of modern day cancer, except that leprosy was much more evident, and ugly. Leprosy was a kind of living death, with many sweeping implications. One was declared a leper after tests were performed (Leviticus 13). Once declared a leper by the priest, the leper was cut off from contact with society.
b. Illust: I think if that old diseased and withered leper would have had a favorite Christmas Carol it would have been “Joy to the World”! His favorite stanza would have been: “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.” If leprosy was a curse he knew its full extent! And he knew Christ alone could reverse that curse! PTL! He still can today!
B. A Marvelous Messiah Miraculously Heals this man of all his maladies.
1. Notice the compassionate response of the Lord: “I am willing.”
a. Leprosy in the 1st Cent. Palestine was worse than a life-threatening disease. It was often known as the " living death." Many lepers were labeled "uncleaned" by the Jews and their very appearance was a warning to other people. They couldn't work, return home, or attend worship services. There was also the common misconception of those days that lepers were somehow being uniquely punished by God for the sins they committed. They couldn’t come any closer than 150 feet from people and had to announce “Unclean, Unclean” when coming into a village.
b. v. 3 “I am willing.” – Jesus says this as He stretches out His hand and arm and TOUCHES the leper! References to leprosy have a different emphasis in the NT. They stress God’s desire to heal. Jesus freely touched people with leprosy. While people with leprosy traditionally suffered banishment from family and neighbors, Jesus broke from the tradition. He treated lepers with compassion, touching and healing them. Although the lepers were seen as uncleaned or dirty to the Jews, Christ didn't think that way. Many people saw them and were scared to even be near them, but Jesus wasn't. As much as the healing in body meant to the leper, I imagine the touch of another human brought another level of healing to this poor man.
2. We are all spiritual lepers in need of the touch of Christ.
a. Although we can’t know all the reasons that God allows disease into our lives, biblical leprosy is a powerful symbol reminding us of sin’s spread and its horrible consequences. Like leprosy, sin starts out small but can then spread, leading to other sins and causing great damage to our relationship with God and others.
b. Illust: “I read of a candidate for ordination into the ministry. He was having an interview with the bishop on the day before the ordination service. Feeling his unworthiness he said, "Bishop, if you knew how unworthy I am to be ordained by you, you would never lay hands on me." The dear bishop replied, "If you knew how unworthy I am, you wouldn’t let me do it!" We’ve got to recognize that in the sight of God we’re but sinners saved by grace. We need to come again and again to the Cross of our Savior.” (Owen Bourgaize)
C. Applic: Why did Jesus send this man to the priests? Jesus sent the leper to the priest, in obedience to the law (Leviticus 14). He also did so as a witness to the priests. Let them recognize that this leper was cleansed, and that Jesus did it. Let them ponder who Jesus must be, because of this miracle. Let them see, as Matthew indicates in verse 17, that Jesus is not seeking to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, as Messiah. He alone can heal a leper and make him clean. He alone can cleanse a sinner from his sins and assure him of eternal life. (Who is Jesus?)
II. 2nd Interaction: A Gentile’s Servant is Healed. Vv.5-13
A. Here we see Gentile comes Seeking the Healing Services of the Messiah.
1. Let’s Take a Moment to Recognize a Few Important Elements of this Story.
a. Next we see that a Roman Centurion has a problem for which he needs the Messiah. The account says that his beloved servant is lying sick with a paralysis, Luke, the physician, tells us that this is critical and the servant is at the point of death (Lk. 7:2)
b. The Gk word for servant, “pais” is different here in Matthew from “doulos” in Luke. Probably means a younger servant, possibly even a boy. Possibly the Centurion saw the servant as a surrogate son. Maybe he was orphaned. Regardless, he was loved.
2. Second, we see the Jewish Elders attempting to compel Christ to meet this man’s request.
a. We see in the corresponding account of Luke 7 that the Jewish elders come to Jesus (v.4) and tell the Lord that this Centurion is “worthy” of Christ’s coming to him. He was, strangely, a beloved member of the community. Roman soldiers were hated occupiers. Centurions were THE symbol of Roman power and occupation. What made him different? In Lk. 7:5 we see the answer: he “loved the nation (Most likely a proselyte) and had built a synagogue for them.” Notice the inherent attitude demonstrated here by the Jews. It is the same attitude held by everyone who doesn’t recognize the great Protestant doctrine of Sola Gratia – Salvation is by GRACE alone by Sola Fide FAITH alone! Illust: A lot of people today think their good and bad deeds weighed in a balance. Coming back from Texas: road work in Oklahoma. Tearing up great sections of the Hwy. Massive chunks of concrete being ripped out and removed by equally massive roadwork equipment. Friend, if God were to judge my life based on scales balancing. Even if I could put a few of those concrete rip rap sections on the positive side of my balance, I would still be woefully deficient!
b. Illust: Friend, that weathered warrior, that blessed Centurion rejected the Jewish leader’s nonsense! He knew he wasn’t “worthy” before Jesus! Apparently that Centurion had walked the Roman Road before meeting Christ. I don’t mean the road that led to the Colosseum and the Senate and Circus Maximus. No, I mean the one that begins At the intersection of Rom. 3:23 and 6:23 which states that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That lets us know that the wages of sin is death but the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. That road winds through the Valley of Grace where God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us! And it leads to the final stop of Rom. 10:9-10 where if we confess with our mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your hearts God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! For w/the heat one believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.” PTL! I know I am not worthy, but I also know Jesus is!
B. Christ Fulfills the Centurion’s Request while Giving a Stern warning to His listeners.
1. Notice the Centurion’s Amazing Insights into the Power and Authority of Christ.
a. V.7 Jesus responds that He will come and heal the servant. It seems that this caught the centurion off guard. He was all too aware of the barrier that that law created between Jews and Gentiles. He did want Jesus to heal his servant, but how could he expect Jesus to defile himself by entering his home? (Little did the centurion know that Jesus had just touched a leper.) This was not a deficiency in the centurion’s faith; it was his humble acceptance of his status as a Gentile.
b. The Centurion makes one of the most important assessments of anyone in the Bible. (Read vv. 8-9.) What is Christ’s response? HE MARVELS! V.10 He was amazed! Two times in the Gospels that it says Jesus was amazed. The Centurion’s understanding and faith. Negatively: Mark 6:6 – Jesus was amazed at the LACK of faith of people in the synagogue of His hometown. Friend, can I ask you if Jesus were to look at you or me today, which “amazed” response would He have?
2. Christ Heals the Centurion’s Servant.-Unlike the healing of the Leper, whom Jesus touched. Christ heals the servant without ever going to him! Only God can do that! Jesus doesn’t need to go. He doesn’t need to touch. He simply speaks! The God Who spoke the worlds into being was able to speak healing to the Centurion’s servant.
3. Christ Makes a Severe Application for the Crowd. Seeing the amazing faith of the Centurion, Christ makes a severe application for the multitude following Him. More than anything else, it was the Old Testament ceremonial food laws that separated Jews and Gentiles. That is what we see in the case of Peter, both in Acts 10 and in Galatians 2. This man could not conceive of Jesus entering his door, much less sitting at his table. But Jesus tells him that in the kingdom he will be sitting at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He also says that while many Gentiles will be found at this table, a number of Jews will not. Must have infuriated listeners. What was Christ’s point? The issue is not one’s racial origins, and not even one’s works, but faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. This is what makes one a true offspring of Abraham: What are you trusting?
C. Applic:
III. 3rd Interaction: An Old Woman is Helped. Vv.14-17.
A. What is the Point of Mentioning this Miracle? (Catholic Church is in error! I Cor. 9:5)
1. Why is this Miracle Include after two very dramatic healings?
a. What does Peter’s mother-in-law have to do with the previous two miracles? What is the point of telling us that she was healed? Well in this account, she was healed without saying a word, without asking for anything. The parallel accounts in Mark and Luke both indicate that others petitioned Jesus to heal her.216 This is, of course, another kind of malady. This was not a mere “headache.” The text literally reads that she was “thrown”217 in bed with a fever (Luke points out). Illust: Any parent can tell you a high fever in a child is not necessarily a dangerous situation, however, in an older adult it certainly can be. Jesus heals as He wants to heal and not constrained how He does it.
b. Again, this healing takes place on the Sabbath and touching anyone with a fever made that person ceremonially unclean. However, this rule did not contrain Christ. Why? When Christ touched a sick person, healing power went out of Him, healing that person and making him/her whole again! Illust: When you have a bacterial infection and your doctor prescribes antibiotics, he or she is not worried that the bacteria will infect the antibiotics, rather, the intention is the antis will destroy the bacteria making the person healthy and whole again.
2. Notice the Response to Peter’s Mother in Law’s healing.
a. Christ touches Peter’s mother in law and immediately she begins to serve! Illust: Back in January I had Covid. Lasted about a week. But I was dog tired for another week. Not serving anyone. Would get up, eat, go sit on the couch. Fever’s drain you. Take time to recover from.
b. Illust: I want to spiritualize the passage here. Friend, when Christ touches you and heals your life, He puts a desire in your life to SERVE Him and serve His people. Bernie Dymet is a name not readily recognized in this part of the Christian world. Back in 1995 Dymet was a powerful business man. Born with silver spoon. Best schools. Military academy. Commission. International Business. Driven. But now all of that was failing him. Empty. Family troubles. Standing on the balcony of the 8th floor Grand Chancellor Hotel, Brisbane, Aus, felt two forces pulling him. One to jump. One to go back in. Never been religious. Moved back from the ledge into room. Knelt by bed and prayed: “God, if you really exist, this would be a good time to show me.” He opened the nightstand of his bed. GIDEON BIBLE! Within a month he was saved. Enrolled in Bible College. Who is he today? Chairman of Back to the Bible Australia (Christianity Works), weekly speaks on 1000 radio stations in 160 countries. Audience of 140 million. Saved to serve. But you know what one of Dymet’s most earnest prayers is? He wants to meet in heaven the Gideon who put the Bible in that hotel. He too was saved to serve!
B. Notice the Application Made with Regard to this Healing.
1. Matthew Quotes the OT prophet, Isaiah 53 – Messiah. Isaiah links sickness with sin, and well he should. He prophesies that when the Messiah comes He will heal men of their diseases, as well as of their sins. Is it any wonder, then, that when Jesus comes to the earth and identifies Himself as the Messiah He should heal men of the whole range of maladies? Jesus makes it clear to us that His ability to forgive sins is closely linked with His ability to heal sickness: THEY ARE THE CREDENTIALS OF HIS KINGSHIP!
2. Who could turn from His offer of salvation? Only those who wish to try to get to heaven on their own merits, only those who loathe grace. What a beautiful Savior He is! He is willing to save. He only requires us to trust Him for this salvation.
C. Applic: Christ removes the barriers between God and man and also the barriers that separate men. Jews and Gentiles can enter into God’s blessings (including fellowship with each other) by faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. Jews and Gentiles become one in Christ. It is only Jesus who can do such an amazing thing. He is the King! He was buried, was raised from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God. He must either be our Savior or our Judge. Which will it be?
