What Kind of King is Jesus?
Matthew 8:1-17
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
We are continuing this morning with the second of our 9-message study in the book of Matthew. The book of Matthew is one of four records of Jesus' life in the NT. These records are not biographies per se. They record evidences of Jesus as God’s good news to mankind. That’s why they are called Gospels. Gospel means good news.
Last Sunday we saw that Matthew recorded evidences of Jesus being God's appointed King of His people. We saw four responses: The wise men responded in worship. King Herod responded in fear. The chief priests and scribes responded with passivity. Joseph responded in obedience for Christ's sake.
We saw how people respond to Jesus will not always be based on who we discover Jesus to be. Instead, how we respond will sometimes be influenced by our life experience. But is there something we can do to help people respond correctly to Jesus?
Matthew thinks so. That's why he recorded what we will study this morning: Matthew 8:1-17. This will start us to think about what kind of king is Jesus and thus how we should respond.
The late Muhammad Ali, great American boxer, was on an airplane. When the flight attendant asked him to put on his seat belt, he replied, "Superman don't need no seat belt." To which the attendant replied, "Superman doesn't need an airplane either." Ali was a great boxer, but he was not Superman.
Jesus was great in many ways, but was he a king? If Jesus is king, what kind of king is he? And what proof were there that he is that kind of king? Let's look at Matthew's record.
First, Jesus is a King who cares. We see this in verses 2-3, 6-7, and 14-15, 17
Leprosy was a devastating skin disease that could be spread by contact. So lepers were separated from family and community. They suffered from the illness as well as from isolation.
The centurion's servant suffered from paralysis and pain. Peter's mother-in-law was bed-ridden with a bad fever. And there were demon-oppressed and people with other diseases brought to Jesus. And Jesus healed them.
How do we know Jesus cared? The record showed Jesus responded with increasing eagerness to help. From the leper to the servant to Peter's mother-in-law to the demon-oppressed to others who were sick.
The leper pleaded, "Lord, if you will,..." Jesus replied, "I will." There was no hesitation. There was no bargaining. If you will be obedient to God, I will heal you. Jesus simply replied, "I will."
The centurion attempted to explain his servant's suffering. And before the centurion could ask for Jesus' help, Jesus said, "I will come and heal him." No need for further explanation.
In the case of Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus didn't even wait to be told of her sickness. He saw and responded with compassion and healed her. Jesus, like His heavenly Father, knows our needs before we ask.
And as the day stretched into the evening, Jesus didn't stop caring. He helped and healed the demon- oppressed and the sick. And Matthew said this was to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 53 where God's chosen One would take the illness and disease of His people.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus is a King who cares so much? Who loves so sacrificially? Here is a clue from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
From Children's Letter to God: Dear GOD, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. -Nan
Nan, God loves us so much through Jesus because He can't help it. The Bible says in 1 John 4:8, "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Just as water is wet. Fire is hot. Sugar is sweet. God is love. And God has chosen to love us through Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus is a King who cares so much!
As we saw last week from Napoleon's diary, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded great empires; but upon what did the creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions would die for Him.”
Second, Jesus is a King who can. We see this in verses 2-3, 13, and 15-16
What do we mean by Jesus can? The record showed Jesus had the power to help. From the leper to the servant to Peter's mother-in-law to the demon-oppressed to others who were sick.
The leper believed, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean" Jesus replied, "I will; be clean." There was no need of medication. Nothing wrong with medicine. But Jesus simply said, "be clean," and the leprosy was cleansed.
The centurion's servant suffered paralysis and pain. Jesus said, "Go, let it be done...." And the servant was healed at that very moment.
In the case of Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. And for the demon-oppressed, Jesus cast out the spirits with a word. And others who were sick, he healed.
You might ask, "Why doesn't God just keep Jesus on earth and heal miraculously everybody? Then everybody would know and believe in God."
Someone tells about two men in a bar watching the six o’clock news. The news reported a car about to run through a railroad crossing when the gate was closed. One of the men in the bar said to the other, “I bet you $50 that he’ll run through the gate.”
His friends said, “You’re on.”
In fact, the car in the news ran through the railroad crossing gate. The man in the bar who won the bet said, “You know, I can’t take your money. I saw the same news report at 5 o’clock, and I knew the car would run through the gate.”
To which his friend replied, “Go ahead, take the $50. I also saw the same report at 5 o’clock, but I just didn’t think he would do it again.” (If you got it, will you explain it to the slower among us after the service?)
There was no video that captured Jesus Christ's power at work. Here’s what else. God doesn’t have Jesus make personal appearances to every individual in every generation. True, Matthew had an advantage. He saw Jesus healing many. You and I only have his record.
But Matthew's record is worth considering. He was so convinced that Jesus is a King who cares and who can, that he followed Jesus to the very end of his life.
Third, Jesus is a King who commands. We see this in verses 4, 8-10, and 15-16
One of the characteristics of a true leader is having followers. And one of the characteristics of a true king is having authority or command. This is what we see with Jesus.
Jesus respected His Heavenly Father's chain of command. In the OT, the book of Leviticus, chapter 13, God gave the priest the responsibility to examine skin disease to pronounce it unclean or clean. That's why we read what Jesus said in verse 4 (READ), “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
In the case of the healing of the centurion's servant, Jesus could not be in two places at one time. Jesus was with the centurion and not with the servant. He demonstrated command over something or someone to bring about healing from a distance.
The language used to describe the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and the demon-oppressed were that of authority and command. "The fever left her" upon Jesus' command. "Jesus cast out the spirits with a word."
A few verses down, in Matthew 8:23-27, Jesus calms a storm at sea. Verse 27 records the baffled disciples who ask each other, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Jesus has command over the physical and spiritual world.
Let me close by reading this historical event:
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.
"Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king."
"I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you."
"Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you."
When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient."
What kind of King is Jesus? He is a King who cares, who can, and who commands. And He learned to rule by being obedient to God, His heavenly Father.
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
