"credentials Of The King"

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.