What Kind Of King Is Jesus? Series

What Kind of King is Jesus?

Matthew 8:1-17

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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.