The Truth About Following Jesus

Matthew 8:18-22

 

As you know, we are in a very pointed section of Matthew’s gospel.

 

It is impossible to read chapters 8 & 9 and not see what Matthew is doing.

He is revealing the awesome power of Jesus.

 

8:1-4 Jesus cleans a leper

8:5-13 Jesus heals the centurion’s slave

8:14-17 Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law

8:23-27 Jesus calms the storm

8:28-34 Jesus casts out a legion of demons

9:1-8 Jesus heals the paralytic brought by 4 friends

9:20-22 Jesus heals the hemorrhaging woman

9:23-26 Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead

9:27-31 Jesus restores the sight of two blind men

9:32-34 Jesus casts out another demon

 

And of course aside from these focal miracles,

There are other verses sprinkled in for added proof.

 

Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

 

Matthew 9:35 “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”

 

And so, it is blatantly obvious that Matthew is showing you

That Jesus is in fact the Messiah.

 

Matthew even spelled it out in 8:17

Matthew 8:17 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

 

Jesus is the One Isaiah spoke of who can carry our sin away,

A feat proven by the fact that He carried our infirmities away.

 

Could there be any doubt at all as to who we are dealing with here?

 

No rational human being could come to any other conclusion

Except that Jesus is indeed the Messiah of God.

 

When you witness all that Jesus did,

You must come to a belief that He is indeed the Messiah.

 

However, there is more to the equation than that.

 

There is more to it than just believing that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

YET SADLY THAT IS ALL MANY DO.

Let me ask you if this sounds familiar to anyone in this place.

“If you want to be saved, all you have to do

Is believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

 

My guess is you have heard that before.

 

And generally following that statement will be the quoting of a few verses.

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

 

And the preachers would simply tell everyone that all you have to do

In order to be saved is “Believe in Jesus”

 

Some seek to clarify that by saying, “Ask Jesus into your heart”,

(Which is a little bit of a confusing statement since it is found nowhere in Scripture.

And in reality it is actually puzzling as to what that actually means.)

 

But none the less, I think you understand where I am coming from.

 

And the promotion of such a doctrine

Literally pushed the wide gate even wider.

 

All one has to do today is walk the streets of their town and begin asking any number of carnal, pagan, immoral people if they believe in Jesus, and you know as well as I, that many of them will tell you “yes”.

 

They may be people living in blatant immorality…

They may be people with no semblance of righteousness…

They may be people with no love of God or His people…

 

And yet, it is astounding how many of them

Will tell you that they believe in Jesus.

 

SO ARE THEY SAVED?

Now some, wishing to hold their ground, would say, “Yes, if they believed in Jesus, they are saved.”

 

It would probably do good at this point

To ask just exactly what they were saved from.

 

They obviously haven’t been saved from sin.

They obviously haven’t been saved from immorality.

They obviously haven’t been saved from selfishness.

Yet somehow we declare them saved.

 

Or could it be that when Jesus said, to “believe in Him” that perhaps He had more in mind than just some intellectual assent?

Now, obviously, I in no way wish to undermine the truths

Of the passages we just quoted.

 

I simply want to explain them in light of the rest of Scripture.

 

And that is what this passage provides for us this morning.

 

Because while Matthew spends two chapters and 10 specific miracles

In order to prove to you the power of Jesus.

 

Matthew also nestles in between the miracles

The various responses of the people.

 

In fact Matthew will give us three different responses.

 

In Matthew 9:34 we get the response of the Pharisees

Matthew 9:34 “But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

 

In Matthew 9:9 we get the response of Matthew

Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.”

 

And the third is the passage we read this morning.

 

So nestled in the midst of the healings,

Matthew also takes opportunity to show you

How the crowd is responding to the Jesus who worked them.

 

And what we learn here is that the same Jesus who said, “believe in Me”

Obviously meant more than just come to an intellectual belief in Him.

 

Let me put it to you this way.

JESUS NEVER INTENDED FOR JOHN 3:16

TO BE A VERSE WHICH ENABLED PEOPLE TO SIMPLY “BELIEVE”

AND BE SAVED WHILE POSSESSING NO OTHER FRUIT.

 

HOW DO I KNOW THAT?

 

Because the same Jesus who spoke John 3:16

Also spoke the passage we study this morning, and as you will see,

There is much more to it than simple intellectual belief.

 

That is why I tell you that there is more to the equation.

 

You see, only half of the equation is coming to a knowledge of the truth.

What you do with that truth is the other half.

 

And this is what Matthew focuses on here.

 

He not only wants you to know that Jesus is the Messiah,

But he also wants you to know what you must do with that truth.

 

And so we see the first of three moments of response

That Matthew includes in this section of his gospel.

 

That being said, let’s look at our text this morning.

 

And the first thing we have to see is sort of the context.

(18) “Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.”

 

Please don’t just read over that as though it were some sort of insignificant filler.

 

DID YOU CATCH WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

It is truly a bizarre statement.

 

When the crowd came Jesus gave orders to depart.

I thought we were supposed to try and draw a crowd…

I thought the crowd was the goal…

 

Aren’t we trying to draw a crowd

So we can reach as many people as possible?

 

If we are, then someone had better tell Jesus that He is doing it all wrong,

Because the second the crowd shows up, He decides to leave.

 

OR COULD IT BE THAT JESUS KNOWS SOMETHING

ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLES THAT WE DON’T KNOW?

 

And by the way, this isn’t the only time this happened.

 

After the feeding of the 5,000

John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

 

Other times, when the crowd arose,

It was obvious that He was purposely trying to thin them out.

 

Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Even if getting a crowd was OK,

That certainly wasn’t the type of message designed to keep them.

 

Jesus obviously though that the best way to lead men to salvation WAS NOT by getting as many lost people together as you could,

And then offering them all salvation.

Jesus was much more thorough than that.

 

We have all seen the types of mass-hysteria, and hyper-response

That can be gained during invitations at large evangelical events.

 

I’ve even been a counselor at some of those events,

And have talked to people who have no clue why they are coming,

But just got caught up in the moment.

 

(Dan went for: Church Membership, Salvation, and Rededication)

 

And that is just one of thousands of illustrations

Of the kind of spiritual nonsense that goes on

With the “so called” mass conversions that take place when crowds come

 

Mobs form very easily, and people (like sheep) will get caught up in the moment

And do all sorts of things, most of which do not last beyond the walk to their car.

 

It is obvious that Jesus wanted nothing of those types of decisions.

 

And that is why Jesus either avoided crowds

Or at times even seemed to try and thin them out.

 

And this ministry style indicates something about Jesus.

 

He believed that salvation was the work of the Father,

Not the work of manipulation.

 

Consider what He told the crowd of John 6

John 6:37-4 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘ I have come down out of heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 

Jesus knew that it was God who was at work saving men.

He simply longed to be used of the Father.

 

If that is not enough.

Jesus went on from there to preach a very convicting message

About eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

 

It was a message that startled people, and they started leaving.

 

John 6:60-71 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.”

 

And there Jesus reveals it again.

 

He wasn’t looking to bring in the crowds.

He wasn’t looking for mass conversions.

Jesus was looking for the person that God was drawing.

 

And in order to make sure God was the One drawing them,

Jesus even seemed to periodically put deterrents in people’s way.

 

In short Jesus seemed to make salvation harder for people,

Not because He didn’t want them saved,

But because He wanted them truly saved.

 

And He knew that if He could scare someone away from a decision with the THREAT of hardship, then the devil could certainly

Run them off later with the REALITY of it.

 

So instead Jesus purposely thinned the crowd.

He was looking for the person whom God was drawing,

Because that person would be under such conviction from the Father,

That nothing and no one would be able to deter them.

 

And when Jesus found one of those, He marveled.

 

I tell you that because it is obvious Jesus does that here.

 

• First because He purposely leaves the crowd behind.

• Second because of the conversation He has with two men who approach Him.

 

And so, after setting the stage,

Let me just show you the truth about following Jesus,

So that you will not accept on false pretenses

And be prone to either fall away, or live a life of utter fruitlessness.

So we see here two examples.

Two men who obviously believe in Jesus,

But two men who also happen to be idolaters.

 

Let’s look at the first man.

#1 THE MAN WHO LOVED COMFORT

Matthew 8:19-20

 

So Jesus has just healed Peter’s mother-in-law

And several others who came as soon as the Sabbath was over.

 

But because the crowd is growing Jesus wants to leave,

And He gives orders to get in the boat and cross the sea.

 

But before He can get away, he is caught by someone.

 

First you will notice who we are dealing with.

“Then a scribe came”

 

And this, in and of itself, is a bit peculiar.

After all, you remember that Jesus commonly

Lumped scribes in with Pharisees as hypocrites.

 

And so needless to say there weren’t many scribes

Who were coming to Jesus.

 

But, like the Pharisee Nicodemus, this man comes and greets Jesus

With the same title that Nicodemus used, “Teacher”

 

And while we know Jesus is much more than a teacher,

This is still an astounding statement of respect given by this scribe

 

For the scribes were the teachers of Israel,

And would have never shared their title with someone like Jesus, unless they were convinced that there was more to Him than meets the eye.

 

I’ve heard it said that “A preacher will travel half way around the world to preach a sermon, but won’t walk across the street to hear one preached.”

 

There is some truth to that, and so the fact that this man

Is willing to call Jesus a teacher is astounding in itself.

 

Furthermore, unlike Nicodemus who came at night,

This man makes his claim with a crowd gathering.

 

And the point to that is this.

OBVIOUSLY THIS MAN WAS INTELLECTUALLY CONVINCED

AS TO WHO JESUS WAS.

 

If he hadn’t been absolutely certain as to who Jesus was,

He never would have approached Him, would not have called Him teacher,

And would never have done both in public.

 

Even more astounding when you hear what the man tells Jesus.

“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

• A Scribe

• In Public

• Calling Jesus a Teacher

• And declaring to follow Him

THAT IS QUITE A SCENE.

 

SO IS HE SAVED?

Today people would unequivocally say “Yes”.

 

(20) “Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

 

Now let me just state the obvious here and tell you that disclosing such information is NOT A GOOD WAY to inspire people to follow you.

 

Jesus, in effect, was saying, “I’m homeless.”

Do you really want to follow a homeless man?

 

If you get in this boat to follow Me,

You can kiss your comfortable life goodbye.

 

NOW WHY WOULD JESUS SAY THAT?

 

Because Jesus knows what we do not.

John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

 

When Jesus looked at this man He saw an idol in his heart.

This man loved his comfort.

This man loved his prestige.

 

Did Jesus not reveal this later in Matthew’s gospel?

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

 

Jesus knew that this scribe loved comfort.

He knew this scribe loved honor.

And with the crowd not able to get enough of Jesus,

It is highly possible that this scribe saw Jesus as an opportunity

For even more of the things he loved.

 

And so Jesus burst his bubble.

If you think you are going to find comfort, fame,

And prestige by following Me, you are gravely mistaken.

 

You see, while most would have signed this scribe up as a great asset to the gospel ministry, all Jesus could see was rocky soil.

 

Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

 

That is what this man was.

 

You see, you can’t follow Jesus with the comfort idol in your heart.

Jesus promises too much difficulty for anyone to assume

That following Him will be a life of comfort.

 

And this is the real tragedy to packing people in padded pews with central heat and air, and allowing them to make a short walk down a carpeted aisle to pray a quick prayer, and then get in a heated baptistery.

 

If you love comfort more than you love Jesus, you’ll never make it.

 

The Man Who Loved Comfort.

#2 THE MAN WHO LOVED MONEY

Matthew 8:21-22

 

Here we have the second man Matthew alludes to.

(Luke gives a third, but since Matthew did not see fit to include him, we won’t either)

 

This man has a money idol, and Jesus spots it,

Not because of who the man is, but because of what the man says.

 

“Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

 

Now, first let’s do a little clarification work here.

• They buried people the same day, so this man was not at a funeral.

• Jesus wouldn’t have had to wait long, this man could have caught up.

• THIS WAS A FIGURE OF SPEECH.

 

“Let me finish working the family business

To get my share of the inheritance.”

 

You see, this man was worried about his future financial security.

 

And notice Jesus’ response.

(22) “But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

 

And I hope you caught his insinuation.

Those who are living for money are DEAD

And there are plenty of them around.

 

So why don’t you leave all them behind

And let those dead wait like vultures to bury the dead.

You live for more.

 

You see, by this man’s statement Jesus recognized that

He was dealing with weedy soil.

 

Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

 

And if you remember Jesus already had one weedy hearted disciple (Judas), He didn’t need another one.

 

He didn’t need a man who would follow Jesus

Only after He had amassed a fortune.

He needed people who would love Him more than the riches of this world.

 

And those who cannot deal with that

Make lousy followers of Christ.

 

Just ask the Rich Young Ruler, who prompted Jesus to say:

Matthew 19:23-24 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

 

And so you get the point.

 

Here were two men who intellectually believed in Jesus.

They knew who He was.

 

Yet they were not saved because they had idols in their heart.

 

Obviously Jesus wants more than just for you to believe

He is the son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Jesus desires you to love Him more than anything else.

 

The gospel message never started with the word “believe”.

The gospel message began with the word “repent”

 

It was John the Baptist who preached repentance.

 

And when Jesus did finally preach do you remember His first sermon?

 

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

The first call of the kingdom was to rid your heart of all its idols.

 

You see, you can believe all day long that Jesus is the Christ.

But that belief means little if you love other things more than Him.

 

And this is undoubtedly what Matthew wants you to see.

 

Believe that Jesus is the Christ!

Absolutely! How could you deny it after all the miracles?

 

But believe it so much that

You let go of everything else in order to follow Him.

 

 

Now hopefully you noticed something else

About these two illustrations.

 

Matthew doesn’t tell us what they did.

We don’t know if they followed or not.

 

(Many have asserted that they didn’t, merely because of their absence from future gospel stories, but we don’t know)

 

And Matthew didn’t see the need to tell us.

 

DO YOU KNOW WHY?

 

Because their response doesn’t matter.

Not now, and not to you.

All that matters is your response, and my response.

 

Matthew included enough of the story

So that you and I would know what Jesus required,

And that is really all we needed to know.

 

You must believe in Christ, but you must also

Repent of any idols that keep you from following Him.

 

So what is it that keeps you from following Jesus?

 

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

The Reason Jesus Healed

Matthew 8:14-17

 

Well, as you know, we are now in the section of Matthew’s gospel

Where Matthew is showing off the power of Jesus.

 

We have seen several credentials to His Messiahship

• Lineage

• Forerunner

• Coronation

• Testing

• Theology

 

Now Matthew displays His power.

In Chapters 8 & 9 we see the power of Jesus on full display.

Power over sickness

Power over nature

Power over demons

Power over death

Power over sin

 

Thus far in chapter 8 we have already seen two extraordinary miracles.

 

The first was when Jesus was approached by a leper.

This man was unclean

This man was mutilated

The man was deteriorating

And yet Jesus touched this man and he was cleansed.

 

The second was a servant

This man was paralyzed

This man was near death

This man was terrified

And without even seeing Him Jesus healed this man’s paralysis.

 

They were both extraordinary displays of divine power.

 

And this morning we see a third miracle that Jesus worked.

And it is not only the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law,

But also of the crowd that soon flocked to the house.

 

Matthew closes these first three miracles out with the point of it all.

 

And because Matthew gives the point,

We instantly realize that there was a reason why Jesus did all this.

 

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED, WHAT WAS THE REASON JESUS HEALED?

 

Some are obvious.

 

COMPASSION

Jesus just felt sorry for people when they suffered.

 

Matthew 20:34 “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

 

Even the leper we read of earlier in the chapter.

Mark’s gospel says this:

 

Mark 1:40-41 “And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

 

Another reason is:

HATRED

 

Jesus had a hatred for sin and the crippling effects it has on humanity.

 

Remember Lazarus?

After Jesus groaned, Scripture says:

John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

 

He wasn’t weeping because Lazarus was gone,

Jesus knew he would be back in a couple of minutes.

 

Jesus wept because of the devastating effects that sin had on humanity. These people were broken by death, and it grieved Jesus.

He hated sin.

 

But in reality, neither of those two reasons

Are the main reason why He healed.

 

The main reason was

TESTIMONY TO WHO HE WAS

 

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

 

Jesus healed to make it blatantly obvious

That He was indeed the Messiah of God.

 

And that above all else is the point Matthew has been making

Here in this 8th chapter.

 

He wants you to know that Jesus is the Messiah.

And that is a fact that Matthew actually brings to a head

In our text this morning.

 

There are three things I want you to see as we look at this text.

#1 THE POWER

Matthew 8:14-15

 

You are familiar with this miracle.

Peter’s mother-in-law is sick, and Jesus healed her.

 

It is a miracle.

Even though it may not seem like the most dramatic.

 

On the heels of cleansing a leper and restoring a paralytic,

Removing a fever may not seem like that big of a deal.

 

But to look at it like that is to miss the point.

We look at the removal of a fever as a small issue,

Only because it came on the heels of such dramatic healings.

 

Had this been the only miracle Jesus ever worked,

We would still be amazed,

For what man has ever been able to make a fever leave?

 

None the less, allow me to put this miracle in a little bit of context here.

 

First, you are aware that Matthew

Did not record his gospel in chronological order.

Matthew lumped things together that he wanted you to see together.

 

I tell you that, because I don’t want you to think

Jesus just healed the paralytic and then entered Peter’s house.

THAT IS NOT WHAT OCCURRED.

 

Mark and Luke both reveal that it happened differently.

 

They each reveal that on this day

Jesus had been in the synagogue teaching in Capernaum.

 

And while He was there, he cast a demon out of a man.

And it was after this event that Jesus went home to Peter’s house.

 

Luke 4:31-38 “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district. Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.”

Now, I show you that, because I want you to be aware of what day this is.

This is the Sabbath.

And we are all aware of how often Jesus got in trouble

For healing on the Sabbath.

 

And yet when Jesus comes to Peter’s home after church,

“He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.”

 

(If Catholics believe Peter was the first pope,

Then we have a problem, for Peter was married)

 

But none the less, Jesus finds her.

And we find that she was “in bed” and she had “a fever”

 

That is really all we know.

We don’t know the seriousness.

We don’t know if it was life threatening.

 

If the fever was life threatening, then we marvel at His power.

 

If the fever was minor, then we marvel at His compassion to take the time for a non-serious illness.

 

Either way, Jesus is to be worshiped for this.

 

The other gospels indicate that the family asked Jesus

To help this woman, and they all agree that He did.

 

“He touched her hand, and the fever left her;”

 

The fever didn’t break.

The fever didn’t come down.

The fever left.

 

What kind of a man can actually drive a fever away?

Jesus could.

Jesus is obviously no ordinary teacher.

 

And then comes an interesting statement.

“and she got up and waited on Him.”

 

There is obvious gratitude here.

And anyone who has received the touch of Jesus,

Should be moved in exactly the same way.

 

And yet the interesting thing here is that this was the Sabbath.

You weren’t supposed to do any work on the Sabbath,

Yet this woman disregarded all of those notions to wait on Jesus.

 

It is obvious that she recognized who He was.

And so we see the power of Jesus.

“He touched her hand, and the fever left her;”

 

The Power

#2 THE PROBLEM

Matthew 8:16

 

Now, I know we read that verse and wonder what the problem was.

It doesn’t appear that there was any problem there.

 

After all, Jesus healed all they brought to Him,

And Scripture doesn’t say He had any problem at all.

 

But there is a problem, in fact there are two.

1) A RELIGIOUS PROBLEM

 

Did you notice when the crowds arrived to see Jesus?

“When evening came”

 

Let me read it to you in the other two gospels, to paint a better picture.

 

Mark 1:32 “When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.”

 

Luke 4:40 “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.”

 

• So Matthew calls it evening.

• Mark clarifies by saying actually it was after sunset.

• Luke reveals that the people could barely wait that long, for they were coming as “the sun was setting”

 

WHY DOES THAT MATTER?

 

Do you know what occurred at sunset?

-The Sabbath ended

 

Now put all of this together with me for a moment.

Here that morning Jesus was in the synagogue

And He cast a demon out of a man, and as we read earlier

 

Luke 4:36-38 “And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district. Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home…”

 

OK, so the crowd knew about Jesus and His ability

When He was at the synagogue, yet all afternoon they waited.

They wouldn’t come until the Sabbath was over.

 

WHY?

Because they thought themselves to have been guilty

Of “work” had they come then.

 

And we all know who they would have upset.

Remember the synagogue official?

 

Luke 13:14 “But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

 

Remember the blind man Jesus healed on the Sabbath and the ordeal he was put through?

John 9:14-16 “Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.”

 

In short, these people knew that to come to Jesus on the Sabbath

Would get them in trouble.

 

Yet, can’t you see these people chomping at the bit all afternoon

Just waiting for it to get dark so they can run to Jesus?

 

It is people wanting to come to Jesus,

And yet religion was getting in their way.

 

The Sabbath was never meant to keep people away from God.

 

Matthew 12:1-8 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. “But if you had known what this means, ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

 

• The Sabbath did not restrict against worship.

• Nor did the Sabbath forbid against deeds of necessity.

• The Sabbath was for drawing near to God.

 

Mark’s gospel adds:

Mark 2:27 “Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

They had a religious problem.

 

They were still trying to be pleasing through their works.

They were still clinging to some sort of legalistic righteousness.

Otherwise they would have followed Him straight to Peter’s home.

 

So they had a religious problem.

 

But that is not all.

2) THEY HAD A RECOGNITION PROBLEM

 

So we know when they came.

Now let me ask you who came?

 

“they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

 

WHO CAME?

The “demon-possessed” and the “ill”

 

Now obviously we have no problem with them coming.

If I had a demon I’d go looking for Jesus too.

 

But it is the fact that they were the only ones who came

That is bothersome.

 

Where the demon-possessed the only people who needed Jesus?

Where the sick the only people who needed Jesus?

 

Of course not!

But that is all who came.

 

We find no record of sinners coming for forgiveness.

THEY HAD A RECOGNITION PROBLEM.

 

They recognized the power of Jesus,

They just didn’t recognize the problem of man.

 

• After casting out that demon in the synagogue…

• After haling Peter’s mother-in-law…

It should have been blatantly obvious that Jesus is no doctor.

He is much more.

 

And they should have run to Him as their Messiah.

 

Remember when Jesus boarded Peter’s boat and told him to throw the nets down on the other side?

 

Peter caught such a large catch of fish, that the boats nearly sank.

Do you remember Peter’s response to such a miracle?

 

Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

 

Peter didn’t go out and get all his fishing buddies and say,

“Hey, we’ve been doing it all wrong. Throw your nets on the other side.

This Jesus is a fishing expert.”

 

Peter recognized that Jesus was more than just some fishing guide.

Furthermore Peter recognized his own sinfulness.

 

Remember that woman at the well who only wanted water?

And yet Jesus revealed her deepest darkest secrets.

 

Remember what she did?

John 4:28-29 “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”

 

She knew Jesus was more than some well-witcher.

She knew Jesus was more than some investigating reporter.

 

She had found the Christ.

 

And those are the types of responses we should have seen in Capernaum.

When He cast out those demons…

When He rebuked that fever…

 

They should have spotted Him as the Messiah.

 

But you know they didn’t.

Matthew 11:23-24 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

 

THESE PEOPLE HAD A RECOGNITION PROBLEM.

 

They didn’t see what they needed to see,

They saw only what they wanted to see.

 

And people do this with Jesus all the time.

 

But when you and I hear of the miracles of Jesus,

The first thing it should do is reveal to us

That before stands One of whom we are not worthy.

 

It ought to drive us to the ground like Peter.

It ought to send us to the masses like the woman at the well.

And it ought to push us to beg Him for forgiveness.

This crowd didn’t.

The only people who thought they needed Him

Were the sick and possessed.

The rest didn’t see the need.

 

The Power, The Problem

#3 THE POINT

Matthew 8:17

 

And perhaps it was because of their total missing of the point

That Matthew actually spells it out here.

 

He tells us the reason why Jesus healed.

 

It wasn’t so that more sick would come

(even though He would have healed them)

 

He healed to make a point.

“This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

 

Jesus healed to prove to you that He was the Messiah!

And by proving Himself to be the Messiah,

He proved Himself to be the Savior.

 

It is by no mistake that Matthew quotes from Isaiah 53

 

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

 

Matthew quotes that verse because he wants you

To travel in your mind back to where it is found.

 

Furthermore he wants you to put 2 & 2 together.

 

The One who could take our diseases

Is the One who can atone for our sin.

 

That was the point.

• Israel should have delighted when Jesus cast out that demon.

• Israel should have delighted when Jesus removed that fever.

 

And they should have said, “A man with such authority, surely this is the One who can make us right before God.”

 

Instead they just went and got all the other sick they could find.

And again, I don’t blame them for getting healed of their sickness,

I am just grieved that they didn’t seek spiritual healing as well.

 

They should have been aware that

• They each had something worse than fever.

• They each had something worse than leprosy.

• They each had something worse than paralysis.

 

That something was sin.

And while those other things might kill the body,

Sin was going to kill their soul.

 

And they should have run to Jesus for that.

 

Yet, Isaiah 53 rings true.

Isaiah 53:1-4 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

 

Isaiah said that Messiah would come and

He would do works that proved Him to be God’s anointed Savior.

This proof would be that He would heal the sick with miraculous wonder.

 

But Isaiah also predicted that it would not be enough.

Isaiah said that despite all He did, the crowds still wouldn’t get the point,

And they would reject Him anyway.

 

What a tragedy!

 

And yet, this is the tragedy that I want you to avoid in your life.

Jesus is no novelty. Jesus is no legend.

 

Jesus is the Savior of the world.

 

• And don’t just go to Him to have your leprosy cleansed.

• Don’t just go to Him to have your fever removed.

• Don’t just go to Him to have your finances strengthened.

• Don’t just go to Him to have your marriage fixed.

GO TO HIM TO HAVE YOUR SIN REMOVED!

 

For if He can cleanse a leper…

And if He can rebuke a fever…

And if He can provide your meals…

And if He can fix your marriage…

Then surely He can forgive your sin and make you right before God.

And that is the connection

Matthew is jumping up and down on top of the table

Wanting you to make.

 

And yet sadly it is the connection Israel never did.

 

They just couldn’t see past their immediate hardships and pains

To see how badly they needed Jesus for all eternity.

 

Friend, don’t make that mistake.

 

Don’t just recognize the power of Jesus,

Also recognize the problem of man.

 

And that is that man is sinful before God

And in desperate need of a Savior.

 

 

And as we go looking for that Savior.

 

My money is on the One who could

Cleanse lepers…

Cast out demons…

Heal paralysis…

Rebuke fevers…

Calm storms…

And raise the dead…

 

That is the One I would trust in.

 

This morning if you have never trusted your life to Christ,

I want to ask you to do it.

 

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”

 

The Day Jesus Marveled

Matthew 8:5-13

 

As you know we have now entered a new section in Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew has shown us systematically all that he wanted us to see

In order to prove to us that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

And this most recent section (8-9)

Indicates very clearly to us the power of the king.

 

By revealing miracle after miracle Matthew shows us

The power of the King in an absolutely unmistakable way.

 

Last week we saw Jesus vs. Leprosy

And saw the victory He held over that extremely debilitating disease.

 

With a touch Jesus instantly restored a leper to perfect health.

It was a miracle!

For only God can reverse the effects of leprosy.

 

This morning we move on to Matthew’s next point.

We might call this Exhibit B

 

It is Jesus with the power and authority to heal a disease,

And one where He never even made contact with the actual afflicted one.

 

As you noticed when we read this passage, Jesus healed this servant,

And never even laid eyes upon him.

 

And that again is an unmistakable proof of Jesus Messiahship.

Matthew 8:17 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

 

Matthew quotes from Isaiah 53, and obvious messianic passage

In order to open the eyes of all who are reading

That the one spoken of in Isaiah is the One who stands before us here.

 

And so the main point of these two chapters is obvious.

Jesus is the Messiah,

For only God’s Messiah could do the things that He does.

 

However, there is more that we can see even from a passage like this.

 

And this morning, I am caught by a single statement

That Matthew makes down in verse 10: “He marveled”

 

Marvel: means “to become full of wonder”.

 

The Greek word here translated “marveled” is THAUMAZO

And it is a word often used

To describe the way the crowd responded to Jesus.

 

It didn’t matter if it was His wisdom, His power, His love, or His patience,

The people around Jesus continually marveled at what they saw.

 

But it is not a word often used in regard to Christ.

And that makes sense.

 

We know that He is omniscient God. He is the all-knowing one.

We have verses that clearly indicate He read the hearts of men.

 

John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

 

So we quickly understand that there wasn’t much that could surprise Him.

There wasn’t much that could catch Him off guard.

 

BUT TWICE THE SCRIPTURE REVEALS THAT IT HAPPENED.

 

Once occurred according to Mark 6:6

Mark 6:1-6 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”

Jesus did do miracles.

The miracle He didn’t do was the miracle of salvation.

Because none would believe.

 

And Jesus was astonished.

It was almost as though He was caught off guard

At how deep the rebellion of man could be.

 

Who knew man could be so stubborn and unbelieving.

 

And even because of this unbelief we often find Jesus

Irritated or seemingly put out with humanity.

 

Matthew 17:14-17 “When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

 

Mark 3:4-5 “And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

 

Mark 7:33-34 “Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

 

Mark 8:11-13 “The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.”

 

John 11:33 “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,”

 

And when you look at passages like that,

It is obvious that humanity continually disappointed Jesus.

 

As Jesus walked this earth, He found humanity to be

Shallow, skeptical, stubborn, self-seeking, , manipulative, & unbelieving.

 

And in His hometown they even took that to a level

That is said to have astonished Him.

 

So Jesus was well acquainted with the weakness and wickedness of man.

 

And that is what makes this passage so intriguing.

 

In Matthew 8:10, we see the only other time in Scripture

That says that Jesus was astonished.

We see the only other time He marveled.

 

What we recognize is that here is a day where Jesus marveled Because on this day He found what He was looking for.

 

And perhaps He had wondered if He would ever find it.

Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

 

But on this day He did, and He found it in an unsuspecting place.

 

So while this miracle as a whole is about His tremendous power to heal.

This miracle also opens the door for us to see,

Exactly what Jesus was looking for from humanity.

 

And it allows you and I to examine this man who marveled Jesus,

That perhaps we might marvel Him as well.

 

There are 5 things I want you to see in this text.

#1 A DETERMINED SOLDIER

Matthew 8:5

 

First off, let’s examine who we are dealing with.

And here we find that this man is “a centurion”

 

So we know he was a soldier.

And because he was a centurion, we know he was in charge of 100 men.

 

And that alone is intriguing.

When I say centurion, you just think “tax collector”

 

So it is obvious Matthews picked miracles worked on unlikely people.

First it was the unclean leper.

Now it is the unclean gentile.

 

We also read that “a centurion came to Him, imploring Him”

 

While that is true, it is a little misleading.

For this centurion did not come in person.

 

He sent some Jewish friends to Jesus.

Luke 7:1-3 “When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.”

 

He sent men to Jesus, and then as Jesus was going,

The centurion apparently came out to meet Him.

 

But regardless of the logistics,

What is clear is that we have yet another person

Who should not have been confident he could approach Jesus,

Yet feeling confident that he could.

 

And of course you and I know that this is only building the point

Matthew will make in a few chapters.

 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

Jesus wasn’t looking for the self-righteous and self-sufficient.

Jesus was always in search of the outcast.

 

And so it is no surprise that of all the miracles

Matthew could have included,

The first two deal with miracles done for a leper and a gentile.

 

A Determined Soldier

#2 A DESPERATE SERVANT

Matthew 8:6

 

Here we have another great picture of this man.

 

The leper overcame all adversity to see Jesus

Because he himself was infected with leprosy.

 

But this centurion was making his appeal on behalf of someone else.

This man is tracking down Jesus for the benefit of another.

 

And for no one but a lowly servant.

In Jesus’ day servants were mere property, and especially in Rome.

They were discarded as quickly as old livestock or as broken tools.

 

And yet this Roman is willing to approach Jesus in order to help his.

 

And he is motivated because his servant

“is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.”

 

In short, his servant is suffering, and he can’t bear to watch it.

 

Now obviously there has been an accident.

Had the man been paralyzed from birth,

It is doubtful he would have been a servant.

 

Furthermore the grief that it was causing him indicates a recent injury.

(For those who are born with disabilities

Seem to handle them better than those who receive them later in life)

 

Something had happened, and as a result he was paralyzed and was “fearfully tormented”

 

Luke’s gospel says that he was “sick and about to die”

 

And so not only was it the problems of paralysis,

But this man was staring death in the face and he was afraid.

 

And because of compassion this centurion was willing

To find Jesus in order to help out this lowly servant.

We are already refreshed by the compassion of this hardened soldier.

 

A Determined Soldier A Desperate Servant

#3 A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE

Matthew 8:7-10a

 

So it is obvious that as these Jewish elders asked Jesus to come,

He told them, “I will come and heal him.”

Yet, before Jesus could get to the centurion’s home “the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof,”

 

Apparently the centurion saw Jesus coming, and went out and stopped Him.

And the reason he gave is that “I am not worthy”

 

And this by the way is interesting as well.

 

We see the word “worthy” throughout the New Testament.

And we read commonly of this person being worthy or not worthy.

 

And every time that word is used it is the Greek word AXIOS.

And it indicates worth based upon merit or function or action.

 

Commonly saying something like if you do this you are worthy,

If you don’t do this you are not worthy.

 

I’ll give you an example.

Matthew 10:37-38 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

 

It is worth referred to by one’s action.

 

It is used of Jesus as well.

Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

 

And so it is worth based upon action.

You did this so you are worthy.

 

And I tell you that because this man WAS worthy in this sense.

 

In fact listen to Luke’s gospel.

Luke 7:3-5 “When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy (axios) for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

 

There the Jews use the word AXIOS “He is worthy”.

He has done so much for us.

He is God fearing.

He is one of the good guys.

He deserves it.

 

But the centurion comes out and says, “I am not worthy”

 

Only the word he uses is NOT axios.

 

The word he uses is HIKANOS (heek-a-nos)

 

And it is NOT a performance based word.

It means “sufficient” or “competent”

 

Literally this centurion was saying to Jesus “I am not enough”

NOT, “I have not done enough”, but “I am not enough”

 

It is the same word John the Baptist used.

Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

 

It is the same word Paul used.

1 Corinthians 15:9 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

 

And that is what this man was saying, “I am not fit to be around Him”

 

And so despite the fact that he was more than worthy in action,

He was convinced that he was less than worthy in person.

 

This is exactly OPPOSITE of the world’s mindset that says,

“I am a good person even though I do bad things.”

 

This man said, “I am a bad person even though I do good things.”

 

And you and I know that this is the very mindset that Christ is looking for.

 

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

And so not only is this man full of compassion,

He is also full of humility.

 

And yet that is not all.

For it is the next fact about this man that astonished Jesus.

 

“Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

This man was also filled with confidence in the power of Jesus.

 

You see while others marveled at the authority of Jesus,

This man understood it.

 

He was saying, “Look, I know what authority is, and I know what it represents. Furthermore I recognize that You have it.”

You see this man understood something

That so many have forgotten today.

And that is that JESUS IS LORD

 

He is the supreme and ultimate boss

And He can do anything He desires to do.

Furthermore everything must do what He tells it to do.

 

(And who better than a soldier to understand authority)

 

And this man believed that the authority of Jesus

Went further than just the 12 who followed Him,

But that it also reached into the world of sickness and disease.

 

Everything must do what You tell it to do,

So if You tell this paralysis to leave my servant, it will.

 

And because He recognized this

He knew that Jesus shouldn’t even come into his home.

Would the general of the Roman army come into his house?

Would the governor of the Roman province come into his house?

Would the emperor of Rome come into his house?

 

Then most certainly this Man should not,

For He has more authority than them all.

 

This man didn’t just have humility,

He had perspective, he had submission, he had FAITH.

 

(10) “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled”

 

I almost envision tears of joy entering the Savior’s eyes.

I can imagine the many dusty roads He walked.

I can imagine the millions of people in the crowds.

I can imagine the endless lines of people He cured.

And none of them seemed to get it.

 

And then Jesus is confronted by a Roman soldier who did.

Jesus was delightfully surprised.

 

Don’t you want to astonish Him in the same way?

 

A Determined Soldier A Desperate Servant A Delightful Surprise

#4 A DEFINING SERMON

Matthew 8:10-12

 

And so that man’s faith finally gave Jesus the opportunity

To preach a sermon the world needed to hear.

He was surrounded by Jews who thought their only problems

Were Rome, hunger, and the diseases that plagued them.

 

They were certain that they were God’s people,

And that heaven was already a done deal.

 

And even after preaching the Sermon on the Mount and convicting them at every turn, it is obvious they still thought this to be the case.

 

And so Jesus takes the opportunity afforded by this humble, believing, soldier to preach a truly shocking message.

 

“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”

 

What a message to the crowd of Jewish faithful behind Him.

Some probably wondered why He would go to the home of a Gentile.

 

And so Jesus turns to this pious crowd and says,

“I can tell you this much, there isn’t a one of you here

That has as much faith as this man has.”

 

Talk about a dose of reality.

 

And all of a sudden this crowd was hit with the reality

That just because they were Jewish they might not be pleasing.

In fact, they might not even be as pleasing as a Gentile.

 

And if that is not enough Jesus continues.

“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

You mean to tell me that when the role is called up yonder,

There will be many Gentiles there with Abraham.

 

And if that was not shocking enough, many Jews will not get to go,

But will instead go to hell.

 

BUT THESE ARE JEWS!

Romans 9:4-5 “who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

 

God has worked harder for their salvation

Than for the salvation of any other people on the face of the planet.

And yet you are telling me that many of them will not go to heaven.

 

And at that point everyone in that crowd

Had better be asking one question.

“WHAT DOES THAT GENTILE HAVE THAT WE JEWS DO NOT?”

 

Because what we have is frustrating Jesus, and what he has amazes Him.

 

Well friends you know the answer.

Faith

 

“I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel”

 

AND WHAT DID HIS FAITH LOOK LIKE?

IT WAS COMPASSIONATE – putting a servant before himself.

IT WAS FULL OF GOOD WORKS – building a synagogue for the Jews.

IT WAS HUMBLE – knowing that those works didn’t change who he was.

IT WAS SUBMISSIVE – having a firm grasp on authority

IT WAS CONFIDENT – knowing that Jesus could do whatever He wanted.

 

That was faith.

The centurion had it, the Jews did not.

 

He would go to heaven, they would not.

 

A Determined Soldier -A Desperate Servant -A Delightful Surprise -A Defining Sermon

#5 A DEFINITE SIGN

Matthew 8:13

 

Now we already know that Jesus is working signs

To prove His messiahship.

 

But this sign goes beyond even that.

 

This sign is meant to confirm all that He just said.

It stands as an exclamation point at the end of that great sermon.

 

“And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.”

 

Jesus was for real, and that sermon He just preached was for real.

 

And it is a sermon that still rings true today.

Jesus has never been on a search for the most religious.

Jesus has never been on a search for the most pious.

Jesus walked this earth looking for those who had faith.

 

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

And that is what Jesus was doing.

He was looking for those who had faith.

 

• Are there any who are humble?

• Are there any who are compassionate?

• Are there any who are submissive?

• Are there any who are obedient?

• Are there any who will trust Me?

 

Sort of sounds like the beatitudes doesn’t it?

Matthew 5:3-10 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

CAN YOU SEE THOSE QUALITIES IN THIS CENTURION?

You sure can.

 

Now, can you see them in your own life?

 

Friend it is not your religion that will impress Jesus.

It was not the crowd walking around with Him that astonished Him.

Jesus marveled when He saw simple people with great faith.

 

And I want to be one who marvels Him like that.

 

And friend, this morning, I want you to be one like that as well.

 

If you have never approached Jesus as an unworthy sinner,

Desiring to submit to His authority,

Believing He can do what He says,

Then I want to invite you to do so this morning.

 

Not only will Jesus be amazed, but all of heaven will rejoice.

 

Be one this morning who causes Jesus to be amazed.

 

Jesus vs. Leprosy

Matthew 8:1-4

 

We are now entering a new section in Matthew’s gospel.

 

Matthew opened the gospel with the Lineage of the King.

• We saw His earthly lineage. (1:1-17)

• We then saw His heavenly lineage. (1:18-2:23)

 

Following that we saw the herald of the king (3:1-12)

 

And then the King appeared.

We saw the coronation of the King (3:13-17)

 

Following that we saw the testing of the King. (4:1-11)

• Jesus went to the wilderness to be tested by the devil.

 

Then we saw the purpose of the King. (4:12-17)

• He is light in the midst of darkness

• He is hope to the hopeless

 

We then saw the King’s men (4:18-22)

 

And then the king began His ministry (4:23-25)

 

Matthew 4:23-25 “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”

 

Now I know it has been several months since we studied that passage, but in the scheme of studying the book, that is still were we are.

 

We took a few months and saw the message of the King (5-7)

 

But you know that this likely took an afternoon.

 

The point is the King has just begun to make Himself known

He did so through amazing demonstrations of healing,

And the crowd is mesmerized by Him.

 

And that is why, even after the sermon,

You still see quite a frenzy regarding Him.

 

(1) “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.”

 

The crowds are amazed at this man.

He heals everything.

He casts out demons.

He speaks with authority.

 

It is no wonder that “large crowds followed Him”

 

And so we are back now to following Matthew

As he systematically introduces the king.

 

And after revealing to us all those previous things about the king,

We now come to Matthew’s next point.

 

That is the Power of the King.

And Matthew reveals this in chapters 8 & 9 of his gospel.

 

I’ve often quoted to you that passage in John’s gospel:

John 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

 

And that reminds us that none of these guys

Were giving a historical document on Jesus.

There is much that He did that has never been written down.

 

And that means that what is written down

Was written down to make a theological point.

And that is what we have here.

 

Matthew is systematically showing you the power of Jesus.

 

These chapters contain many miracles, and they show us Jesus’ power.

• We see His power over sickness.

• We see His power over nature.

• We see His power over demons.

• We see His power over sin.

• We see His power over death.

 

They are all pictures of His authority,

And Matthew shows them to solidify in your mind

That Jesus really is the Messiah of God.

(8:17)

No one could do these things if God was not with Him.

 

And the first miracle Matthew uses is the one we study this morning

As we see Jesus vs. Leprosy.

 

There are 4 main points I want you to see.

#1 A CONTAMINATED MAN

Matthew 8:2a

“And a leper came to Him”

 

First and foremost I just want you to understand

What Jesus is actually up against.

 

I know sometimes we read His miracles and get so familiar with them

That they sort of lose their luster.

 

First of all let me just tell you about leprosy.

 

Leprosy is a chronic illness that has never been fully understood.

 

And in Jesus day it was highly contagious.

You could spread it with your breath,

You could spread it by touching common objects.

 

And it has really only been with medical advances

That we have really understood what leprosy does.

 

It appears to rot the flesh.

What it essentially did was numb the physical sense of pain.

 

And to many that seems like a great disease (one without pain)

 

But what that meant was that it pushed the body

Into a sort of self-mutilating condition.

 

Physical pain is a tremendous warning

That keeps you from doing something truly destructive,

And if that warning is removed,

You can do serious damage to your body before you even realize it.

 

Coupled with that, there seemed to have been a certain decaying factor

That went along with it.

 

One man wrote of leprosy:

“The disease which we today call leprosy generally begins with pain in certain areas of the body. Numbness follows. Soon the skin in such spots loses its original color. It gets to be thick, glossy, and scaly…As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed; toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out. By this time one can see the person in this pitiable condition is a leper. By a touch of the finger one can also feel it. One can even smell it, for the leper emits a very unpleasant odor. Moreover, in view of the fact that the disease-producing agent frequently also attacks the larynx, the leper’s voice acquires a grating quality. His throat becomes hoarse, and you can now not only see, feel, and smell the leper, but you can hear his rasping voice. And if you stay with him for some time, you can even imagine a peculiar taste in your mouth, probably due to the odor.”

(MacArthur commentary, page 7)

 

And so with leprosy what you actually have is a disease

That numbs the body to its own natural warning system,

And thus the body self destroys.

 

It is a particularly cruel disease.

 

That in and of itself would be enough to pity this man who came to Jesus.

 

But aside from the disease you need to understand how it was viewed.

 

Being sick was one thing.

Dealing with pain was one thing.

 

You could be sick and still get sympathy from others.

You could be cripple and still get sympathy from others.

 

But if you had leprosy there was no such sympathy.

 

Those with leprosy were viewed as those stricken by God.

And that with good reason

 

Remember when Miriam challenged Moses?

She was made leprous.

 

Remember when Gehazi became greedy for Naaman’s money?

God made him a leper.

 

Remember when Uzziah insisted upon offering the sacrifice?

God made him a leper.

 

And so leprosy was often viewed as a supernatural punishment

Or consequence upon a person.

 

It was a rotting disease that you brought on yourself.

 

And if that is why if you had leprosy, you weren’t considered sick,

You were considered UNCLEAN.

 

Leviticus 13:45-46 “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

 

Lepers were not treated with sympathy, lepers were treated as outcasts,

And this was a command from God.

 

No doubt in once sense to stop the spread,

But it also seemed it had to do with judgment from God.

 

And so lepers received no mercy.

• One Rabbi spoke of throwing rocks at lepers to keep them away.

• Another said, “I would not buy an egg off a street that a leper had walked down.”

 

Lepers were viewed as a disgusting, rotten, menace to society.

 

And so not only was your body destroying itself,

You were also seen to have brought this on yourself,

And were banished from all fellowship from your fellow man.

 

That is leprosy and this man was contaminated with it.

 

A Contaminated Man

#2 A CONFIDENT MAN

Matthew 8:2b

 

“And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

 

Now what we immediately notice is the confidence of this man.

And you see that confidence in two areas.

 

1) In His Approach

“a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him”

 

Now please remember that this was strictly forbidden.

 

Numbers 5:2-4 “Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person. “You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” The sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the LORD had spoken to Moses, thus the sons of Israel did.”

 

This man wasn’t supposed to approach people.

He was supposed to yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” to everyone near him.

And apparently he could expect people to throw rocks if he got too close.

 

And yet, this man was confident that he could approach Jesus.

 

Obviously He was confident in the merciful compassion of Jesus.

He certainly had heard of all His healings,

And knew Jesus to be a compassionate person.

 

He was not afraid to approach Him.

He was confident that if he did, Jesus would listen.

 

That does not mean the man walked arrogantly up to Him.

 

“came to Him and bowed down before Him”

The word there for “bowed down” is PROSKUNEO

It literally means “to prostate oneself”

 

And you have seen it before

Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

 

That word is commonly translated “worship”

 

This man didn’t come in arrogance or even boldness.

Nor did He come in greed.

 

This man came first and foremost to worship the King.

He came and worshiped Jesus,

And he was confident Jesus would accept him.

 

So we see his confident approach

2) In His Statement

“and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

 

Now please notice here the way this man spoke to Jesus.

 

So many today treat Jesus like a servant.

Declaring His name to remove illnesses

And even seeking to blackmail Him with promises that are claimed.

 

This man did not come boss Jesus, He called Jesus “Lord”

And furthermore he did not even request anything of Him.

 

He said, “If you are willing, You can make me clean.”

 

This man submitted himself to the will of the sovereign king.

 

He had no doubt that Jesus could heal him.

The only issue was whether or not it was His will to do so.

 

And that is truly a submissive attitude.

• We don’t come demanding anything from God.

• We don’t come before God as though we are worthy or deserving of anything.

• We come to God in humility casting ourselves upon His sovereign will and His tremendous mercy.

 

That is what this man did.

 

And when he did, he was confident

That Jesus would listen and that Jesus could heal him.

 

A Contaminated Man A Confident Man

#3 A CLEANSED MAN

Matthew 8:3

It is obvious that this man’s decision to come see Jesus was a wise one.

Jesus came through.

 

And please notice how.

“Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him”

 

And this is absolutely amazing!

 

Even today, leprosy exists.

It is called Hanson’s Disease.

 

But today 90% of the world is immune to it.

Furthermore the other 10% can be treated (not cured, but treated)

 

Yet even today no doctor alive would do what Jesus just did.

(They would certainly wear their latex gloves)

 

Jesus took a man that people wouldn’t have come within 10 feet of

And actually touched him.

 

And then He said, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

 

“And immediately the leprosy was cleansed.”

 

Now imagine that sight!

• Here was a man with a raspy voice.

• Here was a man with a definite stench.

• Here was a man possibly missing fingers or toes.

• Here was a man with no eyebrows.

• Here was a man with a wrinkled face like a lion.

• Here was a man with open wounds.

 

And instantly, his body was restored.

• Missing fingers reappeared.

• Missing eyebrows grew into place.

• A raspy voice became clear.

• A wrinkled face smoothed into health.

• Open wounds closed up.

 

And they all did it instantly.

This was an actual bonified miracle.

 

John MacArthur wrote, “When Jesus healed, He did so with a word or a touch, without gimmicks, formulas, or fanfare. He healed instantaneously, with no drawn out period of waiting or of gradual restoration. He healed totally, not partially, no matter how serious the disease or deformity. He healed everyone who came to Him and even some who never saw Him. He healed organic as well as functional afflictions. Most dramatically and powerfully of all, He even raised the dead.” (pg. 4)

 

This was a miracle.

 

Matthew wants you to see without a shadow of a doubt

That this is the work of God.

 

You may remember when Naaman the leper wanted to go to Israel to be healed by Elisha. The King of Aram sent Naaman to the Israelite king to be healed.

 

2 Kings 5:7 “When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

 

Everyone knew that healing leprosy was only the work of God.

 

And that is why Matthew showed you that Jesus healed it.

 

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

 

Matthew wanted you to see that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

Matthew wanted you to see that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

And that is made clear as we see this contaminated man made clean.

 

A Contaminated Man A Confident Man A Cleansed Man

#4 A COMMISSIONED MAN

Matthew 4:4

 

Now this is an interesting statement.

 

Jesus just worked a great miracle to cleanse this man

And yet told him not to tell anyone.

 

“but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

 

Jesus told him not to tell anyone,

But that does not mean that Jesus didn’t want them to know.

 

Jesus wanted this man to testify.

But he wanted his testimony to be obedience, not word of mouth.

 

Don’t just go tell everyone, you go obey God.

(Isn’t that what we just learned in the Sermon on the Mount)

 

And by the way, if you go obey God, people will know.

 

The sad thing is this man did not obey, and it caused difficulty for Jesus.

Mark 1:40-45 “And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”

 

Jesus knew what He was doing, but the man didn’t.

And by disobeying Jesus, he actually hindered Jesus’ ministry.

 

And so we see that even though he was cleansed,

Obedience was still vitally important to how he lived.

 

Now, in case you haven’t already picked up on it,

This miracle is obviously about more than just leprosy.

(all of His miracles were)

 

Jesus didn’t just come to heal, His ultimate goal was to save from sin.

 

And quite frankly there was no disease in Scripture

That was more comparable to sin, than leprosy.

 

Leprosy was a disease that would numb your body until your body ended up destroying itself.

• Sin is a disease that will numb your conscience until your soul ends up destroying itself.

 

Leprosy was a disease thought to be brought on oneself because of choices they made in life.

• Sin is a disease that is also brought on oneself because of choices that are made.

 

Leprosy separates man from man.

• Sin separates man from God.

 

In fact, if you want to see how closely related sin is to leprosy,

Just listen to what Paul told the Ephesians:

 

Ephesians 4:17-19 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

 

Leprosy is an accurate illustration of sin.

 

And like this man, we are all contaminated.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

We are all contaminated.

Yet, despite our contamination and rotting away,

We can have confidence that Jesus will accept us.

 

If we come to Him, we know that He will listen.

And if we come in humility and submission, believing that He can save, Scripture says He will do it.

 

Just as Jesus touched this man, so He will touch us.

And He is free to do it, for He Himself is uncontaminated by sin.

 

He will touch us and instantly make us new.

He will touch us and instantly make us clean.

He will touch us and instantly remove the marks of sin.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

Salvation is that kind of a miracle.

• No different than Lazarus one minute being dead, and then alive.

• No different than this man one minute being leprous, and then clean.

• So a sinner can one minute be a sinner, and the very next a saint.

 

Jesus saves the same way He heals.

 

I read you MacArthur’s quote about how Jesus healed.

You could easily substitute the word “healed” with the word “saves”

 

“When Jesus saves, He does so with a word or a touch, without gimmicks, formulas, or fanfare. He saves instantaneously, with no drawn out period of waiting or of gradual restoration. He saves totally, not partially, no matter how serious the sin or wickedness. He saves everyone who comes to Him and even some who have never seen Him with their eyes. He saves from habitual as well as incidental sins. Most dramatically and powerfully of all, He even raises the spiritually dead.”

 

That is the true miracle.

 

And just as that man’s wrinkled face was instantly made new,

So is the sinner’s heart instantly transformed.

 

• It is not self-help.

• It is not a new moral code.

• It cannot be purchased at a drugstore.

• It cannot be learned at a local church.

• It cannot be attained through years of spiritual therapy.

 

The salvation of Jesus can only be instantaneously received

By a touch from the Master’s hand.

 

When you come to Him humbly, submissively, and yet confidently in faith, Jesus will bestow this same miracle on you.

The Contaminated are still Cleansed.

And the cleansed are still commissioned.

 

Not primarily to go and tell everyone they are now saved,

But to go and show everyone they are saved by their obedient life.

 

He wanted this man to go show himself to the priest as a testimony, and he has a plan for you as well.

 

That plan is that you be baptized.

 

• If you have yielded your life to Christ…

• If you have come to Him for spiritual healing…

• Then He asking you to now follow in obedience.

You be baptized as a testimony of your changed life.

 

Jesus isn’t looking for a whole bunch of people

Who say they are Christians but who refuse to obey Him.

 

He wants that person who, because of his transformed life,

Will now simply do what he is told and obey.

 

I know we just finished the Sermon on the Mount,

And it was full of conviction.

 

And it is quite possible that some of you during that time

Cried out to Jesus and received that same spiritual healing.

 

• No you didn’t walk the aisle,

• But you did bow before Jesus,

• And you know you were healed because the old wrinkles are gone, and the fingers have grown back.

 

It is obvious that He has changed you.

 

Now you need to step out and obey Him by being baptized.

Otherwise you are very likely just getting in His way,

And hindering Him from what He wants to do.

 

So this morning, if you come as a spiritual leper, then know that Jesus can make you clean.

 

And if you come as a cleansed leper, then know that obedience is what Jesus wants most from you.

 

And let your life be forever a testimony

That Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.

 

Escape The Coming Storm

Matthew 7:24-29

 

This morning we bring the Sermon on the Mount to a conclusion.

 

Without a doubt it is the greatest sermon ever preached.

It has been studied countless times by many scholars,

And yet even as we finish it, there is a distinct feeling

That we haven’t even come close to getting it all.

 

What we have gotten though has been crystal clear.

GOD DEMANDS RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

The only way to enter heaven is to be righteous.

 

And that would be a horrifying revelation,

Were it not for the fact that Jesus Christ came and gave His life

In order to satisfy the wrath of God and make us righteous.

 

And when you study the Sermon on the Mount,

It really brings the heart of that salvation to the forefront.

 

Christ didn’t save us so that we could feel OK about our sin.

Christ didn’t save us so that we could have peace in the midst of wickedness.

Christ didn’t save us so that we could have heaven despite how we live.

 

Christ saved us so that we could become the only thing God accepts,

Which is righteous.

 

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

Jesus didn’t come to do a PACIFYING work in you.

He came to do a PURIFYING work in you.

He came to make you righteous both POSITIONALLY and PRACTICALLY.

 

Many today seem to forget that last part.

 

We are certain Christ justified us

And made us positionally righteous before the Father.

What we tend to forget is that Christ also came

To make us righteous in a practical sense.

 

He not only came to set you at peace with God,

But He also came to separate you from your sin.

And here is the point to that.

 

If someone has not been set free from sin practically, can they really claim to have been set free from sin positionally?

 

In other words, can I really convince myself that I am righteous in God’s sight, when there is no hint of righteousness anywhere else in my life?

 

And obviously the answer is “No”.

 

Paul asked in Romans 6, “How shall we who died to sin now live in it?”

 

If you can’t find any evidence of righteousness in your life

(the righteousness that has been revealed through the Sermon on the Mount) Then you have very good reason to question

Whether or not you have ever been made righteous.

 

It is the whole “you will know them by their fruit” concept.

 

The peculiar thing is, that even though men live

Without any semblance of Christ’s righteousness in their lives,

Many still manage to convince themselves that they are saved.

• Even though the beatitudes cannot be seen

• Even though their heart does not align with God’s heart

• Even though they are not light

• Even though they are not salt

• Even though their religion is skin deep

• Even though their love is for the world

 

Despite all that, they still manage to convince themselves they are saved.

(Some of course do this with the help of false prophets)

But some convince themselves without any help from anyone else.

 

We call it FALSE ASSURANCE

 

And we saw the first reason why last week.

 

Some men convince themselves they are saved

Because of their intense involvement in ministry.

 

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

 

Here were people (many people) whom the Lord did not know.

 

And this is somewhat surprising, because these people called Him Lord,

And performed all sorts of religious functions in His name.

And despite the fact that they did all a person could, they were still lost.

And Jesus said there are “many” like that.

 

It is the same “many” who are on the wide road that leads to destruction.

 

And they are headed to destruction for one simple reason.

They were not righteous.

 

They did not do the will of the Father.

They substituted a life of righteousness with a life of church involvement,

And convinced themselves that they were saved.

IT WAS FALSE ASSURANCE

 

This morning we see yet another example of false assurance.

And yet these people are a little different.

 

They are certain of their salvation, not because of their ministry involvement, but because of their INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE.

 

They KNOW the truth.

They have heard it all.

They can probably even regurgitate it all to you.

 

But that opens for us another problematic scenario.

 

You see Scripture is clear that faith without works is dead,

Scripture is also clear that knowledge alone won’t save anyone.

 

Romans 2:12-13 “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

 

James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

 

Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

 

People who know the truth, but don’t act on it are not any better off,

Than those who are completely ignorant of the gospel.

 

When you stand before God,

He will not quiz you as to how much you know.

 

(Namely because we are all so ignorant of the things of God

That none of us could pass any test God would give.)

 

But despite the fact, knowledge will not save anyone.

 

Knowing the truth is irrelevant if that truth is not acted upon.

And if you will remember, this was always Israel’s problem.

 

Isaiah first prophesied it, and then he was quoted over and over.

 

Matthew 13:14-15 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING,BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

 

Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.”

 

Many people struggle with this issue of hearing, but not doing.

 

And that is why Jesus frequently used this phrase when He taught.

Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

Jesus wasn’t on a search for the most academic theologians,

He was on a search for the most submissive servants.

 

And that is why He ended up with a bunch of fishermen, tax collectors, and prostitutes, and virtually no theologians.

 

Jesus has always looked for the obedient.

 

And yet, here we are dealing with a person

Who is exactly opposite of what Jesus asked for,

And yet is totally confident that they are still pleasing to Him.

 

And let’s look at this text this morning.

 

What we have here is a good old fashion comparison.

 

Jesus is talking about “House Building”

And Jesus uses “House Building” as a way to describe

How people “Prepare for Judgment”

 

And that brings it to a level that we can all understand.

We all know why we need a house.

The sun is too hot

The wind is too cold

The rain is too wet

 

And there is always the threat of dangerous weather

That we need to be shielded from.

 

Our main source of protection from these elements is to build a house.

 

And here Jesus uses that same imagery to explain

How a person prepares for the storm of judgment.

 

And the main thing we learn is that

It was not those who knew about the storm who were wise,

But it was those who prepared for the storm who were wise.

 

There are three points to be gained from this comparison.

#1 THE WARNING IS AVAILABLE

Matthew 7:24, 26

 

(24) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine…”

(26) “Everyone who hears these words of Mine…”

 

Both men have at least one thing in common.

They both heard.

 

And from that we are reminded that the warning is available.

WHAT ARE THE WARNINGS?

 

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”

 

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

 

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

 

We have had warning after warning after warning.

 

Over and over Jesus has warned us

That God will not accept anything less than perfect righteousness.

 

The Warning is Available,

And both of these men heard what Jesus had to say.

 

#2 OBEDIENCE IS ESSENTIAL

Matthew 7:24, 26

 

Here we come to the first difference in the two men.

 

(24) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

 

(26) “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

 

Was the difference hearing? –No.

Was the difference doing? –No. (they both built a house)

It was obedience.

 

Both were aware that judgment was coming.

Both knew that a storm would one day come.

And both built a house to prepare for that storm.

 

The difference is that

One man listened to the warning and acted upon it,

One man ignored the warning and continued doing it

The way he thought best.

 

The difference wasn’t knowledge, the difference was obedience.

 

We live in Texas, and we know what tornadoes are.

In fact many towns invest money in tornado sirens

To help warn people of coming storms.

 

And thanks to the efforts of these communities, would you like to guess how many lives tornado sirens have saved over the last 10 years?

None.

 

A tornado siren has never saved a single life, but thanks to the warning of tornado sirens, storm cellars have saved numerous lives.

 

And that is the way it is with the truth.

Knowing the truth that the storm is coming will not save you,

Unless you are willing to act upon that knowledge.

 

The Bible says those who heed the warning “may be compared to a wise man”

 

And yet the people who ignore the warning “will be like a foolish man”

 

What will you do with the Sermon on the Mount?

The Warning is Available

Obedience is Essential

#3 JUDGMENT IS INEVITABLE

Matthew 7:25, 27

 

Here we find another similarity between the two men.

And that is both of them received the same judgment.

 

On the wise man

(25) “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house”

 

On the foolish man

(27) “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house”

 

Both men, both houses endured the same judgment.

The same storm “slammed” both houses.

 

Both houses were put to the test.

Both houses were hammered by the wind and water.

THE JUDGMENT WAS THE SAME FOR BOTH

 

God ISN’T telling you to build right IN CASE the storm comes.

God IS telling you to build right BECAUSE He knows the storm is coming.

 

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

 

Matthew 3:11-12 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

Matthew 13:41-42 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

Matthew 13:47-49 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,”

 

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

 

There is not a person alive who will miss the judgment of God.

You and I will both stand judgment for this life.

 

And this storm is not the inevitable hardships of this world,

The storm is the storm of God’s righteous judgment.

There is no way around it.

The God who created this world will demand an answer from it.

 

The Warning is Available Obedience is Essential Judgment is Inevitable

#4 SURVIVAL IS POSSIBLE

Matthew 7:25, 27

 

Here we see another difference between these two.

 

The wise man

(25) “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

 

The foolish man

(27) “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

 

One man headed the warnings, built his house accordingly

And when the inevitable judgment came, he survived.

 

Not because he was a great house builder.

Not because his house was prettier than the other.

But because “it had been founded on the rock”

 

It wasn’t about the size or type of house.

It was about whether or not this man

Built that house on the right foundation.

 

The house represents the life work of the man,

And his life’s work survived

Because he did it on the foundation of righteousness through Christ.

 

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

 

Later when Jesus quizzed Peter as to who Peter thought Jesus was:

Matthew 16:15-18 “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

 

The rock is Jesus.

He is the righteous foundation.

 

And the wise man saw that there was such a judgment coming

That the only way he could survive would be to anchor his life to Jesus.

 

God’s righteous standard was so high, that Jesus was his only hope.

He heard the warnings, and he headed them.

 

BUT THEN THE FOOLISH MAN

The other man heard the warnings, but did not head them

And so when the judgment came his house “fell”

 

And Jesus says, “and great was its fall”

 

Because this man didn’t just lose a house, this man lost his soul.

 

You see this man built a nice house too.

It was beautiful, it was extravagant, and it too was his life’s work.

 

He was certain he could build a house that would withstand the winds.

He framed it with sermons preached.

He roofed it with demons cast out.

He sided it with miracles worked.

 

He knew that this would be enough, and HE WAS WRONG.

 

All along Jesus has told him that God’s standard is so high

And His judgment is so severe that a man will not survive

Apart the righteousness of Christ.

 

But this man did it his own way and his house “fell”.

 

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

 

The many are the foolish men, and the few are the wise men.

 

And again friend we understand the importance here.

 

You and I must be careful how we listen.

We must make sure to act upon the words of Christ.

We must make sure that we see Jesus as the only way and cling to Him.

 

We must not only call Him Lord, but must obey Him as Lord

Thus showing that we have truly trusted Him.

 

Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.”THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'”

Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

 

Don’t just hear the truth.

Act on the truth.

 

And let me show you one more thing before we move on.

(28-29) “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

 

We know the crowd was amazed.

We know the crowd was enlightened.

But it says nothing of repentance or faith or obedience.

In fact eventually they will cast a vote to crucify Him.

 

And Jesus words were proved true.

Very few were willing to enter the narrow road,

Most opted to applaud Jesus and then disregard Him.

 

And as I told you last week, this calls for self-examination.

Is my profession genuine?

Am I building on the rock?

Have I headed the warnings?

Do I say He is Lord, or do I obey Him?

 

Jesus understood the importance of self-examination

And to make sure we did this routinely,

He told us to continually come back to His table.

 

1 Corinthians 11:23-32 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

 

The Lord’s Supper is a place of self-examination.

 

It is not to ask myself if I am worthy of God.

(I can already tell you the answer to that)

 

It is to examine and see if I am following Jesus

The way a true Christian is supposed to.

 

“But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

 

And so this morning we are going to

Conclude our study of the Sermon on the Mount with this ordinance.

 

And as always we will first have a time of preparation

In which you can examine yourself, and then we will partake.