Which one are you?

Introduction

Naaman

2 Kings 5:1 NASB95

1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.

He is a commander of the Aramean (Syrian) army.

He’s a successful man with high standing.

Most interestingly, he’s a man who had gained victory with the help of the LORD.

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings (A Great Man with a Great Need (v. 1))

“Yahweh is both the God of the church and Lord of the world. Yahweh draws near to his people but that doesn’t mean he allows pagans to run around unsupervised”

Valiant warrior

a leper (skin disease)

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings (A Great Man with a Great Need (v. 1))

this skin disease would have rendered Naaman ritually unclean (Lev 13–14) and under God’s judgment (Num 12:1–15; 2 Kgs 15:5)

The Israelite slave girl

2 Kings 5:2–3 NASB95

2 Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”

Israelite slave

Evangelist

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings (A Great Evangelist (vv. 2–5a))

God loves to use ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary purposes. Live every day with gospel intentionality.

The king of Israel

2 Kings 5:4–7 NASB95

4 Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” 5 Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 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.”

Distressed

“Am I God...”

Elisha

2 Kings 5:8–13 NASB95

8 It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” 11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ 12 “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

Prophet “Man of God” (v 8)

Successor of Elijah (2 Kings 1-2)

Double portion of Elijah’s spirit

Elijah - 7 miracles recorded

Elisha - 14 miracles recorded

Picture of Christ

Conclusion

Salvation comes to Naaman

2 Kings 5:14–15 NASB95

14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean. 15 When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.”

Luke 4:21-27

Exalting Jesus in Luke (Two Dramatic Revelations from Scripture (4:21–27))

I think Luke 4 compels us to consider if we’re like the people in the synagogue who miss Jesus. Perhaps we’ve been brought up in church the way they were raised in synagogue. We know the language of the church. We know the culture and the rituals. We know the routine, but we don’t know Jesus. I think Jesus’s sermon is aimed at nominal believers, at people who assume they are God’s people but have no living, saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And the Lord’s application to them and to us is you can miss God’s salvation if you fail to recognize Jesus. Perhaps you have not thought of Jesus as necessary to your salvation and forgiveness with God. You have not thought of him as the one who provides you righteousness and pays the penalty for your sin. Today is the day of salvation. Today this salvation is preached in your hearing, just as it was then. Believe on Jesus. Trust him. Repent of sin, come to him in faith, and you will be saved. Do not miss the salvation he brings.