Matthew 8:5-13: Just Say the Word

Introduction

Matthew 8:5–13 (ESV)

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Exposition

The Request (8:5–7)

The request for help (v. 5–6)

(5a) Capernaum was a fishing village and center of commerce

Jesus was using it as his place of residence

Was a major city on the Roman trade route

Had a Roman battalion stationed there

(5b) A centurion came to Jesus there in Capernaum, asking for his help

A Centurion was a Roman Commander over a”century” of men

Naturally, how many men would that be?

80, of course!

It used to be 100, but gradually lessened to about 80 men

It was unusual for a Roman to approach a Jew like this, becuase both sides held contempt for the other.

Luke tells us that this centurion was a God-fearer who helped build the local synagogue for Jewish worship

Luke 7:3–5 (ESV)

When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

His “appealing”, which could also be translated as begging, is also strange, because he usually was the one giving orders!

He is showing his desperation and his recognition of Jesus’ greater authority!

(6)“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”

The Leper’s plea of “Lord!” is repeated

Emphasizing Jesus’ status of Lord over all creation, even the Roman occupiers!

(The centurion probably doesn’t realize this, but it seems to clearly be Matthew’s intent)

The Centurion’s integrity is seen in his humble respect for Jesus and his great concern for his servant. In Luke 7 it also is revealed that the Jewish elders of the city even vouched for this Roman!

Jesus says “I will come and heal him” (v. 7)

Jesus is willing once again for healing to occur

Even for a Roman

The Recognition (8:8–9)

The centurion recognized

His unworthiness (v. 8a)

He uses “Lord” a second time acknowledging his inferiority to Jesus’ authority

He then says “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof”

On one hand he may be speaking about the Jewish prohibiitons against entering Gentile homes

On the other hand he is probably recognizing again how little he deserves Jesus’ healing presence

That Jesus can heal (v. 8b)

“Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

This is an astonishing leap of faith!

Matthew had not recorded Jesus healing someone at a distance yet

This was also a Gentile (and probably pagan!) Roman, speaking to a Jewish teacher!

The centurion is recognizing that Jesus is powerful and can do whatever he wants to do!

That Jesus has authority (v. 9)

The centurion recognizes what authority means because his entire existence and career is surrounded by authority!

“I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.”

He has people who can command him, but he also has a century of men that he can command!

The centurion was a key leader in a legion with autonomous authority to direct his men in battle!

To his men, he was the representative of the emperor himself!

He reasons that Jesus has this same kind of authority over disease

Jesus has the representative authority of God himself

so he has unlimited, not just over people like the centurion, but over the very forces of nature!

If the centurion could completely rule over the actions of his troops and servants, how much more could Jesus do?!

The Reply (8:10–12)

Jesus marveled at the great faith exhibited (v. 10)

Usually terms of amazement are reserved for the crowd’s reaction to Jesus, but here it is Jesus who responds in wonder!

Jesus then says to those around him “with no one in Israel have I found such faith!”

This continues to build on an important theme in the Gospel of Matthew

Jesus’ Kingdom (the promised Davidic Kingdom, the Kingdom in which the New Covenant was being enacted) is not one that is based on ethnic markers!

It is based on faith!

And the faith of this military man was remarkable!

He was the overlord! He represented the oppressors! He was one of the very people who were most mistrusted by the Jews and now he is the example of what true faith is!

It’s astounding!

Jesus then takes a moment to teach and in this teaching he shows a contrast between the Jews and Gentiles

Contrast between the Gentiles and the Jews (v. 11–12)

Gentiles at the messianic feast (v. 11)

“many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”

The idea of dining with the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), was the highest honor!

But Jesus is saying the Gentiles will be given that honor!

This is scandalous!

Faith in the power of Jesus is the faith that allows Gentiles to be part of the coming kingdom

“east and west” is talking about bringing in the followers who are throughout the entire world!

“the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (v. 12)

Jesus then turns from speaking of the Gentiles being lifted up in honor to the Jews being dishonored

the ones who come from the east and west are the Gentiles

and “the sons of the kingdom” is Israel

No longer is Israel the focus because of their stubbornness and unwillingness to honor their covenant, and their failure to recognize when God actually sent His own Son as the Davidic Messiah!

the irony is that they are supposed to be the ones who get to enjoy the great messianic feast, the princes of great honor!, but they are cast out for their lack of faith

God does not show partiality based on your heritage or location!

Jesus is clearly separating the kingdom of God from the conditions stipulated in the Old Testament and in Jesus’ time:

he challenges the privileged position of Israel

he revokes membership in Israel as an automatic shoe-in for salvation

he teaches the future integration of Gentiles (as Gentiles, not having to convert to Judaism) in the kingdom of God.

The Result (8:13)

And as a result Jesus says to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Last week we talked about the healing touch of Jesus and now we see that all Jesus has to do is say the word and sickness listens!

There is a great emphasis on Jesus’ healing power because just like the leper in the text before, Jesus heals the man instantly, even from a distance!

What an incredible God Jesus is!

Implication and Exhortation

This story is remarkable! Not only for the great healing power of Jesus Messiah but also for the incredible faith of a pagan military commander who puts the Jewish people to shame.

There are some lessons in this that we would be wise to heed and implement in our lives

1. Jesus is greatly Concerned for the Despised and Rejected

Last week we saw Jesus’ concern for the leper and this week we see his compassion for the Gentile.

We see over and over again that the people ignored by mainstream society were Jesus’ special mission

(the Samaritan woman, John 4:4–38;

the leper, Matt 8:1–4;

Matthew the tax collector, Matt 9:9–13;

the widow’s son, Luke 7:11–16;

the sinful woman, Luke 7:36–50;

and many others).

Jesus wanted to show God’s love for them

Again, this shows the nature of the coming kingdom

In comparison to the world’s kingdoms, Jesus’ kingdom is completely upside down (For more on that revisit the sermons from Chapters 5-7)

The priorities of depraved humanity are reversed by God.

The downtrodden are lifted up; those shown injustice are vindicated by God.

The despised Gentiles will become the target group of the new mission soon to be inaugurated.

Jesus is preparing for that day.

2. The Mission is to the Gentiles!

The universal mission is not launched here, but Jesus prepares for it in a startling way.

This is not the first time Matthew has given other glimpses of God’s concern to reach the world

the genealogy in chapter 1

coming of the Magi in 2:1–12

Here the theological basis is given; God’s people have no faith and are rejecting the Messiah.

Certainly at the same time God’s plan from the Abrahamic covenant was for his chosen people to bring “blessing” to the nations (Gen 12:3; etc)

But since his own people have rejected this, he will now fulfill this through the new Israel, the church.

This theme will come into full fruition in the Great Commission (28:18–20), which will summarize the primary themes of Matthew’s gospel.

Brothers and sisters, this mission is to us! Christ has looked upon our despicable and rejected state and has invited us in to this covenant relationship with God! We no longer have to be considered outsiders and we have been welcomed in as brothers and sisters of Christ!

But the book of Matthew doesn’t end there! It ends 20 chapters later, in Chapter 28, with Jesus giving his followers one final command

Go and make disciples of every nation!

Jesus commands his followers to go to the ends of the earth to make disciples! To invite the Gentiles (or now, those who do not yet know and believe Christ!) into the same covenant that the disciples, that we, have been invited into!

How many of us have yoked ourselves with debt from toys and colleges that we can’t afford and now we have wasted the best years of our income buying entertainments for ourselves instead of investing in real missions work where people are planting and strengthening churches by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ where it has never been proclaimed and doing the long work of discipling and raising up those new believers into Christian maturity? We have to stop this mindless and selfish spending! There is a dying world who needs to know that there is good news for them!

Most of us will never go to the ends of the earth to proclaim the gospel and that’s not an inherently bad thing. Not everyone will be a missionary. I learned through misery in Texas that I hate constant heat and probably will never go to live in Africa like I once dreamed. That’s okay.

What’s not okay is when we’re unwilling to go to the ends of our driveway or to the ends of our street to proclaim the good news of Jesus

We live in a lost and dying world that is taking off the Christian mask we had it wearing for a long time

There is a swift rise of paganism in our nation (and to be honest a lot of our founding fathers were pretty inspired by pagan Greek thinking)

Our nation needs Christians who lovingly and winsomely are sharing their faith with their neighbors.

Start by getting to know your neighbors and being a good neighbor to them

Ask them questions about their spirituality, most people actually have some enjoyment discussing their beliefs

And continue to ask good questions to get to the bottom of what they believe and why they believe it

I don’t mean this in a mean way, but since most of you have been part of this church for decades if your neighbors aren’t Southern Baptist, you’re probably fairly ignorant of what they believe

So ask them questions.

Call me or text me if you’re confused about something they said or if you find you have no understanding of their belief system. If I don’t know I can find resources to help both of us

I think you’ll find that you are surrounded by Wiccans, and Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons), and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and atheists, and people who think they are Christians when they really aren’t, and hopefully you will discover some dear brothers and sisters who you didn’t know you had.

All of them need the Gospel! And you have that Gospel light! Go to the ends of your street to invite the gentiles into the new covenant!

3. We are unworthy of Jesus’ healing presence

You notice, the centurion didn’t come demanding Jesus listen to him because he was in a position of authority, or that he was the one who made sure their church building was built, or that he would take away his support if Jesus didn’t listen to him

He comes to Jesus with a sense of unworthiness and this same sense of unworthiness happens throughout Scripture (Gen 18:27; Job 42:6; Isa 6:5; Luke 5:8) when people come face to face with their own fallenness.

Genesis 18:27 ESV

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

Job 42:6 ESV

therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Luke 5:8 ESV

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Brothers and sisters, how do we come before Christ?

There is an insidious theological doctrine that has seen great success in America for over a hundred years called the “little gods” doctrine.

It teaches that since we are made in the image of god that we then are little gods and Jesus simply made it possible for us to understand this.

Maybe you’ve heard of the Prosperity Gospel or the Word of Faith Gospel?

Both of these teach this, (along with Mormonism though it looks wildly different in Mormonism)

It teaches that since we are essentially Jesus himself we can demand things from God and the universe and all we have to do is believe it is going to happen without wavering for a second!

We can proclaim our healing!

Don’t even acknowledge you’re sick or you don’t have faith

declare that you are well!

Rebuke the devilish sickness that is trying to gain a foothold within you!

We can proclaim that we are rich!

Rebuke your empty bank account and proclaim it to be full of money!

We can make real the very desires of our hearts!

Don’t like your car? Believe and proclaim for a better one!

Don’t like your spouse? Believe and proclaim for yourself a better one!

Don’t like what bodily burdens God has given you to bear? Declare that you do not accept reality as it is and demand a better body from God!

For a long time, virtually every single preacher you would see on local TV believed and taught this doctrine of demons

Kenneth Copeland went into full blasphemy saying:

He won healing, He won deliverance, He won financial prosperity, mental prosperity, physical prosperity, family prosperity. He said He would meet my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus… and when I read in the Bible where He says "I AM" I just smile and say "Yes, I AM too!" - Kenneth Copeland

He’s by no means the only one. Steven Furtick of Elevation Church (which was a Southern Baptist megachurch until earlier this year) has said similar things

This doctrine has warped our understanding of who we are.

We come to Jesus demanding! instead of coming to Jesus in humility, submitting to his superior authority

Brothers and sisters, we are utterly unworthy of Jesus’ healing presence, but thanks be to God he chose to come to us and offer healing anyways

4. The Role of Faith

So what is the Role of Faith in the healing of this man’s servant and what is the role of faith in salvation?

The man’s faith was not what caused the healing of his slave, but Jesus honored that faith.

But faith in Jesus is not simply believing He exists. Even the demons believe he exists

Faith is believing that God is who he says he is, has done what he says he has done, and will do what he says he will do

If I have faith in my wife, it does not that I believe she exists. I know she exists!

It means I believe she is and will continue to be who she has made clear to me that she is!

I have faith that she is a wonderful mother and wife and will act in accordance to that

I’m not believing that she exists as a wonderful mother and wife, I already know that!

I have faith that she is going to care for our kids and strive to make the best decisions for our family!

I have faith that I will not wake up one morning and find that she has abandoned me and the kids because she has decided she wants to be a terrible mother.

That is not who she is! That is not who she has proven herself to be!

Faith in God is believing he will continue to be who he has always been!

So when we, in faith, plead with Christ by praying for his intervention, it is not a magic formula to get what we want, but rather a humble submission to and recognition of who he is

That he has compassion for the downtrodden

That as the Good Shepherd he dearly loves his sheep

That HE HAS NOT FORGOTTEN US IN OUR DISTRESS!

So in that sense prayer does change things; it matters when more and more pray and it matters when we pray more fervently, pleading with God to do something in accordance with who he is.

More than that we cannot say, for Scripture never truly resolves the tension.

5. Your credentials will not save you

Your family’s faith will not save you.

Your church attendance will not save you

Your tithe will not save you

The Christians you know will not save you

Only faith in Christ, who he is as the Son of God (the True Adam, the perfect sacrifice, the loving husband of his people, the one who can redeem us to God), and what he has done (by living without sin, dying as our perfect substitutionary sacrifice, giving to his people his own righteousness, rising from the dead as vindication of all he said he was, and ascending to the right hand of God where he intercedes for us on our behalf) - Only faith in Christ alone will save us, and thanks be to God that he has made that way open to us.

Let’s pray