Untitled Sermon (6)

INTRODUCTION

Image: Mean Girls’ Lunch Tables

This *clip* is from, Mean Girls, showing different tribes sitting in a high school lunchroom. *Explain Katy’s new + being introduced to school* You can see the divides between people for different reasons.

Need: Your Table

Who sits at your table? Some of our tables show that we’re more like Mean Girls than we are the Messiah. Some of our tables look more like a high school lunchroom than heaven.

Our tables are a testimony to our exclusive attitudes, whether conscious or unconscious. We gravitate toward what’s comfortable. Who you eat with is a reflection of who you welcome, who you receive, who belongs. If your table has homogenous regulars, have you welcomed the Misfits, those who don’t fit in with you or who you don’t fit in with as easily culturally, ethnically, or religiously. Who sits at your table? Who doesn’t?

Subject: Who will sit at the Banquet Table of the Kingdom?

Remember, our series is, “The Misfits of the Kingdom,” with the basic idea:

If misfits don’t fit in your mission, you misunderstand King Jesus + His Kingdom.

(life, calendar, social settings……you miss who He is, who He includes, + who you are.)

Last week we said chapters 8-9 are answering these questions:

Who is included in the Messiah’s Kingdom? …and will anyone be excluded?

Today, I wanna answer this question…

Who will sit at the Banquet Table of the Kingdom?

Text:

We’re gonna look at three points:

Preview: Centurion, Crowd, + Call

…how Jesus addressed the Centurion,

…how He addressed the Crowd,

…and His Call to us today.

…so with that, let’s dive in, + see how Jesus addressed the Centurion.

King Jesus Makes Room for the Misfit (vv. 5-10a, 13).

This Centurion is ethnically + vocationally an enemy of Israel.

He’s an enemy because of where they are — Capernaum

In chapter 4, Jesus set up shop in Capernaum. Let me show you a *map* so you can see something here. Look how far He and His ministry are from the religious center and leadership. Who do you think lives on the fringes of the Jewish community? Matthew basically tells us in chapter four. He foreshadows Jesus’ Gentile Mission (*read 4:12-16*).

Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee was mostly Jewish populated, but it was surrounded by Gentiles and frequented by them. There is a major road running through it, there was a customs post (taxes), and military would frequent it for that reason. There were military posts not far from there, which would explain why Jesus encountered this man.

Most of the soldiers in this region wouldn’t be Roman citizens. They were most likely Syrian ethnically. Whatever his ethnicity was, this man wasn’t a Jew. He was a Gentile.

It wasn’t illegal to interact with Gentiles. It was considered unlawful because they were considered unclean. Granted, there were plenty of laws regarding distancing themselves from the Gentiles, like . There were also plenty of stories in their history of what happened when Israel spent too much time interacting with the Gentiles. They lost their way, they became idolatrous, and they were disciplined by God. However, there were Z E R O zero laws prohibiting Jews from interacting with Gentiles, but they didn’t uphold the purity laws. To interact too closely with a Gentile would most likely render a person unclean.

He’s also an enemy because of his vocation — Centurion

Not only is he an enemy nationally, ethnically, culturally, + religiously, he is a ranking officer in the army of the nation that is ruling over Israel.

As a Centurion he was paid 15-60x more than what his soldiers made. History says he was in charge of 80 men, not 100. Since he was most likely not a Roman by birth, 25 years of service would be rewarded with Roman Citizenship, the social + political benefits that come with that, a sizable pension or sum of money in personal savings account, and potentially even a plot of land.

Imagine the scene: this Crowd of non-leadership in Israel is following Jesus. Everyone is expecting their Messiah to come and establish a Physical, Political Kingdom, independent from the rule of any other nation. After all, that’s what God had promised them. Here is the One you think is the long-awaited Messiah, the King, and He’s entertaining the request of … a Gentile? More that his ethnic identification, the dude represents Roman subjugation of Israel. He contributes to the power that hovers over Israel, controlling them. If you were a Jew in the crowd, what would you be feeling?

Well, we know the Gentile was feeling desperate. He is appealing to Jesus, or imploring, entreating, begging him…but why? He tells Jesus, my slave is suffering as if he’s being thrown down and held there, he’s paralyzed.

Two things to say about that. Firstly, Roman soldiers weren’t allowed to have families while they served. They were required to be completely committed to their service. Some would have illegitimate families or a mistress. Others would purchase slaves to live in their homes with them and be like their family.

That’s the second thing: slaves. Slavery at the time wasn’t like the Tran-Atlantic Slave Trade; it wasn’t American chattel slavery, but it was slavery. People often say, “It wasn’t as bad,” or something like that. To some extent, that’s true in that there were levels to it: indentured servitude—to pay off a debt, some were “treated as a person,” but there was also the traditional view—a slave was property not a person. Though it wasn’t racial, ethnic, or culturally slanted, but there was still brutal mistreatment, abuse, everything you can imagine…all of which is wrong. There may be differences in what was practiced and why, but we can’t ever make light of the demeaning of dignity.

So far as I know, it wasn’t practiced in Jewish communities at the time. Either way, the Bible doesn’t promote slavery. The easiest place to point you is Philemon, but there are plenty of places I could point you to if you’d like to talk more after. Just know, what we’ll eventually cover in this text will very loudly address the mistreatment of others. Jesus doesn’t call out the practice of slavery; it isn’t in focus at the time. Matthew doesn’t deal with it either, but let’s look at what they do address…

He’s an enemy…, but he has faith.

First, he calls Jesus, “Lord” …twice (vv. 6, 8). Remember in chapter 7, Jesus said, “Just because you call me, ‘Lord,’ doesn’t mean I am your Lord.” How can you know? Well, Pastor Jerry asked, “Does Jesus know you?” Do you have a relationship with Him? How do you do that? By faith. You believe He is who He says He is and you live like His words are true. That’s the first mark of this man’s faith. Just like the man who was healed of his leprosy, the Centurion calls Jesus, “Lord.”

Second, the Centurion said, “I’m not worthy” (v. 8). It actually isn’t very clear why he says that. Some people think it’s because he’s aware of their ethnic divide. He knows that Jesus would be in jeopardy of becoming unclean by coming under his roof. Others think it’s because he is aware of Jesus’ authority, which I’ll explain more about in a second. He sounds a lot like John the Baptist in chapter 3, though, doesn’t he? Whatever it is, those who have faith in Jesus seem to be marked by a humility. The leper had no status, no power, + no resources…and he was marked by humility because of his faith. The Centurion has status, power, + resources…still marked by humility because of his faith in Jesus. They both knew they were unworthy of Jesus.

Third, the Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority.

“only say the word”

When he speaks about you, why not believe him?

When he speaks to you, why not obey him?

…authority (to command)

Regardless of why, this Gentile doesn’t believe He’s worthy of Jesus being under His roof; he has no idea how His faith will bring Him under the roof of heaven. The Centurion denies Jesus an invitation to his table, but Jesus invites the Centurion to sit at His table.

This man appealed to Jesus, addressed him with respect (Lord), asking him to show compassion on his servant.

Matthew differs from Luke in two major ways. First, in Luke, the Centurion sends two different parties of Jews to speak to Jesus on his behalf, pleading his case of worthiness. However, Matthew doesn’t record anyone between Jesus’ interaction with the Centurion. Now, for many of us, when we think of differences, we wonder if someone had it wrong. Is the Bible even trustworthy? But the authors were using literary tools to weave theological truths and themes throughout their writing. Matthew wanted us to see that Jesus’ Kingdom is for the Misfit. His Kingdom is for those who have been excluded, rejected, and outcasted. For those who were in A1, this is Matthew’s pragmatics—this is what Matthew is DOING with what He’s SAYING.

MTR: There’s nothing between you + Jesus, Jesus + others, why…?

(Jesus meets him where he is. His job and background prep him to understand and have faith in Jesus.)

Jesus response + why that matters

Jesus marveled at his faith (he knew Jesus’ authority + ability/distance)

Jesus marveled at his faith (he knew Jesus’ authority + ability/distance)

Jesus marveled at his faith (he knew Jesus’ authority + ability/distance)

Jesus answered his request

Jesus marveled at his faith (he knew Jesus’ authority + ability/distance)

MTR:

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(Transition: I mentioned a second major difference between Matthew and Luke’s accounts of this moment. That’s the inclusion of verses 10b-12. Jesus’ addressing of the Crowd.)