Pivot - 1

Pivot - 1

Matthew 8:5-13

Introduction

Over the course of the past year there has been much talk about organizations pivoting in response to the pandemic. Pivot is a basketball term that means you shift or adjust to go in a new direction. A business has to pivot when they realize that the factors that made them function one way are no longer in play and they need to shift to a new strategy.

Businesses had to change what they were producing or go bankrupt. Restaurants had to build outdoor dining accommodations or risk going out of business. Churches had to pivot everything online to be able to still serve their congregations.

TS - when factors change, sometimes you have to pivot. For the next several weeks we are going to look at how Jesus interacted with people. Here is the truth we will see: when a person interacts with Jesus, things always change. He will heal, he will teach, he will confront…and everything changes. What do you do in response? You pivot. The direction of your life changes when you encounter Jesus.

Matthew 8:5-13 - 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.

Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount at the end of chapter 7. As he walks down the mountain he heals a leper, a text we will look at later this summer. Now he arrives at Capernaum, a strategic little city in the Roman Empire on the Northwest tip of the Sea of Galilee. It will become Jesus’ adopted hometown and home base for his ministry for the next couple years. Capernaum was located on a crossroads and thereby hosted a Roman taxing station with a garrison of Roman soldiers.

Roman centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers, divided up into 60 centuries (groups of 100). Each century was led by a Centurion. These are the long-serving, career soldiers. Think Commanding Officer. They were responsible for the garrison’s discipline. They were considered the cement that held the army together. During their mandatory 20-year service to Rome, they were not allowed to marry or fraternize with the soldiers. Their lives were devoted to Rome and the expansion of the Empire’s rule.

The Gospels and Acts mention several Centurions…and all of them are spoken of highly as men of noble character.

Matthew 27 - recognized Jesus on the cross as the Son of God Acts 10 - Cornelius - first Gentile convert to the faith of Christianity Acts 22,23 - rescues Apostle Paul from death more than once

This Roman Centurion in Matthew 8 is no different. He is a man of noble character. We like him. Why? He loves his servant. In Rome, slaves did not matter. They were considered property and therefore disposable. They had no legal rights and were considered living tools. But this man loves his servant and seeks out Jesus to heal him.

This is an odd pairing, this Centurion with Jesus. They could not be more different. He is a professional soldier, a man of war. Jesus is a man of peace who teaches to love your enemies. The centurion is a Gentile, an unclean outsider. Jesus is a devout Jew. There should be no reason for this man to approach Jesus, nor should there be any reason Jesus would help him. But this man has one thing that can unite anyone to Jesus, regardless of their background…he has faith.

Somehow he has heard of Jesus and his healing power. Not a surprise though. As Jesus’ ministry began in full force, his notoriety spread.

Matthew 4:23-25 - 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

He already knows Jesus can heal. So he approaches and explains the issue. He has a servant at home who is suffering terribly. We don’t know what ailment he is suffering from or what caused his paralysis, but he is in agony. But notice that the Centurion never asked Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus just volunteers to come. Why wouldn’t the guy ask? Surely he is aware of the awkwardness of the situation. If he asks Jesus to come to his house to heal his servant, Jesus will have to violate Jewish tradition. The Gentiles are unclean and to enter into their home makes you unclean. Jesus is never, anywhere in the Gospels, recorded as having entered into a Gentile home. So if Jesus agrees, Jesus could be accused of selling out his faith. If he refuses, Jesus could be accused of not caring for the sick. So maybe it’s best just to lay out the issue and see how Jesus responds…v. 7 - I will come and heal him.

What the Centurion says next is amazing. Matthew 8:8-9 - 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.”

He knows how authority works. He receives orders and obeys them without question. He barks orders and they are obeyed. Authority knows no geographical barrier. “Jesus, you can just say the word.” How does he know this? How did he know that Jesus didn’t need to touch his servant or that his servant didn’t need to touch Jesus? That is how almost all of Jesus’ healings take place. How does he know that Jesus’ very words have the authority to heal?

When Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, this is the crowd’s reaction: Matthew 7:28-29 - 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Maybe this guy heard part of the Sermon on the Mount. Or maybe he has heard about that sermon. All we know is that this guy knows a profound truth about Jesus…”your word is enough. I don’t need the experience. I don’t need to see it. I don’t have to physically witness anything about this…your word is enough.” This is what we cry out to Jesus. “I know the power of your word…in creation, in teaching, in healing…your word is all I need.”

Jesus is impressed. v. 10 - 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.

Jesus marveled. ‘Marveled’ is the Greek word thaumazo, a word used almost exclusively to refer to people’s reactions TO Jesus (Matthew 8:27; 9:33; 15:31; 21:20; 22:22; 27:19). Only twice in all of the Gospels is this word used with Jesus as the subject. Here, he marvels at this man’s great faith. The other is in Mark when Jesus is in his hometown of Nazareth and they reject him. Mark 6:6 - and he marveled because of their unbelief.

So Jesus marvels twice, at both extremes…at the man’s great faith and at the Jewish crowd’s utter lack of faith. This is telling us something. This is a not-so-subtle hint that it will be the Jews who reject Jesus and it will be the Gentiles who receive the Gospel. In fact, that is exactly what Jesus says next.

Matthew 8:10-12 - 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.”

Many will come from the East and the West…from the nations of the world outside of Israel, and they will feast with the Jewish patriarchs. This is scandalous for any Jew in the crowd. How could it be that unclean Gentiles, outsiders, would be invited inside? And those who should inherit the kingdom will be cast into Hell? When you read the Gospels and then the book of Acts, this is exactly what happens. The Jews will, as a nation, reject Jesus as their Messiah. And by their rejection they will be uninvited to the Messianic Banquet of eternity.

Being one of God’s people is not about ethnicity or nationality. What is it that unites this unlikely man to Jesus? It is his faith. Only by faith in Jesus Christ will someone become one of God’s people. No matter what family you are born into. No matter your religious heritage. No matter your spiritual resume. The outsiders get to come inside!

Only one other time in Matthew will Jesus heal like this. It is the only other Gentile healing. It happens in Matthew 15 when a Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and asks for healing for her daughter. Jesus will heal her with a word as well. From a distance. Showing that the Gentiles have been kept at arm’s length from God. They aren’t part of God’s covenant people. They are unclean outsiders. But in Jesus, those who are outsiders get to come inside. The NT letter to the Ephesians deals with this outsider, far-off Gentile issue. Speaking to Gentiles, to outsiders:

Ephesians 2:12-13, 17-19 - 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ….17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Only by the work of Jesus can someone who is so far away from God become reconciled to God. Only by faith in Jesus can someone far away from God get close. Matthew has been trying to tell us this all along. His Gospel begins with the Gentile Magi coming to worship Jesus from far off. His Gospel ends with Jesus’ command to his followers to make disciples of all nations.

God wants people from the entire world, not just one nation. He invites people from every sinful background imaginable. His mercy extends to all. Even to Roman Centurions, the face of the occupying foreign empire. Jesus grants his request. He asked for a word of healing and that is exactly what he got. The servant was healed that moment. What mercy! What grace! You see, God’s kindness goes far beyond our imagining. God’s kingdom is comprised of the most undeserving of people. God’s family is filled with the most unlikely of people.

Luke carries this same account. But Luke offers a few more details. Apparently this Roman Centurion is a great man. He has high-ranking Jewish friends. He even financed the building of the local Jewish synagogue in Capernaum. His Jewish friends beg Jesus to meet this man’s need because he deserves it. Matthew strategically leaves those details out. They aren’t important for the message Matthew is trying to communicate. You see, this Roman Centurion is just a man in need of grace. He doesn’t come with his resume. He doesn’t come with all his accolades. He only comes with his need and relies solely upon the mercy of Jesus. And Jesus grants his mercy to the undeserving and the unlikely.

Conclusion

Let me tell you about a guy named John. He grew up in a Christian home and entered the British Navy as a young man. But away from his faithful upbringing he got caught up in the allure of the life of sin. He deserted to Africa where he thought he would have more opportunity to satisfy all of his lusts. He sank so low that he eventually became a small player in the slave trade. But those who were in authority over him abused him and even held him in chains at different points in his life. Eventually he escaped his captors and became a ship’s mate on a British merchant vessel. Put in charge of the ship’s rum supply, he became so drunk that when the captain discovered him, the captain hit him so hard in the head that John fell overboard.

Rescued by the crew, even more troubles awaited him. A great storm overwhelmed the ship and it kept taking on more and more water. Working at the pumps for long, frightened hours in the hold of the ship, John feared death. But in those dark, desperate hours he remembered his Bible lessons his bother had taught him as a child. Convicted of his sin, he repented of his sin and begged God for mercy. Upon safely arriving at home he left his life of sin and became a pastor. He eventually wrote one of the most well-known songs ever sung in the Church. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” John Newton had a wretched past, but God’s mercy breaks through to the most undeserving and most unlikely of people. People like you and people like me.