Just bring it to Jesus — Part 2 — Mannerisms of a Marvelous Faith

Introduction

Last week, we started a series entitled “Just bring it to Jesus” and we looked at the story of a leper who came to Jesus and showed us some Trademarks of a Tenacious Faith.

We looked at how this leper’s acknowledging faith by how he worshipped the Lord. This was the first time in the Book of Matthew anyone had called Jesus Lord but this leper knew just exactly it was that he was talking to and he reverenced Jesus as such.

Then, we looked at the boldness of his faith in the fact that he come to Jesus in the midst of a mighty crowd. He didn’t care what others might think or what they might say, he only knew that in order for him to have a shot at life at all he needed to get to Jesus.

After that, we looked at how his faith was a confident faith! There was no doubting in this lepers mind that Jesus could heal him whatsoever. He said, “Jesus, if you will, I know you can make me clean.”

Not if you can, but if you will!

He knew the power that resided in the one he was talking to and he knew that Jesus was the key to unlocking the door of healing and cleansing thus giving him the hope of life!

And before we move on, I just want to say this morning that if you will come, just as this leper did…understanding the condition of your lost soul, steeped in sin, and worship Jesus as Lord, just as this leper did; if you will come boldly unto the throne of grace not worrying what others might say or how they may look at you as you walk this isle; if you will come confidently, knowing that Jesus is the only one who can grant the petitions of your heart and seek forgiveness from Him…He’ll do the same for you that He did for this leper!

He’ll restore you; He’ll cleanse you; He’ll forgive you and give you the hope of eternal life!

Life like you have never experienced before! That’s what Jesus can do for you this morning if you will but come and trust in Him!

This lepers acknowledging faith, his bold faith and his confident faith led to a delivering and excited faith as Jesus reached out and touched him and his skin became clean and pure.

He touched me, oh He touched me, and oh the joy that floods my soul…something happened and now I know, He touched me and made me whole!

That was the theme song for this leper we looked at from that day forward and my prayer this morning is that this song is also the theme song of your life but if you’ve never been touched by the mighty hand of Jesus, I pray that He will touch you here today and when/if He does, be sure not to frustrate the grace of God by turning away the Holy Spirit of God but rather come, simply, humbly, boldly, confidently to the throne of grace and submit to the call of Jesus upon your life.

Trust in Him today and you shall be saved!

Now, as we move on into today’s message I want us to look at Verses 5-13 at Part 2 in our Series Just bring it to Jesus at a message I’ve entitled Mannerisms of a Marvelous Faith!

You know, as I’ve been studying and pondering upon this chapter we’re in currently, every week I can’t help but to think this chapter is akin to Hebrews Chapter 11.

We all know Hebrews 11 as the Chapter of Faith where we take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the Patriarchs who made it into the hall of faith but dear friend, the more I’ve studied these past few weeks, I can’t help but to think that the majority of people in this chapter deserve to belong there in that hall of faith as well!

Story after story of amazing faith put into action by some of the most unlikely of characters.

Last week, was a leper. This week, it’s a gentile Roman Officer. And then next week, it’s a multitude of people who put their faith in Jesus and receive healing from the one and only Son of God.

So, with no further ado, if you have your Bible’s turned with me to Matthew Chapter 8 and beginning in Verse 5 would you say, Amen.

The Person and Place of the Request — (Vs. 5a)

In order to gain a better understanding of the text before us I want to set the scene for you here.

Jesus and the multitudes have now left mount where He delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount and have now entered into Capernaum.

Chuck Swindoll writes...

The walk would have taken less than an hour—it was just down the hill toward the lake. As Jesus entered the village, probably nearing the synagogue, a Roman centurion approached.

If the leper in the hills was a crowd splitter, the Roman commander was a crowd stopper. With the way he was decked out in all the glories of soldiery, his approach would have drawn stares.

So, here’s Jesus and here’s this great crowd following Him and all of a sudden He is approached by a Roman Officer called a Centurion.

What is a Centurion?

William Barclay writes of the first-century centurions:

The centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. In a Roman legion there were 6,000 men; the legion was divided into 60 centuries, each containing 100 men, and in command of each century there was a centurion. These centurions were the long-service, regular soldiers of the Roman army. They were responsible for the discipline of the regiment, and they were the cement which held the army together.… The centurions were the finest men in the Roman army.

Warren Wiersbe said of this centurion...

Every centurion mentioned in the Gospels and Acts was a gentleman of high character and sense of duty, and this man was no exception.

So, here we are in the place that Jesus calls home after growing up and leaving Nazareth and He’s just finished preaching this amazing and powerful sermon, He’s healed a leper and now, as He enters back into town, He’s approached by Roman Centurion.

Now, when you look at this same section over in the Book of Luke what you will also find is that this isn’t just any Centurion.

The Book of Luke tells us that this particular Roman Centurion loved the Jewish people, so much so that he even built them a synagogue!

This Centurion whomever he was was not only a man of great might in the area but he was also a man of great means seeing as he built the Jews a synagogue!

And not only was he a man of great might and great means but as we are going to see, he is also a man of marvelous faith!

Now that we know a little bit more about The Person and the Place of this Request, let’s begin to look now at The Persistence in His Request.

The Persistence in the Request — (Vs. 5b)

The Bible says here that this Centurion came to Jesus “beseeching” Him!

This word beseeching is the Greek word (parakaleō) and it means to ask for earnestly, beg, plead.

Now, I don’t want you to miss this here…here’s a Roman Centurion, a gentile, a man whom the Jews have prayed that the Messiah would come to conquer, and he’s pleading with Jesus!

I mean we don’t know the back story here…

Was he at the sermon on the mount?

Had he heard about the fame of Jesus healings abroad?

He had built the Jews a synagogue so maybe he heard about the healing power of Jesus from the Jews?

How he heard of Jesus we know not but what we do know, is what God’s word tells us and that’s that he comes to Jesus, in Luke’s gospel it says that the Centurion sent elders of the Jews to Jesus on his behalf because he didn’t even feel worthy to make the request; either way, we have before us a man, a gentile, a Roman Officer begging, pleading, asking earnestly for help from Jesus!

There was a persistence in his plea!

Can I tell you this morning friend that if you want to do business with God, if there is a need that you need God to see to, sometimes you’re going to have to get earnest with God, Amen!

Sometimes you’re going to have to get persistent in your plea!

We want to throw up these half hearted prayers to God and expect Him to do mighty miracles in our lives, dear friend it don’t work like that!

Yes, God is a God with no limitations, He’s a God of mighty miracles, but I believe if you are serious about Him working a mighty miracle in your life, then you need to show Him just how serious you are about it!

I think God’s going to be just as serious about your problem as you are serious about your petition, Amen!

The Bible says in...

Jeremiah 29:13 KJV 1900

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Listen, if you want a blessing that is earth shattering then you’re going to have to get earnest about ringing the doorbells of heaven, Amen!

John G. Butler said...

We cannot expect God to be earnest about our petitions if we are not earnest in making them.

Jacob wrestling with the Lord!

Genesis 32:24–28

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Dear friend, if you got something going on in your life this morning that you need help with, bring it to God and be like this Centurion here and be persistent in your request and you too shall prevail!

Not only do I want you to see The Persistence of the Request but also The Premise of the Request.

The Premise of the Request — (Vs. 6)

In my personal opinion this may be the most important part of this Centurion’s request.

Notice who the request is for?

His servant!

Listen, the leper came to Jesus for personal healing and it was a tenacious faith but this man, this man of position and power, comes to Jesus not for his own sake but for the sake of his servant!

Now, we don’t know who this servant was or what position or role he played in the life of this Centurion but we know one thing, this Centurion cared enough about him to brave the crowds and bring his cares to Jesus, Amen!

And that’s the beauty of the story before us today!

So many times we come to Jesus with our own petitions but how many times do we come to Jesus with petitions for those around us that we love?

In Luke’s gospel the Bible says that this servant was very dear unto this Centurion and that he was nigh unto death!

The Centurion came to Jesus and notice he doesn’t even ask him to heal him but rather simply tells Jesus his problem!

As I pondered on this a great thought come to my mind....

How many times do we come to God with our problems and instead of just laying them at the feet of Jesus and saying here they are, their yours, thine will be done…we want to tell Jesus how to fix them don’t we?

Jesus here’s my problem and here’s how I want you to fix it.

Can I tell you that Jesus knew your problem before it even became a problem for you and therefore, if He knows our problems before they become problems, we can also rest assured that He knows the solution before we ask for help!

The only thing this man of prominence knew is that he had a problem and Jesus was just the man for the job to fix it!

I want to go back really quickly though to the premise of his request and the fact that it’s his servant who’s sick.

Inside the premise of this man’s request we also see a passion to see his hurting servant’s health restored.

We see an act of selflessness and compassion for others.

Can I tell you this morning Church that this is something that is lacking in our world today.

We live in a world where it’s all about me, myself and I and don’t care what happens to everyone else!

We need to have more compassion for those around us!

As I was studying for this and meditating on it throughout the week, I couldn’t help but to think about a story in the Old Testament involving something very similar.

Genesis 18:17–33 KJV 1900

17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. 33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Genesis 19:29 KJV 1900

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

God remembered Abraham!

Listen, Lot wasn’t saved from the wrath of God that poured down on Sodom and Gomorrah because of anything that Lot had done, but rather he was saved from the wrath of God on Sodom and Gomorrah because of the pleading of Abraham!

Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying…I’m not saying that your prayers can bring salvation to anyone’s soul besides your own but what I am saying is this is a clear picture that our prayers can have mighty effects on other’s lives!

And the story before us is a prime example of this as well.

This Centurion comes to Jesus pleading on his servants behalf and as we will see here in a moment, he prevailed in his request!

Before we get there though, I want us to look at one more mannerism personified here in the Centurion’s Request and that’s The Purity in the Request.

The Purity in the Request — (Vs. 7-9)

After the Centurion pleads his case to Jesus, Jesus responds and says, “I will come and heal him.”

But look at the response of the Centurion… “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.”

And then he goes on to give an illustration of his own as to why he believes that Jesus can heal his servant.

But there’s three things that stand out to me here...

He calls Jesus Lord. This is the second time now in Matthew we’ve seen someone refer to Jesus as Lord.

Now, the significance of this is the fact of who’s saying it!

Here’s a Roman Officer referring to a Jewish Rabbi as Lord!

If his general or Caesar knew of this, undoubtedly, he would of more than likely been removed from duty, possibly even tortured and killed.

But I love how this man of authority knew who all authority lie with and that was Jesus!

Can I tell you that Jesus is still in a power of authority today!

He may be in heaven on high but everything is still under His control, Amen!

Secondly, is the confidence in his request. Jesus there’s no doubt that if you will simply speak the word my servant shall be healed! I believe!

Can I tell you this morning that this is a perfect picture of salvation!

So many people get hung up on what it means to be saved. Just simply believe in the healing, redeeming, saving power of Jesus and you shall be saved!

This Roman Centurion, a gentile in the flesh, someone who in the eyes of the Jews was an outcast from the kingdom of God with no hope whatsoever of ever obtaining salvation has just exuded right before the very eyes of the Jews the true meaning of salvation!

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

“Whosoever believeth in him (in Jesus), should not perish but have everlasting life!”

Do you want to be saved today?

Simply believe in the saving power of Jesus this morning, just like this Roman Centurion, and you too shall be saved!

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!”

And lastly, the third thing that jumped out to me here in this story is the humbleness of this Centurion.

“I am not worthy to have you come into my home Lord.”

Here’s a man of authority. Here’s a man of integrity. Here’s a man of prominence and priority in the eyes of the world and yet he submits to the power of the one who has all power and authority in heaven and in earth!

I am not worthy!

Can I tell you this morning friend that this is the first step in the understanding of salvation.

We must understand that we aren’t worthy of anything but death and hell and that the only way we can be set free of that is by trusting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Romans 3:10–12 KJV 1900

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

We must believe that we are wretched and vile and that in and of ourselves, there is nothing good, before Jesus can do anything with us!

There must be a submission and an admission before there can be salvation!

And at some point, this Centurion had made the decision to follow Jesus because we can see it in the humility of his request!

There was a Purity in his Request and because of his Persistence and the Purity of his Request, it led to The Prevailing of his Request.

The Persistence and the Purity of the Request turned it into a Prevailing Request — (Vs. 10-13)

Jesus marvelled!

Isn’t that just a wonderful picture. This mighty man of valor having a faith that would make the one and only Son of God marvel!

Warren Wiersbe said...

Twice in the Gospels it is recorded that Jesus marveled: here, at the great faith of the Gentile centurion; and in Mark 6:6, at the great unbelief of the Jews.

Jesus marveled and then he turns to those who followed and says...

New Living Translation

“I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

An encouragement for those following who weren’t Jews and a warning for those who considered themselves shew in’s to the Kingdom of Heaven because of their heritage.

Then it finishes out with Jesus telling this Centurion… “Go home. Because you have believed, it has happened!”

And the servant was healed the selfsame hour!

His persistence and purity paid off and he prevailed in his petition of the Lord!

Closing

As we come to a close this morning, I want you to think about the mannerisms of this man’s marvelous faith!

Is there someone you need to bring to Jesus?

Is it a co-worker, a friend, a family member, maybe a mother or father or child or spouse that is sick, maybe their soul sick in sin, and they need to be brought to the Lord?

I’d dare say everyone sitting here this morning knows someone who needs to be brought to Jesus.

Maybe it’s you! Maybe your sitting here and you’re the one God is speaking to that’s soul sick!

Maybe it’s you that needs to come to Jesus.

John Phillips — The leper was outside the camp; the centurion was outside the covenant and the Lord responded to both.

Listen, Jesus is in the saving business; He’s in the healing business; He’s in the remodeling business…whatever your need is this morning…won’t you put your faith into action and just bring it to Jesus!