Bibliography: Wesley’s Covenant Prayer, David Hoke on authority
This evening we begin a new sermon series about biblical people who encountered Christ and how their lives were affected by the encounter.
Over the next five weeks we will be looking at people from all walks of life that met with Christ, personally. Some of them had lengthy conversations with Jesus, others met with him briefly. Some of them were religious leaders and officials; others were the poorest of poor people. Some were members of the faith community, others were non-believers.
Of all of these people, it doesn’t take long to figure out that the ones whose lives were changed dramatically were those who experienced some form of healing at Jesus hands.
This week and next week,
We’ll take a look at these individuals in particular. We begin this evening with the story of two men, a leper and a Roman soldier.
We begin tonight in 8th chapter of Matthew’s record of Jesus’ life. By the way, did you know that Matthew told more stories about the miracles performed by Jesus of healing than the other three gospel writers? I think that’s an interesting fact and we have to ask ourselves, why did Matthew do that? Why did he favor stories of healing? Why did he feel they were important? Maybe we can discover an answer to that question as explore our Bible lesson this evening
Matthew 8:1-13
Jesus has been preaching on the mountainside. His teaching so impressed the people because he spoke as one who had authority. He was a commanding figure.
And it wasn’t just words or the way he carried himself.
Matthew goes on to relate to us two of the miracles Jesus performed that relate to this issue of authority.
As Jesus came down the mountainside, a huge crowd followed him. From somewhere outside the crowd rushed in a man who had no business being there, because this man was a leper and lepers were unclean people who were suppose to stay separated from the rest of society.
It wasn’t just the way everyone felt that way about such people. It was the law.
Now this man didn’t necessarily have the same kind of leprosy we are familiar with. Those called lepers could have had any one of many types of skin diseases. The thing was, it was a visible disease that indicated God’s displeasure with you and so it ostracized you from society.
We live in a society that separates religion and government boundaries. Not so for Jesus day. We picture our government as being rule based – whether the rules make sense or not – and uncaring about our personal problems. But we feel like the church operates differently, separately, even in the opposite manner of the government.
But in Jesus day, the government and the church were one and the same. It had to do with the understanding that if you were a bad person then bad things happened to you. So those where visibly effected, like a skin disorder would show, but not be right with God.
But it wasn’t just lack of religious support, friendship, or removal of civic privileges. Such a person couldn’t interact with any part of society. They weren’t allowed to worship God at all, because the only real and true place that could happen was at the temple and they weren’t allowed there. But they also couldn’t get a job, which meant no income. No one would hire them. They were also void of any social status whatsoever. They had no connections with any kind of family. They basically didn’t exist. They were throwaways, expendable from the world. Essentially they were deprived of all life. This man’s leprosy was physically, socially, and spiritually a living death. What this man experiences as the hands of Jesus is a resurrection from living death. He is restored to life within the community.
Now can’t you just see it? Here comes Jesus, walking down the hillside with masses of people crowding in around him. They’re all clambering to touch him, and talk with him. I can just see him smiling and continuing to try to make his way down the hill with the disciples surrounding him like bodyguards to a celebrity – trying to hold the people back. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, comes this guy off to the side from the farthest edge of the crowd. Before the disciples can stop him, he drops to his knees right in front of Jesus and brings this precession to a halt.
Immediately I can picture two things happening. First of all, the crowd disperses. He might as well have been carrying a bomb, or contaminated with Anthrax. No one wanted what this guy had, and so they all run away.
And I can see the response on the disciple’s faces. First there’d be the shock of this guy appearing out of nowhere, bringing everything to a screeching halt. And then there’d be looks of disgust, the curling of lips. I can see them taking several steps back away from this man and Jesus, pulling their cloaks around their bodies, trying to cover all their exposed skin.
Now there’s plenty of room to get to Jesus, and this guy has Jesus’ undivided attention when he asks - desperately, “Sir, if you wanted to, you could make me well again.”
Jesus does the most amazing thing – he reaches out and he touches this man, this outcast, this untouchable person. He says, “I do want to.” And he heals this man of his skin disease.
And then he tells him not to tell anyone that he has been healed. You know what I think he’s saying? I think he’s telling him not to even bother trying to show himself to anyone else, they won’t believe him anyway. He needs to go straight to the priests – remember the same ones who control what happens to this guy civically, and provide them with proof that he has been healed. Then he can worship at the temple again, can be a part of God’s family again, can see and talk to his own family again, and become a productive part of society again.
Now interestingly, Matthew immediately relates to us another incident involving a man’s healing. This one includes for us some most interesting twists and turns.
Jesus has entered Capernaum, the place that has become his home base for his ministry. As soon as he arrives, he’s met by a Roman Soldier who has a servant who is suffering terribly, and he wants Jesus to heal his servant. Now this guy isn’t just an ordinary soldier. This guy is an officer. He’s got some prestige and power behind him.
Once again, it’s the faces of the disciples that first pops into my mind as this guy approaches. My New Testament professor would talk about the disciples’ reactions. She’d read a passage from one of the stories of Jesus where he’s being confrontational saying something like, “Woe to you, you Pharisees, you hypocrites!” She can just see the disciples cringing behind him, asking themselves, “Jesus, do you have to say things like that?!”
I can just see the disciples’ faces, as the Roman soldier approaches them with two thoughts on their mind: What did Jesus do? and What is Jesus going to do? I can see their eyes grow wide, their hearts beginning to beat faster, their breathing becoming faster and shallower, wondering what kind of trouble is Jesus going to get them into with this Roman soldier, maybe even trying to steer Jesus in the opposite direction. But the soldier comes and makes his request of Jesus.
Now this soldier’s request is an interesting one. He doesn’t ask for healing for himself. He asks for his servant. It’s interesting why he comes to Jesus at all. He is an outsider to the faith. He doesn’t believe in the Jewish law Jesus has come to fulfill. He’s not of the same faith & doesn’t have the same understanding. Why does he come to Jesus?
And if we look at Jesus’ response – “I will go and make him well.” – in the Greek, the scholars tell us, it really more like a question. Its like Jesus is asking him, “Are you wanting me to come heal him?” Or, “What do you want me to do, come heal him?” He’s asking of this soldier the same thing we are asking – why is he here?
But what he shares with Jesus is a great understanding of the authority from which Jesus operates. You see, as an officer in the army, he understands the concept of authority very well. He has other officers who have authority over him. And he has authority over other soldiers. He tells them to do something, and he expects them to do it. And he knows his word is law. He doesn’t check up on them. He doesn’t wonder if they have carried out his order. If he tells his men to do something he knows it will be done.
And he recognizes this same authority in Jesus. He knows that if Jesus says his servant will be healed, it will happen. It’s not necessary for Jesus to come to his home. All he has to do is speak it, and it will be so. This soldier has faith in Jesus word. It’s a remarkable faith for an outsider of the faith to have that astounds Jesus. He can’t believe it. There are few within the faith community that will have the faith this man has. It is the awareness of Jesus’ authority by this man that heals this man’s servant.
The question is what are we to make of these two stories? We have a tendency not to take the incidents of healing personally for a couple of very good reasons. When we look at the lives of these individuals, there are elements about their lives I don’t think we can truly appreciate today. The first is one I have already mentioned. The way we understand the separation from church and state means that when we become incapacitated and unable to work, it is often the church that surrounds us, supports us, and lifts us up.
The only situation in our recent history in which a person might become as totally isolated and rejected by even the church body would be during the days of the Aides epidemic when so little was known about the disease. Perhaps those individuals experienced being cut off from society and life the way the individuals in our stories did.
A second factor that enters in is the knowledge base we have now, and our ability to use reason and logic differently from that day. We can read the stories of the individuals healed in the gospels and reason away their illnesses. We know that today’s medicine would heal most of their afflictions anyway. We read their symptomnology and reason that what many perceived as demons or incapacitating illnesses as conditions we can treat today.
So I repeat: How do we find meaning for us in these stories? Certainly these people’s lives were changed from this encounter with Christ. How do we experience the same transformation in our own? What speaks to us from these stories?
Lets look at that which separates us from church and society first. It may not be an illness, but there are things in our life that separate us from God and from life in the faith community.
I think about those who have a very difficult time becoming a part of society and even finding acceptance within the church. I think of homeless people. They fall through the cracks of the governmental system and we, the church, struggle with how best to help them. Many go unhelped, isolated, and alone.
I think of single mothers who must feel desperate and uncared for. Most have incomes that cannot support their family. Often they work two or more jobs. Their time for their children is gone, they are judged on this by society, and the church has a difficult time providing all that is needed to help such families survive.
But once again, we’re looking at others, not ourselves.
What needs healing in our own lives?
I think many of us face relationship issue, such as troubles within our marriage that causes us to withdraw from what we feel are the eyes of our Christian friends.
Some of us have home situations we’re busy trying to hide or cover up, like an alcohol problem or a drug addiction.
We also struggle with our finances. It’s embarrassing to get the shut off notices because we haven’t and can’t pay the bills. Our embarrassment and shame isolates us. It’s just easier to withdraw and stay away.
Each of us can think of some area in our life, some issue we struggle with. “If only this _____ was right in our life. If only this _____ was under control. If only I could do something about this _____. Then suddenly the barriers that seem to separate us from full participation with our church family, with our friends and family would be gone. We, like the leper, would feel like we could truly worship again.
The first question is what needs healing in our lives. But there is another part to the equation to these stories, which is why Matthew told these two stories back to back. It’s the issue of authority.
Remember Jesus came down the hillside dazzling the people because he taught with such authority. And here Matthew has told us two stories of healing concerning authority.
Some look at these two stories and want to do comparisons between the leper and the soldier. The leper was a Jew within the faith community; the soldier was a non-believer. The leper asks for healing for himself, the soldier is in a sense, praying for somebody else – his servant. The leper approaches Jesus with all humility and from his words it would seem even with a sense of hesitancy, almost like he really doesn’t expect Jesus to heal him. But there is no hesitancy on the part of the Roman soldier. His faith is bold and unquestioning. Some say the Roman soldier exhibits more faith and courage than the leper did. However, I would probably have to argue that there was great boldness if not desperation on the heart of the leper to approach Jesus the way he did.
I think the question remains what do these two stories have in common, besides the fact that they both tales of physical healing (and social and spiritual healing)?
These two people in our Bible lesson both recognize in their own way the authority of Jesus - the authority from which he came & the authority which he had.
So what do we do with the issue of Jesus authority? Who has authority in our lives? Do we recognize the authority and power Jesus has to transform us, too?
Now you might be tempted as I am, to suggest that at your baptism, and certainly during your profession of faith, or maybe back in a broom closet somewhere on your knees that you and I have already surrendered authority of our lives over to Jesus. I would be inclined to agree that such an asumption is a correct assumption and certainly what I intended to do when I made my faith decision.
But David Hoke raises an interesting point for us to ponder. He says:
Let me ask you a question. Do you want authority? Would you like to have the authority to be victorious in your own personal life — to conquer bad habits and to defeat the demonic forces which come against you? All of us would. But there is only one way to have authority — we must be under authority. We must become a just say the word follower of Jesus Christ.
I must admit that deep down within me I really want to be that kind of person. I want to be a just say the word follower of Jesus ChristAnd I believe that any person who has made a commitment to Christ has that desire. We admire people who are fully dedicated and committed to some project, or person, or endeavor.
When we think about our relation to Christ, do we see ourselves as a just say the word follower? While we want to give Jesus our all, have we? We want to be a totally committed follower of Christ. Deep down inside we want Jesus to make a difference in everything we do. We want our relationship with Him to impact our decision making, our money management, our vocabulary, our relationships, and everything else we do in living our lives. We want to be totally surrendered to His sovereignty and leadership. This is what it means to be a just say the word follower of Christ.
Perhaps you can identify with being a just say the word follower of Christ.
It’s that phrase David used that got to me - “a just say the word follower of Christ.”
It’s that phrase that reminds me there are times God calls, beckons, guides, that I don’t respond very quickly or enthusiastically.
Sort of like Jonah who God sent to the decidant, evil, disgusting city of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go.
In his heart of hearts, when he joined God’s team, it was really the luxurious, beautiful, trouble-free city of Tarshish he had in mind.
There’s a prayer written by Charles Wesley. Every year when pastors are assigned to the churches they will be serving in the Methodist Church, we pray this covenant prayer together. Its not just a prayer for new pastors, nor did Charles Wesley write it as a commisioning prayer. Its a covenant prayer.
Here is the prayer:
I am no longer my own but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt.
Rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by Thee, or laid aside for Thee,
exhaulted for Thee and brought low for Thee.
Le me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine and I am Thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
Its a beautiful prayer, and I believe we mean it when we say the words. At least we think we do. But in truth we really have being exhaulted, being full, having all things more in mind than being brought low, being empty, and having nothing in the name of the Lord.
Though we say yes, when those times come, we struggle, even complain, and I’m not so certain that we are “just say the word Christians.”
When we can readily and willingly respond to that kind of call from God, then I believe we have truly submitted our authority to God.
The way I see it, the encounter these two individuals had with Christ leaves us with two questions of our own:
What needs healing in our lives?
Are we willing to become, to strive to be “just say the word Christians?”
Let us Pray.
