Hi there, thanks for reading! This blog is covering the
youth group studies of the last two weeks in Matthew 8.[i]
Previously we went through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7,
which I may recap eventually. In these chapters Jesus gave us a lot of words
to think about, but as He finished His “sermon” and came down from the
mountain, Jesus started doing things that we get to look at now!
I was sick two weeks ago, and my lovely wife Jubilee did an
excellent job covering for me and teaching about a leper and a centurion, both
of whom encounter Jesus and experience the power of His healing because of
their faith. Faith in Jesus is really the key to spiritual life! You will not
be able to relationally experience the power of Jesus unless you first place
your belief and trust in Him.
In Matthew 8:2-4 a leper (a man with the disease of leprosy)
comes to Jesus, acknowledging Jesus’ ability to heal Him, if He willed.
This has always stood out to me. I think that a lot of people, when the
approach Jesus by faith, doubt or second-guess themselves about whether or not
Jesus actually wants to accept them for who they are, or start a relationship
with them. But Jesus responds to this leper saying “I will; be clean.” We
can take heart knowing that when we approach Jesus by faith carrying our faults
and infirmities with us, He does want to accept us and heal us. Don’t
let yourself doubt the fact that He wants to love you!
A Centurion was a commander in the Roman army. Apparently,
this centurion hears of Jesus, finds him, and asks Him to heal his paralyzed
servant back at home. Jesus offers to follow the centurion, but the man stops
Him saying that he understands what it is to have authority, and to see given
orders completed without actually having personal oversight in the task. The
Centurion basically is professing belief that Jesus is God! He shows faith
simply in contentment to hear Jesus pronounce words of healing for his servant,
believing that God can heal a man without having to physically be there. Jesus
marvels at this foreigner’s faith and heals the servant simply by speaking.
Jesus goes on to heal Peter’s mother-in-law, cast out demons from men who were possessed,
and to calm the wind and waves of the sea during a storm, demonstrating His
power and control over physical and spiritual realms. Really, there is no
reason for us to fear any harm, because we know that God is in control over
both physical and spiritual evils. Sometimes we will still experience harm and
evil, because this world is broken by sin, but it is a great comfort to know
that God is stronger than all evil, and that He is more than willing to help us
should we but come to Him with our infirmities by faith.
Following Jesus will reward healing, and abundant life, both
physically and spiritually speaking. But the decision to follow Jesus initially
and in every day requires faith. Jesus is willing to heal, bless, and build
relationships with us, but He often will wait to do so until we come to Him in
humble belief. There are two men described in Matthew 8 that come to Jesus,
willing to follow Him, but Jesus makes interesting statements that turn them
away. The first man tells Jesus, “Teacher, I will go with you wherever You
go.” Jesus responds, “Foxes have
holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay
His head…” and after this statement, we don’t hear from the first man
again. Odd! But we don’t always consider that to follow Jesus means to be
willing to give up all else in life, possibly even giving up the comfort,
security, and familiarity of home. Apparently this first man wasn’t really
willing to follow Jesus, not enough to go to the lengths of leaving his home
comforts. A second man approaches Jesus saying, “Lord, let me first go and
bury my father.” And Jesus replies, “Follow
me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Again, odd reply, but we
don’t hear from this man again either. Giving respect to our deceased parents
and loved ones when they die is not wrong, but there could be a lot of things
in this second man’s heart that prevented him from being willing to let go of
everything to follow Jesus, such as the greed of collecting inheritance.
The point we get from the stories of both of these men is that, in order to follow Jesus, you have to be willing to leave everything else that is important to you behind. It doesn’t mean that there can’t be anything else in this life that is important to you; there are definitely good things and relationships that are valuable in God’s sight, and He isn’t asking us to throw those things away. God is asking us, however, to be willing to make following Him & seeking a relationship with Him the most important pursuit of our lives. Jesus is powerful, able to heal us, and He wants to forgive and love us unconditionally! It just takes a little faith.
The point we get from the stories of both of these men is that, in order to follow Jesus, you have to be willing to leave everything else that is important to you behind. It doesn’t mean that there can’t be anything else in this life that is important to you; there are definitely good things and relationships that are valuable in God’s sight, and He isn’t asking us to throw those things away. God is asking us, however, to be willing to make following Him & seeking a relationship with Him the most important pursuit of our lives. Jesus is powerful, able to heal us, and He wants to forgive and love us unconditionally! It just takes a little faith.
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