What Happens When Christ’s Authority And Our Belief Converge?
Good Morning Friends,
Today’s lectionary text from Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew touches on the hope that was made possible by Jesus. The prophet Isaiah foresaw the Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, and painted a picture of this hopeful future of a leader who is God-with-us, the child destined to rule forever, the hope of the Davidic throne, and the anointed preacher of the gospel. In addition, Isaiah pictured the mountain of the Lord, which was a reference to the presence of God, to give God’s people in exile hope regarding the triumph of God’s purpose for his people. Isaiah’s vision is first and foremost a picture of God ruling. The power of the picture is one of great hope and a time when all nations will hurry to learn the Way. It is of God’s rule coming to earth as in heaven. And in today’s Gospel story about the faith of a centurion that impressed Jesus, we see that this power to rule is even recognized by earthly military leaders. Here we are to understand that the same Jesus Isaiah prophesied is the very same Jesus that brings us to a deeper vision and level of discernment in relationship to the healing nature of God and the judgement and the gift of eternal life. Here we are to be astonished at the love of God and the peace and good will that is so central to the Christian faith. But first we must have the conviction to believe it and to love. And that brings us to today’s question. What Happens When Christ’s Authority And Our Belief Converge?
Scripture: The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV)
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
Matthew 8:5-11 (RNSV)
Message: The first person that Jesus heals as recorded in Matthew was an outcast – a person with leprosy and Jesus told him to keep it a secret. The second person is someone of low social status – a servant. These are the forgotten ones. If he had healed a Pharisee or someone rich and famous, then people would really have been impressed. But Jesus’ intervention into our lives is not based on social standing, but on whether we are willing to come to Him and trust Him. Somehow news was out that Jesus healed people. A Roman Officer came to Jesus. Apparently, he was a Centurion…presumably a Gentile. His servant is paralyzed. He doesn’t ask Jesus to heal his servant directly. He just gives the facts and waits for Jesus to respond. He gets right to the point. And you know the rest of the story. “Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” I love the fact that Jesus is always willing to come. But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home.” Again, this is something unusual for a Roman Officer to say to a Jew. He did not say “My servant is not worthy”. He said “I am not worthy.” To me this indicates that he had already come to faith in Christ. He had already placed himself under the authority of Jesus’ command. This man knew authority when he heard it. The Roman Officer understood authority and applied it to Jesus. Jesus was impressed by this man’s faith. And surely it would take a lot to impress Jesus. In other words, for us today as we come under the authority of Jesus in our lives, we too will be able to come to Jesus, trusting entirely upon Him, and present Him with the details of someone who needs to be healed. And that is truly amazing grace.
Pray we see the Word of the Lord written on the hearts of our friends and family. Pray we too be a sign of hope in the world and an instrument of peace empowered healing. Pray we walk in the light of the leader of the universe. Pray we have a faith that is rewarded with the great peace and joy that our loved ones are delivered from the curse of sin. Pray we come to Jesus with a humility that acknowledges the necessity of God’s mercy, and our own inability to help ourselves. Pray we realize that God reigns now with power. Pray we lift our eyes beyond present circumstances to a future hope. Pray we put our faith this season and every season in the Lord. Pray we realize that what we believe can help even those who do not believe. Pray therefor that we not look out only for our own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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