Lessons From The Mount                                       Matthew 8:1-13

We’ve spent the past few weeks in the letters of the New Testament so today I wanted to go back to the gospels and look at events in Jesus life.

Matthew chapters 5,6, and 7 contain Jesus Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever given. If you doubt it, consider we’re still talking about it over 2000 years later. In his sermon Jesus tells what can happen to his listeners, and to everyone throughout time; what can happen if you accept the love found in our willing God.

I’m sure we each can name some of what Jesus tells us that day; blessed are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of God, blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth, blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God; and of course, there are others. Jesus words that day gave the people an understanding that his kingdom was different. It was not of this world. His words give hope to the masses for they explain that whatever hardship, whatever persecution, whatever evil you face in this world, if you believe in him your suffering is nothing compared to the reward you will receive in heaven. The entirety of the Sermon on the Mount comes together to explain that God’s law of love is upon us.

Matthew records in chapters 8 & 9 examples of Jesus demonstrating his sermon in very practical ways. Jesus physically demonstrates God’s law of love. Chapter 8 begins with Jesus coming down from the mountain and as he does; Matthew 8:2 says, “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him…”

This man was not allowed in proper society. He was diseased, probably deformed, and filthy. This is a picture God draws for all of us to see, a picture of our lives, of our souls when sin is our master. Notice this man did not go up the mountain to meet Jesus, Jesus came down the mountain to where he was. Jesus does not sit on the mountain top. He doesn’t stay in heaven’s throne room waiting for us to clean up our lives and try to climb up to him; Jesus comes down to us, he looks for us even as we are immersed in our sin.

Matthew 8:3, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” Jesus doesn’t wait for us to “get it right,” he reaches out and touches our lives before we are perfect, and he changes our lives.

8:3 again, “…he said, ‘Be clean.’” And immediately this man was cleaned of leprosy. I’ve talked about our son Jared before, he suffered for years with his disease of addiction. I was blessed to be there the day he turned to Christ and asked him to come into his life. Two days later his disease took his life, but his soul was clean. He was not his disease. This is the willingness and the love of our God, accepting Jared before he got his disease under control. What a tremendous power the spirit of God has in the world. What a tremendous amount of love God has for each of us.

Also, today we have Jesus being confronted by a Roman Centurion. The leper was a Jewish man, one taught about the scriptures and the prophets. This Centurion is part of an occupational army. Centurions were described as the backbone of the Roman army. Each one was chosen from the best and most dedicated soldiers. These men did not rise through the ranks by following gods other than Rome’s gods. They were Roman through and through.

There are many people in the world who come from a variety of traditions, religions, and backgrounds. They are as much a part of their teachings as the Centurion was a part of his. Like the Centurion, these traditions and backgrounds are who they are. Ask the Centurion who he is, and I bet he would answer, “I am a soldier for Rome, dedicated to the emperor and the empire.” But this man heard of Jesus and the Holy Spirit started working in his mind and heart. He came to believe in Jesus and to see the authority Jesus has in the world. He came to believe Jesus has authority over life that was greater than his own. And he came to see that he needed Jesus if he was going to change the circumstances of his life.

Here is another picture Matthew is painting for us. We are a product of the things we are taught. We are the product of the traditions and backgrounds of our lives and the lives of those that came before us. Whether we are born in Tokyo, Japan; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; or Saugerties, NY; no one is born automatically believing in and accepting Christ. Like our Centurion friend, we must be told of Jesus. If we have a family that teaches us about Jesus; great. The Centurion shows us that as Christians we must tell those who don’t know Jesus all about him. Our Centurion shows us that each person must be introduced to Jesus and each person must decide that Jesus is who he says he is; the Son of God, the one with authority over nature and life, the one we need in our life to change our life.

The Centurion standing before Jesus, and Jesus response to him, tells all mankind that Jesus, that the cross, Is for all mankind. It doesn’t matter where you are born. It doesn’t matter what you were raised to believe. It doesn’t matter how you live your life. Nor does it matter what disease you suffer from or what others say about you. If you approach Jesus with an honest heart and an honest desire for him in your life, you will have him in your life with no conditions other than your desire for him.

As I was reading over this, I saw something else. As we look at these two men, the leper and the Centurion, we see a difference in their dealings with Jesus. The leper asks for himself, the Centurion asks for another. The leper’s prayer for healing is answered. When we pray for ourselves, our prayers are answered. The Centurion prayed for someone else, and his prayer was answered. Our prayers are powerful. When we pray with honest hearts, God listens and God answers.

Paul tells us how we should always pray for and lift others up to God, 1 Timothy 2:1, “I urge…that petitions, prayers, intersession, and thanksgiving be made for all people.” James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

For those who think they are in no position to ask God for anything, remember, if you ask Jesus to come to you, and you accept the cross, you are instantly made righteous. And from that moment your prayers are as strong and powerful as someone whose been a Christian for fifty years.

Today we see that Jesus brought God’s law of love into the world. Today we see how God’s law of love affects each of us, how it affects each person born on earth. When we understand who Jesus is, how he has authority over creation; when we approach him, he is always willing to reach out.

Today we see that our Lord and savior Jesus, is not sitting back waiting for us to “get it right.” Jesus is not sitting behind the clouds waiting for us to change our life. He’s not waiting for my anger to go away, not waiting for me to be a model for others, not waiting for our addiction to be over. Jesus is within reach, welcome him into your life and he will touch your life.

Son of Sam murdered several people and God accepted him. Jared was still using, and God accepted him. There is nothing you can do to cause God not to accept you.

Today we see that whether we pray for ourselves or for others, if it’s done honestly, knowing Jesus is the ultimate authority, those prayers will be answered.

One last thing. I prayed for Jared, for his disease to be healed, for him to be healthy and out of pain; and still his disease took his life. It took me awhile to see that God did answer all our prayers. Jared is whole, healthy, disease free, happy and perfect with our savior.

Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want. Sometimes God puts opportunities in front of us and asks us to do some of the work for our prayers to be answered. But if you open yourself up to him and if you look close, you will find God answered your prayers.

God bless you,

Amen.