The True Jesus: Forgiving Sinners

Now that Easter has passed, we will continue our walk through the book of Luke.  We are seeking to remind ourselves who the True Jesus is.  Our passage today is Luke 7:36-50.  If you remember, the passage before this is all about how the religious leaders had rejected John the Baptist because he was too anti-social and yet, they had rejected Jesus because he was too social.  He was a “friend of sinners.”

It seems very appropriate for Luke to share a story that clears up the truth about how much of a friend Jesus was to sinners.  In some ways He is and in others He is not.  If you are a sinner who likes your sin and won’t change for anybody (not even God or Jesus), Jesus won’t be your friend, in the end.  He will be your judge.  However, He will be the kind of friend to you who continues to try and speak the Truth into your life so that you can avoid that judgment.  Yet, Jesus did not have a problem with interacting with sinners and this was in great contrast to the religious leaders of His day.  Let’s look at the passage to clarify this issue.

Jesus Interacted With Sinners

The accusation that Jesus is a friend of sinners is very true because He was not afraid to interact with them in their lives and let them intersect what He was doing.  In this story we are going to see two very different kinds of sinners.

The first sinner is the Pharisee who we find out later is named Simon.  This Pharisee invites Jesus to his house for a meal and Jesus accepts the invitation.  We don’t know Simon’s motives, but more than likely Simon is seeking to deal with this “Jesus-problem” on his own.  If he can poke, prod, test and catch Jesus teaching error in some way then he will be hailed as a great rabbi by his peers.  If he was truly interested in Jesus no doubt he would have approached Jesus much like Nicodemus did; in secret at night.  Now before we leave this let me ask you this question.  Would you accept an invitation from a hypocritical religious leader who only wants to trap you?  The love of Christ does not reject Simon, but rather accepts the opportunity to be Truth in his life.  This man does not think that he is a sinner.  However, his sins were of a religious kind.  He was proud of his ability to do the Law.  Thus he was self-righteous around others.  He would be guilty of nit-picking on the finer points of the Law and yet ignoring the bigger issues to which it pointed.  He will also show that he is quick to judge others and yet lacked proper introspection.  Still Jesus goes to his house.

The second sinner is the woman from the town who is a sinner.  She comes into the home uninvited and imposes herself on their mealtime.  Simon normally would have had her thrown out.  But he waits and watches to see what Jesus will do.  We are not told what the woman’s sins are.  They must be something that is known publically for Simon to know.  Is she an adulterer, prostitute, or thief?  Next we can ask why she is there and crying so badly.  It seems clear that she has either heard of the teachings of Jesus by others, or she has heard Jesus teach.  He may have even spoken directly to her.  We have to be satisfied with not knowing on that account.  It is clear that she is convicted of her sin and yet thankful to Jesus for what He has taught or done for her.  The good news that even though she is a sinner, if she will repent, God still has a place for her, has filled her with tears of regret and yet tears of joy.  Notice that Jesus does not make an issue of her presence.  Instead he allows her to stay.

Their Actions Contrast Greatly

What is interesting is that both the Pharisee and the woman are breaking social custom here.  He did not show the common courtesies one would show in that day and she entered someone’s home uninvited when they were entertaining guests.  Yet, she is doing so out of love and Simon is doing so out of lack of respect.

The woman’s actions are self-effacing and humble.  She weeps and washes the feet of Jesus.  Drying the feet with her hair was something that slaves would do.  She is kissing His feet the whole time.  Then she anoints the feet with a costly, perfumed ointment.

We contrast this with the Pharisee who neglected to have the feet of Jesus washed and then has him lay at his table with dirty, stinky feet.  This is dishonoring to Jesus.  Lastly, he despises the woman and the lack of response from Jesus.  Though the judgment is not spoken outwardly, it is there nonetheless.  Most likely this despising was obvious on his facial expressions.  Either way, Jesus knew exactly what he was thinking.

Why is Jesus interacting with these two sinners?  His whole purpose is redemptive.  He wants to bring them to repentance for their sins so that they can be in fellowship with The Father in Heaven.

The Parable of Debts

Jesus tells a parable to Simon in order to help him see the other side of this situation.  Right now, Simon is invested in the position that the woman is a sinner and should be thrown out.  The parable is parallel to the people at the meal.  God is the creditor and it is the Pharisee who owes a debt of 50 denaria to God.  Likewise, it is the woman who owes a debt of 500 denaria to God.  Jesus accepts the fact that the quantity of this woman’s sin was greater than Simon’s.  However, most likely Simon didn’t believe He had any sin debt to God.  Jesus then asks the question.  If their debts are forgiven which of them will love more?  Notice that Simon is focused on the great quantity of the woman’s sin.  Jesus says that he should be focused on both of their abilities (rather lack of ability) to pay anything.

Forgiveness Yields Love

There is nothing in this world like true forgiveness.  When we know that we have done someone wrong, then come clean with them about it, and they truly forgive us…the feeling is of amazing relief, joy and thankfulness.  It invokes the desire to love that person in a far deeper way.  Yet, if we don’t think we need forgiven of something, we won’t care what the other person thinks or does.  In both cases, it will show up in our actions.  Thus the formula: Forgiveness will lead to loving actions.

Sometimes people confuse what is being said in vs. 47.  Jesus is not saying that the woman will be forgiven her sins because she loved much.  If you carefully read the passage you will see that the forgiveness comes first and the love follows.  Jesus is pointing  to her actions and saying that her great love is proof that she knows she has been forgiven of a great debt.  She does all she can at the expense of her own self-respect to honor Jesus.  Simons actions on the other hand were anything but loving.  Even the loving action of inviting someone to dinner and feeding them is tainted by the disrespect and dishonor in all of his other actions.  Thus his lack of love is proof of what?  This is the unspoken question that Jesus is putting back to Simon.  The unseen always has visible effects.  Sometimes people deceive others and even lie to themselves.  But that truth is incontrovertible.  Thus Jesus gives the woman assurance that her sins have been forgiven her.  Why?  She is forgiven by the grace of God because of her faith in the Word and Person of Jesus.  Such blessed assurance to receive from Jesus himself.  You have been forgiven (perfect tense).

This all begs the question: Was Simon forgiven?  In the parable both are forgiven.  But in reality Simon acts as if he doesn’t even have a debt.

The real question is to us who are reading this today.  What about me?  Do I recognize that I have a debt of sin to God?  Do I also recognize that I have no way to pay for my sin?  It doesn’t matter if we quantified our sin and compared it to others.  The truth is that we are all in the same boat: we don’t have anything of value that will cover our sins.  If we are to be free of that debt, God himself must freely forgive the debt.  Why would He do that?  Scripture is clear that it is by grace (freely given) we are saved through our faith in Christ and even that is not of ourselves.  If you don’t think your sin is bad enough to warrant eternity lost then you need to spend some time meditating on what it means to be a traitor and join rebel forces against the Creator, the Heavenly Father, who alone is Good.  It matters not your rank among sinners.  Only that you are one.  Praise God that He befriends sinners in order to redeem them back to Himself.  Thus Jesus says to the woman who was a sinner: Go in peace.  Go in peace with God, peace within yourself, and peace with even those who still accuse you.  I no longer have to fear the finger pointing of men like Simon when I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God has forgiven me.!

Forgiving Sinners Audio

The True Jesus: Forsaken

This Sunday is Easter or better, Resurrection Sunday.  We are going to return to our study of the Gospel of Luke next week.  But today I want to look at a question that Jesus asks while He is on the cross in Matthew 27.

Have you ever been forsaken by someone?  Or have you ever found yourself alone with no one who seemed to care?  Whether you were forsaken by parents, friends, loved ones, or someone else, it is a grievous thing to go through.  Take heart in this, you are in good company.  The Bible tells us that Jesus knows exactly how you feel because He went through the very same thing.  Let’s go to verses 45-46 and pick up the story.

Jesus Experiences A Dark Time

It is not by coincidence that darkness comes over the land for the last 3 hours of the death of Jesus.  It cannot be a solar eclipse because Passover occurs during the Full Moon and the sun is on the other side of the earth (besides the fact that they last less than 10 minutes).  Several ancient historians from the first century refer to earthquakes that were followed by a strange darkness lasting for 3 hours in what we would call AD 33.  I don’t believe we have enough information to understand what was physically happening to cause the darkness.  However, it is a powerful sign that this is a dark time.  The Savior of the world is dying on a cross and the heavens go black.  In fact the Creator of all things is suffering a symbolic dark night.

It is made dark by the unjust trial He had been given and the unjust punishment He was receiving.  Jesus had done nothing wrong, especially that would be worthy of death.  Still, He is run through a midnight trial with witnesses brought against Him that were so bad that the religious leaders balked at giving a sentence.  It was only when He was asked point blank, “Are you the Messiah,” and answered in the affirmative that they agreed to execute Him under a charge of blasphemy.  Was it really blasphemy to claim to be the Messiah?  Think about it.  If it is blasphemy to claim to be the Messiah then the Messiah could never come and save Israel.  Nowhere in the Law does it state it is blasphemy to claim to be the Messiah.  However, if you did claim to be the Messiah you had better save the people.  Instead of waiting to see if He does anything to save Israel, they quickly decide to kill Him.

Next, it is a dark night for Jesus because of the way in which they execute Him.  They go out of their way to publically shame Jesus before the whole nation.  He had been beaten to a bloody pulp and then paraded in front of the people.  He was chosen for execution over the top of a notorious criminal who deserved death.  On top of this is the Old Testament statement that He who hangs on a tree is cursed of God.  Lastly, as He hung on the cross people were taunting Him to prove He is the Messiah by coming off of the tree.  This public shame is a dark and heavy thing to put up with in light of the fact that you are doing it for them.

Yet, what made the time darkest for Christ had nothing to do with the religious leaders or the people.  It had to do with His Father in heaven.  Jesus had an eternal relationship of love between Himself and the Father.  Yet in this moment it is halted.  Instead of miracles of divine help, the supernatural becomes strangely silent during the crucifixion.  When God refuses to overturn this crucifixion it is taken for God’s agreement by the people.  Surely God wouldn’t let the true Messiah be killed, would He?

The Cry Of Jesus

It is at this darkest moment in the existence of Jesus that He cries out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”  This is an amazing statement; that the Father would forsake His Perfect Son.  Clearly anyone in this situation would feel forsaken by God.  In fact, it is quite universal to feel that the God of the heavens does not care about you and will not help you in times of great injustice and in times of being forsaken.

Yet, Jesus is not just asking God a question.  He is actually quoting a verse of Scripture from Psalm 22:1.  Thus He is doing more than telling us how He feels.  He is calling the attention of those who saw this or hear the story to that Old Testament passage.

When you analyze this Psalm it is amazing.  It actually reads as if it was written by Jesus while He is on the cross.  It starts with the question of Why.  It then moves to point out that God has helped people in the past, but this One is a worm and will receive no help.  It talks about how persecuted and physically broken He is.  However, at the end of the Psalm a strange transition occurs.  The simple line, “You have answered me,” ends the grim side of this Psalm with the tortured author praising God and declaring that this is all God’s doing.

Thus the question of Jesus is not just a question.  It is telling us that He believes He is living out Psalm 22 and that no matter how much of a worm He has become and no matter how forsaken of God He will be, in the end God will hear Him.  It is a statement of explanation and of faith in a dark moment.  These dying words are clearly not words of doubt, but simply a way to let us know that in the midst of despising this forsaken situation, Christ knew He would be heard.  It may not look like it, but I will declare it among the Great Assembly.

Was Jesus Forsaken?

Well He was in the sense that God did not help Him and abandoned Him to the will of wicked men.  God did not protect Jesus.  Of course, if we look at the resurrection and the ascension, and the prophesied Second Coming, it is clear that He was not completely forsaken.  Yet this abandoning to an unjust death and public humility is only part of the His being forsaken.  Some have pointed out that God is more than abandoning Jesus.  He is actively pouring out His wrath upon Jesus.  This unthinkable break in the eternal love that has existed between Father and Son is the greatest agony.  God is not just neutral, but even worse; He is the very one pouring out His wrath and our punishment upon Jesus.  Why such a strange thing?  Is God truly a cosmic child abuser, who abandons those who serve Him, in the end?  This really is not fair.  Jesus is not a child being forced to endure something.  He is a grown, adult Son who is actually working in harmony with His Father in a Rescue operation.  God is not a cosmic child abuser.  He is the epitome of self sacrifice in grim circumstances; taking upon Himself the punishment of us all.  This is the plan that He and the Son had agreed to in eternity past as they counted the cost to creating.  Before God says, “Let there be light,” He and the Son have already agreed to the plan that required the Son to allow Himself to be nailed to a cross and the Father to pour out the punishment due all of mankind upon the Son.  Jesus Himself said, “No one takes my life from me.  I lay it down.”  This leads us to 2 Corinthians 5:17 and following.

Jesus was reconciling us back to God.  He is not just suffering, but He is removing a barrier between us and God so that we can have fellowship with Him.  We are sinners and He must judge us.  This is the white elephant in the room that can’t be avoided.  God does not avoid it.  Rather, He takes the pain upon Himself, that we might have a broken relationship restored.

Furthermore,  2 Corinthians 5 says that our sins are put on His account.  Yes, apparently God keeps records of all our deeds, words, thoughts, and actions.  Those who reject Jesus will have to give account for all the things that are written on their account.  But, those who turn to Jesus in faith, will have all of their sins placed on Christ’s account, which by the way is already covered.

It says that “God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us.”  This is a reference to an Old Testament ritual that happened on the Day of Atonement.  Israel was required to make sacrifices on a specific day every year to make atonement or covering for their sin.  On this day two goats would be chosen.  One would be sacrificed as a sin offering and the other would be sent into the wilderness to die.  However, before sending this goat into the wilderness, the High Priest would lay his hands on the goat and symbolically transfer the sins of the nation onto the goat.  This goat would then symbolically carry their sins into the wilderness and the sins would die with the goat and never return.  This is the concept of the scapegoat.  Now in the world a scapegoat is often a part of the sin in the first place.  They are made to take the rap while everyone else gets off.  But in this case the scapegoat had nothing to do with the sins.  It is not just unfair.  It is unthinkable.  Now picture in your mind as sin upon sin is laid upon this goat.  Yet, Jesus is dying for the sins of the whole world, for all time.  There is seemingly no end to the sin as it is heaped up until no goat is visible only sin.  When the Father pours out His wrath, it is not really upon His son, but upon the sin that He carries.  Never forget that this is exactly how God feels about our sin.  It is something He hates and yet because He loves us He is willing to take our punishment upon Himself.  The Sinless One takes our sin upon Himself and carries it away; never to be heard from again.

How Can I Experience this?

The question remains.  How can I know that I am at peace with God and that Jesus has carried my sins away?  In 2^nd Corinthians 5 it simply says that those who are “in Christ” become a new creation.  Yet, this process of becoming “in Christ” is described elsewhere in several actions.

First, I must ADMIT that I am a sinner and in need of a savior.  As a healer, Jesus did not come to heal people who were already well.  Similarly He did not come to save people who don’t want a savior.  No one will be forced to accept this reconciliation to God.  All of us are spiritually sick and in need of God’s healing.  Until we admit this we cannot belong to Him.  This humbling of ourselves is the only thing that God will accept because it is the very nature of Jesus.  He humbled Himself and did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  It is only right that we should humble ourselves and admit that we can’t pay for our own sins.  We need a savior and God has given us Jesus.  Take it or leave it, but this is the only choice.

Second, I must BELIEVE that Jesus is God’s answer to cover my sin.  Some persist in thinking that they are good enough.  “Surely, I haven’t done anything worthy of great punishment!”  Yet, they have never stood before a Judge who knows everything they have ever thought and done in secret as well as that done in the open.  Now, when you ask most people if they are good, they will answer yes.  But if you ask them are they perfect, they will balk and then say, “nobody’s perfect.”  Yet, somebody is.  God is the perfect Judge and His Son is the Perfect One who was sacrificed for our sins.  You can accept God’s plan or you can fight against it.  But you won’t win by rejecting His offer of peace because you are not perfect.  Put your faith in Jesus by recognizing that He is God’s answer for your sins.  He is the only One worthy of our praise.

Third, I must CONFESS with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord.  Jesus is not just our sin-bearer.  By right of Deliverer, He becomes our Lord.  We owe Him our life and thus all we do should be for His purposes.  Although it might sound horrible to be obligated to another, remember that He is pure, righteous, trustworthy, gentle, humble, and loving.  To confess before others that Jesus is your Lord and Savior is to publically identify with Him.  Don’t think that you can accept Him in your heart while publically rejecting Him.  Jesus said, that if you deny me in front of men, then I will deny you before my Father.  It is not easy to confess Jesus before a world that crucified Him.  The world is no different today.  Whether it does so by redefining Jesus or cursing Jesus, this world rejects the True Jesus, what He stands for, and what He did.  Will you follow the world or hear the Holy Spirit calling you to be reconciled to God?

Lastly, we must Follow Jesus.  He said, “Pick up your cross and follow me.”  We can’t do what Jesus did in that we can die for the sins of others.  Neither do we need to because Jesus did it once and for all.  However, we do need to die to the purposes that our flesh wants to live for.  We have to come alive to the leadership of Jesus.  Die to this world and live to God.  Die to yourself and live to God.  This is the way of Jesus.  If we will do this, then God will work through us to be the Deliverer of others.  Not because we can pay for their sins, but because we can bring the truth of who Jesus is to them and the Truth can set them free.  Be free today!  Choose Life!

Forsaken audio

The True Jesus: Of Faith and Doubt

In today’s passage, Luke 7:19-23, we get our last glimpse of John the Baptist before Herod Antipas has him executed.  John the Baptist represents the ultimate, faithful prophet.  He is a picture of great faithfulness to the Lord.  Yet, whether it is Elijah in the wilderness or John the Baptist in prison, we see that they were only men doing their best to do the right thing in trying situations.  They had to battle with doubts just like you and me.

It is an error to think that those who are faithful never have doubts, or that those who are courageous never have fears.  So if you have fears and doubts, take heart today.  It doesn’t mean you can’t exercise great faith and courage.  In fact, it is the presence of fears and doubts that makes faith and courage remarkable.

The Circumstances of John

Back in Luke 3:20 we were told that Herod had imprisoned John.  So let’s look at the background to this.  The day to day history of the Herods is equal to any soap opera today.  Herod the Great, who ruled when Jesus was born, died a few years later while he was still a toddler.  Rome then divided the kingdom among Herod’s sons.  Two of them were Herod Antipas and Herod Philip.  Herod Antipas ruled over the area on the east side of the Jordan and around the Sea of Galilee.  Over the course of time, Herod Antipas fell in love with Philips wife, Herodias.  She wanted him as well.  So, Antipas divorced his wife and married Herodias.  On top of all of this Herodias is actually their niece.  This gives you an insight into the lack of morals within these royal families.  John the Baptist had publically rebuked Herod Antipas for these actions.  It was then that he had John imprisoned, reasoning that John had a lot of followers and they might be inclined to revolt.

However, Herod was afraid to kill him because he saw John as a righteous prophet.  Furthermore, he would have John brought out of prison before him, from time to time, because he liked to listen to John’s preaching.  However, Antipas liked his preaching more like someone likes a song.  It sounds lovely, but he is not going to change his life because of it.  He was a man ruled by passions and filled with many conflicting emotions.  It is in this environment that we read John sending two of his disciples to Jesus.

The Questions of John

Most likely John was held in prison up to a year.  So it is understandable that he began to question his understanding about who Jesus was.  John’s questions are twofold.  Is Jesus the Messiah?  Or, is he just another forerunner like John?  Now John had already publically testified on numerous occasions that Jesus was the Messiah, the coming one.  However, he now wonders if perhaps he was mistaken.  In the moment when Jesus was being baptized it was very clear to John who he was.  But, given time in a prison he began to lose his clarity.

We might also point out that John doubts Jesus, not God’s promise to send a Messiah.  Just like the disciples were confounded by what Jesus did and allowed to happen, so John is perplexed.  Surely Jesus would have taken his place as king of Israel by now.  This central issue of who Jesus is has continued to be the main thing to this very day.  However, it does require a foundational belief that God has made promises that He will keep.  To a world that believes in a creator we must convince them that Jesus is the Son of God sent to perform salvation.  But to a world that doesn’t believe in any supernatural Creator, we must convince them that such a God exists.  Jesus is the key to this.

Part of the problem here is that John most likely didn’t foresee ending up in prison.  Remember that while John is in prison Jesus is teaching that He came to set the captives free. It is here that we see the importance of the spiritual message behind what Jesus was saying.  If Jesus meant he came to empty the prisons of the Herods then he failed miserably.  Clearly Jesus was speaking spiritually.  Faith is always tried when the physical situation seems more important to us than the spiritual.  John is in the furnace.

In these moments discouragement sets in.  Physical pains and difficulties over a long period of time wear us down and deflate our courage.  Of course, John doesn’t ultimately lose faith.  But his faith was severely tried.  When he had doubts he sought answers from Jesus and this is exactly what we must do in our times of doubt.  It is difficult to be under a cloud of discouragement.  It would be easy to condemn those who are discouraged for not having enough faith.  I would challenge you that discouragement is part of the process of purifying faith.  It is a necessary opponent that we must battle.  Instead of condemning discouragement, we need to be like Barnabas was.  Saul who was a new Christian was not trusted by most of the Christians.  In this discouraging time Barnabas came along side of him and promoted him to the brothers.  Love encourages people to turn to the Truth.  And that is exactly what John the Baptist did.  He sought an answer from Jesus.

The Answer Of Jesus

As John’s disciples arrive with the questions, they witness a scene in which Jesus is healing and preaching.  At some point when there is a break they are able to ask their question.

Jesus first says, “Go tell John all the things you have seen and heard.”   The blind were seeing, the lame walking, lepers cleansed, deaf hearing, and the dead raised.  Notice that in each of these a deficiency is met with the sufficiency of Jesus.  In fact all of these are pictures of spiritual problems.  We can be spiritually blind, lame, blighted with a deteriorating disease, deaf, and even dead.  Jesus is the answer to them all.  This is exactly what the Messiah was supposed to do.

At the end of this part he also says to tell John that the Gospel is preached to the poor.  The Gospel is the good news that they can have a part in the Kingdom of God through Jesus.  In light of the way John describes the earlier healings we could say that the poor receive the riches of heaven, Jesus himself.  This is intended to reach the heart of John the Baptist.  In his heart he knew that the Jews had mangled the Truth of God and instead of healing the hurting were making things worse.  Jesus was changing all of that.  Just like the Scriptures said that the Messiah would.

Lastly, Jesus adds a powerful statement, “Blessed are those who do not stumble because of me.”  Now remember this is intended to be an encouragement to John and to us.  He is reminding John of the stumbling stone of Isaiah 8 and 28.  In one place Isaiah says that God is going to take a stone that the builders reject and make it the capstone.  Notice the builders stumble in their analysis of God’s Rock.  In the other place we are told specifically that the Messiah would be a stumbling stone.  “He will be a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.” Isaiah 8:14-15.  Paul notes this in Romans 9 when he says that many in Israel stumbled over the Messiah because they sought righteousness by their own works of the Law, rather than throwing themselves by faith upon the mercy of God.  They trusted themselves over God.

Do you have doubts and fears?  Then hear the Truth about Jesus.  All the physical miracles He did point to spiritual issues that only He can heal.  Take hope in the reality of those things that Jesus has done.  He will do what God has said He will.  Don’t lose faith.  Remember that God is concerned about those who are ground down in this life and offers the riches of heaven to all who will respond.  You are a part of that group.  Don’t give up.  Lastly, you will be blessed if you don’t stumble over Jesus.  Many people today stumble over Jesus.  They do so by either totally rejecting him, or remaking him into an image that they can be comfortable with.  Both lead to destruction and cannot help.  Save yourself from this wicked generation, believe on the Lord Jesus, and be saved from the coming judgment.  And, like John, even if you are to lose your head for your faith in Jesus continue to go to Him for the answers you need to continue in faith.  Faithful to the end.

Faith and Doubt audio

The True Jesus: Authority To Heal

We ended Luke chapter 6 with the issue of whether or not Jesus really is our master.  If he is our master then we will live our life as His teachings direct.  Chapter 7 then starts with may at first appear to just be another healing story.  Don’t get me wrong.  Jesus does heal someone.  But, there is more being taught here than that Jesus could heal.

Jesus was not just a so-called “healer” who was somehow operating slightly above the level of a snake-oil salesman.  Neither was he a complete fake who was feeding off of the gullibility of a backward people.  People have always been gullible.  But it is in accounts such as these, that we see aspects that demonstrate that Jesus wasn’t a charlatan.  Here we see that Jesus demonstrating that he is Lord of creation and has the authority to command healing at will.  This may bring up the question of why He doesn’t then do more commanding of miracles.  Let’s look at the passage and establish His authority first.

The Request Of Intercession

In verses 1-7 we see that this is initiated by others coming up to Jesus in a city of northern Israel called Capernaum.  Rome had troops stationed throughout all of Israel and Capernaum was no exception.  A centurion would be an officer in charge of up to 100 men.  So there is no reason to expect some kind of collusion between him and Jesus.  This centurion has demonstrated a love for the Jewish people but we are not told his religious “status” with the rabbis of Israel.  Is he a convert, a proselyte, or just generous?  Whatever his status he paid enough attention to what was going on in Israel that he had heard of Jesus.  When a servant that was very dear to him was about to die, the centurion does what he can to find Jesus and ask him to heal the servant.  Now in this story the centurion asks some Jewish people to talk to Jesus first.  This is a great story illustrating intercession.

Intercession is to ask something for the sake of another out of love.  The word basically involves 3 parties: the one in need, the one who can help, and the one who goes to get the helper.  Intercession at its heart is a person serving as a mediator on behalf of another.  It is the servant who is in need.  However we have several layers of mediators.  The Jews mediate for a gentile centurion.  There are friends who also mediate for the centurion.  Lastly, although it is not clear in this telling, it seems from Matthew’s account of this story that the centurion himself speaks with Jesus in the end.  Each of these layers demonstrate an affinity or love of the other person.  The centurion cares about the servant.  The friends and the Jews probably don’t know the servant, but they do care about the centurion.  Now I point this aspect out because the Bible warns us that in the last days people will be lovers of themselves.  Thus we can use intercession as a type of barometer.  Do I pray?  And, when I do, how much of it is praying for others because I care about them?  If most of my praying is only for myself, then most likely I am being molded by the spirit of this age to love myself.  It is not wrong to pray for yourself, but we need to pay attention to this aspect.  Do I have a love for others that drives me to my knees in order to pray to God for them?

The first layer of mediators is the Jews.  They approach Jesus with some reasoning for why He should heal the man’s servant.  He is a worthy man.  They press it home by pointing out his love for the Jewish people and how he had even given money to build a synagogue.  Now before I diminish the reasoning of these Jews, let’s note that it is not the centurion who thinks he is worthy.  This is an important part of intercession.  Often, people don’t think they are worthy of God’s notice.  Or, they think that God doesn’t care about them.  Intercession is powerful because it uses the worth that they have to us, to propel us into prayer on their behalf.  However, we must be careful and not confuse their value to us with their value to God.  Yes, the centurion has shown love to God’s people and has benefitted them.  It only seems right that they should benefit him back in some way.  Yet, the centurion knows himself.  In verse 6 and 7 he states that he is not worthy.  This beautiful picture would really have been ruined if he had an attitude that he was worthy and Jesus owed Him a miracle.  Intercession can never be about demanding something and making our best case as to why God must do something.  Rather, it is a reenacting of the beauty of God’s heart that gets His attention.

Jesus does not address the worthiness issue.  He could have.  Instead he lets it drop.  However, the teaching of Christ and the apostles is that Jesus is the only one who is worthy to receive anything from God.  No one, but Jesus, is worthy of anything from God, in and of themselves.  Paul talks about his ability to be used powerfully as an apostle in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”  Thus, the Jews did not convince Jesus to come heal the servant by their reasoning.  Rather, they helped convince him by demonstrating that they had a heart like his.  Jesus is the ultimate intercessor and mediator.  God’s heart was so broken over the lostness of mankind that His Son comes to earth in order to intercede and mediate with the Father for man.  This wave after wave of intercessors compels Jesus to give the request, a healing. 

If we are blessed by God it is not because we are worthy, but only because we are believing on the only One who is The Worthy One.  All the money that helped build a synagogue for the Jews would be later destroyed.  It is doing them no good today.  All the love and well-wishing he had for them would do no good to stop the tragedies that lay ahead.  In a material and temporal sense, the centurion’s gifts were wasted and of little value.  But in a spiritual sense they were of great value.  Through them a heart was revealed that believed there was something more to the religion of this people called the Jews.  Through them a heart was revealed that wanted to bless what God was doing.  Through them a heart that believed was revealed, which is of eternal value to God.  God’s heart is about taking those who are far removed from Him and bringing them close.  This centurion was right in thinking that he was a nobody when it came to asking the Messiah of Israel for a healing.  But, good news!  That is exactly who Jesus is looking for.  He is looking for some nobodies.

The Power Of Christ To Heal

If Jesus is famous for anything it is the miracles of healing.  But this passage reveals something deeper about the ability Jesus had to heal.  First, of all it is not by coincidence that the centurion tells Jesus to just “say the words.”  In the Bible the Word of God is everything.  In fact in John 1 it is revealed that Jesus is the ultimate Word of God.  Thus it really is the Word of God that heals.  We must never forget this.  You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  The Word of God is Truth.  The centurion doesn’t know that Jesus is the eternal Word of God.  But he does understand the power of authority.  When a general gives a command the centurions obey.  When the centurion gives a command the legionnaires obey.  Thus the Father spoke the Son into the world and that Word is not done.  He came first to heal the wound of sin.  But He will come again in order to remove the scourge of sin through judgment.  Yet, even that judgment is a completion of the healing of the creation.  He must remove that sin and those sinners who refuse to be healed.  The primary purpose in all that God says and does is to give life of which healing is a subcategory.  Even when God’s Word speaks judgment it is so that we will see our need of healing.  This truth is everywhere in Scripture.  God’s Word doesn’t just heal physical problems.  It is the answer to every situation and problem, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.  Does this idea get abused by some religious people?  Sure.  But what does that have to do with the Truth?  You hear the Truth and embrace it.

Next, we see that Jesus has the authority to heal.  Authority is sometimes translated as power because of the close relationship.  The word here specifically means that Jesus not only has the ability to heal, but that he is free to do so.  He has the right to heal.  Thus Jesus is unique in this area.  He alone has the authority to heal on command.  Even those who have the spiritual gift of healing technically do not have such authority as Jesus did.  Rather, we have the authority to point people to Jesus who does have power to save and heal.  When we point people to Jesus the Holy Spirit will quite frequently come and reveal this saving and healing power.  Thus pastors and teachers do not have the Truth in and of themselves.  The best they can do is point you to the One who does and that is Jesus.  When pastors faithfully point people to the True Jesus the Holy Spirit will be there working to open their eyes and encourage belief.  However, We have the right and authority to share the Truth of who Jesus is with everyone.  The world will challenge us on that.  Even some Christians are beginning to dream up reasons why certain people shouldn’t be evangelized.  However, no matter what man says, our authority is from God Himself.  You be the judge should we obey man or God?

Notice here that faith is centered on Jesus, the One who can heal.  Today, in our desire to get Jesus to do something, we can be a lot like the Jews in this story.  We can do all manner of things in order to be worthy enough to get a healing.  But this is not what gets God’s attention.  Such motivations is what has led people to focus more on believing that the healing will happen rather than Jesus can heal on command.  Thus the miracle becomes the object of our faith instead of Jesus.  Another step away from Jesus is when we actually focus our faith on our faith itself.  This happens when we teach people that they didn’t have enough faith to be healed.  It is possible to not have faith.  But we should be talking about faith in Jesus.  People end up trying to work up some mystical powerful faith that will get them healed on demand.  We need to get back to the simplicity of this story.  A man in need, with friends helping him, intercedes with Jesus for healing.  The rest is up to Jesus.  If He says, “my grace is sufficient for you,” then we need to trust Him and leave it at that.  Thus there are two tensions in our day.  Some refuse to believe that miracles can happen today.  Notice even that statement is not focused on Jesus.  Can Jesus still heal today?  Can the Creator of the universe still create?  Of course He can.  Then healing and miracles can still occur.  We need to be using the rights that Christ has given us to point people to Jesus as their answer for sin, and sickness.  Yet, others have abused this area and turned it into a ludicrous show.  Through sleight of hand, crowd manipulation, bad interpretation of Scripture, and other means, some have abused this area of healing.  Put your faith on Jesus not the healing.  Put your faith on Jesus not your own faith.  Walk forward in trust and Jesus will give you all that you need.  Believe that.

Authority to Heal Audio