Matthew 8:1-13
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, October 10

 

Trusting Jesus to Meet Our Needs (Mt. 8:1-4)

In our passage under consideration this week, we find that Jesus reached out and helped two people of totally different life situations. One was a leper, an outcast from society with no one to help him. The other a centurion who was a man of authority. He was an officer in the Roman army given command over a hundred men.

This centurion was a very powerful and well-known man. Jesus Christ desires to meet the needs of people across the total spectrum of life. The poor leper and the rich centurion both realized that they had a situation that was beyond them and they called upon Jesus for help because they both knew He had the power and willingness to help them.

In our day, there are many people who believe that if you are right with God then everything is going to go right for you. On the other hand, if God does not answer all of one's needs then they must not be right with God.

The "name it and claim it" crowd is simply wrong in teaching people such things. The thing that affected a healing and a blessing in the lives of the two men we examine today was their faith in the ability of Jesus to meet their needs and a faith in His willingness to do so. They recognized something we often forget today. They recognized the authority that Jesus has over all the things of life, even disease and death.

Their faith was not some nebulous concept. It was grounded in the knowledge that Jesus has authority to act. They simply asked Him to assert His authority over their situation. In their view, what they wanted was a miracle, but it was something that was a normal activity for Jesus. He is still able to minister to His people in the same way.

He has not lost His power to affect miracles in our lives.

 

Turning to Jesus for Help (Mt. 8:5-9)

There are several things we should note about the centurion in our passage. First, he was a powerful man himself. Secondly, he understood the authority of Jesus (v.9) and that Jesus has authority over all things.

He did not come and say, "Jesus, I believe in you and since I have faith in you, I am asking you to heal my servant." He said, "I am a man of authority, and I recognize that you are a man of authority. As I tell men what to do and they do it, so you can tell disease and death what to do and they must obey. I am appealing to you to exercise your authority where my servant is concerned ..." (Harrell paraphrase). Thirdly, the centurion was at the end of himself and he came to the One who could solve the problem.

One of the main problems with people is that they have a hard time coming to the end of themselves. Our society has taught us that "we can do it ourselves." We absorb the idea that we are an entity unto ourselves and that keeps us from turning to the Lord for help. We just find it hard to admit that something is beyond us.

The centurion reached a point of desperation, forgot about who he was and laid it all at the feet of Jesus. We know the rest of the story. The servant was healed by long distance and the centurion was sent home to his restored friend.

So the leper said: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." There was no doubt in his mind. The centurion laid out the situation for Jesus and before he could ask Jesus to come and perform a miracle of healing, the Lord volunteered to do so. Jesus was ready, willing and able to solve the situation even before the centurion asked him to come.

Jesus knows our needs even more than we do. He sees the depths of our situations and we can be thankful that we can have confidence in His willingness and ability to deal with our situation no matter what it is.

 

Accepting Jesus' Help to Meet Our Needs (Mt. 8:10-13)

When we come to Jesus for help, several things are true. First, we must come to him in faith, recognizing His ability and willingness to help us. Secondly, our request of Him must fall within the will of God for our lives, and thirdly, we must be willing to accept His assistance.

Accepting the help of Jesus involves more than just being willing to receive it. It involves a change of life that speaks of our love for Him and our willingness to live under His guidance.

The salvation of the soul is the prime example of what we are discussing today. A person must reach the end of themselves and realize that only Jesus can solve their problem of lostness. They must also realize that only Jesus has the authority to deal with their sin and heal them spiritually. Then that person must be willing to ask the Lord to perform the greatest miracle of all and save their soul.

Scripture tells us that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He will respond to us for salvation just as He responded to the leper and the centurion and solved their problem. Jesus stands ready, willing and able to answer all our needs and especially the one lost people have ... the need to be saved.