Jesus in the Old Testament is a sermon series on finding Jesus in the whole Bible. The Kingdom of God — How would God fulfill his promise to King David: to establish from his house, a king, but not just any king, a king who would reign forever! Who would this king be who would be called God’s son? Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God. Recorded on June 13, 2021, on 2 Samuel 7:1-17, by Joe Makeever.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a sermon series on finding Jesus in the whole Bible. Melchizedek — Who is this mysterious character who is described as a priest of God Most High during the time of Abraham, and the king of righteousness and peace? Who is this one who offers gifts of bread and wine, a blessing, and an invitation to worship? Recorded on May 30, 2021, on Genesis 14:13-20, by Pastor David Parks.
So all year, we’ve been focusing on the Person and Work of Jesus. And last week, we started our final sermon series under this annual theme called Jesus in the Old Testament. The three-in-one nature of God, this peculiar teaching that God is a perfect, loving community of Father, Son, and Spirit, became clearer by the time of the NT in the Bible, but even in the OT, we see certain images and characters who prefigure/foreshadow the person/work of Jesus. And that’s what this series is all about: finding Jesus in the OT. Well, last week we considered the mysterious character of the Angel of the Lord. If you missed that message, you can always go back on watch on YouTube or listen to the audio podcast. Today, we’re visiting another mysterious character in the OT named Melchizedek. Now, Melchizedek is fascinating: an ancient priest who was known as the king of righteousness and the king of peace, who comes from Jerusalem to bless God’s people with bread and wine. Does that remind you of anyone else in the Bible? Does this sound familiar? If you have a Bible/app, please open it to Ge 14:13.
Genesis 14:13-20, “13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Ok! So we jumped right into the middle of something. What did the man escape from and why did Abram and his band of 300 Navy Seals go rampaging after them? Well, the first half of chapter 14 describes alliances of kings going to war against each other. And one group, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies, fight another group lead by the king, Kedorlaomer. The alliance is soundly defeated and scattered. Kedorlaomer seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, including their people and their food/possessions as their brave kings ran and hid. Lot, Abram’s relative, was caught up in all of that and was captured by Kedorlaomer. When Abram heard what had happened, he marshaled his troops, which, by the way, shows how wealthy and powerful he had become by this point in time, and pursued the armies who had captured Lot. They defeated the armies of the kings that for sure would’ve been far larger by a sneak attack at night, turned it into a route. Then they recovered all the goods and people and came back home. Epic. The movie 300 with Gerard Butler where a band of 300 men went up against a far larger army was fiction. This is history. Let’s pick up the story after the battle when Abram meets this mysterious character of King Melchizedek in v. 18.
Genesis 14:18, “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,” Let’s pause here. Melchizedek appears seemingly out of nowhere and then disappears. But his name comes up repeatedly (10 more times) in the rest of the Bible. Why? Because even though he’s only in 3 short verses in the book of Genesis, there’s a wealth of meaning in how he’s described and in what he does for Abram. Let’s start with how he’s described. First, Moses, the author of Genesis, says he’s a priest. Of the 700+ times that the Hebrew word for priest is used in the OT, this mysterious character of Melchizedek is the first person to be described as a priest. Even more interesting, he’s described as a priest of God Most High, meaning Yahweh, the LORD, the God who had called Abraham, though he was still called Abram at this time. How did Melchizedek become a priest of God Most High? The Levitical priesthood, of the line of Aaron, wouldn’t be established for another 400+ years with Moses at Mount Sinai. There’s no genealogy given to describe his family, meaning he wasn’t a priest by birth as far as we can tell. Or did God call Melchizedek to be his priest through an act of divine revelation, as he had called Abram? It doesn’t say. No explanation is given. We just have to accept the fact that he’s a priest. Ok, second, he’s a king, the king of Salem. Now Salem is an ancient name for the city which became known as Jerusalem. And Salem means peace. The author of the book of Hebrews in the NT points out the fact that his name, Melchi-zedek means king of righteousness, and being the king of Salem means he is also the king of peace. King of righteousness and the king of peace. Again, this is rich with meaning and brings up more questions than answers at this point in the narrative. So Melchizedek is described as a priest-king of the Most High God, known by righteousness and peace. Finally, let’s consider his actions. What does he do? In v. 18, he brings out bread and wine (interesting) and he freely offers this as a gift for Abram to celebrate his victory of defeating the enemy and freeing the captives from king Kedorlaomer. And here, they share a table to celebrate this saving work. Let’s continue in v. 19.
Genesis 14:19-20a, “and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Let’s pause. The surrounding peoples did not believe that God Most High was the Creator of heaven and earth. They had local deities and national deities, but not one God who was the creator of all things. So again, Melchizedek is a priest of Abram’s God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Moses and David and all the people of God. And as a priest, he offers a blessing for God’s people. “Blessed be Abram by God Most High.” Many years later, God established the priestly blessing that we often use to close our services from Numbers 6, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” God wanted his priests to bless his people and here, Melchizedek blesses Abram. Second, he also calls for a response of worship. “Praise be to God Most High.” Why? Because Melchizedek recognized that it was God who was the one who delivered the enemy into the hand of Abram. The Lord was the source of the victory and he deserved all the glory, honor, and praise. Later, under the Mosaic Law, the Levitical priests were also responsible for organizing and leading the service of worship for the people of God, offering gifts and sacrifices for the people, reading and teaching from the Scriptures, and leading them in songs of praised and thanksgiving. So how would Abram respond to this mysterious character? Would he try and forge an alliance? Would he try and leverage him for political power or wealth? We have a simple statement at the end of v. 20.
Genesis 14:20b, “Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Again, later, under the Mosaic Law, the people of Israel were commanded to give a tithe or a tenth of their income to support the work of the Levites. Here, Abram gives a tenth of everything to Melchizedek. Not because he was obligated under the law, but as we would say, as a freewill offering. This is closer to what we find today in the new covenant established by Jesus. A tithe isn’t commanded anymore. But rather, you are to give to the Lord as you have decided in your heart to give, freely and joyfully, as an act of worship. It might be 10%. It might be more than 10%. I know of people who have the resources to reverse tithe or give 90% to the Lord and live on 10% rather than the other way around. God doesn’t care as much about the amount or the percentage as much as your heart of worship behind the gift. The point is, Abram gave a tenth to God through Melchizedek as an offering of praise in response to the call to worship given by this priest-king of God Most High. Now, the end of chapter 14 compares the king of Sodom to the king of Salem. Sodom was notoriously corrupt, but basically represents the normal way of the kings and the kingdoms of this broken world. However, contrasted with this vision of the violence, corruption, and greed that so often mark the kingdoms of this world, Moses, holds up Melchizedek as an entirely different kind of king: a priest-king of God, coming out with a gift of bread and wine to bless and call God’s people to worship. And we’re left asking the question: who acts like this? What sort of king gives gifts and offers blessings to people not part of their kingdom? His actions and Abram’s response implies that he is greater than even Abraham, the one that God chose to be a blessing to all the nations and peoples of the earth. Let’s add one more wrinkle to this story. Almost a thousand years later, David, another king of Salem/Jerusalem, another person who functioned as both a priest and a king, wrote a song in which he refers to Melchizedek. Let’s look at that now.
Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” So here, David says that God Most High has sworn to someone, someone whom king David calls his Lord, to be a priest. But not a normal Leviticus priest. And not a priest who would come and go, to be replaced by the next generation when they are dead and gone. But a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. David prophetically anticipates that there would be another priesthood that would supersede the Levites. There would be a great high priest to come that would last forever, like Melchizedek in that Moses doesn’t describe his genealogy or his death, he is presented as if he just exists. Well, who could this be?? This leads us forward in time all the way to the book of Hebrews. About a thousand years after the time of King David, the author of Hebrews is especially concerned with connecting the dots from the OT to Jesus. In fact, the purpose of Hebrews is very similar to the purpose of our sermon series, Jesus in the Old Testament. And chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Hebrews unpack how Melchizedek is like a big sign, pointing to the person and work of Jesus. Jesus is a priest of the order of Melchizedek. After all, who else but Jesus is the true king of righteousness? Jesus said, I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. Saying, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And how do we find this surpassing righteousness? In the gospel. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,” Jesus was the only one who was truly righteous, free from the stain of sin. And by faith in Jesus, his righteousness is given to us. Jesus is the true king of righteousness.
What about peace? Isaiah said Jesus would be the Prince of Peace. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Jesus is the king of righteousness and peace. And what about the bread and wine? Well, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus established the new covenant by his blood. And to mark this new covenant, he established a practice for his people for all time, that whenever you share the bread and wine, you remember and proclaim his death until he returns. And what does this commemorate? Not the victory of Abram over the alliance of kings. But the victory of Jesus over our ultimate enemies of sin and death. And not the freedom of the captives to Kedorlaomer, but the freedom we have in Christ. And what about the blessing and the call to worship of Melchizedek? After his resurrection and ascension back to heaven, and to this very day, Jesus serves as our Great High Priest. He offered Himself as the once for all sacrifice that we needed. He blesses all who turn to Him by faith. And his person and work invite a whole-life response of worship and praise. So where do we find Jesus in the OT? In the fascinating story of this ancient priest-king Melchizedek. Isn’t this amazing?
Jesus in the Old Testament is a sermon series on finding Jesus in the whole Bible. The Angel of the Lord — Who is this mysterious character that seems to speak on behalf of God one minute, and then be God the next? Who is the true messenger who mediates between God and his people? Recorded on May 23, 2021, on Exodus 3:1-12, by Pastor David Parks.
So all year, we’ve been focusing on the Person and Work of Jesus. And today, we’re starting our last sermon series under this annual theme called Jesus in the Old Testament. Christians believe that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, existed before he was born. Not in The Great Before, as a pre-made personality like in the movie, Soul. But as God the Son, existing from eternity past. So when Jesus was born as a human being, we talk of him being sent into the world, of one who was God being made flesh. Now, the three-in-one nature of God the Father, Son, and Spirit became clearer by the time of the NT, but even in the OT, we see certain images and characters who prefigure/reflect/foreshadow the person/work of Jesus. In fact, after the resurrection, Jesus himself taught that the whole Bible was about him. I preached on this back in March. And that’s what this series is all about: finding Jesus in the OT. Well, the first of these prefigurations that we’ll consider is the mysterious character of the Angel of the Lord. Who is the Angel of the Lord? That is a great question. If you have a Bible/app, please open it to Ex 3:1.
Exodus 3:1-12, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.”
So Moses was an Israelite born when his people were slaves in Egypt. Over the hundreds of years that the people of Israel were in Egypt, the favor of the Egyptians/Pharaoh turned against them and in Moses’ day, they were being harshly oppressed and abused. In the providence of God, Moses, however, was raised in Pharaoh’s household with all the wealth and prosperity that would bring. So if there was anyone who had the education and the political relationships to lead God’s people out of captivity in Egypt, it would’ve been Moses. But it didn’t seem to work out. When Moses grew up, he was pulled into a dispute between an Israelite and an Egyptian and wound up killing the Egyptian. Let’s start back at v 1 and work through this text.
Exodus 3:1, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” So after he killed the Egyptian, Moses was forced to flee from Egypt to Midian which is the modern country of Saudi Arabia. And Moses was accepted as a refugee there. He married a girl, started a family, and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. Now here, some 40 years later, at what Moses likely believed to be the end of his career as a shepherd, he was on a journey several weeks from his home in Midian. And he found himself on Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, which was also known as Mount Sinai. This mountain was to be a very important place in the Bible as it would be the location of where God would both call Moses and establish his covenant with his people with the Law and The 10 Commandments and so forth. But now, the scene opens with only Moses and a flock of sheep in the scrub of the desert wilderness. v. 2.
Exodus 3:2-6, “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.” Now here, we have what is called a Theophany, or an appearance of God to a human being. And how does God appear to Moses? Well at first, Moses, who is the author of Exodus, writes that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him. And how does he appear? Well, the first thing to catch his attention is this bush that was burning but didn’t seem to burn up. Of course, that would be very unusual, and people of this time were intelligent enough to recognize that this was not the sort of thing that happened all the time. What was going on? Moses was curious and moved closer to investigate. And it says that when the Lord saw he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush. From then on, it seems to be God himself who is interacting with Moses. It was God who called to him. And when he did he said, I am the God of your ancestors and Moses was afraid to look at God. So who is speaking from the burning bush; is it God or not? And that is a great question, but let me come back to that. v. 7.
Exodus 3:7-10, “The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” So here, in this theophany, God reveals his character to us. God is not far off and removed, but he is near. He cares. He has heard the cry of his people and is concerned about their suffering. And isn’t that good news? Isn’t that good news that this is what God is like?? Even more than that, it is God who has come down to rescue them and deliver them into the land that he had promised to Abraham years before. Then, God commissions Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring Israel out of Egypt. How would Moses respond to this unusual conversation, with the angel of the Lord? Would he take his place as the leader of Israel that he had wanted to be all those years earlier? Now that he had spent 40 years in the wilderness of Midian, would he now go back to Egypt, to all those people he had run away from? v. 11.
Exodus 3:11-12, “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” So Moses is a little hesitant, probably thinking of how his first attempt to lead his people went all those years ago. But God is so merciful. God graciously reassures Moses that he isn’t being sent alone. God says, “I will be with you.” And gives him a sign that what he is saying is true. Now, the story of the Exodus is fantastic and unfortunately, we’re going to have to stop here for this morning. The story of the Exodus, as a whole, is a picture of the person/work of Jesus. It’s a story of salvation by the grace/power of God from the bondage of slavery. It’s a story of a people who are called into a new, covenantal relationship with God in the kingdom of God. Does that sound familiar to you? That is our story in Christ. But for today, and for the rest of our time today, we’re not looking at the whole of the Exodus, we’re just looking at this mysterious character of the Angel of the Lord. Who is this, and what does he have to do with Jesus? Well first, let’s step back and ask this question: what is an angel? There’s a store in downtown Appleton called Angels Forever, Windows of Light where you can buy crystals and gems and other things to tap into the spiritual power of angels. Is any of that real?
What is an angel? The Hebrew word for angel is the word, malak, which means messenger and has a root in the idea of one who is sent, meaning sent with a message/mission. The Greek word is, angelos, which is where the city of Los Angelas gets its name. The bible presents angels as created spiritual beings who interact at times with people in the world; angels are not other gods/goddesses. They are not controlled by crystals or other trinkets, but rather are created beings who are supposed to do the will of God. However, some angels have rebelled against God, led by a powerful angel named Lucifer. Unfortunately for the curious among us, the details of this angelic rebellion are not very clear. I suspect that if the Lord thought the details would be helpful to us, he would’ve shared them with us. But ever since, these fallen angels are now called demons and Lucifer became known as the Satan/Adversary/Devil. Now again, the devil is not a god, nor is he as powerful as God, as if good and evil were equal but opposing forces. However, angels are more powerful than human beings, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, and they seem to be immortal creatures. This means that the Devil and his angels have had countless generations to perfect their subtle craft of deception, temptation, and destruction. The most common spiritual attack is not a possession like that of the movie The Exorcist. But rather, the slippery question, “Did God really say…?” In other words, questioning the word of God, with the implication that God must not have your best in mind in his word or in his will. That is the serpent’s deception in the garden and has been the main strategy of demonic attack ever since. If you want to defeat the devil, read your Bible and believe it. He has no power compared to the power of God.
Who is the angel of the Lord? So angels are created spiritual beings who are to be messengers of God, sent by God and doing the will of God. We see angels functioning in this way in other places. Angels like Gabriel announcing the birth of Jesus or Michael appearing to the prophet Daniel. We also see the word for angel used to refer to human messengers as well. In Malachi 3, God says he will send his messenger who will prepare the way before the coming of the Lord. The messenger here refers to John the Baptizer. However, the character of the Angel of the Lord seems to be a different character than other angels or demons or even other people in the bible. As mysterious as it might seem, the Angel of the Lord seems at times to be both a messenger sent by God and God himself. And we saw that in our passage today. Who was speaking from the burning bush? Was it the Angel of the Lord speaking to Moses or was it the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The answer seems to be yes. The Angel in one moment seems to be separate from God and in the very next moment, God himself. What is going on here? Who is this person?
Jesus is the messenger who mediates between God and his people. The angel of the Lord makes a number of appearances in the OT. He speaks to Hagar in Ge 16, he intervenes at the last minute when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in Ge 22. The angel of the Lord would go with the people of Israel after they left Egypt and later appeared to Gideon in Judges 6 and other places in the OT. But then in the NT, the character of the angel of the Lord seems to disappear. However, there’s a new character who seems to be both with God and who was God. John the Apostle says his name is Jesus. In John 1:18 John says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” Jesus was with God as the Son of God but Jesus was also God himself. As the God-man, Jesus Christ was sent from heaven as both a messenger of God, revealing God to us. But also as the true angel, one who perfectly did the will of his Father in heaven. Was this mysterious character of the Angel of the Lord a pre-incarnate Jesus? Who else could it be? The messenger of God speaking the very word of God; God himself. So why did Jesus come into the world? Because the world needed a perfect sacrifice. The world needed the cross of Christ. So Jesus didn’t stay in heaven. He came and he died and rose again for us. To both reveal to us who God is but also to rescue us into a new relationship with God in the kingdom of God. 1Ti 2:5-6a, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” In the OT, the angel of the Lord is a prefiguration of the work of Jesus. And just might be Jesus himself. Jesus is the messenger who mediates between God and his people. No one comes to the Father except through him. Are you ready to listen to him? And believe in his name? If so, know that he goes with you just as he promised Moses. And his presence makes all the difference, even today. Let us pray.
Super Natural is a sermon series on the miraculous works of Jesus in the Bible. The Gospel is Preached to the Poor — God’s heart is moved by our needs. God’s only Son was given for our greatest need. The poor respond in worship and witness. Recorded on May 16, 2021, on Luke 7:11-17, by Pastor David Parks.
So all year, we’ve been focusing on the Person and Work of Jesus. And today, we’re finishing a series called Super Natural. As we’ve said, everywhere Jesus went, he did three things: he preached about the kingdom of God, he called men/women to follow him, and he did miracles. Jesus said about his ministry, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” And we’ve looked at each of these miracles in turn, as signs authenticating the person/work of Jesus. But also, as living parables teaching us about the character of God and his desire for us, his people. So today, we’ll finish this series by considering the statement, “and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” What does that mean? Why would that matter? Well, if you have a Bible/app, please open it to Luke 7:11.
Luke 7:11-17, “11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”
Now, at first reading, this might not seem like the best example of preaching good news to the poor, but I think you’ll understand more after we unpack this text together. So first, Luke was a physician and a historian who became a Christian through the ministry of the Apostle Paul around the city of Ephesus. Luke didn’t follow Jesus in Palestine but rather did a careful investigation into the person/work of Jesus by interviewing eyewitnesses who had followed Jesus. v. 11.
Luke 7:11, “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.” Ok, so Nain, right? We all know where that is. Well, let’s look at a map here. Nain was in the region of Galilee near Nazareth and southwest of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus did much of his early ministry. Luke says that his disciples are with him and there’s a large crowd of people following as well. Perhaps they had heard about Jesus and wanted to hear him preach. Or perhaps they had a need and were hoping for a miracle from him. But either way, Jesus is very popular at this point. Let’s keep going with v. 12.
Luke 7:12, “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.” Let’s pause here. So the crowd following Jesus meets with another crowd, one who is part of a funeral procession. And who died? Luke says that it was the only son of a mother who was also a widow. Now, this is significant. Why? Because in this day, in this time/place, a woman’s security was found in her family. There were few social safety net programs, no government aid. You either had a family who could work and provide and take care of you as you got older, or you were on your own. So for a widow to lose her only son, this was especially tragic, her son representing her hope and her future. Imagine how you would feel if you were her — walking beside your son’s body being carried to the tomb. Now, there was a large crowd from the town with her, so she wasn’t alone. But the rest of the town likely understood what a tragedy this was which was why they were all supporting her in this time of grief. What would Jesus do? How would he respond? v. 13.
Luke 7:13-15, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” How did Jesus respond? Luke says, when the Lord saw her, what? His heart went out to her. His heart was moved with pity and compassion. He couldn’t let this procession pass. He was moved to action, saying, “Don’t cry.” The Lord was going to act. He was going to do something that would take away their mourning and grief. He would do something which would turn their tears into tears of joy. And what does Jesus do? He went up and touched the bier, or the frame they were carrying him on. Imagine if you were watching this unfold. Two crowds of people, probably a few thousand eyewitnesses. What did the widow think? Did she know Jesus? Had she heard of him? If Jesus didn’t have the power of God to raise the dead, think of how awkward this would’ve been! But Jesus was moved with compassion and physically stood in between this young man and his grave. He blocked the process of death. Also, he touched the pallet that the young man was laying on. This would’ve rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean. But he did it anyway. Jesus wasn’t concerned about looking awkward or becoming unclean by death. He was concerned with doing something to fix it. So he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” And what happened? “The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” Here, Luke points out the great tragedy of a widow who loses her only son, until Jesus intervenes and restores him to her. What a dramatic scene. What a great reversal! How did the crowds respond?? Let’s finish this text in v.16.
Luke 7:16-17, “They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” They were all filled with awe and praised God. And folks, if there’s anything I want you to take away from this Super Natural series it’s this: this is Jesus. We clearly see his character and his power. This scene is just so typical of Jesus. But how does this relate to the statement that “the good news is proclaimed to the poor”? Well, in this brief interaction, we see three things that have everything to do with good news for the poor. We see three things: God’s heart and God’s son which constitute the good news, and third, we see the response of the poor. So first, God’s heart.
God’s heart is moved by our needs. Where do we see this in our text? Right there in v. 13, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”” The action of Jesus was anticipated by his emotions. Now I don’t know what you picture when you think about God. I don’t know what character attributes or images come into your mind or how you feel about yourself in relation to him. But one of the main ideas about who God is, according to the revelation of the Bible, is that God is compassionate. He is not far off and removed from the brokenness of the world. He is not cold and unfeeling or apathetic to the struggles in your life. “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.” God is just and always does what is right, but the really good news is that God is compassionate and gracious. When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush in Ex 3, do you remember what he said? “The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” Or years later, when Jesus saw the crowds, in Matthew’s gospel it says that, “he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Whether our needs are needs for food/shelter/healing/life/friendship/forgiveness/reconciliation, God’s heart is moved by our needs. But what good would that be if God failed to do anything about it? What good would God’s emotions be for us if he took pity on us but refused to act? That brings us to point number two, the other half of the good news: God’s Son.
God’s only Son was given for our greatest need. Luke mentions the crowd following Jesus meeting the crowd at the funeral. When God sends his only Son to us, and Jesus halts the funeral procession of humanity, breaking the power of death itself. It’s not done in secret, off to the side of history. It’s done on the world stage, before all of creation. In this text, literally in front of what was likely thousands of eyewitnesses with angels and all of the heavenly host watching with bated breath. With the full power and intentionality of the Father in heaven. The multitude following Jesus meets the multitude in mourning and the result brings holy fear and reverential praise. Who could do what Jesus has done?? Who has the power over death? Who can restore what is utterly lost? Who can give hope to the hopeless and life to the dead? Well Jesus, of course. Now, I don’t think it’s an accident that Luke mentions the fact that the widow’s son is her only son. Let’s look at v. 12 again.
Luke 7:12, “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.” As I mentioned, this was a very big deal for the widow in her culture. But this language is familiar. In fact, the Apostle John uses the very same language to describe Jesus as the Son of God. John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” This language emphasizes the absolute uniqueness of Jesus as the Son of God, who was God himself. Jesus had raised this young man from the dead and gave him back to his mother, but this young man was destined to die once again, unless…unless death itself could finally be overcome. God’s heart is moved by our needs, but could God do something about our greatest need? The need for spiritual life and love and peace with God? Yes, but it would only come by the death of another son. When all of humanity was laying on the frame, dead in its transgressions and sins, who stopped the procession? Who intervened? Who came on a rescue mission to seek and to save the lost? It was none other than the one and only Son. When we were separated from God by our sins, who came to pay the price that we could never pay by dying on the cross in our place? It was Jesus. God’s only Son was given for our greatest need. In his great heart of love, moved with pity and compassion by our greatest need, God sent his own Son into the world, to live and die and rise again. And he is reigning and ruling today as the great Lord of all creation. And he will one day return and make all things new, finishing the work that he started all those years ago.
And isn’t this good news? This is who God is — the one who created the heavens and the earth, the one who has the power to rescue and redeem. And this is what God has done and is doing and has promised for our future in Christ. This is what Christians call the gospel or the good news. And it’s centered on the person/work of Jesus. When Jesus came, he could preach/proclaim this good news because he embodied the good news, he was the good news. But for who? The poor.
The poor respond in worship and witness. Why do I say, the poor respond? This passage doesn’t say anything about the economic condition of the widow. Who knows, maybe she was wealthy. So where does this come from? Well, in the chapter before this, in Lk 6, Luke records the teaching of Jesus that in Matthew’s gospel is called the sermon on the mount. And in it, Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Matthew has Jesus saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” So economic poverty is a picture of our spiritual condition. We aren’t just a little short of what we need, we are utterly spiritually bankrupt before God. So the arrival/person/work of Jesus, is fantastically good news for those who recognize their need, regardless of what they have in their bank account. We are poor and in desperate need before God, however, there is a blessing to this realization. Why? Because this is the only prerequisite for receiving the work of Jesus on our behalf. And how do the people respond when they understand all they’ve been given in Jesus? In worship and witness. They praise/worship the Lord, and they tell everyone about him. This is still the best way to respond to the gospel. To sing the praises of the greatness of our God. And to tell everyone about him. I was in my mid-twenties when the depths of the gospel became a reality to my heart. And when I my eyes were opened to who God is and what he had done for me in Jesus, I realized: everyone needs to hear about this. In fact, that was the driving heartbeat for planting Appleton Gospel Church. And ever since, our mission has been all about sharing good news. All of the miraculous works of Jesus are a picture of this good news. Healing and joy and peace and life are found in Jesus’ name. Do you believe that this is true? Have you trusted in him? Come to him. He is compassionate and gracious. No matter who you are, you won’t be turned away. Come to him. He was given on the cross for our greatest need. Whether we have another 10 years as a church or 100 or 1000, may we enjoy him and sing his praises forever and ever, the one and only Son who died and rose again.
Super Natural is a sermon series on the miraculous works of Jesus in the Bible. The Dead are Raised — What is our hope in life and death? The dead are raised by the word of Jesus. His power is accessed by faith and works itself out through the whole of the Christian life. Recorded on May 9, 2021, on Mark 5:21-43, by Pastor David Parks.
All year, we’re focusing on the Person and Work of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a series called Super Natural. Everywhere Jesus went, he did three things: he preached about the kingdom of God, he called men/women to follow him as his disciples, and he did miracles. In Matthew 11, When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Jesus expected the works to authenticate his words, to prove that he was who he claimed to be. But also, these works serve as living parables that teach us about the character of God and his desire for us, his people. So today, we’re considering the statement, “the dead are raised.” What does that mean? Well, if you have a Bible/app, please open it to Mark 5:21.
Mark 5:21-43, “When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.”
So, as I said last week, Mark’s gospel was written by John Mark in the mid-60’s AD. Mark was an assistant to the Apostle Paul and Peter and here, we have Jesus doing a two-for-one miracle, healing a woman and raising a girl from the dead. Let’s start back with v. 21 and work our way through this text.
Mark 5:21-24, “When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.” So Jesus is traveling across the Sea of Galilee and when he arrives, a large crowd gathers around him. Then Jairus runs up, falls at Jesus’ feet and pleads with him on behalf of his daughter. We don’t know what is wrong, but we know that she is dying. Put yourself in Jairus’ shoes. Feel the desperation. Think of what you would be willing to do if there was a chance that your daughter might be healed. And Jesus seems to be willing to help! Even with the large crowd following and, as Mark says, pressing around him, he starts to go with Jairus. Let’s continue. v. 25.
Mark 5:25-29, “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” This is amazing. While Jesus is headed to Jairus’ house, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years touches Jesus’ cloak and was healed. This is the power of Jesus. This is the capacity of Jesus for healing and life. Immediately, Mark often says, her bleeding stopped and she knew she was healed, freed from her suffering. Now, this woman’s suffering would’ve been both physical and suffering as her bleeding would’ve rendered her ceremonially unclean. She wouldn’t have been able to go to the temple with others until the bleeding had stopped and there were extra regulations around what she could and couldn’t do. But instantly, all that was done. She was healed and free. v.30.
Mark 5:30-34, “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Now this is curious. Does Jesus really not know who touched him? In his divinity, Jesus surely would’ve known, but in his humanity, did he not know? Or was it that he wanted her to go public with her faith, as it were, to come forward and make her reliance on Jesus for healing and life something that people could see? The text isn’t clear. But what is clear is that Jesus was the source of healing and it was faith in him that gave her access to his power. “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” This is amazing. Only God could have this kind of power. But wait. Jesus is wasting time! Jairus’ daughter is dying and Jesus is stuck in the crowd. Let’s keep going. v. 35.
Mark 5:35-39, “While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” So in the time it took for Jesus to heal the woman in the crowd, Jairus’ daughter had died. But Jesus wasn’t disappointed. He didn’t give up hope. He didn’t turn around that day in despair. He called for faith once again. “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Don’t be afraid, of what? Of death! Don’t be afraid of death, our great enemy. The assured end of all people, rich or poor, young or old, religious or non-religious. The great elephant in the room of our modern-day culture. We’ll talk about anything but death. But what would Jesus do? He could heal the sick, could he really raise the dead?? As Jesus went to the house, he took a smaller number of his disciples. He didn’t bring the crowd with him for this, probably because is was such a sensitive situation. A family in mourning. A father who would do anything. For Jesus, his three closest disciples were Peter, James, and John. They were with him for everything and they were witnesses of what took place that day. When they arrive at the home, the people are mourning in the typical way of their time/place: crying and wailing loudly. Jesus goes in and asks why there is such a commotion, saying, “The child is not dead but asleep.” Excuse me, but what? How could he say this? Look at v. 40.
Mark 5:40-43, “But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.” For me, this is especially personal because my daughter, Lia, is twelve years old; Jairus’ daughter is Lia. So Jesus goes in with her mom and dad and the three disciples, took the girl by the hand, and at his word/command, immediately, the girl was alive once again. Both the family’s mourning and their astonishment reveal that they truly believed the girl to be dead, but she is alive again! Their weeping and mourning were turned to joy and dancing. A great tragedy, the tragedy of a girl of only twelve years old having died, was reversed. Think of what her mom and dad must’ve felt. Think of what Peter, James, and John would’ve been thinking. Who is this man who has such power over illness, disease, and even life and death? Is this God in the flesh? Is this the Author of life? That was the claim of Jesus and that was the conclusion of the disciples of Jesus. In fact, this has been the claim of Christianity ever since. Jesus was the Son of God sent from heaven. He was fully man but he was also fully God. This is why he could say/do things that only God could say/do. And what is needed from us? Only faith in him. Death is not much of an obstacle for the One who is the source of all life. But what does this mean for us? How do we apply this teaching to our lives today in following the way of Jesus? I just have one thought as we close our time together which is this:
The dead are raised by the word of Jesus. This is true in 4 different dimensions/ways: in healing, conversion, discipleship, and in the resurrection of the dead. First, in healing. This is what we observed in our text for today. At the voice of Jesus, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”), the little girl got up. She was raised to life, not by medicine or by CPR, but simply by the voice of Jesus. This is Jesus. This is the power of Jesus. Whether it was this little girl or later, at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, Jesus demonstrated authority over even death. Death is obedient to the command of Christ. The dead are raised by the word of Jesus in healing. We see that clearly in the Scriptures.
Second, the dead are raised by the word of Jesus in conversion. Physical death is a picture of our spiritual condition apart from Christ. The Apostle Paul describes our spiritual condition before conversion as being dead in our trespasses and sins. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one would see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again, meaning spiritual birth and life. Twice in our text today, Jesus pointed to the role of faith to access the power of healing and life. To become a Christian is to put your faith in Jesus. And this only happens when you recognize in the gospel the truth about who Jesus is. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” As a church, we get to participate in this ministry of raising the dead when we preach the gospel and when men and women hear and believe. Those who were spiritually dead are made alive in Christ, they are born again. So the dead are raised by the word of Jesus in conversion.
Third, in discipleship, in our life of following the way of Jesus. We are called in Christ to follow him. That means through many dangers, toils, and snares as the old hymn says. Jesus taught us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The cross is a symbol of death. Our life must be given up, our path is one of humility and self-denial. The path to greatness in the Kingdom of God is counterintuitively to give up your life rather than to make much of your life. However. In Jesus, we see one who was willing to humble himself lower than anyone else. The Son of God sent from heaven, God himself, became a human being? And died? And died on a cross?? But it was because of his willingness to humble himself and die that God raised him and exalted him up to the highest place. The dead are raised by the word of Jesus in discipleship as well. Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand and he will raise you up as well.
Fourth, and finally, the dead are raised by the word of Jesus at the resurrection of the dead. On that great and glorious day, Jesus will return, the dead will be raised and everyone will give an account of their lives to him. Do not make the mistake of thinking that there is no hope beyond death. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this life is all that there is. In the word of Jesus, there is power/healing/redemption/life. Turn to him. Trust in him. He is the only one who was willing to lay down his life so that we might gain life, and have it to the full. He is the only one who claims authority over death because he died and rose again himself. The Author of life has met, fought, and won the victory over death and grave forever and ever. Amen.
Super Natural is a sermon series on the miraculous works of Jesus in the Bible. The Leper Cleansed — Jesus reached out and touched a man, healing him from leprosy. This miracle teaches four things: Sin is a stain. Sin separates. Jesus cleanses the stain of sin. Jesus reconciles in relationship. Recorded on April 25, 2021, on Matthew 8:1-4, by Pastor David Parks.
Today, we’re continuing a series called Super Natural. Everywhere Jesus went, he did three things: he preached about the kingdom of God, he called men and women to follow him as his disciples, and he did miracles. In Matthew 11, When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Jesus expected the miracles to authenticate his ministry, to prove that he was who he claimed to be. But also, these works serve as living parables that teach us about the character of God and his desire for us, his people. So today, we’re considering the statement, “those who have leprosy are cleansed.” What does that mean? Well, if you have a Bible or a Bible app, please open it to Matthew 8:1. Let’s read together: Matthew 8:1-4 (NIV), “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
So Matthew, who was also called Levi, was an Apostle of Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector before he became a Christian, which probably means he was wealthy but not welcome in his community. That probably gives him a unique perspective on this story of welcoming and healing an outsider. Let’s start again at v. 1.
Matthew 8:1, “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.” So Matthew places this account immediately after the famous Sermon on the Mount — the mountainside being where Jesus was preaching which makes sense to accommodate the large crowds who were following him at this time. The Apostle gives us the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7 as a sample of the preaching ministry of Jesus and then goes on to report 10 different miracles as a sample of the miraculous ministry of Jesus. The cleansing of the leper, here, being the first of those 10 accounts. Let’s continue in v. 2.
Matthew 8:2, “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” The term leprosy covered a variety of skin diseases at the time, some of which were curable but some were not. Today, leprosy is called Hansen’s Disease and, thankfully, is fairly rare, but only in the last 30 years or so. However, in Jesus’ day, it was a terrible affliction. Leprosy is caused by a bacterial infection and over time, one of the effects is that it deadens your ability to feel pain. This is dangerous as it can lead to other wounds, especially on your hands or feet, without realizing that you’re hurt. Pain, it turns out, is a very effective way to let us know when there’s a problem. The ancient Jewish people had a law regulating such diseases.
Leviticus 13:45-46, “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” Before antibiotics, before a viable treatment, the only effective way to limit the spread of a contagious disease was to quarantine and wear a mask when you went out. Think of all the difficulty people had over the past year with covid. Now imagine if that was possibly the rest of your life! This is what it would’ve been like to be a man or woman with leprosy: Unclean. Stained by this disease. And living outside the camp. Separated from your people, from your family and friends. Can you feel the weight of the request of this man to Jesus? “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Just think about what was at stake for him. How would Jesus respond to him? This man had nothing really to offer Jesus. A leper probably wasn’t powerful or influential. v.3.
Matthew 8:3, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Of course, Jesus would be willing! Of course, Jesus would care for someone with such a need as this man. Especially, to a man who showed so much faith in Jesus. The man doesn’t question whether or not Jesus had the power to heal him, only his willingness. Which means either the man doesn’t know Jesus’ heart or he doesn’t believe that he is really worthy of being healed. Or perhaps both are true. Either way, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. This is significant, but let’s come back to it. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” and at the word of Jesus, the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Gone. Done. He was healed. This is Jesus: one who is willing and is able. To what? To make the blind see, the lame walk, and the leper clean once again. Let’s finish with v. 4.
Matthew 8:4, “Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” So we read from Lev 13 a minute ago. Lev 14 has instructions for what you were to do if you recovered from a skin disease, both to ensure you were no longer contagious, and to restore you into the regular community of the people so you didn’t have to live outside the camp anymore. Jesus encourages this man to obey Lev 14 “as a testimony to them.” Now it’s not entirely clear who Jesus had in mind here, whether the man was to be a testimony to the priest or to the people in Jerusalem, but that’s not really the point of this passage. Also, Jesus says not to tell anyone and why would he do that? This is common during the early part of his ministry because he didn’t want people to miss the point of his person/work. Before his death and resurrection, people had all sorts of misconceptions about what the Messiah was supposed to do. Of course, after his resurrection from the dead, he said, now go to the ends of the earth and tell everyone about me! But at this point in the story, people weren’t ready for that.
So in this brief encounter, the first miracle story of a series of 10 in Matthew’s gospel, the first three, by the way, all relating to someone who would’ve been considered the least likely for Jesus to care about including a leper, a gentile, and a woman, none of whom would’ve enjoyed a high status in their culture. Here, Jesus again demonstrates the power of God to heal. But what is the unique contribution of this story to our understanding of the person/work of Jesus? In other words, what do we learn from this story that we didn’t already learn in the last two miracle stories that we considered? This question helps us understand the meaning and the application of this teaching. And, as is very often the case in studying the Bible, the language and specific details of the story give us clues to the meaning. Here’s my first observation: though this is a miracle of healing, neither Jesus nor the leper used the language of healing. What do they say? “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And Jesus said, “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Not be healed, but be clean. Interesting. That gives us a clue to the meaning. Second observation: in such a short story, every word/detail counts. v. 3 says, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” The fact that Matthew includes this detail must be significant. So with those observations, let us draw some conclusions, four in fact:
Sin is a stain. In the Bible, sin is revealed to be the root cause of every problem. Why is the world the way that it is today? Full of beauty but also ugliness, full of goodness but also oppression, violence, and hatred? It’s not a political/economic/educational problem. Sin is the problem. And sin is described by several terms in the Bible: by missing the mark or falling short of the goal/standard, by crossing a boundary that should not be crossed, or by lawlessness, these are all terms which describe the problem. But there are a number of implications of the problem of sin. One that every person from about the age of 2 and up experiences is guilt. When you say/do something you know is wrong, you feel guilty. This speaks to the legal aspect of sin. Sin creates a debt and the debt must be paid, whether that means in a timeout when you’re 2 or through an apology or a fine or even with a prison sentence. However, sin does more than create a legal problem. It also creates a phycological problem that is commonly felt as shame. When you say/do something really wrong, not only does it create a debt of guilt, but it also creates a mark of shame that feels like a stain on your soul. It doesn’t only feel like you did something wrong, you feel wrong. This also happens when someone sins against you. You might feel dirty. Sin is a stain. One of the unique contributions of this story is that leprosy becomes a metaphor for sin. And the need for not only healing, but of cleansing, speaks to our need to be not only forgiven, but cleansed from the stain of sin.
Sin separates. Another implication of sin is that sin separates. Sin drives a wedge into a relationship that cannot be ignored/avoided for long. This is seen in the Levitical regulation about people with a skin disease having to live outside the camp. In this case, the disease as a contagious, infectious thing which destroys life, has caused separation between friends and family members. In the same way, sin separates and destroys relationships. Look at the picture of sin in the garden in Genesis 3. Before sin, at the end of Ge 2, Moses writes that the man and woman were naked and they felt no shame. They walked with God face to face in this way, nothing coming between them and nothing to hide. Can you imagine that? Complete knowledge of one another and perfect freedom, love, and acceptance. But then sin enters the picture and the people are hiding from God, covering themselves, and blaming each other of wrongdoing. Sin separates. So ever since, people have been separated from God by our sin. This broken world is like a huge leper colony, outside the camp, outside the presence of God, unclean and in desperate need of cleansing and restoration. But here’s the good news. Here’s what we learn from this story of healing:
Jesus cleanses the stain of sin. Jesus is willing and able to heal the man with leprosy. And this is a wonderful picture of the person/work of Jesus. On the cross, where Jesus died for the sins of the world, he was not only willing to pay the legal price for our guilt, but he was also willing to bear our shame. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The cross was an intentionally shameful way to die. It prolonged the suffering of the accused and they were often hung naked and at eye level so that they would be shamefully exposed as part of their punishment. But Jesus endured that shame so that we might be cleansed of ours. He was the spotless lamb, offered so that we might be made spotless and new. Jesus cleanses the stain of sin. So for those who trust in Jesus, and believe that God raised him from the dead, your guilt is gone and your shame is clean. This is the Apostle Paul’s great conclusion in Romans 8, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This is the vision of the Apostle John of the the people of God in Rev 7, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Why? Because Jesus cleanses the stain of sin. In Christ, no longer do you need to hide, no longer do you need to try and cover up the shame of your sin or the shame of what has been done to you. You are clean. But also, and finally:
Jesus reconciles in relationship. Leon Morris, “Nobody would touch a leper, for such a touch brought uncleanness; people would also fear the possibility of contracting the disease. It must have been years since the man had experienced such contact with anyone who did not have the disease.” (The Gospel According to Matthew, p. 189). Now, this is heartbreaking, but what else could you do at this time? If there was no cure, that was how it had to be. But Jesus touched the man. Now, we know that he didn’t have to touch him in order to heal the man. The very next story in Matthew is one where Jesus heals a Centurion’s servant simply by the authority of his word. So the healing power of Jesus didn’t require him to touch a leper, but he did anyway. Why? Because Jesus knew the deep need of the man, which was found in friendship/relationship. Jesus touched the untouchable. He brought the exile, the outcast in and made them his friend/disciple/brother/sister. Jesus was constantly doing this. For Jesus, his concern for the man was holistic. He wasn’t just a healer, he was also a redeemer. He would pay the redemption price for the stain of sin with his own perfect life. So anyone might be made clean. And he wasn’t just a healer, he was a minister of reconciliation. He reached out to touch the untouchable. And in his healing, he made a way for the man to live in the camp, to be restored in relationship with his fellow man, but also to be able to go once again to the temple, to be with his people in the presence of God! This is the work of Jesus. So as John the Baptist asked, Jesus, are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another, Jesus would say, look at what I do. My work is to heal/redeem/reconcile/restore relationships. Is this not the work of the Messiah? Is this not the work of God? Of course it is. So may we bring our shame to him. May we bring our broken relationships to him. And in him we will find cleansing and relationship both now and forevermore.
“Super Natural” is a sermon series on the miraculous works of Jesus in the Bible. The Lame Walk — Jesus healed a paralyzed man when he saw the man’s faith. The miraculous healing became an opportunity to demonstrate his authority to forgive sins. But what about the miracles in the Bible? Did they really happen? Are they still possible today? What are modern Christians supposed to think about such things? Recorded on April 18, 2021, on Mark 2:1-12, by Pastor David Parks.
Super Natural is a sermon series on the miraculous works of Jesus in the Bible. What does it mean that Jesus healed a man born blind? Jesus heals uniquely and purposefully. Healed eyes are meant to be focused on Jesus. Who Jesus heals, he won’t abandon — the blind see. Recorded on April 11, 2021, on John 9, by Ted Selker.
Easter Sunday means death no longer wins, the future is sure, and hope is alive. In a world still reeling from the threat of disease, racial injustice, and political division, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is especially good news. His victory is offered to all. Hope is alive! Recorded on April 4, 2021, on Luke 24, by Pastor David Parks.
This is the story of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. His story is one of suffering and sacrifice. But Good Friday is the ultimate expression of God’s love for all. Recorded on April 2, 2021, on Luke 22-23, by Pastor David Parks.
