I Am Willing

Matthew 8:1-17
Key verse 8:3

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy."

In today's passage, we see that God sent Jesus into this world to take our sicknesses so that we would be completely healed. In this passage, we learn that Jesus is willing and able to give us complete healing of every kind of sickness: physical, psychological, and most of all, spiritual. May God bless us to open our hearts as we study this passage.

Part 1 - I Am Willing (8:1-4)

Look at verses 1-2:

1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Here we see a man who came to Jesus to be healed of his disease. This man was suffering from a disease that affected his skin. Mark's gospel tells us that he was "covered" with leprosy.  He must have been difficult to look at, let alone spend time with. What kind of life can someone expect if they have this kind of disease? Will he get a good job? Will he have friend? Will he get married? Even today, the answer to these questions would probably be "no."

In those days, and especially among the Jews, skin diseases such as this man had were among the worst class of disease. Someone who had such a condition was officially labeled "unclean." This was in accordance with the Law of Moses as found in Leviticus 13:45-46:

The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

The man with leprosy was regarded as "unclean" by the biblical definition. This meant that he lived a life totally separated from other people. The Bible also says that no unclean thing can come into God's presence, so this man must have also felt separated from God because of his problem.

When this man heard of Jesus and all the amazing things that he was doing, he found hope that Jesus could heal him. At the same time, he was not sure that Jesus would be willing to help him. So, when he found Jesus, he knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Like this leprous man, we suffer from the disease of sin. Sin separates us from God and sentences us to eternal death. Our sins make us feel unclean. We may even think that God is not willing to have anything to do with sinner such as we.

But how did Jesus respond? Look at verse 3:

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

Jesus did not reject this man as a sinner. Jesus showed his love by reaching out his hand and touching the man that no one else wanted to even be near. Jesus' touch showed his love and concern. Jesus confirmed his willingness by saying, "I am willing." Jesus reveals the love of God through this. Although God could condemn sinful and unclean people, he sent Jesus to heal us.

Notice that the healing was instantaneous. As soon as Jesus said the words, the man was cured of his leprosy. Jesus is able to take away our uncleanness from sin immediately. Through this, Jesus restores us to membership in the family of God. Look at verse 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."

One of the main reasons Jesus gave this command was to enable this man to reenter Jewish society. This was, however, more meaningful than just letting him be restored to his friends and family. More fundamentally, it meant restoration to the family of God. Now he could have fellowship with God and with God's people--since he was also now a full member. Similarly, Jesus' healing brings us into the family of God, where we can have fellowship with our Father in heaven and with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Part 2. The Faith of the Centurion (5-13)

Look at verses 5-6:

5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."

Again, we see someone coming to Jesus for healing. This time, however, the man who came to Jesus was not sick. He was a healthy Roman centurion--a commander of a troop of Roman soldiers. This man came to Jesus on behalf of his servant. When we think about it, this centurion is an interesting man. First of all, in a certain respect, this man was similar to the man with leprosy, since he was a Gentile and Gentiles were regarded as "unclean" by the Jews. The Jews generally tried to keep themselves separate from the Gentiles. Second, this man was an important person, but he cared for his servant enough to come to Jesus and ask for help. This shows that he was basically a good man by human standards.

How did Jesus respond to his request? Look at verse 7:

7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

Jesus did not reject this man because he was a Gentile. Jesus agreed to come without hesitation. It is Jesus' love that he did not reject this guy.  What's also amazing is how this man responded to Jesus. Look at verses 8-9:

8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Here we see two things about this centurion. First, he humbled himself before Jesus. As a Roman officer and commander of troops, he could have felt superior to the Jews. He could have looked down on them. But he did not treat Jesus as his inferior. Instead, he regarded Jesus as superior than him. He felt unworthy to have Jesus come into his house. Second, he realized that Jesus is the Commander of the Universe. When he heard about the amazing things Jesus was doing, this solider recognized that there was only one way that such things could happen. How could Jesus simply take away sickness and disease? The centurion recognized that what Jesus was doing could only be done by God, so Jesus must have received authority from God to do such things. How did he know this? He understood it because he was a soldier. He knew that when he gave an order, it would be carried out by his subordinates; and if his superior gave an order, he would do it. Now if Jesus could give orders to diseases, what did that say about him? It says that Jesus is the Supreme Commander of all commanders. He is the King. All creation listens to hm and obeys him. The centurion recognized that Jesus is above even the Roman emperor. How did Jesus respond to this man's insight? Look at verses 10-12:

 10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus was astonished by this man's faith. Why was Jesus so astonished? We get a clue from his response: "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Israel was the homeland of the Jews, the people God has set apart for His special purpose. They should have all had greater faith than any Gentile, but the situation was actually reversed. What separated this centurion's faith from that of all the other people Jesus had met so far--including his own disciples? The answer can be found in one word: confidence. This centurion was 100% confident in Jesus' power to do anything with one simple command. The centurion was sure of what he hoped for and certain of what he did not see. How could he have such great faith? It was because he put his faith in Jesus, not in miracles. When he looked at Jesus, he didn't see a guy who could do miracles, he saw the King of kings with the authority of the Creator God. The centurion lifted his eyes up beyond the visible reality, experience, or ordinate human understanding. He fixed his eyes on Jesus. His faith was not vague faith that Jesus might be able to do something--he was confident in Jesus because he knew something about who Jesus was. This shows us that true faith that pleases God is not faith in circumstances, possibilities, or even faith in faith itself--true faith that pleases God is faith in God, which also means faith in God's Son, Jesus. Who is Jesus? That is the question. The answer to that question is the content of your faith. If you know who Jesus is like this Centurion did, then your attitude toward Jesus and your confidence in what he can do will be like this Centurion's.

The faith of the centurion resembles the faith of other great servants of God, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham went through many years of difficult faith training until he finally realized that God is his commanding officer. Then he was even able offer his Son, Isaac, to God as an offering. God spared Isaac and helped Isaac to learn that God is truly Jehovah - jireh - the Lord who provides everything for him (even his wife!). Jacob struggled with God for many years, but finally he learned that God is his Shepherd. Like the centurion, all of these men have seats reserved for them in the heavenly banquet feast that all of God's people will celebrate when Jesus comes again. At that time, however, there will be many people who will be shut out of the kingdom--the so-called "subjects." They should have been the ones to sit at the feast, but they didn't know Jesus and they didn't live by fiath in Jesus. Jesus' words show that the true value of this centurion's faith would not be merely seeing his servant healed, but it was his ticket to the kingdom of heaven.

Look at verse 13:

 13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

The centurions was right. All Jesus had to do was say the word. Notice that Jesus at first was going to go to the centurion's house. Why didn't Jesus just say the word in the first place and save himself the trouble of going to the Centurion's hosue? This shows us how God works. God works according to our faith.

Part 3. He Took Up Our Infirmities (14-17)

Look at verses 14-15:

14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

Here we again see Jesus' healing power. It is amazing that Jesus was able to heal sicknesses so easily. When we get a cold or a fever, it's a big deal. It could be a big problem. But for Jesus, it's no problem at all. Jesus really is the Supreme Commander. Look at verses 16-17:

 16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
   "He took up our infirmities
      and carried our diseases."

These verses show us how Jesus is able to heal every sickness and disease. The Apostle Matthew, who wrote this gospel, understood that what Jesus was doing fulfilled what was prophesied by the prophet, Isaiah, in Isaiah 53:  "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." Jesus' healing ministry shows that Jesus truly is Messiah whom God promised ahead of time to send. More than that, Isaiah 53 shows what kind of dieseases Jesus came to save us from and how he would do it. Isaiah 53 tell us of the suffering of the Christ. Let's read Isaiah 53:3-5:

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

 4 Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted. 

 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed. 

 These verses show us how it is that Jesus can "take up our infirmities and cary our sorrows." He can do this by taking them on himself. We are no longer just talking about physical sickness; we are talking about the more serious sickness--sin. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. If we beleive in him, he can instantly and completely take away our sins. The punishment that he recieved can give us peace and healing if we believe in him.

This passage shows us that Jesus is willing and able to give complete healing to all who truly believe in him. We cannot solve our fundamental sin problem, nor can we make ourselves clean in God's presence--but Jesus can do this instantly because he already paid the price for our sins. Jesus has already done everything for us. What should we do, then? We must know and believe that Jesus is the One whom God sent to save us; the one who died for us and took the punishment for our sins.

One word: Jesus is willing and able to heal all who believe

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