A PRAYER TO START
There is a desperation that draws us to our Father. A despair that leads us to hope, and act in faithful courage to seek what we can only gain from him. Whether the despondency is caused by circumstances of life, relationships, an unmet desire or simply an ache we are unable to articulate; we can each of us identify and pray with the psalmist this request adapted from a portion of Psalm 119 and The Message bible. Begin your time praying it 3xs…
Father, I am feeling terrible—I could not feel worse! Get me on my feet again. You promised to do so, remember? When I poured out my story before you, you responded; train me well in your deep wisdom. Help me to understand this way in your kingdom, inside and out so I can ponder your miracle-wonders. My sad life is dilapidated, a falling-down house; build me up again by your Word. Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. I choose the road to Somewhere, a road of responding to you and life in faith. I will post your road signs at every curve and corner. I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; Father, don’t let me down! I will run the course you lay out for me if you will just set my heart free by showing me how. Amen.
DIVING INTO THE DETAILS
Chapters 8 and 9 in Matthew’s gospel story paint a stunning picture of the heart and nature of Jesus and his good news work; and, in-turn, the kingdom of God we now inhabit. It is impossible for a single sermon conversation or a thousand words on a page to capture the depth and richness of what we discover about the Father, about the Son, and about ourselves. We could spend several months here without a day passing in which a new fortune is discovered revealing the grace lavished upon us in Jesus of Nazareth. Alas, we must continue our journey in Matthew’s gospel story, but before we move on, perhaps a final nugget from the treasure chest! To appreciate such value, you’ll need to read chapter 9 in its entirety before proceeding.
As Ben perceptively pointed out, chapter 8 really begins with the final verses of chapter 7,
“And when Jesus finished [the Sermon on the Mount], the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
The observable authority of Jesus leads into a story of Jesus “making clean” one who was a leper (8:1-4). Leprosy was a term used for many different kinds of skin diseases. Some tragically painful and dangerously transmissible, others simply observable malformations whose harm was limited solely to the bearer. Those that suffered from such afflictions were removed from community life, from participation in the most ordinary functions as well as the more sacred. Separated from social and spiritual life (or simply life to a Jew who could not distinguish the two) these men and women could not be fully human. There was care given to the sufferers, and even means for purification should the disorder be mended; yet to be a leper was to be one on the outside of the chosen life, of the life as God’s people. The laws surrounding those stricken with any form of leprosy were as much about the spiritual parallels of the sickness as they were for the protection of the health of the society. For what is leprosy if not an outward picture of the sin of our heart? A disease that at times is devastating and tragic, at others simply observable malformation that wears on us. Yet an affliction that separates us from others, including our heavenly Father.
So the leper is astute. He observes something in the teaching (presumably second-hand as he would not have been allowed on the mountain with the disciples and crowds) and actions of Jesus that compels him to ask for something more than the removal of a skin malady; he asks to be clean, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” (8:2) He desired from Jesus restoration, to be made whole—physically, yes, but spiritually and communally—to be “righteous”, in a good and true and fruitful relationship with God and others. And Jesus does what the man requests because he could and because he desired to do so with a tender touch (8:3).
Chapter 9 opens with a similar story of Jesus exercising authority to do something much more (but not less) than repair biological brokenness. This time it is the astute observation and courageous action of friends who set the scene for Jesus’ true power to be recognized. In both Mark’s (2:1-12) and Luke’s (5:17-26) retelling, they show what great lengths these faithful men and women went to ensure their friend met Jesus, including climbing on and destroying a neighbor's (probably a rich and powerful neighbor) roof.
A paralytic, like the leper, was one who either tragically or from birth was unable to participate in society in any normal manner. And, like the leper, his internal, spiritual reality was reflected in his external, physical inabilities; a separation and distortion of wholeness. Here too, Jesus does not merely give life to the man’s limbs, but gives him life eternal when Jesus says, “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven” (9:2). Jesus sees what is truly broken in the man whose friends’ faith brought him to Jesus, and Jesus does what he did for the leper, he makes him “righteous”.
Unlike the first instance where Jesus commands the leper to tell no one and follow the rituals of Moses to be reestablished in the community, here Jesus pronounces his authority in front of the masses crowded around. Jesus’ ostentatious proclamation catches the scribes off-guard. This will not do for the religiously astute. They know that such forgiveness comes only from God, and even more so, from following the precise letter of the law. Their mediatory authority is being challenged by one who claims to do what their livelihood depended upon. By the end of chapter 9 (32-34), they are feed up with the authority Jesus wields and begin to respond in the anger of ones whose frustration has caused the “gnashing of teeth” (8:12) and with the venom of those called a “brood of vipers” (3:7); disparaging Jesus’ restoration as the work of the enemy himself (9:34).
The authority of Jesus to make someone well, wholly (or “holy” if you’d prefer), is supported by the stories that encase the leper and paralytic. The centurion understands the place Jesus has in the kingdom more clearly than the Jews (8:5-13), as does the ruler who knelt before a peasant (9:18-26). Both men seeking Jesus for the sake of others whom they cared deeply for. The disciples missed that Jesus was more than a healer of physical brokenness, and that all authority had been given to him (8:23-27), even over the wind and sea. The same was true for the crowd around the paralytic turned able bodied child of God when they assumed that the Father had “given such authority to men” (9:8), missing who Peter would see Jesus to be, "the Son of Man" (16:13). Yet the chronically unclean women (a "discharge of blood" would once again be a condition that created separation socially and spiritually as well as a physical ailment) heard herself called “daughter” because she believe she needed only to grasp at Jesus to be made whole again (9:20-22). Even, ironically, the demons (8:28-34) and the blind (9:27-31) recognize Jesus for who he really is and what authority he carries. The question is, will we?
DEVELOPING DISCERNMENT
Matthew shows us that Jesus does indeed care for us in the state we find ourselves—physically, socially, spiritually. He desires to make us whole, to restore to us that which we most desperately need, if we should seek him for it—sometimes even if our friends or family would seek him on our behalf. As he said to the leper, Jesus is more than willing and able to make us clean.
Don’t skip this part. Information is of little use in quickening a transformed life if we are undiscerning people. Take the time to thoughtfully answer these questions, and maybe use them as conversation starters in Gospel Community, at work or in your home. Doing so will pay dividends in the long run!
- Who, if anyone, do you identify with most in the stories found in chapters 8 and 9? Are you the one seeking healing and wholeness? Are the one seeking Jesus for a friend or family member? Are the skeptical one, the confused disciple, the impressed but not totally sold one, etc.? Explain.
- What are you seeking Jesus for right now? Physical or situational change? Spiritual wholeness or vitality? For someone else’s well-being, even life?
- Based on the stories, what else do you think Jesus wants to do for you, and those you are bringing to him?
- What do the way you talk about and actions you take towards Jesus reveal about what authority you believe Jesus possess?
- Who are you demonstrating faith for right now? Who might the Spirit be compelling you to act with faith on their behalf for the full healing offered by Jesus?
A PRAYER TO CLOSE
Matthew concludes chapter 9 with an exhortation from Jesus that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (9:37-38). As you pray with Jesus, know that (as we’ll see in chapter 10), that the prayer you pray may just be answered by the one praying it.
Dear Father, Lord of the harvest who has made me clean; send out your laborers to draw all men to you through your Son. Raise up a people to proclaim your loving, tender, and complete healing in their lives and in the lives of their co-workers, their children, their friends. Let me, O Lord, be one who hears your plea to go and respond ‘Here I am, send me.’ Because all authority is in Jesus we pray, Amen.