8 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
This account from Matthew's Gospel blesses us with hearing not just one miracle but two miracles which our Lord showed to this World. First, Jesus heals a leper by touching him and telling him he desires for him to be healed. Second, Jesus heals the servant of a centurion by means of His command or word. The Centurion tells the Lord that he is not worthy of the Lord coming under his roof. But the Lord should just give a command, and the centurion will be certain that it will be accomplished.
The Lord has told his people many things through the years. But here in this text he has given us great extremes and examples of his Love. In the first healing Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. There are times when Jesus reaches out and touches people. The Lord needs to reach into our lives and cause things to happen. These things can be troublesome for us or even using people to sit us down and talk to us.
In the Second healing Jesus just speaks a word and it is done. God has often spoken and it simply happens. God spoke all of creation into existence. Jesus told people something was going to happen and it did. Everything took place and it was just that simple. When God tells us something, we can be certain it will take place.
But here is the other thing. The leper asks if the Lord is willing. He trust in the Lord to work all things for the good of His people. The centurion trusts in the word of the Lord. He knows that what the Lord desires to happen will happen. God desires for all people to be saved. Therefore, the Lord physically sent his son into the flesh to be the sacrifice for the forgiveness of all sins. Jesus physically touched our sins and took them upon himself. Likewise, the Lord spoke by the prophets concerning the promises of Jesus Christ which all came true. Jesus Christ spoke one simple word upon the cross, "It is accomplished." Even in this simple word of Forgiveness, we can all be certain of our salvation through Jesus Christ's death on the cross.
The Lord has told his people many things through the years. But here in this text he has given us great extremes and examples of his Love. In the first healing Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. There are times when Jesus reaches out and touches people. The Lord needs to reach into our lives and cause things to happen. These things can be troublesome for us or even using people to sit us down and talk to us.
In the Second healing Jesus just speaks a word and it is done. God has often spoken and it simply happens. God spoke all of creation into existence. Jesus told people something was going to happen and it did. Everything took place and it was just that simple. When God tells us something, we can be certain it will take place.
But here is the other thing. The leper asks if the Lord is willing. He trust in the Lord to work all things for the good of His people. The centurion trusts in the word of the Lord. He knows that what the Lord desires to happen will happen. God desires for all people to be saved. Therefore, the Lord physically sent his son into the flesh to be the sacrifice for the forgiveness of all sins. Jesus physically touched our sins and took them upon himself. Likewise, the Lord spoke by the prophets concerning the promises of Jesus Christ which all came true. Jesus Christ spoke one simple word upon the cross, "It is accomplished." Even in this simple word of Forgiveness, we can all be certain of our salvation through Jesus Christ's death on the cross.
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