Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Epiphany • Sermon • Submitted
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Matt 8:1-13
Matt 8:1-13
My brothers and sisters in Christ as we continue through the season of Epiphany we hear about more of Jesus’ great miracles, miracles that reveal to us what the Kingdom of God will be like, and who it is for. These two miracles today are side by side to teach us, not only what Christ is able to do, but how he accomplishes our healing.
Healing The Unclean
Old Testament Law focused on being clean.
This is very different from how we think of cleanliness today. We think of showers, and soap, and deodorants, but theirs was dealing with a ritual and spiritual uncleanness, that they would have to be careful to observe.
A person that was unclean could not come into God’s presence.
Before you entered into God’s presence you had to be purified, for the holiness of God was not just an abstract idea about God, it is his substance and his being, and sin and uncleanness could not stand before God’s Holiness.
A person could become unclean in a variety of ways.
You can find a detailed list of these ways in the book of Leviticus. They were known to the people and the priests were charged with making sure that a person was clean.
It wasn’t just sin, but would include what you eat or an illness.
It could be that you ate food that was unclean, you touched a dead animal, you had a certain skin disease, or even the union between husband and wife would make a person unclean. If that was the case you could not partake of the sacrifices to the Lord. This applied not only to people but also to houses and garments.
Two Unclean Men
The leper was unclean and was forbidden from being with God’s people.
His skin disease was one which meant he could not enter the city, let alone the temple. Lepers had to stand at a distance and shout out unclean, unclean. To warn everyone away from them, lest people become infected.
He comes before Jesus pleading for mercy, and Jesus touched him.
This is a serious breach of protocol, the Leper shouldn’t do this, and when He is in Jesus’ presence, this man is in the presence of Immanuel, God with us. The man does not perish, but Jesus touching Him was an act of mercy to heal him from His affliction. He could cleanse this man from his uncleanness and restore Him to God’s holiness.
The second man was a Roman, at the time the Jews did not eat with them.
The dietary laws were strict, no eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, no meat that had blood in it, and there were a list of animals that were forbidden, the gentiles were generally unclean. That’s why the man says that He is not worthy to have Christ under his roof.
This man comes trusting Jesus’ authority.
He believed that Christ had the power, now his belief was valid for Jesus’ name is the name above every name, and all things were made through Him and every knee must bow at His holy name. But this gentile understood what Israel did not.
Who is Christ?
Jesus cleanses us from our uncleanness, i.e. sin.
The uncleanness of the OT was of great concern, but it reflected a far greater problem, that man had been separated from God due to sin. This would take far more than the blood of Sheep and Goats.
Whereas leprosy is a disease of the body, sin infects body and soul.
Jesus cleansing Leprosy was a marvelous and blessed thing for all of those that were blessed by Him, but He came to do something far greater than cure leprosy, and cleanse us from these temporal diseases, he came to free us from the powers of sin, death, and the devil.
Jesus is the Savior not just of the Jews, but the world.
His coming was foretold through the people of Israel, for that is who God chose to reveal the coming Messiah. They thought that His kingdom would be for just the people of Israel and that the messiah would give the boot to the all those who did not belong to Abraham.
We are children of Abraham by faith.
Faith is not our work, but something that is created by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. It does not belong to one ethnic group, but Jesus shows here, that He is the light unto the gentiles.
Sinners In Need of Healing
Our sins make us unworthy to enter God’s presence.
The Psalms teach us that sinners cannot stand in the judgment, and that they come under God’s wrath. For His Holiness is not only a danger to the unclean but to sinners, and his wrath burns against sin.
That means we are not worthy to enter paradise.
As poor miserable sinners, we were cut off from God’s presence and could not climb to heaven.
Since we could not ascend to Heaven, Jesus who is God came to earth.
This is the beauty of the incarnation, that He joined us in this World that we might know Him and that He might save us.
The Son of God in midst of the unclean.
The only way this could be was by him being not just God, but God in the flesh, becoming like us in every way except being a sinner.
Jesus Came to Save
Jesus healed you by the means of grace.
This is why we focus so much on Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Word. For that is where we find healing for our sins.
He healed you by taking on himself, your sins.
This is what happened for the Leper, Christ took upon himself that man’s uncleanness, and upon the Cross, was laid upon Him the iniquity, the guilt, the shame, and all the sin that we bear for our failings. He who is righteous and holy, became sin for you.
We could stand before Jesus on earth, but we could not stand before God’s throne in heaven.
But this is why Jesus came down to earth, that he might be your advocate, and that he might rescue you.
Jesus, like the centurion, pleaded for you.
Remember His words on the Cross, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. He took all of that sin that rested upon us before the presence of the Holy and Righteous God, that He might die in our place and bring it to an end. So that you like that Centurion’s servant would live.
Jesus Comes to You
Jesus gave us His Word, and attached it to elements.
For we are of the flesh, like the Leper and the Centurion we come seeking help and Christ’s promise of restoration. But where can we be assured of that?
Jesus promised that whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. (Mark 16.16)
This is why we make the sign of the Cross in the service, and we treasure that day, for we have Christ’s promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation attached to the water which is applied to us.
Jesus promised whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. (John 6:54)
The Lord’s Supper again gives to us this joyful hope for we cannot take the Lord’s Supper for another, it is given for you. When you receive it, you receive the Body that bore the wrath of God to save you. You receive the blood that was shed upon Calvary and poured out for the remission of your sins, which means Christ’s life, his eternal life is yours.
My Brothers and Sisters, by our sins we are unclean, but Jesus has come to heal you and raise you to eternal life. He has given you His Word, and His promise that He gave His life for you, and comes to you again and again to assure you that your sins truly are forgiven. Partake of these treasures, and cherish them always. For Jesus wants you to know you are saved, as He has promised. In Jesus name. Amen.