"What's Next"
The Sermon on the Move • Sermon • Submitted
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“The Sermon On The Move”
“What’s Next”
Matthew 8:1-3
For most of the last year we studied through the Sermon on the Mount. We listened to the words of Jesus tell us how we should feel, think, and act towards God and Other People.
The reality is that when we have good motivations and good intentions led by love, GREAT ACTIONS FOLLOW!
It’s easy to do good for others when we truly love them!
It’s even easier to do good works when we hear the Words of God in Scripture, and we are motivated by a love for Him and a desire to obey what He say.
Micah 6:8 What does the Lord require of you?
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Amos 5:24 Let Justice Roll down like waters!
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
It’s even easier to obey when we get to the point the crowds were at last week.
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
What if we were astonished and in awe of the Word of God?
What if we were so consumed with Him and His authority that we couldn’t help but obey?
What if DOING His Word was such a priority in our lives that we couldn’t resist the temptation?
I think too often we read the Word of God like we read it like “Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears,” or “The 3 Little Piggies and the Wolf That Huffed and Puffed.” We read and hear the Word like it is some kind of sacred metaphor for life, but we don’t let it change us.
Too often we don’t attribute to it the Authority and reverence that it deserves.
For the last year we have read Jesus’ words tell us HOW to live, act, think, feel…
As we move from that sermon series, I want to roll into “The Sermon on the Move” for the next few weeks.
The idea here is that we can sit in the nice warm sanctuary, or on the side of a hill, and we can listen to the Words of Jesus.
We can take them to heart between the pew and the door.
We can believe them and have great intentions, BUT IF WE DON’T DO SOMETHING, We are essentially just treating this like another fable or fairy tale.
WE HAVE TO MOVE WITH WHAT WE HAVE HEARD
We have all heard someone say at some point in our lives, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
But that absolutely IS NOT what Jesus says or does.
As we move from Matthew 7 to Matthew Matthew 8:1-4 we will see Jesus moves from just teaching with words, to teaching with actions.
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 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.”
PRAY
You all know how I like to try and visualize situations in the Bible.
I read these short few verses and let me tell you what I see.
The crowds have arrived. There is an incredible amount of energy in the air. Everyone has heard about the reputation of this teacher that has suddenly erupted. They are eager to be counted among such a great crowd that is going to hear Him teach.
As Jesus begins to teach, there are outcasts from the community that filter in. They hide behind the bushes and trees. They sit on the outskirts of the crowd.
In particular is a man with bodily deformations. The disease that riddles the doctors of the age, has riddled his body with obvious problems.
Because of the Law of Moses this man is sentenced to a life away from normal society. He isn’t allowed to shop in the market. He can’t come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.
His children likely remember the stories of who he once was but have been forced to move on with life.
His wife has learned to get by and make ends meet.
He lives among the population of the rejected. He spends his time with those that through circumstances, maybe of their own doing, maybe not, are forced into an underworld where they are looked down on and feared!
But this man who’s name was likely erased form polite society has heard about a man that heals
He has heard about a man that casts out demons
He has heard about a man that teaches with authority.
This man long ago gave up hope of reunion with his family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers...
BUT WHAT IF!
What if this Man could do for him, what he had heard He did for others?
What if this man could not only clear up a bad cough, but could take away the sores, the stench of rotting flesh, and could restore fingers and toes?
WHAT IF THROUGH THE HEALING POWER OF THIS MAN, HE COULD RETURN TO THE LIFE HE LOVED SO MUCH?
He stands through the Sermon on the Mount, but when it’s over…as the crowds begin to disperse, as this great teacher is coming down from the mountain, he looks for a chance to make a plea to the Preacher…
A Little sidenote here about leprosy. I am not going to belabor the point, get in the weeds, or try to spend much time on it because I am sure that everyone here has heard it talked about more than a few times, BUT THE LAW WAS CLEAR! This man had no business being around other people. According to Leviticus 13 where the various types of leprosy were described, there were prescribed actions a person with leprosy had to do to identify themselves to others.
he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.
“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
In spite of this the man takes a chance!
I. No Matter What Obstacles Lie In The Way, The Desperate Find A Way To Jesus
a. The woman with the issue of blood. Mark 5:24-34
And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
b. Mark 2:3-5
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
II. The Desperate Must Come Desperately
a. Recognizing his own condition and inability to correct it himself
b. He was so desperate he was willing to be ridiculed by the crowds
c. He was so desperate he was willing to pay the price!
d. He came desperately, because there was no one to come for him
e. He was so desperate that Mark 1:40 says he “implored” Jesus
And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”
f. Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
III. The Desperate Must Come Humbly and Worshipfully
a. Facing the crowds crying “unclean, unclean”
b. Kneeling Greek word proskuneō (PRO- SKI- NOW) Most often translated as worship or in relation to worship
c. Luke 5:12 he fell on his face
While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
d. How did the leper worship Jesus? (David Guzik)
i. He worshippedJesus by coming to Him, honoring Him as the One who could meet His otherwise impossible need.
ii. He worshippedJesus with his posture, probably bowing or kneeling before Jesus.
iii. He worshippedJesus with the word “Lord,” honoring Him as master and God.
iv. He worshippedJesus with his humility, by not demanding but leaving the request up to the will of Jesus.
v. He worshippedJesus with his respect of the power of Jesus, saying that all that was necessary was the will of Jesus, and he would be healed.
vi. He worshippedJesus with his confidence that Jesus could make him more than healthy; Jesus could make him clean.[1]
IV. The Desperate Must Have Faith That He Can
a. Those that come to God must come in faith… Hebrews 11:6
b. This doesn’t mean that He is always willing. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
V. Jesus Shows Compassion By Not Only Healing, But Touching the Untouchable
a. Jesus didn’t have to touch him. In the following passage the centurion acknowledges Jesus only has to speak it and it will be done.
b. Imagine the disgust of everyone around.
c. Jesus would now be ceremonially unclean
d. 2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
e. Matthew 27:45-46
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
VI. Jesus Demonstrates His Commitment to the Law Matthew 8:4
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.”
a. He didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.
b. Told to go show himself to the priest and give the appropriate offering
We hear all of this and we ask “What Next.”
We read and hear the great stories of miraculous healings in the Bible.
We spent a year listening to The Sermon on the Mount preached and taught.
We know, or at least have a basic idea about what the Lord expects.
But at the end of the day we have STUFF going on in our own lives.
This man stood and listened to Jesus Preach and Teach, and I would expect he was thinking, THIS ALL SOUNDS GREAT, But how can I love my neighbor when I am condemned to live my life outside of society.
The fact of the matter is there are a lot of people outside this building RIGHT NOW that are probably looking for a better way. They are lost and they are DESPERATE, BUT before they can get anywhere close to living out the words of Jesus form the sermon on the mount, the sermon on the plain, the Mt. Olivet Sermon, or any other teaching, they need to feel a touch from the Master.
They need an issue of blood to be healed
They need their leprous skin to be made clean
They need an addiction removed
They need a relationship with a spouse to be restored
The need to see that there is hope beyond the Hell that they are living in.
Sometimes They Just Need to Start Following Jesus.
He is the Hope to the Hopeless,
He is the Restorer of Relationships,
He is The Provider,
He is Recovery from Addiction
He is the Healer.
Week after Week I preach this great need to reach a broken population with the Gospel of Jesus!
Week after Week I preach about the great hope that we have in Him
Week afte3r Week I take for granted that each of you know these altars are a place to seek whatever you need from Him
This morning I am reminding you that the world out there needs Jesus
BUT THIS MORNING I AM BEGGIN YOU TO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT SEEKING WHAT YOU NEED FROM JESUS.
I AM DEPERATELY BEGGING YOU TO DESPERATELY SEEK HIM!
I AM BEGGING YOU TO RECOGNIZE YOUR SPIRITUAL POVERTY AND COME BELIEVING FOR HIM TO FILL YOU WITH THE RICHES OF HIS SPIRIT
I AM BEGGIN YOU TO COME SAYING “IF YOU WILL YOU CAN HEAL ME, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU CAN”
[1]David Guzik, Matthew, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Mt 8:1–2.
[2]David Guzik, Matthew, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Mt 8:1–2.