3rd Sunday after Epiphany – January 26th, 2025
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Matthew 8:1–13
“Healed by a Word”
Theme: Jesus does two miracles for two people in need, both because he wills it and because he has the ability.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
One metaphor for how the Bible shines its light into our lives is that of a diamond. When I was picking out a diamond for my wife’s wedding ring, I got quite the education in the grades of diamonds and how they impacted prices and all that. The thing with diamonds is that they bring in light and reflect it back beautifully. Diamonds look different under different light and from different angles. As you turn a diamond, you can notice that it looks beautiful in different ways. So too the Bible. As you read or listen to the Bible, it will hit you differently because of your age or life experiences. The diamond is the same—the Bible remains God’s Word throughout. But you’re looking at it from different angles, and sometimes it shines more beautifully as you live your life.
But just as the Bible doesn’t change but rather reflects differently, the Bible talks about your faith as maturing or developing. Your faith will change and develop as you age. Why is this? It changes because you experience different challenges. You must learn to trust in God no matter what he allows to happen to you.
The standard definition of faith is given to us from Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That’s a pretty good way to start thinking about faith. Faith also has to do with trust—and assurance is a part of trust. After all, if you are assured of something, then you also trust that it is happening or will happen. Our Gospel text for today shows us two examples of wonderful, great faith. It also shows us how Jesus reacts to these men’s faith differently.
The first man is a Jewish leper. Both of those aspects are important for us to know. First, he is a Jew. This means that he has basic knowledge in the Bible. He learned about Abraham and David and Job. He has probably prayed many Psalms about David’s suffering. He has been to the temple and knows more than the basic Gentile. He is also a leper, which means that he has been cut off from all that.
Leprosy was a term that encompassed a few contagious skin diseases. The worst version of it caused numbness in the limbs, and eventually death. The laws of God in Leviticus demanded that lepers left Jewish society. They often formed leper colonies and lived by themselves. There’s a phrase we could use about lepers, and that is a “fate worse than death.” Not only were they sick unto death, but also isolated from all they loved.
One story this leper may have been familiar with was the story from our Old Testament lesson. Naaman the leper was a Gentile, but he sought healing from Elisha. It’s an endearing story, because he has his expectations shattered. He expected a witch doctor or a shaman to come out and wave his arms around to cleanse him of his leprosy. Elisha doesn’t even show up; his servant tells Naaman what to do. Even Naaman’s own servants must convince him to do what Elisha said. After bathing in the Jordan River seven times, the skin of this tough army man became as smooth as a baby’s bottom.
So the leper who comes before Jesus knows that this is possible. Prophets can heal diseases. He believes Jesus is at the very least a prophet—maybe more, as he calls him “Lord.” The question for him is whether Jesus is willing. This is more important than we understand. We too believe that God is involved in his creation and has the power to work in our lives. Jeremiah 23:23 reminds us of this. God says, “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?” God is at hand. He is not far away. He listens to your prayer. Jesus listened to the request of this leper. He asked if Jesus was willing to heal him.
What if Jesus was not willing? Sometimes that happens to us, doesn’t it? Sometimes we have to endure that answer, “No” and trust that God’s will is best. It seems to me that this leper was willing to hear the “No” answer. But he got a “Yes” answer from Jesus: “I will; be clean” (2). And his leprosy was cleansed.
The centurion is different than this leper. First of all, he is a Gentile. He does not know the Old Testament Scriptures. He was likely from some part of the Roman empire, stationed with his battalion in the region of Galilee to tamp down any possible uprisings from the Jews. Nonetheless, we should see three things in this man.
First, he cared about his servant. He shows compassion and pity on his paralyzed servant lying at home. He is not hard-hearted towards those who work for him. Second, he recognized his unworthiness. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” (8). He recognizes that Jesus is more than a prophet, if he is able to do these things that he has seen and heard. Finally, the centurion recognizes Jesus’s authority. Even a Gentile recognizes the difference between a quack medicine doctor and a man who can speak, and something happens. The centurion of all people knows that he can order men around, on and off the battlefield. He has the power over men under him. Jesus has far greater power than this, even able to heal by the spoken word. Jesus did just that: he healed the centurion’s servant, even from a far distance.
What this means for you is that in your prayers to God, the devil is tempting you to think one of two things: first, that God doesn’t want to answer your prayers, and second that he doesn’t have the ability to answer them.
First, we are tempted to believe that God is not willing to help us. After all, we may have had prayers that God did not answer in the way we wanted. Or, it seems like something that matters very much to us is being ignored by God. There are times when it doesn’t seem like God is good. The problem is that we may not have the best understanding of what is good for us. We are sometimes too short-sighted. God does know your suffering and pain, and He does love you through it all, and His will is good for you.
The other temptation, that God doesn’t have the ability to answer your prayers, is something that is more common to an idea that cropped up a few centuries ago called “Deism.” It believed that God made the universe, wound it up like a watch and then just let it go. Thomas Jefferson is the most well-known proponent of this idea. He didn’t believe in miracles. He didn’t believe that God worked again in his creation or in our lives. The Deist’s god, though, is an impersonal god, one who will not or cannot do anything to help you.
The Christian answer to all this is that God is good and all-powerful. He has different ideas and plans than we can currently see. He has already helped us more than we know in this life. God will reach into your life and change it—pray for that knowing that He can! But trust that even if your prayers go unanswered for a time, that God remains good, and his promise for salvation remains valid.
God understands the leprosy of your sin. He understands the paralyzing of your sinful nature. He sent Jesus to cure you, to heal you, to forgive you. Jesus not only healed those who were brought to him for healing, but he also dispensed forgiveness with similar mercy. He does so now to you, not matter what sin clings so closely to you, not matter what griefs you are experiencing. Jesus died on the cross to assure you that He loves you.
This love will shine in your light as a brilliant diamond. Sometimes you may need to turn it to get a different look at it. God shines differently into your lives in different ways, to answer your different emotions and experiences. If you are having a great time and are at the top of your life, find that joy and happiness in God. If you are at the lowest of lows, know that Jesus is there too, for you, supporting you and loving you and having compassion on you. Turn through the pages of Scripture like you would turn a diamond, knowing that the diamond stays the same diamond, but it reflects beautifully and wonderfully into the ever-changing you.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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