Kingdom Power: Courage & Compassion | Week 1 | Jesus Heals | Matthew 8:1-17

Week 1 | Jesus Heals 

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” – Matthew 8:16-17

Matthew 8:1-17

Chapter 8 begins on the heels of what is likely the greatest sermon ever preached. Kingdom Message + Kingdom Power = Kingdom Advance. Citizens in God’s kingdom, adopted into the King’s family, are to be hearers AND doers of the King’s commands. Healed people will become instruments of hope and healing. Those who are Saved by Jesus’ Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, should be Living on Jesus’ Mission. As chapter 8 opens we see three accounts of Jesus healing and saving work in the lives of desperate people. These incidences highlight concepts of truth, community, and living in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Gospel Truth – The Leper (8:1-4) – God created us good and clean, but because of sin we are infected with a disease making us “unclean”. Jesus preaches the kingdom of heaven is open for those who want to be made clean. The leper hears Gospel Truth preached by Jesus and recognizes his need for healing that can only come from God. He is moved to action seeking healing by kneeling in worship before Jesus. He submits his identity of “unclean” to the merciful will of the King who heals us.

Gospel Community – Centurion’s Servant (8:4-13) - As Jesus enters the community of Capernaum, a Roman Centurion seeks Jesus’ healing not for himself but for another. He has a love of God’s people and love for people suffering. He cares for his servant enough to seek Jesus on behalf of someone most would show little concern for. Jesus heals and uses this opportunity to show the boarders of His kingdom are dramatically broader than the lines drawn by the world. Gospel Community is radically inclusive around the radically exclusiveness of Jesus Christ.

Gospel Living – Peter’s Mother-in-law (8:14-16) – Gospel Living initiates. Jesus arrives at Peter’s house, sees a need, and acts on it. Peter’s Mother- in-Law wasn’t seeking Jesus’ healing, yet Jesus came to her, found her, and was moved by her condition of having a “great fever”. Jesus does more than merely remove her fever; He restores her to full strength and stamina. She responds with the only legitimate response there is to the healing work of Jesus in a person’s life, she begins to serve him. She is saved to serve; we are saved to serve.

The Cross (8:17) – This section closes saying, beyond Jesus profound compassion for the sick, there was an even greater and specific purpose for the healing works of Jesus. Matthew points back to the prophet Isaiah showing Jesus is fulfilling the promise of the suffering servant in chapter 53. This chapter anticipates the Cross of Christ where God the Father, lays the sin (and the sickness) of His people on His Son as the sacrificial Lamb.

QUESTIONS:

1. What part of the text or sermon had the greatest impact on you?
   Did you learn anything new about Jesus, healing, or mission?
2. How does Jesus’ healing of the leper lead to him experiencing new life? Why does Jesus tell him to follow the ceremonial requirements for restoration to community?
3. The centurion seeking Jesus on behalf of another is an example of “intercession.” Who has been an intercessor for you? Who can you be pray for as an intercessor seeking healing and wholeness?
4. What does Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law teach us about everyday mission. How does Jesus lead us from sick to servant?

PRAY – Praise God the Father for His plan healing us through the work of Jesus on the Cross. Thank Jesus for his inexhaustible pursuit of us in our pain. Ask the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of ourselves and others.

Watch or Listen to the Sermon HERE