Faith and Reason
KJV Matthew 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
I happened upon a lecture by a Harvard professor teaching Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He pointed out that Gibbon was a skeptic about Christianity and continued by lecturing the audience about the Christian Faith. Professor Leo Damrosch dismissed all the miracles in the Bible because he saw no evidence of them. He also claimed, like my Harvard Biblical scholar (deceased) at Augustana College - "The Trinity is not found in the New Testament." I said, "What about the ending of Matthew?" He said, "Others put that on the lips of Jesus."
That is why I enjoy the Epiphany season, which is all about the miracles of Jesus. People continue to confuse faith and reason, as if one's reasoning can explain and reject the miraculous acts of God. The reason argument is used against infant baptism, because they say, "The baby is not old enough to decide," which alarms me. When I hold a baby for the first time, that tiny creature immediately looks for his mother and gets a squall going to get matters straightened out. Being held by his mother or someone he knows will immediately calm the baby. He has faith in his mother and uses his newborn reason to indicate something has gone wrong.
The true background of baptism is the power of God's Gospel Word. The purpose of Holy Baptism is to impart faith through the Spirit of God in His Word and to seal God's Promises. This is effective or efficacious. Moreover, in the Greek, the Word is energon/energy. Engineers do not turn on electrical lines - they energize them. That is a current pun, but an important one to remember always. Whenever the Word of God is heard, read, or remembered, the Holy Spirit is at work in the Word. Spirit and Word are never separated.
This leper believed in Jesus Christ. He was part of the multitude that listened to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. He politely and humbly said, "If You will, You can make me whole."
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
The leper came to the Sermon on the Mount with hope and faith, doubtless from hearing about the miracles from other lepers. He was cleansed of this horrible disease. Jesus instructed the healed leper to tell no one but go directly to the priest. Why? Because it would be natural for the crowd to gather around him and listen to the story. In fact, they saw the transformation. Jesus wanted the priest to hear this Gospel in the flesh, and the healed man took the Gospel to that priest, not unlike the Presentation of Jesus and His talking with the elders in the Synagogue.
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
A centurion was a very powerful and respected person, a full-time soldier and leader of men. They were so organized that they won all their battles, including the destruction of Jerusalem. He came to Jesus aware of His healing powers and Jesus was willing to come to his home, knowing what He would do next. This elicited a very important response to the soldier.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
The centurion's power was life and death, and he knew without doubt that any of his own commands would be followed. He was humble and unwilling to have such an honor as the visitation of Christ. But he also recognized that the Word of Jesus Christ alone was enough to heal his servant, stating that the Lord's power was parallel to his but much greater.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The centurion caused Jesus to express His wonder at this supposed pagan, who definitely believed in the divine power of the Savior. Jesus knew what was in this soldier's mind, and He compared it to all the rest. He also stated that many would come from all over the globe to be part of the Kingdom of God, which was predicted to Abraham. However, those who merely claimed to belong to Abraham (John 8) were enemies of Jesus, who clearly said to Jewish elders, "Before Abraham was, I AM."
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
This is one of the great healing miracles in the Bible, one that strikes us directly. Jesus did not make conditions, but it was the soldier that said, "Only speak the Word." There are many healings in the Gospels, and they have different messages, including the Canaanite woman who seemed to be having no results with the Savior. Once that miracle is carefully read, it is clear that Jesus led the pagan woman into a contrite plea for mercy for her daughter, who was accomplished without Jesus going there. That discussion, which exasperated the disciples, brought to light the faith of the mother, which has been an example ever since.
The end. |
