O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy mighty hand, to defend us against our enemies; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Background for the Sermon
The Matthew 8 Gospel text has a specific location, based on the time it happened. Many worldly wise men consider the Sermon on the Mount a collection of sayings, not a sermon by Jesus. That means some genius edited Jesus' sayings so well that they comprised a powerful sermon, a fact so obscure that only an even greater genius - the Biblical scholar - could detect it.
The seminary professors have been brought up with these notions, one way or another. Even if they consider themselves great academics, they have had the truth of the Scriptures watered down by these fanciful notions.
The initial attack on the Bible was the New Testament text. They could not easily do this with the Old Testament because of the tradition of counting every letter of the Old Testament book after copying it, to make sure nothing was left out. In other words, Jewish copying standards were extremely strict and precise. However, three celebrity clowns changed views of the New Testament - at the expense of the truth - by claiming two rogue sources, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, as the best and purest copies of the New Testament. They invented nonsensical rules for excluding words and verses from the New Testament. The result? - almost all new translations - NIV, ESV, etc - have their text butchered by a few self-appointed international critics who continue to work their magic, voting on the "true NT text."
The attack on the NT text fed the corrupt translating revolution by
Eugene Nida, an apostate who taught them that they could do a better job than the Holy Spirit in conveying the Word of God. This dynamic equivalence nonsense is promoted in all the schools, so the result is a bad text used to provide a paraphrase that may even be opposed to the original text (NIV Romans 3).
The KJV family uses the traditional text and the various KJVs are faithful to the extent that their editors agree with the Word of God. Here is a good statement by a Lutheran pastor about the doctrinal issue:
A short passage from Simon Peter Long’s sermon “The Conflict of the Christian in Christ” for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, from The Eternal Epistle.
Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry
Look at Luther. Dr. Luther might have had peace with John Calvin, and with Zwingli, and with all the reformers; they held out their hands and said. Dr. Luther, we are willing to admit that you are the hero of the Reformation, but there are one or two points upon which we disagree, and now we ask of you to extend the hand and we will call it all right; it is only a difference of opinion. Dr. Luther said, I cannot afford to sell truth for peace. I cannot afford to sacrifice the truth in this great work of the Reformation. The real truth of it is, if you are right, then we have no Lord’s Supper, and if I am right, then you have none; consequently the truth must stand at my cost; I will stand alone rather than sell the truth. And so we need men in the present day that will not let themselves be overcome of evil. It becomes our duty to know the teachings of God’s Word and as we understand them, to stand by them at any cost.
The more a translation suits Zwinglians, Calvinists, Pentecostals, and Baptists, the greater the sales, the more the visible church is brought into organic union, cooperation, and social justice warrior projects. Peter Long predicted those Lutherans who have excused selling the NIV, ESV, and other corrupted and corrupting Bibles - they gave away Holy Communion to the Zwinglians to sell more Bibles - and it is a very lucrative business. Now the Lutherans - in that sense - have no Holy Communion, which is why they worship with the Zwinglians and Calvinists at Fuller and Willow Creek, and look for ways to worship with Zoroastrians, Muslims, and pantheists, as LCMS DP David Benke did unashamedly. Causes have effects.
Therefore we have the best text and translation with the KJV, and the best interpretation by treating each book of the Bible as God's Word rather than a springboard for our assumed wisdom. The more we inject our wisdom into the text, the less God's actual spiritual wisdom is conveyed.
Two Examples of Faith
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.
After Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), He performed a number of miracles to display His divine power as the Son of God and Messiah.
This is explained carefully in the Gospel of John, where Jesus said, "If you do not believe My Word, believe My miracles, which confirm the Word of the Father."
We can also see the order of events. The Word on the Mountain converted many to faith. They trusted in Him and came up to Him for His healing power.
The leper believed and set aside all the societal condemnations about being around the healthy. He should be far apart from them, and doubtless the crowd opened up to allow that. He was ritually unclean and - as far as they knew - contagious. Physically weak from his disease, he came to Jesus and worshipped Him as God.
Therefore, anyone within sight of this event could see, first of all, the leper bowing in humility toward Jesus. His request should be read as it was, not "if you want", But "If it is Your will..." His act of devotion showed his submission to the Son of God, and his request was equally so. He asked in faith but also subordinated his request to the will of God.
This leper would not have been so bold as to go to the Lord and ask to be cleansed, if he had not trusted and expected with his whole heart, that Christ would be kind and gracious and would cleanse him. For because he was a leper, he had reason to be timid. Moreover the law forbids lepers to mingle with the people. Nevertheless he approaches, regardless of law and people, and of how pure and holy Christ is.
2. Here behold the attitude of faith toward Christ: it sets before itself absolutely nothing but the pure goodness and free grace of Christ, without seeking and bringing any merit. For here it certainly cannot be said, that the leper merited by his purity to approach Christ, to speak to him and to invoke his help. Nay, just because he feels his impurity and unworthiness, he approaches all the more and looks only upon the goodness of Christ.
This is true faith, a living confidence in the goodness of God. The heart that does this, has true faith; the heart that does it not, has not true faith; as they do who keep not the goodness of God and that alone in sight, but first look around for their own good works, in order to be worthy of God’s grace and to merit it. These never become bold to call upon God earnestly or to draw near to him.
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.
Seeing that miracle would have been enough for almost anyone to believe and know Jesus as the promised Messiah. The disfigured and weakened man became clean, healthy, and strong again.
"Tell no man" can be misunderstood by itself. There is an important conjunction - BUT - a big break in the thought. The healed man could stop and talk to hundreds of people there, who had already heard the Word of God and seen the miracle. It is as if to say, "Instead of talking to those who already believe and know, do this..."
- Go down the road.
- Show yourself to the priest in Jerusalem.
- Offer the gift for being cleansed, according to the Law.
- And testify about the Gospel of Jesus.
Jesus directed the healed man to take the Gospel to the priesthood in Jerusalem, which was the old-fashioned Internet of the day. Jesus was there for His circumcision, there for His discussion with the teachers and elders. The Gospel seed had been planted and nurtured there already, in the fertile soil of the Old Testament lessons.
Simplistic teaching tends to make the era out to be Jesus versus the Jewish opposition, which is a good summary. However, at the same time, He was infiltrating and undermining the Pharisaical attitudes with the Gospel.
No doubt many were like me looking at exotic plants when we moved here. I spotted one growing in the crack of the sidewalk. Colorful. I misnamed it but saw it continue to flourish. Then it appeared in a larger form, flowered, and produced fruit. (wrong name, wrong plant, wrong family of plants) It was Poke Weed, a huge weed that could grow to 30 feet. I found it all over, pulled it and dug it from my yard. Then Poke ended up on the very top of the list of foods loved by birds. I began to smell the pot roast: birds love the berries of the plant and planted their own gardens in their favorite spots to roost. What seemed so bad and dangerous became desirable for many reasons. And so is the Gospel - a strange and forbidden force to some and only later, not dangerous but life-giving and valuable.
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.
We can picture this servant, who had served the centurion for so long, lying in torment from nerve pain, which can be terrible. The centurion in Greek is literally a leader of 100 men. He was a veteran, a highly skilled leader, used to commanding. His commands were actually life and death to his soldiers, since he could have them punished for various offenses, including being slack on the job. When we have known someone for so long, we hate to see them disabled and in pain.
The centurion was likely one of those people who knew the Promises from being stationed in that land. He built a synagogue for the Jews (Luke 7) and was honored by their leaders. Thus the soldier was not simply someone struck by the previous miracle but someone already taught by the Word of God. The world was weary of polytheism and the x-rated stories of the gods and goddesses. Monotheism promised a different understanding of life, eternal life, and God.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 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.
Jesus offered to come in person to heal the servant. That offer is set aside as not necessary. The emphasis is not so much on "I am not worthy" but on the officer's trust in the Word of God. The centurion knew from training and experience that a commanded only needs to say the word - and it happens.
All Jesus needed to do is speak the Word and his servant will be healed. Here is a lesson learned by the centurion that has been missed by the Lutheran leaders - the efficacy of the Word. He was necessarily a literate man, which meant he knew how to read and write Greek, Latin, and perhaps other languages. He had access to the Greek Old Testament, where God promises that His Word is like the snow and rain, always returning with a powerful effect - always accomplishing His will, always prospering His will.
He knew from Genesis 1 that God commanded and brought the universe into being by His Word.
But, in contrast, the worldly wise (from Pilgrim's Progress) know they have to:
- Dumb down the Bible so more people can read it;
- Take away offensive ideas like infant baptism and Holy Communion;
- Draw people in with gifts for kids, popcorn, peanuts, and soda pop;
- Entertain them so they have fun in church;
- Appeal to their base instincts. One WELS pastor invited visitors to swim parties that day with their lovely, grinning, young women members.
- Appleton WELS offered an R-rated worship service led by their bad boy, who sailed in on Cutty Sark.
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.
This is an important statement by Jesus. No one had given such an important witness to faith in the Word - not even in Israel. Some may quibble about the Apostles, Mary, and such, but this stands as it is. A man outside the Old Testament tradition, outside of Israel, though a friend, gave a perfect illustration of how powerful God's Word is:
- His Word does not require the visible presence of Christ.
- His Word will have instant, powerful results when necessary.
- His Word will accomplish exactly what God intends.
- His Word can give life or end it.
Those conclusions by the centurion turns modern wisdom into hilarity.
- We have an important mission - that requires a whole pile of your money, building a new church in a rich suburb, Round Rock (Ex-SP)
- God has no hands but ours, no feet but ours, no wallet but yours. He needs you. He can do nothing without you.
- We have to pull visitors in by any means so we can apply the Word of God to them (Mequon professor).
- Yes, I know they are false teachers, but we need their world missions databases (WELS pastor, suitably brainwashed).
- We were small and weak, so we had to use Waldo Werning and Church Growth (Pastor Bischoff, Otten friend, "conservative")
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.
We can say this is just as true of the heirs of the Lutheran Reformation as it is of the Jews. Abraham is listed for a reason - Justification by Faith. Many should know this but teach against it. God is already showing them that they are sowing sterile weed seed that grows up in abundance but is useless.
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.
Luther pointed out that the centurion did not tell Jesus what to do or when to do it. He only expressed his sorrow over the terrible torments of his servant. Jesus provided the solution and was willing to go to the man's house to accomplish it, thus allowing the centurion to witness to God's greatness.
The pagans pretending to be Christians say, like Paul (or David) Y. Cho, "you have to tell God what you want or He cannot give it to you." Notice that by enlarging what man does, the snake oil salesman must diminish God 99%. What is left but a religion about a man who gloried in numbers and make a shipwreck of his work?
The centurion is an example of praying to God about needs but not ordering the solution or its time. People confuse God with Peter Drucker because the inventor of Management by Objectives attached himself like a tick to the Church Growth Movement.
When a minister says, "We have to do this, and this, and this," I remind him it is not the doing it is the trusting in God's Word.
