Well, if you'd open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8, we're resuming our preaching through the Gospel of Matthew.
Children, we are so glad you're joining us this morning.
If you would, we've got a passage that is so vivid.
Would you write, would you draw some pictures for me of what we're about to read and what you're going to hear me preach?
It is absolutely amazing.
This is Matthew chapter 8, verses 1 through 17.
When he came down from the mountain, preaching the Sermon on the Mount, 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.
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.
And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.
But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
But only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me.
And I say to one, go, and he goes.
And to another, come, and he comes.
And to my servant, do this, and he does it.
But when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness.
In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And to the centurion, Jesus said, go, let it be done for you as you have believed.
And the servant was healed at that very moment.
And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.
He touched her hand, and the fever left her.
And she rose and began to serve him.
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.
Well, it's New Year's resolution time.
You know that time of year when a person turns over a new leaf?
It's time to change in some ways.
And a new year is a great opportunity to set some things in motion.
So what are your New Year's resolutions?
Well, let me suggest one this New Year's.
It's a life resolution.
In light of who Jesus is.
In light of what he's done for you.
Would you make a resolution today to follow him?
All of your days.
In all that he commanded.
The Gospel of Matthew is about the kingship of Jesus.
And at the end of the Gospel of Matthew,
after Jesus has died and has been raised from the dead,
that's the climax of the whole book.
After his death and resurrection,
Jesus, in the Great Commission,
announces that he has been given all authority on heaven and earth.
Jesus is the rightful King of all.
Lord of lords.
King of kings.
And as his disciples,
we are to humbly submit to his authority
by obeying all that he commanded.
Jesus says,
All authority has been given to me.
Go make disciples of the nations.
And one of the big parts of fulfilling the Great Commission
is to teach those who believe in Jesus
after we share the Gospel with them.
And then they believe to teach them
all that Jesus has commanded.
So that they too obey.
The Gospel of Matthew is about the kingship of Jesus.
About his authority.
So what is authority?
Authority is the right to exercise power
and to require obedience.
Parents exercise authority over children.
Teachers exercise authority over students.
Governments exercise authority
authority to make laws
and to enforce laws with citizens.
And in this morning's passage,
which I just read,
we're going to see Jesus exercise
his authority to heal.
It's a series of healings.
There's actually four little segments here.
And children,
if you're drawing me a picture,
Jesus is going to heal a leper.
He's going to heal a centurion,
which is a soldier.
He's going to heal a sick woman.
And he's going to heal groups of people
that are brought to him one night.
In initial reading of this passage,
we may cause you to draw the conclusion
that what all these healings have in common
is that they point to Jesus
and that they reveal he is the Messiah.
And it's true.
They do.
And he is.
But there's something else being emphasized here.
These four healings have something else in common.
It's about who Jesus exercises his authority for.
So here's what we're going to do.
We're going to walk through this passage
and take a closer look at these four encounters
in which Jesus exercises his authority to heal.
And at the end of this,
I'm going to make a point
of what this passage is all about.
The point's going to come to the fore
as we move through it.
And then, to close,
I'd like to try to apply this passage
by way of three New Year's resolutions.
So let's walk through it.
The first encounter we read about
is in verses 2 through 4.
Jesus and a leper.
Now when you hear the word leprosy,
you may be thinking of a certain kind of disease.
It's known as Hansen's disease.
It's when a bacteria attacks the nerve endings
in someone's hands or appendages.
And it results in some horrible deformities and pain.
But when we talk about leprosy in the Bible
and what the Mosaic Law considers unclean
is not just Hansen's disease.
It's all different kinds of skin disorders.
And so what you need to know
is that according to the Mosaic Law,
if you have Hansen's disease
or some other kind of skin disorder,
you are considered ceremonially unclean.
And if you touched someone who had a skin disorder,
you were ceremonially unclean,
which means you were unfit
to come into God's presence to worship.
In fact, to protect others
from becoming unclean through contact with lepers,
the Mosaic Law would require a leper
or someone with a skin disorder
to, when approaching other people,
to cry out,
unclean!
I am unclean!
Could you imagine that?
The effect that that would have on you over time?
There would be the hardship of the disease.
Suffering Hansen's disease would be brutal enough.
And then there's the spiritual hardship
of being prohibited,
if you're a Jew,
to enter into other Jews
with the worship of God.
And then there's the social hardship.
Could you imagine being isolated socially
from the people that you love?
And then there's the psychological hardship.
What effect would it have
of going from town to town,
walking among people,
and having to say,
I am unclean!
And just watching people scurry from you.
So when we read here in chapter 8, verse 2,
that a leper approaches Jesus,
what you need to know
that this leper on all accounts
is an outcast.
In verse 2 we read this leper
falls down before Jesus
and addresses Him as Lord.
Now he could have just been saying,
being polite and saying,
Sir,
but given that he's fallen down
before Jesus,
when he calls Him Lord,
he is saying,
You've got authority.
And in verse 2,
what we read is
that this leper has no question
about Jesus' ability
to heal Him.
What this leper has a question about
is Jesus' willingness
to exercise His power
to heal Him.
Lord,
if You will,
You can make me clean.
It's like He's saying,
Lord,
are You willing
to exercise Your authority
to heal an outcast like me?
Are You willing?
And in verse 3,
we see Jesus' response.
You know what?
I love being a follower of Jesus.
And I love being a follower of Jesus
when I read things like this.
In Matthew 5, 6, and 7,
we see the authoritative preaching
and teaching of Jesus
and it's phenomenal.
And when we get into
here in Matthew 8,
we see Jesus
encountering other people.
He shows us
how God would interact
with people
because He is God.
and I love it.
I love seeing Him.
I love seeing what He's about to do.
He's my Savior and Lord.
This one we're about to read about,
He's your King.
This is who you're following.
Look what He does
in verse 3.
He reaches out
and He touches this leper.
He stretches out His hand
and touches Him.
Nobody in Israel
would have dared
to touch this leper
out of fear
of contracting the disease,
out of a desire
not to become
ceremonially unclean.
They don't want to be banished,
but not Jesus.
He doesn't shrink back
from this leper.
He's not afraid of this leper.
He's not disgusted
by this leper.
He moves towards the leper.
And when He touches him,
instead of Jesus
being made unclean,
Jesus cleans the unclean.
Jesus could have just
healed them with words.
When He heals
the centurion's servant
in just a minute,
it's just with words.
He could have healed them
with just words,
but He touches them.
When was the last time
this leper was ever
touched by another human being
we don't know?
But the first one
to touch Him
was God incarnate.
Jesus.
He reaches out
and touches
this untouchable outcast
saying,
I am willing
to be clean.
And immediately,
His leprosy clears.
He's been healed.
He's been made clean.
In the words of D.A. Carson,
Jesus' authority
immediately accomplished
what He wills.
And He willed
this leper clean.
And then in verse 4,
we have some interesting
things Jesus says to him.
Jesus essentially says
to this former leper now,
hey, what I just did to you,
keep it on the down low, buddy.
Don't tell anybody, please.
Now, you might wonder
why He's doing that.
Well, Jesus didn't want
to gain a following
for just being a healer.
He didn't want to make His,
give Him less opportunities
and make His ministry
more difficult
by stirring up
all sorts of crowds.
In fact,
in Mark's account
of this healing,
Jesus tells the leper,
don't go tell anybody.
And then the leper
goes and tells everybody.
And what Jesus has to do
in return is,
He's no longer able
to enter town freely
to preach.
And so He's got to now
go to the outskirts of towns.
And so Jesus wants access
to towns to preach
the good news.
And so He told this leper,
don't go blabbing this around.
I've got other things to do.
But then He says something else
to this leper.
He requires this cleansed leper
to go show himself
to the priest
and offer a gift
of Moses.
Moses required.
The priest He has in mind
is a particular piece.
He would have been like
the QC priest.
Quality control.
This priest would decide
whether or not someone
was truly healed
of a disease
so that they could
reenter
their social world.
And so what Jesus
is saying here
is abiding by the law
of Moses.
He says,
go to the priest,
show them that you're healed,
offer your gift,
and return
to your relationships.
What this points to
is not just an immediate healing,
but a complete healing.
Jesus says,
go get checked out
and go back to your family.
What we learn
from this little passage
is that Jesus
has authority over disease.
And when He exercises
His authority over disease,
it results in immediate
and complete healing.
But the surprise
is that Jesus
exercises His authority
to heal an outsider.
Someone who is an outcast.
A leper.
By touching this leper,
He doesn't become unclean.
His touch
cleanses the leper.
The second encounter
is between Jesus
and a centurion.
And this is in verses 5
through 13.
Now,
a centurion
was a Roman soldier
of rank.
If you hear the word
century
in the word centurion,
it makes you think
of 100.
A centurion
had responsibility
for 100 soldiers.
And centurions
were considered
the backbone
of the imperial army
of Rome
at the time.
You want to get
things done,
you get your centurion
on it.
Now,
we read in verse 5
that Jesus
is entering Capernaum,
which is basically
kind of the town
of His ministry
headquarters
at the time.
And in Capernaum
at the time
was a Roman garrison.
And so,
if you're in Capernaum,
seeing Roman soldiers
would not have been
uncommon,
but what you need
to realize
is that there would
be Jews
who viewed them
as unwelcomed
invaders.
What you also need
to know about
a centurion
is that they were
vested with the
very authority
of the emperor
himself.
And so,
when a centurion
commanded a foot soldier
to go do something,
that foot soldier
would obey it
as if the emperor
was commanding him.
So,
centurions were men
who God understood
authority.
But there's also
another really important
note to make.
Centurions were
Gentiles.
They were non-Jews.
And so,
we're not told
whether this particular
centurion who comes
to Jesus,
whether he's Roman
or he's Syrian,
what we do know,
he wasn't a Jew.
He was a Gentile.
Gentiles were to be
avoided by pious Jews
because they'll
make you unclean.
Gentiles were unable
to fully participate
in Israel's worship
of God.
They were considered
outsiders.
So,
in verse 5,
upon entering
Capernaum,
this centurion
appeals to Jesus,
actually beseeches
him by addressing
him as Lord.
The centurion
has somehow
heard about Jesus
and his ability
to heal,
and he's asking
him to heal
his servant.
So,
we have a Gentile
asking a Jew
to heal his servant.
And we learn
that this
centurion
servant
is at his
home
paralyzed
and suffering
terribly.
Now,
the question
that we're
starting asking
is,
is our
Jewish
Savior
going to
go
to this
Gentile's
house
and heal
his servant?
In verse 7,
Jesus responds
to the request.
He says,
I will come
and heal him.
And some
scholars think
that Jesus
is actually
asking a question
here as like,
would you have
me come
and heal him?
As in knowing
that I'm a Jew,
you're a Gentile,
if I come
to your house,
you know,
this isn't
going to look
good.
Whether he is
making a statement
or asking a
question,
Jesus is
willing to go.
Let me try
to help you
understand
kind of
the scale
of this.
Do you
remember in
Acts chapter
10,
Peter goes
to Cornelius'
house in
Joppa.
Cornelius was
a Gentile
centurion.
And when
Peter walks
into Cornelius'
house,
that would
have been
the first
time Peter
walked into
the house
of a Gentile
at any
point in
his life.
first time,
Gentiles were
outsiders.
And so
for Jesus,
a Jew,
to go into
a centurion's
house,
in verse
8,
the centurion
replies,
Lord,
I am not
worthy to
have you
come under
my roof.
And this
isn't
flattery.
He goes
on to
say in
verse 8,
but only
say the
word,
and my
servant will
be healed.
This Gentile
centurion
recognizes that
Jesus,
that Jesus
is able to
speak an
authoritative
word that
will heal
his paralyzed
servant from
a distance.
That's what
this Gentile
centurion
knows.
That's what
he believes
about Jesus.
And he
goes on in
verse 9,
say,
hey,
I get the
authority
thing.
I too
am a
man under
authority.
I say to
a soldier,
go,
he goes.
I say to
a soldier,
come,
he comes.
I say to
my servant,
do this,
and they
do that.
I get
authority.
But this
Gentile
centurion is
saying that
Jesus has
an authority
that supersedes
the emperor's
authority.
Jesus has
the authority
to heal
someone paralyzed
from a
distance.
that is
an authority
of God.
And so
at the end
of verse
10,
well,
excuse me,
in verse
10,
Jesus'
response,
we read
this.
When Jesus
heard this,
what the
Gentiles said,
he marveled.
He was
amazed.
Jesus was
amazed.
the only
other time
that this
word is
used for
Jesus in
relationship to
somebody else
is when Jesus
marveled at
the unbelief
of his
fellow Jews
in Nazareth
in Mark
6.
And so
when this
word is used
of Jesus,
it's used
of his
marveling at
the unbelief
of fellow Jews
regarding him,
and he's
marveling at
the belief
of this
Gentile
in relationship
to him.
At the end
of verse
10,
Jesus turns
to those
Jews who
were following
him.
He was being
followed by
multitudes of
primarily Jewish
people.
And it's like
he hears this
and he turns
to them and he
says,
truly,
I tell you,
with no one
in Israel
have I found
such faith.
This Gentile's
belief about
Jesus stands
out even
among Israel.
This Gentile
centurion believed
that Jesus
possessed the
authority of
God.
Seemingly,
the fellow Jews
were having a
hard time with
that.
This Gentile
knew that
Jesus just
needed to
say the
word.
Just say
the word
and my
servant back
at my house
is going to
be healed.
You just
say the
word,
Jesus.
Only God
can do
something like
that.
In verse
11,
Jesus takes
the opportunity
to clarify
something.
Jesus is
going to
now go
high altitude.
He's going,
going to go
talk about
something in
the future
and he's
going to
go high
altitude.
Look at
verse 11.
He says,
I tell you,
many will
come from
east and
west and
recline at
table with
Abraham,
Isaac,
and Jacob
in the
kingdom of
heaven,
while the
sons of
the kingdom
will be
thrown into
the outer
darkness.
First,
I want you
to notice
future tense.
He goes
into the
future tense.
I tell you,
many will
come.
The sons
of the kingdom
will be
thrown.
What's
he getting
at?
Jesus is
taking the
opportunity
to talk
about who
populates
the kingdom
of heaven.
He's got a
teaching moment
here.
He says,
I tell you,
many will
come from
east and
west and
recline at
table with
Abraham,
Isaac,
and Jacob
in the
kingdom of
heaven.
The many
he's talking
about are
Gentiles.
Many
Gentiles,
many non-Jews,
many non-Jews
from east
and west,
what he's
talking about
is all
around the
world.
They're going
to come
and recline
at table
with the
patriarchs
of the
Jewish
faith.
Now,
the reclining
at table
is a
reference
to the
great
end-time
banquet
of the
people
of God.
Jesus
is saying
there are
going to
be Gentiles
from all
around the
world
who are
going to
be at
the
table
of the
great
banquet
feast,
which is
also known
as the
marriage supper
of the
lamb,
Revelation
19.
The promise
God made
to Abraham
in Genesis
12 that
he would
bless all
the nations
of the
world through
his seed
is being
realized in
Jesus
Christ.
the
citizens of
the kingdom
of heaven
are not
restricted to
Jewish
ethnicity.
Jesus
has thrown
wide open
the doors
of the
kingdom
to all
who would
believe
that he
is the
Messiah,
whether
Jew or
Gentile.
Jesus
is making
clear that
the outsiders,
Gentiles,
who believe
in who
he is,
are
welcome
inside
the
end time
banquet
feast.
But,
those who
are
insiders,
the sons
of the
kingdom,
the Jews,
by rejecting
Jesus,
are cast
outside
the feast.
Look at
verse 12.
While the
sons of the
kingdom will
be thrown
into outer
darkness,
in that
place there
will be
weeping
and gnashing
of teeth.
That sons
of the
kingdom is
an idiom
referencing
Jews.
And what
Jesus is
saying here
is that
those
insiders
who think
that they're
insiders,
the sons
of the
kingdom,
quote unquote,
by rejecting
Jesus as
Messiah,
they're going
to be
cast out
into the
outer
darkness,
the darkest
of darkest
places,
where there's
weeping and
gnashing of
teeth.
It's
torment.
He's talking
about hell.
He's talking
about rejecting
Jesus as
Messiah has
eternal
consequences.
And by the
way, it's
not just
for Jews
who reject
Jesus as
Messiah.
It's for
Gentiles too.
For those
Gentiles who
believe and for
those Jews
who believe who
Jesus is, who
we claim to
be, they are
welcomed into
the great banquet
feast at the
end of the
time.
For those who
reject Him,
they will be
cast out into
outer darkness.
So Jesus
takes this
moment,
standing in
front of the
Gentile
centurion to
inform those
listening about
the true
nature of
the kingdom.
Admission to
the kingdom
has everything
to do with
what you
believe about
Jesus, not
your ethnicity.
So in
verse 13,
Jesus turns
back to the
centurion and
says, go, let
it be done for
you as you
believed.
And we
learn that the
Gentile
centurion's
servant was
healed immediately.
They must have
figured that out
when they all
reunited at the
centurion's
house.
They're all
there and
like, okay,
my sundial,
when Jesus
said that, it
was at this,
wait, wait,
wait, you're
saying that he
was healed at
that time?
Immediate,
complete healing
from a
distance.
So what do
we learn?
We learn that
Jesus has
authority to
heal by word
only, something
that only God
can do.
We learn that
Jesus talks
about the
kingdom of
heaven as
about believing
in him.
It's not about
ethnicity, it's
about Jesus.
The kingdom of
heaven is
populated by
Jews and
Gentiles who
believe in
Jesus.
And of
course, we
see here Jesus
exercising his
authority for
an outcast, a
Gentile.
The third
encounter is
between Jesus
and a woman
with a fever.
We see this
verses 14 and
15.
And not just
any woman, this
is Peter's
mother-in-law.
Peter was
married and had
a house in
Capernaum and
his mother-in-law
was living with
him.
They were
taking care of
her.
In this, the
first encounter
we saw the
outsider was a
leper.
The second
encounter, the
outsider is a
Gentile.
And in this
third encounter,
the outsider is
this woman.
being a woman
in the first
century would
have been
considered a
second-class
citizen, even
in Israel.
Women would
not be able to
fully participate
in Israel's
worship of God
for a variety
of reasons.
But look at
what Jesus
does.
As soon as he
walks into
Peter's house
and he sees
his sick
mother-in-law,
he goes to
her.
He doesn't
call a
girlfriend to
go check on
her.
He goes to
her.
He's not put
out by her
illness.
He's not put
out by her
gender.
Like with a
leper, Jesus
touches her and
she's immediately
healed.
And the
completeness of
her healing is
demonstrated by
the fact she
gets right up and
starts serving
Jesus.
It points to
not only an
immediate healing,
but a complete
healing.
God's
love.
So we see
Jesus caring
for women
in other places
in the Gospels
as well.
In John 4,
Jesus has a
very interesting
encounter with
a Samaritan
woman.
So much so,
Jesus'
disciples were
like,
Jesus,
shouldn't you
come get
something to
eat with us
and not talk
to her?
And in Luke
7, a woman
of the city,
another way of
talking about
a prostitute,
she crashes a
dinner party that
Jesus was at,
not just any
dinner party,
he was at a
Pharisee's house
named Simon.
And this
prostitute walks
in and she
walks right to
Jesus, anoints
him with some
very expensive
ointment, and
then starts
washing his
feet with her
hair and her
tears.
And you know
what Jesus does?
He doesn't
flinch.
He welcomes
her doing that.
He allows her
to worship him.
Meanwhile,
Simon the
Pharisee's
flipping out.
Jesus
dignified
every woman
he encountered.
And Peter's
mother-in-law
here represents
another kind
of outsider.
And Jesus
exercises his
authority to
her.
He heals
her.
The fourth
encounter is
between Jesus
and many who
were demonized
and sick.
We see that
in verse 16.
those demon
possessed,
those sick
were considered
unclean by
pious Jews.
They would have
been avoided,
but Jesus
welcomes them.
Bring them.
And what we learn
is that not only
does Jesus
welcome them,
He casts out
demons with a
word.
Verse 16.
He heals
all who were
sick that were
brought to Him.
nowhere in
this passage
does Jesus
turn away
any outcast,
any outsider
seeking Him.
He welcomes
them all to
Himself.
He welcomes
and heals
them.
Jesus
once again
exercises His
authority
for those
who are
avoided,
for those
who are
marginalized,
for the
outsiders.
after what
was most
likely a
really long
day,
Jesus
welcomed
and healed
more
outsiders.
And then
in verse 17,
Matthew says
that Jesus
healing all
these people
was the
fulfillment
of Isaiah
53.4.
He took
our illnesses
and bore
our diseases.
This is the
famous passage
of the
suffering
servant.
God,
God's man,
His mighty
arm of
salvation
providing
deliverance
for people
caught up
in sin
in the most
shocking and
humble ways
that God
Himself would
suffer and
die in
their place.
What Matthew
is doing
is by
quoting Isaiah
53,
Matthew is
saying this
Jesus is
God's
suffering
servant
of Isaiah
53,
and He
has gone
to the
outsiders.
He has
come
for the
outcasts.
And He's
come to
heal us
of our
greatest
problem.
It's not a
skin disease.
It's not an
ethnicity
problem.
It's not a
gender
problem.
It's not a
problem of
demon possession
or being
just overwhelmed
with illness.
Our chief
problem is
sin sickness.
And Jesus
has come
to heal
that.
So here
we have
four encounters
between Jesus
and outsiders.
And so
what's the
point?
Well, it's
clear that
Jesus has
authority over
disease.
But that's
not the
point.
The point
is that
Jesus exercises
His authority
over disease
for outsiders.
That's the
point.
The emphasis
is not just
on His
ability to
heal, but
on who
He heals.
A leper,
a Gentile,
a woman,
demon possessed,
sick.
Jesus has
a heart
for outsiders.
Jesus came
for the
outcasts.
The kingdom
of heaven
is made up
of outcasts
and outcasts
outsiders who
see themselves
as they truly
are,
poor in
spirit,
and they
see Jesus
for who
He really
is.
The Messiah,
Lord of
Lords,
King of
Kings,
the suffering
servant.
He possesses
the authority
of God
because He
is God.
So let's
wrap this up
with three
New Year's
resolutions.
Ready?
New Year's
resolution number
one.
keep Jesus
the main
thing.
Jesus is
the issue.
What you
believe about
Jesus
matters.
Who do you
believe Him
to be?
Only God
in the flesh
has the
authority to
heal someone
paralyzed from
a distance
and only God
in the flesh
has authority
to forgive
sins.
Jesus
is God
in the
flesh.
We need
to keep
the main
thing,
the main
thing,
and the
main
thing is
Jesus.
Secondly,
the second
resolution
is
rejoice.
If you're
a believer,
rejoice.
And here's
why.
He came
for you.
you are
an outsider
and He
sought you
out.
We're all
outsiders.
Each of us
have been
separated from
and placed
outside a
personal
relationship
with God
and sin
is to
blame.
But Jesus
became a
man and
He came
to us
outside in
order to,
by His
grace,
bring us
inside into
a relationship
with God.
And He
exercised His
authority to
heal you of
your greatest
disease.
Isaiah 53
talks about
by His
stripes,
you have
been healed
of your
sin
sickness.
And we
didn't go
looking for
Him.
He came
looking for
us.
Out of His
great love
for you,
He sought
you when
you were
an outsider
and He
brought you
in.
If you're
in the
kingdom of
heaven,
you're in
it because
you're an
outsider.
By His
grace,
rejoice.
He sought
you when
you were
an outsider.
Resolution
number three,
value every
person in
your life
as an
image bearer
of God.
The kingdom
of heaven is
made up of
outsiders.
And we
are to see
others who
have yet to
encounter Jesus
the way that
Jesus sees
them.
He wasn't
put out by
a leper or
a Gentile or
a woman or
a demon
possessed person
or suffering
illnesses.
He wouldn't
be put out
today by
someone who's
transgender or
politically
obnoxious or
someone who's
homeless or
someone who is
mentally ill.
It wouldn't
throw him.
He'd move
towards them
because He
sees them as
image bearers.
And we are
to see them as
image bearers
too.
Who in
your life do
you need to
see as an
image bearer?
Who in
your life
could it be
this year
that God
reaches out,
saves them
by the blood
of Jesus,
and they
will be
placed next
to you
at the
final banquet
feast of
the Lamb?
Jesus
possesses the
authority of
God because
He is God
and He
exercises that
authority to
outsiders and
we're all
outsiders.
Do you know
how someone
should respond
to Jesus when
you recognize
Him for who
He is?
You become
His disciple.
You start
following Him,
obeying all
that He commands
and that's the
greatest resolution
you can ever
make.
Let's pray.
God in
heaven, we do
thank You so
much for Jesus
and who He
is.
Lord Jesus,
thank You for
coming for me.
Thank You for
coming for each
of us who
claim Your
name, who
have been
rescued and
cleansed by
Your blood.
We are
Yours, Lord
Jesus.
We will
follow You
where You
lead us.
You are our
King of
kings.
It's Your
fame that we
desire above
all else.
God, help us
to see others
the way You
see them.
God, would You
bring more
outsiders into
Your kingdom
of heaven?
Would You
build this
church?
Cause Your
grace to go
out in power
and save.
God, make us
a people who
are distinctly
followers of
Jesus from
variety of
backgrounds.
We know that
would bring You
great honor and
praise, Lord
Jesus.
It's Your name
we pray.
Amen.