Epiphany 3 sermon

 

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

    Let's get the context of where we are as our Gospel lesson starts. Our text begins with, “When Jesus came down the mountain...” What mountain? Well, this is referring to the mountain upon which Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Chapters 5 through 7. It's the great section of teaching, of explaining both commandments and mercy. And we get several weeks during the Church Year where our Gospel lesson is from the Sermon on the Mount: Ash Wednesday about fasting is from there, and then there's “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven – do not be angry with your brother.” And then there's “Beware of False prophets” and then “Consider the lilies of the field,” and then the Beatitudes on All Saints' Day. That's 5 lessons every year on the Sermon on the Mount. And there's other passages that are familiar with – you are the salt of the earth, let your light shine before men, love your enemies, the Lord's Prayer, Judge not, lest ye be judged. Do unto others. Build your house on the Rock. Do you get what a section of powerhouse teaching Jesus has just finished?

    And Jesus comes down the mountain, and what happens? “And behold, a leper came up and knelt before Him, saying, 'Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.'” So there's really two things to note here. The first is that this whole situation would be very... uncomfortable according to the Old Testament Law. If you were a leper, you were not supposed to be in crowds. You certainly weren't supposed to come up to people and get in their way – this is not according to the health laws laid down by Moses. Lepers are to be off and away from everyone. And let's face it – if you listen to the sermon on the mount, you know that Jesus isn't one to water down the Law. No, Jesus pumps up the law. Don't kill – I say don't hate. Don't commit adultery – I say don't even lust. So on the one hand it might be expected that Jesus would simply come down hard on this rule-breaker, this endangerer of the people who dares to break his isolation and quarantine.

    But on the other hand, listen again to what this leprous man says. “Lord, if YOU will, You can make me clean.” This is a statement full of faith. It's not even couched in terms of what the leper wants, it's a simple statement of fact – You, Jesus, You are Lord God Almighty, and if Your will is that I be clean, You have the power to make that happen. If Your will isn't that, well, Your will will be done. If I remain unclean because You will it, so be it. If You chose to lambaste me and turn me into a warning for everyone else, so be it. If You chose to walk on by, so be it. Your will will be done.

    Now remember, Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness. He comes to make things right. Yes, the Law does deal with moral standards, and our moral standards for ourselves are to be high and strict. However, not everything in the law of Moses was about morality. Some of it was practicality. Lepers were not banished because they were evil, but to prevent the spread of a disease. So, how can Jesus do things in the most right way – what makes things be the best? Well, He shows us. And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched Him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof for them.” Jesus deals with levels of righteousness here. First things first – Jesus cleanses the leper. The right thing, the best thing would be for you to be healthy. There you go. But there's also some other things to fix up, loose ends to tie up. Now, you're going to be quiet, because let's not cause a panic or a riot or mass confusion in this crowd – that wouldn't be right. And you're going to go and get yourself incorporated back into society properly – go see the priests, they officially declared people fit for society if their leprosy cleared up. Dot the “I”s, cross the “T”s – let's get everything in order.

    Of course, the neat, wondrous thing is how Matthew describes the healing – because this isn't just a healing, this is foreshadowing, this is a pattern that Jesus is going to follow. Jesus “stretched out His hand and touched him.” Now, one of the rules of the old testament was that you don't touch lepers, it makes you unclean. Well, Jesus came to take up our uncleanliness, to take up our sin, so Jesus touches the guy. And what is Jesus going to do with all our sin, all our uncleanliness – He's going to go to the Cross – He's going to stretch out His hands on the Cross - that was a euphemism for being crucified in that day. He goes there to pay for our sin so that we would be cleansed from them. Because that is how Jesus fulfills all righteousness – by cleansing us and taking up the punishment for our sin in Himself.

    And when I say “our” I mean “our” in the broadest possible terms. Jesus comes not just to take up the sins of the so called good people, or just the people from the right family, or what have you. Why yes, Pastor, Jesus takes up the sins of the whole world, we know that. Well, there's practical implications to that. And we see that as the lesson continues. When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering in great agony.” Now, pause a second. What are you seeing? The Romans were the vile occupiers of Israel, and there is a Centurion, a big boss man, probably the top Roman in the area. This Jesus is even for him? For this man who owns Jewish “servants” - no, it's who owns a Jewish child slave. Are you even for this person, Jesus?

    Yep. Jesus says, “I will come and heal him.” Now, this would be scandalous. You don't enter the house of a gentile, and you certainly don't kowtow to the roman boss – there are just things you don't do. But Jesus wishes to heal, to make things right, and then the Centurion pipes up again. 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. Jesus, what You offer would cause offense, so allow me with great respect to point out two things. First, I'm not worthy to have You enter my house – it wouldn't be right. Let's not rile up people. Second, You don't need to actually come to heal my slave-boy, because You have authority. Authority works by the word – with my centurion authority, I speak and those under my authority listen and do. I know Your authority. Speak, and it will be done.

    And Jesus is tickled pink, He is absolutely chuffed – this Centurion hits the nail on the head concerning faith better than anyone else so far in Israel. And yes, Jesus has come for even the Gentiles – many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven – this Centurion will be worthy of being in My Father's House for all eternity. And then the healing comes – you want your marching orders Centurion, then Jesus will give them - “Go, let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Go, march on – but go knowing that when I call, when I call you forth from your grave, you will rise, Centurion, and when I call you to the eternal feast, you will come with joy, Centurion, for you have faith, and you know that you are under My gracious authority – and everything is right again.

    So then, here we see what Jesus comes to do, here we get another picture of what Jesus fulfilling righteousness looks like, what it means. Jesus will cleanse, and Jesus will exercise His authority for your good. The whole point, the whole purpose of everything Jesus does is to go to the Cross to cleanse you and rise from the dead to re-establish His authority over you. Sin meant that Adam and Eve had to be driven from the garden, that we all would die – that's just the reality. By going to the Cross Jesus takes up that sin, pulls it off of us, and He Himself takes up the punishment even of death. By His death the barriers keeping us from relationship with God and eternal life with God are cast down. But, if we were still left on our own – we'd just mess up again and again. You all get the point, you all know ways in which you mess up over and over – and the people around you probably know a few more about you that you don't recognize in yourself. We don't need to go over that right now, but suffice it to say that if left to our own devices, we'd be lost. So Jesus rises from the dead to re-establish His authority over all of mankind – this is what Paul speaks of when he says that Jesus is the New Adam – the new head of humanity. We will not simply follow old Adam along the paths of sin – no, you will follow Christ. He will speak His word and you will hear, listen, and do it. And this happens by faith now, you receive this by faith now. He says, “I forgive you,” and you are forgiven. But we get the struggle, the constant push and pull of sin – but that will go away when you die, and when Christ Jesus says to you, “Rise” and you rise at the last day, and the you will be like Christ, fully under His authority, only listening to Him, no longer seeing to the temptations of Satan, no longer bothered by sin dwelling in your flesh. The good order, the right order, where we simply listen to Jesus and receive Good from Him with nothing getting in the way – that's what Jesus establishes for you with His death and resurrection, and what He will bring about in you through your death and resurrection.

    So until then, by the working of the Spirit we listen to Jesus' Word, and He cleanses us and instructs us – even until we are raised from the dead and never need cleansing again, and never need to be taught or trained again to delight in His Word. He has come to win you salvation, and He shall come again to see that you have His salvation, that you enjoy it for all eternity at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and this Leper and this Centurion and all the company of heaven at the feast without end. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World!