Let It Be Done For You
Matthew 8:1-13
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 8:3, 13: [3] Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” [13] Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… As Lutherans we confess that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. But as Lutherans we also must ask, what exactly does that mean? Is “by grace through faith” just a cliche that we throw around? What is faith? What does it look like? Today’s Gospel reading gives us two marvelous examples of Christian faith; first, in the healing of the leper, and second, in the healing of the centurion’s servant.
First, a leper came, fell down on His knees at Jesus’ feet, and worshipped Him. Therefore, we see that Christian faith recognizes that the place where divine help is to be found is where Christ is present in the flesh. Christian faith seeks God not just in some mystical and spiritual way; it seeks God where Jesus is concretely and tangibly located. The God who is present everywhere is present for us in particular in the humanity of Jesus. The leper could have just stayed at home and prayed to God; but instead he knelt at the dusty, sandaled feet of Jesus.
It is most certainly true that God comes to us physically and externally in order that our faith may have something sure and certain to cling to. That is precisely why we come together in this place week after week. That is not to say that you cannot pray to God or read the Scriptures on your own; in fact, you should, and I sincerely hope that you do. But above all, as we see in our text, faith always desires to be where Christ is present in the flesh. Faith desires to be where Christ comes to you concretely. Faith desires to be where Jesus speaks and preaches His words into your ears, and where He feeds you with His very body and blood to forgive you and fill you with His life. The leper does not pray to a God who is “somewhere out there.” No. He prays to the God who is somewhere in particular for him. He prays to the God who is enfleshed in Christ.
And this is what he prays: “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Christian faith recognizes that since Jesus is God in the flesh, He is also able to do whatever He wills, for all the power of God to heal and to cleanse is in Christ. The leper does not doubt for a second that Christ has the ability to make him whole again. There is no question that Jesus has divine authority over the man’s bodily ailment.
Unlike the goofy and erroneous teachings that are found in other churches and beliefs, faith does not demand anything from Christ; rather, it humbly submits to His will. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” It is the same thing Jesus taught us to pray in the Our Father when we say, “Thy will be done.” The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than ours. He has promised to work all things together for our eternal good. And there are times when our eternal good will mean our earthly suffering, for the cross must come before the resurrection. To have strong faith is not only to trust in Christ when all is going well, but faithfully to pray “Thy will be done” even when all is not going well; especially when things are not going well. It is to believe in spite of the circumstances that He is good and merciful. It is simply to say, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
“Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.'” What tremendous words of Jesus: “I am willing”! It is as if He said, “Yes, this is exactly what I want; I want to help you, I want to save you. This is the very purpose for which I was born, to rescue and purify you. Indeed, I am willing, so willing, in fact, that I will take your disease and your suffering into Myself and put it to death in My body on the cross, that your healing may not only be temporary but eternal.”
Just as He touched the leper, so also our Lord Jesus has touched you. He put out His hand and poured water on you and put His name on you in Holy Baptism in order that you might be cleansed and sanctified. Through His baptismal touch you are made whole again. Every time you confess your sins, every time you hear and believe Christ’s words of forgiveness, you are returning to your baptism; you are returning to that washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Whenever you hear the absolution spoken to you, it is as if Christ Himself is repeating to you the same words He spoke to the leper, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately it is so, for Jesus’ Word always does and delivers what it says.
Erectile dysfunction can even result in the heartburn after gallbladder removal. on line levitra djpaulkom.tv If you levitra properien wanted to get great response than you have to find a compromise to make both of you happy. This can be a great opportunity for a beginning model as you cialis sale usa will meet some of the directors and marketing personnel within that company, and that can lead to print work later down the road. The good news is that men can increase their sexual strength so that they can perform well buy viagra in uk in time of need. We see an illustration of that in the second healing in today’s Gospel. A Roman centurion had come to Jesus. This man was sort of a mid-level commander in the Roman army with 100 soldiers under his authority. This particular centurion had been assigned to serve in Israel, which was under Roman control and part of the Roman empire. Being stationed among the Jews, this centurion had heard of Christ and probably had even listened to His teaching. So he came to Jesus and pleaded with Him, saying, “My servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” We see already that the centurion’s faith is revealed, for in coming to Christ with His request and in calling Him “Lord,” he shows confidence that Jesus can do something to help.
But the centurion is about to demonstrate that his faith in Christ is much deeper and stronger than one might first expect. Having heard his request, Jesus agreed to come to the centurion’s house and heal his servant. Now you would think that this Roman officer would be delighted at Jesus’ response and would escort him to his servant right away. But no. The centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.” Here he is, a Roman soldier with great power – a Roman soldier who is in a position of honor and authority and respect – and yet he humbly confesses that He is nothing in the presence of Christ, that He is not even worthy to have Jesus step foot in His house.
This is also how we should come before Christ. Though we may have honor in the eyes of the world for our intelligence or our skills or our looks or our wealth or our good conduct, yet all of that is laid aside in the presence of Christ, and we acknowledge that we are unworthy even to speak to Him, let alone to have Him come under our roof. Anything that we receive from Him is not because of our works or social status, but solely because of His grace and love toward us unworthy sinners.
I know a pastor who had a police officer as a member of his congregation. This particular officer was sometimes assigned a Sunday morning shift and was allowed to go to church during a shift but wanted to know if it was OK to come to church and go to communion in uniform. The pastor’s response was “Yes, absolutely.” For to do that was to be like this Roman centurion – earthly authority bowing in humility to heavenly authority, a police officer with gun holstered at his side, kneeling in repentance and faith to receive the gifts of Christ that conquer sin and death.
And that brings us to the second statement of the centurion. Not only did he acknowledge his own unworthiness, he also confessed Christ’s worthiness and authority. He said, “Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
In other words, the centurion is saying, “I am a man in a position of authority. And therefore, when I say something to those under me, it gets done; when I give a command, things happen. You, Jesus, have an authority much greater than mine. You rule over all things, even over sickness and even death itself. Therefore, just say the word and my servant will get better. You don’t even have to be visibly present, Jesus. Your Word is enough to get things done. Just speak and my servant will be healed.” And Jesus did speak: “As you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And the centurion’s servant was healed that same hour.
The Word of Jesus accomplishes what it says, for all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him by His heavenly Father. When Jesus speaks, it happens. Faith clings to that Word, even though His presence is not visible to ordinary sight. When the Scriptures say, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” you may trust in that Word and know that it is true for you. When you hear the declaration of Christ, “I forgive you all your sins,” you may have confidence in that Word and know that the Lord’s forgiveness has truly been applied to you. When Jesus says through His ministers, “This is My Body; this is My Blood,” you may believe with unwavering certainty that the bread really is His Body and the wine really is His blood, that He is truly present in the Sacrament to release you from your sins by His holy cross, and to give you to share in His resurrection.
In fact it has been a tradition in the church in some places to speak the words of the centurion as part of one’s preparation to receive the sacrament. “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak the word, and my soul shall be healed.” The “roof” then no longer refers to the top of a house, nor even of this church building, but to the roof of your mouth, to the dwelling which is your body. None of us is worthy to have Christ come to us in communion. In fact, those who are waiting to come to the Lord’s table until they are worthy are going to be waiting forever.
To be truly “worthy and well-prepared” is to recognize that you are unworthy and that Christ alone is worthy. It is to believe these words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” It is to believe that the Body and Blood of Christ are given and shed for you, and that they are truly present by the power of His Word for you to receive for the forgiveness of your sins. “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak the word, and my soul shall be healed.” And Jesus says, “As you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And in that moment at the table, He heals you and restores your soul with His real and true body and blood.
Faith always looks to Christ and to where He has absolutely promised to be for us. He gives us the confidence that He is truly for us in all of life’s circumstances. So, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And it is.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
