Just the Word :: Matthew 8:1-13
When the centurion answered [Jesus], he said, Lord, I’m not [worthy enough] for you to come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed (v 8).
Just say the word. That’s enough. Just say the word. That’s all Jesus ever has to do. That’s how it was in the beginning. And that’s how it’ll be in the end. When the Word made flesh speaks, marvelous things happen. He creates. He opens ears. He opens eyes. He takes our ills. He takes our pain. He takes our sin. He cleanses us and makes us whole. He gives us eternal life.
Just say the word, Lord. I know it will be done.
And so it was ... And so it is ... with just a word.
That’s what’s happening in our readings today. That’s what happened in our readings last week. And it will happen again next week. You’ll hear it. Wherever Jesus goes, he changes everything with just A Word, The Word, His Word, God’s Word, the Word made flesh, the Word of Life given to you, for you.
GREAT FAITH FINDS ITS REST IN THE WORD ALONE
That is our theme today. Great faith rests on the authority of God’s Word (vv. 2,7,8). Great faith rests in Jesus (w. 3, 7b). Great faith rests in God’s grace (w. 6, 7). Won’t you just believe the word now?
1.
Last week, the mother of Jesus clued us into this truth when she told the servants at the wedding feast to just do whatever he says. They unquestioningly obeyed the Word of God. And a miraculous sign occurred.
Today the same thing is happening in both our Old Testament and Gospel readings.
For starters, an unbeliever named Naaman went to Elisha on the word that the true God heals. He didn’t really want to believe it. But on the word, he relented to washing himself in a muddy stream called the Jordan. And according to the Word of the man of God, his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child (2 Kgs 5:14).
Then, behold, an ostracized leper saw Jesus coming down from a mountain where he was speaking a mighty Word. Lord, if you desire, you are able to cleanse me, he cried out. So taking him by the hand, Jesus did that with just one Greek word we translate as two: Be Clean.
Finally, a centurion came to Jesus seeking healing for his dying servant. Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, terribly tormented. So please, just speak your Good Word. I know you have the divine authority to just say the word. When I say it, people obey immediately. When I say go, they go. When I say come, they come. When I say do this, they do it. ... So just say the Word, Jesus ... I know it will be so.
And it was! When Jesus heard [this man’s answer], he marveled, and said to those following, Amen! [I’ll tell you what:] I’ve found no one in Israel with so much faith. ... Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go ... as you have believed, let it be to you. And the servant was healed in that hour (vv. 9-13). Again, it was just one word we translate as three.
2.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in light of our readings on this Third Sunday after Epiphany, a good question for us to ponder today is: What healed Naaman? What healed the leper? What healed the centurion’s servant?
I’ll tell you what didn’t heal them ... It wasn’t their faith ... Faith didn’t heal them. We like to think faith heals. But we think too highly of ourselves. All too often we cherry pick the scriptures ... ripping them out of context. Too often we listen only to what we want to hear. We hear Jesus say things like, Your faith has made you well (Mk 5:34), which is true. We hear him say to the crowd, I have never found a man with so much faith as this centurion., which also is true. We then insert ourselves into the text, surmising that if I, too, seize hold of my faith, I can move a mountain (Mt 17:20) ... that I can make myself healthy, wealthy, and wise. We like to say everything we do is all about our faith, that our faith alone is enough for us, that we can get by on just our faith. But we give our faith too much credit.
Faith didn’t heal the centurion’s servant. Faith didn’t heal the leper. Faith didn’t heal Naaman. Faith doesn’t heal at all. It wasn’t faith that turned water into wine last week. Faith in itself doesn’t do anything at all. Contrary to popular opinion; maybe even contrary to your own opinion, faith is NOT magic. Faith is not a quality. It is not a substance. We aren’t the source of faith. We aren’t the authors of faith. We don’t even build our own faith or make our own faith stronger. Faith is simply another word for “trust” or “confidence.” Faith needs something.
3.
Naaman didn’t even have faith. The rivers in Syria are far better than the waters of Israel, he declared, which is to say, I can make myself cleaner. I can find better water. I can dedicate myself. So he turned and went away in rage, until his servants spoke the word of God to him.
In the same way, it wasn’t the Leper’s faith that cleansed him. He had faith in Jesus. We don’t know how. That doesn’t matter. But it would have been with a word about Christ, literally. And then literally, with one word, Jesus declared him to be clean, and he was.
Which brings us to today’s quote that we began this sermon with. When the centurion answered [Jesus], he said, Lord, I’m not worthy [enough] for you to come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed (v 8).
4.
The common denominator between Naaman, the leper, and the centurion is not faith. The common denominator in these miraculous healings is the Word of God.
Do you believe God’s word? These are written so that you will believe the word and be saved. Naaman, the leper, and the centurion all heard it, and were cleansed. Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word. The Word of God speaks, and it creates. The word speaks, and He saves us all. This is our epiphany today. The Word saves us.
The ugly truth is that too often we don’t trust the Word alone. We may proclaim that we do ... especially when God’s Word is working to our advantage. But when things aren’t going our way, we tend to turn away like Naaman, thinking we can find a better source of water for our comfort. Too often we rely on preparing ourselves to receive God’s means of grace. We try to convince ourselves we can make ourselves holy enough. We check our faith at the door as we begin focusing on “more important” things like bills and bulls, Facebook and friends, and all kinds of things that have NOTHING to do with the Word of salvation. We spurn his Word that calls us to obey all that Christ has commanded. We turn away from his Word that unites us to him through baptism and the Lord's supper. And we turn away from forgiving each other.
5.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the name of Jesus, Repent, and hear his good word for you today. All of God’s promises find their yes in the Word of Christ. And then he enables us to cry out: I believe, help our unbelief. I believe it’s not about the color of the water or the wine. I believe because of the Word of Christ who just says yes.
What a marvelous thing is happening now. We know we are unworthy. But Christ has come to us anyway. He makes his way to us, making his Word known to us. And because of that, we believe Jesus is the Christ sent by the Father to live for you, to be crucified for you. We believe that he who knew no sin became sin for you. He ensured that your sin would die with him and be buried with him so that it will never be heard from again. The author of life then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us in paradise. This is his good word. You can rest in Christ knowing this word will always be enough.
His Word makes the ordinary extraordinary. Jesus has united himself with you through water and bread and wine. In baptism and the Lord’s supper, both of which rest on God’s word, his means of grace strengthen your faith in him. Receive this good word as often as you can. God desires all of us to be saved and to come to the knowledge of that truth that faith apart from his word does nothing, but faith in his word does everything.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that this Good Word actually means something to you now. We live in a world full of negatives that demean us and tell us we aren’t good enough! But great faith shouts another word. Great faith says, yes to the Word! ... Yes to God’s authority ... Yes to Jesus ... Yes to his grace ... Yes to the forgiveness of sins. ... Great faith says you can walk in the newness of life now and forever.
The Word of the Lord is all-sufficient. The Word of the Lord works. The Word of the Lord does what he says it does. Rest your faith in the Good Word of God for you today. It will be done for you as you have believed ... in Jesus’ name.