Epiphany 3
Dear friends in Christ. Our text begins with a rather simple statement that some might consider a “throwaway.” Although some texts of Scripture are certainly more obvious and comforting for doctrine and faith, the fact remains that all Scripture is of the Holy Spirit and as the blessed Apostle writes [2 Ti 3.16]: profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So is this first verse that seemingly just gives the background to the accounts of Jesus’ miracles of healing—first of the leper and then of the centurion’s servant. And what is this verse? When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
What was Jesus doing on the mountain? He had just taught the crowds, preaching His Sermon on the Mount. And St. Matthew ends our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount with this summary before going into our text: And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Let us ponder this first verse for a brief moment and see what the Holy Spirit has packed into it. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
The first thing, then, that this verse shows us is that Jesus’ word, that He taught them as one having authority, is confirmed; that the people were right to be astonished. Not only were they right in thinking that Jesus taught authoritatively but Jesus would prove His authority by the healings He would perform. The word He spoke would be confirmed by the miracles. Their faith in Him was not misplaced.
When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. This verse and the events that follow are also a beautiful proclamation of the heart and core of Epiphany. Jesus had taught the people great truths of the faith; He had revealed to them great mysteries on that mountain. They had true faith in Jesus in their hearts—created by the Holy Spirit in the word Jesus taught.
But notice: Jesus came down from the mountain. Jesus didn’t stay on the mountain; His followers did not stay on the mountain. Jesus came down from the mountain; the people followed Him and came down. What does this point us to? Our Christian life and faith is not all the time “a mountain top experience”; our faith is not some sort of “spiritual high”. Instead, we, too, come down from the mountain. The great joy of hearing our Lord speak to us in His holy word, of receiving holy absolution, of receiving His very body and blood in the sacrament is soon followed by coming down from the mountain as the realities of life in a sinful world hit us in the face.
But notice: When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Jesus leads. Yes, we will face the struggles and trials of life in this sinful world; we will have to deal with not very nice people; we will have to deal with sinners; we will have to deal with our own sinful weakness and shortcomings; we will have the temptations and attacks on our faith by the devil and His allies. But notice, as Christians, we go out into the world and face the world—and what? Jesus leads and we follow. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
This Epiphany season shows us that Jesus lives in the realities of life. He is not aloof from them; He shares in them. He—the true God—became also true man. They touch Him but He touches them and overcomes them. In our day in/ day out struggles in this world let us remember that although we deal with all sorts of struggles and trials, Jesus has dealt with and overcome the worst—for us. Like the crowds of our text, may we follow Him and know and see He has triumphed over them for us.
1. The glorious thing is that the Lord knows our faith is so often under attack from the devil, from the world around us and even from our own sinful selves. We are often knocked down and suffering—be it spiritually or physically. But in grace, the Lord so worked it that precisely here as sinners living in a sinful world, in our weakness and lowliness, faith develops its strength. That’s what we learn from the account of the leper and the Roman centurion.
Our lowliness, when we are seemingly beaten down, spiritually or physically, when we realize that on our own we can do nothing, faith develops its strength as we rely on and trust all the more the power of Christ. Look at the leper in our text: Just then, a leper came to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” In his account St. Luke [5.12] describes him as full of leprosy. Here’s a man in an utterly helpless situation. Because of his sickness he was separated from everybody else; he couldn’t be around family or friends, be part of a community; and what was worst of all—because of his disease he couldn’t be in the temple or synagogue to hear the Lord’s word. His diseased and misshapen body was a constant reminder and sign to him and all who saw him of the devil’s attack on and corruption of God’s good and perfect creation. He could do absolutely nothing for himself. But what do we see in our text? Precisely this lowliness strengthens his faith.
Somehow/ some way he had heard about Jesus. Maybe he had heard from another leper, maybe he had even heard at a distance Jesus preaching. But the word of Jesus had come to him in his lowliness/ pitiable condition and through that word the Holy Spirit worked faith in Jesus in this man's heart. In the midst of his lowliness and suffering faith became strong so that he broke the rule to stay away from people and rushed to Jesus with his request and bowed down to him.
Notice this leper’s prayer of great faith. He knows Jesus can help him and so he prays Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. He doesn’t doubt Jesus’ ability in the least. That’s faith. What makes his prayer a beautiful prayer of faith is that He knows Jesus can heal him, but he leaves the decision to Jesus—if it is His will.
When we pray for spiritual blessings like the forgiveness of sins, we never pray if you are willing because Jesus has told us it is His will. Then we pray unconditionally: Forgive us our sin. But when it comes to temporal/ earthly/ physical blessings faith prays: if you are willing, leaving the decision to the Lord if it is best for us. It is a great faith that can pray if you are willing and it is developed in lowliness.
We see the same great faith born from lowliness in the Roman Centurion. He was a non-Jew who came to know the true God and longed for the Savior with the Jewish people. And in Spirit worked faith, he had come to recognize Jesus as the true God and that Savior. Here was a man in a position of authority and leadership and yet he was lowly, his faith developed from lowliness! Notice our text: When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him and pleaded with him, 6“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.” 7Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me. 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.” The point? Here is a man of great authority who can command people and they follow his orders; but here he is helpless to do anything to bring relief to his servant. That’s exactly what faith does—it recognizes our inability to do anything and that our help and hope is from the Lord. Very often when we are laid low by sickness or by seeming rejections or by nothing “working out right”—when the devil wants us to despair—then precisely in that lowliness, the Holy Spirit kindles our faith ever more fervently to look to and rely upon the Lord for His hope, help and rescue. Faith doesn’t dictate but simply goes to Jesus and trusts Him to bless and to do the right thing. “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.” Faith gives Christ the honor, recognizing Him as Lord over all and that everything has to obey Him. In our weakness and inability, we see Jesus’ power all the more clearly and that is faith developing its strength in lowliness.
2. Not only does faith not doubt Jesus’ ability to help but it also does not doubt His mercy. After all, what good would Jesus’ power be for us, if He were not merciful toward us; if He dealt with us as we deserve and not in mercy; if He did not hear and receive the prayer of us poor sinners? As we are beaten down by the devil and world, as we very much feel our sin and unworthiness, the Holy Spirit fans our faith into flame so that it is a faith that looks to and relies on the Lord’s mercy. When we feel our need for mercy, Spirit-worked faith sees in our dear Lord Jesus a merciful God who can and does help.
We see that so beautifully shown in the leper: a leper came to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” Immediately he was healed of his leprosy. Notice, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean, he leaves the time and manner to Jesus’ mercy. Here, let our faith be strengthened and confirmed: Jesus shows His sympathy and willingness to help— Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. What a glorious comfort and encouragement that today’s Collect picks this up as we there pray to the Lord: mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all dangers and necessities stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to help and defend us. Jesus touched this “untouchable” leper. And as He did so, the leprosy retreated. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” The simple fact is that Jesus is more inclined to hear than we are to pray. Precisely in our lowliness, faith is stirred up all the more to pray, and as we see Jesus in mercy answer our prayer, how faith is strengthened!
Let us always remember Jesus’ mercy: Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and that Jesus in mercy not only stretche[s] out his hand and touche[s] us but in the Blessed Sacrament gives us His body and blood, giving us true healing and cleansing from sin, coming to us and uniting with us.
Like the centurion did, we can go to and trust in Jesus’ mercy, that He will act for us in mercy and in the best way for us. “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.” He doesn’t request but knows that a mere statement telling Jesus his need is enough and he trusts Jesus in mercy to do the right thing. As Christians, yes, we know and feel our sins and our unworthiness before God. “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” We know that we are not worthy of grace but we hope for it, build on it, rely on it, trust in His grace and mercy. And why? He has promised in His word that He is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love; He assures us that He is gentle and lowly in heart and [we] will find rest for [our] souls [Joel 2.13; Mt. 11.28-29]. Really, our great comfort is that God’s grace is meant precisely for us unworthy and undeserving.
How beautiful is the centurion’s request a prayer for us to pray before receiving the Blessed Sacrament: Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. But only say the word, and [your] servant will be healed. Jesus comes under our roof, into our very mouths and bodies. We are not worthy but He is gracious; and precisely because we are not worthy, Jesus comes to us to bring us healing.
Jesus said to the centurion, “Go. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. Here is the reward of faith. It receives help, comfort, mercy and every good from Jesus to Whom it clings. As we realize our helplessness, faith trusts Jesus’ power; as we feel our unworthiness, faith hopes for and looks for Jesus’ grace and mercy. Faith develops its strength in lowliness. INJ Amen.