Matthew 8:1-13

Matthew 8:1-13 teaches us an important lesson about how to act when we are touched by the Savior.  “A leper came to Him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord if you will you can make me clean”.  What do we see here?  Faith – belief – action – obedience.  Jesus healed him….”and immediately his leprosy was healed”.  It wasn’t much longer before “a centurion came forward to Him” and has a servant who is in bad shape.  He doesn’t want Jesus to come – just “say the word” – and Jesus does exactly that and the servant is healed…..”at that very moment”.  Jesus is among the people.  He isn’t holed up somewhere praying loud prayers without any power or action.  He is in the midst of pain and suffering and available to get involved in the lives of people.  He makes Himself available, and when asked, takes decisive and powerful action that changes lives forever.  He is still in the business of changing lives today. He still heals, He still sets us free, He still is Savior and Lord.

So what does Jesus want from us today?  The same things He praises these two folks for.  They came to Him in faith – that is what He wants from us.  To believe and to trust Him to be there for us.  He always is.  When it doesn’t feel like it – well it isn’t because He has left.  It is because He is carrying us.  He wants us to take action – to come to Him with our pain and suffering – to share our concerns and needs – to seek Him for answers and direction.  He wants a relationship and we need to be active in growing that.  These guys came to Him and brought their deepest needs and desires.  He didn’t run.  He received them with open arms, listened and had compassion, and then acted.  He also wants us to be obedient to His direction.  Jesus heals and gives them both steps to take.  The healed leper and the centurion both had some work to do.  Jesus does the heavy lifting, but we need to do the obedience part.  That is key to what the expectations are of us.  That we listen and heed and obey.  As we exercise our faith through belief leading to action and obedience – we free up the power of Jesus in our lives.  He wants to make a significant difference in us and through us.  Too often we are the roadblock to releasing that power.  We need to be like the leper and centurion and come to the feet of Jesus seeking His power in our lives!