Christ's Authority for Outcasts

Well, if you'd open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8, we're resuming our preaching through the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Children, we are so glad you're joining us this morning.

If you would, we've got a passage that is so vivid.

Would you write, would you draw some pictures for me of what we're about to read and what you're going to hear me preach?

It is absolutely amazing.

This is Matthew chapter 8, verses 1 through 17.

Matthew 8:1–17

When he came down from the mountain, preaching the Sermon on the Mount, great crowds followed him.

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

And Jesus said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.

And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.

But the centurion replied, 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.

But when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And to the centurion, Jesus said, go, let it be done for you as you have believed.

And the servant was healed at that very moment.

And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her.

And she rose and began to serve him.

That evening, they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons.

And he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.

Well, it's New Year's resolution time.

You know that time of year when a person turns over a new leaf?

It's time to change in some ways.

And a new year is a great opportunity to set some things in motion.

So what are your New Year's resolutions?

Well, let me suggest one this New Year's.

It's a life resolution.

In light of who Jesus is.

In light of what he's done for you.

Would you make a resolution today to follow him?

All of your days.

In all that he commanded.

The Gospel of Matthew is about the kingship of Jesus.

And at the end of the Gospel of Matthew,

after Jesus has died and has been raised from the dead,

that's the climax of the whole book.

After his death and resurrection,

Jesus, in the Great Commission,

announces that he has been given all authority on heaven and earth.

Jesus is the rightful King of all.

Lord of lords.

King of kings.

And as his disciples,

we are to humbly submit to his authority

by obeying all that he commanded.

Jesus says,

All authority has been given to me.

Go make disciples of the nations.

And one of the big parts of fulfilling the Great Commission

is to teach those who believe in Jesus

after we share the Gospel with them.

And then they believe to teach them

all that Jesus has commanded.

So that they too obey.

The Gospel of Matthew is about the kingship of Jesus.

About his authority.

So what is authority?

Authority is the right to exercise power

and to require obedience.

Parents exercise authority over children.

Teachers exercise authority over students.

Governments exercise authority

authority to make laws

and to enforce laws with citizens.

And in this morning's passage,

which I just read,

we're going to see Jesus exercise

his authority to heal.

It's a series of healings.

There's actually four little segments here.

And children,

if you're drawing me a picture,

Jesus is going to heal a leper.

He's going to heal a centurion,

which is a soldier.

He's going to heal a sick woman.

And he's going to heal groups of people

that are brought to him one night.

In initial reading of this passage,

we may cause you to draw the conclusion

that what all these healings have in common

is that they point to Jesus

and that they reveal he is the Messiah.

And it's true.

They do.

And he is.

But there's something else being emphasized here.

These four healings have something else in common.

It's about who Jesus exercises his authority for.

So here's what we're going to do.

We're going to walk through this passage

and take a closer look at these four encounters

in which Jesus exercises his authority to heal.

And at the end of this,

I'm going to make a point

of what this passage is all about.

The point's going to come to the fore

as we move through it.

And then, to close,

I'd like to try to apply this passage

by way of three New Year's resolutions.

So let's walk through it.

The first encounter we read about

is in verses 2 through 4.

Jesus and a leper.

Now when you hear the word leprosy,

you may be thinking of a certain kind of disease.

It's known as Hansen's disease.

It's when a bacteria attacks the nerve endings

in someone's hands or appendages.

And it results in some horrible deformities and pain.

But when we talk about leprosy in the Bible

and what the Mosaic Law considers unclean

is not just Hansen's disease.

It's all different kinds of skin disorders.

And so what you need to know

is that according to the Mosaic Law,

if you have Hansen's disease

or some other kind of skin disorder,

you are considered ceremonially unclean.

And if you touched someone who had a skin disorder,

you were ceremonially unclean,

which means you were unfit

to come into God's presence to worship.

In fact, to protect others

from becoming unclean through contact with lepers,

the Mosaic Law would require a leper

or someone with a skin disorder

to, when approaching other people,

to cry out,

unclean!

I am unclean!

I am unclean!

Could you imagine that?

The effect that that would have on you over time?

There would be the hardship of the disease.

Suffering Hansen's disease would be brutal enough.

And then there's the spiritual hardship

of being prohibited,

if you're a Jew,

to enter into other Jews

with the worship of God.

And then there's the social hardship.

Could you imagine being isolated socially

from the people that you love?

And then there's the psychological hardship.

What effect would it have

of going from town to town,

walking among people,

and having to say,

I am unclean!

And just watching people scurry from you.

So when we read here in chapter 8, verse 2,

that a leper approaches Jesus,

what you need to know

that this leper on all accounts

is an outcast.

In verse 2 we read this leper

falls down before Jesus

and addresses Him as Lord.

Now he could have just been saying,

being polite and saying,

Sir,

but given that he's fallen down

before Jesus,

when he calls Him Lord,

he is saying,

You've got authority.

And in verse 2,

what we read is

that this leper has no question

about Jesus' ability

to heal Him.

What this leper has a question about

is Jesus' willingness

to exercise His power

to heal Him.

Lord,

Lord,

if You will,

You can make me clean.

It's like He's saying,

Lord,

are You willing

to exercise Your authority

to heal an outcast like me?

Are You willing?

And in verse 3,

we see Jesus' response.

You know what?

I love being a follower of Jesus.

And I love being a follower of Jesus

when I read things like this.

In Matthew 5, 6, and 7,

we see the authoritative preaching

and teaching of Jesus

and it's phenomenal.

And when we get into

here in Matthew 8,

we see Jesus

encountering other people.

He shows us

how God would interact

with people

because He is God.

and I love it.

I love seeing Him.

I love seeing what He's about to do.

He's my Savior and Lord.

This one we're about to read about,

He's your King.

This is who you're following.

Look what He does

in verse 3.

He reaches out

and He touches this leper.

He stretches out His hand

and touches Him.

Nobody in Israel

would have dared

to touch this leper

out of fear

of contracting the disease,

out of a desire

not to become

ceremonially unclean.

They don't want to be banished,

but not Jesus.

He doesn't shrink back

from this leper.

He's not afraid of this leper.

He's not disgusted

by this leper.

He moves towards the leper.

And when He touches him,

instead of Jesus

being made unclean,

Jesus cleans the unclean.

Jesus could have just

healed them with words.

When He heals

the centurion's servant

in just a minute,

it's just with words.

He could have healed them

with just words,

but He touches them.

When was the last time

this leper was ever

touched by another human being

we don't know?

But the first one

to touch Him

was God incarnate.

Jesus.

He reaches out

and touches

this untouchable outcast

saying,

I am willing

to be clean.

And immediately,

His leprosy clears.

He's been healed.

He's been made clean.

In the words of D.A. Carson,

Jesus' authority

immediately accomplished

what He wills.

And He willed

this leper clean.

And then in verse 4,

we have some interesting

things Jesus says to him.

Jesus essentially says

to this former leper now,

hey, what I just did to you,

keep it on the down low, buddy.

Don't tell anybody, please.

Now, you might wonder

why He's doing that.

Well, Jesus didn't want

to gain a following

for just being a healer.

He didn't want to make His,

give Him less opportunities

and make His ministry

more difficult

by stirring up

all sorts of crowds.

In fact,

in Mark's account

of this healing,

Jesus tells the leper,

don't go tell anybody.

And then the leper

goes and tells everybody.

And what Jesus has to do

in return is,

He's no longer able

to enter town freely

to preach.

And so He's got to now

go to the outskirts of towns.

And so Jesus wants access

to towns to preach

the good news.

And so He told this leper,

don't go blabbing this around.

I've got other things to do.

But then He says something else

to this leper.

He requires this cleansed leper

to go show himself

to the priest

and offer a gift

of Moses.

Moses required.

The priest He has in mind

is a particular piece.

He would have been like

the QC priest.

Quality control.

This priest would decide

whether or not someone

was truly healed

of a disease

so that they could

reenter

their social world.

And so what Jesus

is saying here

is abiding by the law

of Moses.

He says,

go to the priest,

show them that you're healed,

offer your gift,

and return

to your relationships.

What this points to

is not just an immediate healing,

but a complete healing.

Jesus says,

go get checked out

and go back to your family.

What we learn

from this little passage

is that Jesus

has authority over disease.

And when He exercises

His authority over disease,

it results in immediate

and complete healing.

But the surprise

is that Jesus

exercises His authority

to heal an outsider.

Someone who is an outcast.

A leper.

By touching this leper,

He doesn't become unclean.

His touch

cleanses the leper.

The second encounter

is between Jesus

and a centurion.

And this is in verses 5

through 13.

Now,

a centurion

was a Roman soldier

of rank.

If you hear the word

century

in the word centurion,

it makes you think

of 100.

A centurion

had responsibility

for 100 soldiers.

And centurions

were considered

the backbone

of the imperial army

of Rome

at the time.

You want to get

things done,

you get your centurion

on it.

Now,

we read in verse 5

that Jesus

is entering Capernaum,

which is basically

kind of the town

of His ministry

headquarters

at the time.

And in Capernaum

at the time

was a Roman garrison.

And so,

if you're in Capernaum,

seeing Roman soldiers

would not have been

uncommon,

but what you need

to realize

is that there would

be Jews

who viewed them

as unwelcomed

invaders.

What you also need

to know about

a centurion

is that they were

vested with the

very authority

of the emperor

himself.

And so,

when a centurion

commanded a foot soldier

to go do something,

that foot soldier

would obey it

as if the emperor

was commanding him.

So,

centurions were men

who God understood

authority.

But there's also

another really important

note to make.

Centurions were

Gentiles.

They were non-Jews.

And so,

we're not told

whether this particular

centurion who comes

to Jesus,

whether he's Roman

or he's Syrian,

what we do know,

he wasn't a Jew.

He was a Gentile.

Gentiles were to be

avoided by pious Jews

because they'll

make you unclean.

Gentiles were unable

to fully participate

in Israel's worship

of God.

They were considered

outsiders.

So,

in verse 5,

upon entering

Capernaum,

this centurion

appeals to Jesus,

actually beseeches

him by addressing

him as Lord.

The centurion

has somehow

heard about Jesus

and his ability

to heal,

and he's asking

him to heal

his servant.

So,

we have a Gentile

asking a Jew

to heal his servant.

And we learn

that this

centurion

servant

is at his

home

paralyzed

and suffering

terribly.

Now,

the question

that we're

starting asking

is,

is our

Jewish

Savior

going to

go

to this

Gentile's

house

and heal

his servant?

In verse 7,

Jesus responds

to the request.

He says,

I will come

and heal him.

And some

scholars think

that Jesus

is actually

asking a question

here as like,

would you have

me come

and heal him?

As in knowing

that I'm a Jew,

you're a Gentile,

if I come

to your house,

you know,

this isn't

going to look

good.

Whether he is

making a statement

or asking a

question,

Jesus is

willing to go.

Let me try

to help you

understand

kind of

the scale

of this.

Do you

remember in

Acts chapter

Acts 10 · chapter mention

10,

Peter goes

to Cornelius'

house in

Joppa.

Cornelius was

a Gentile

centurion.

And when

Peter walks

into Cornelius'

house,

that would

have been

the first

time Peter

walked into

the house

of a Gentile

at any

point in

his life.

first time,

Gentiles were

outsiders.

And so

for Jesus,

a Jew,

to go into

a centurion's

house,

in verse

8,

the centurion

replies,

Lord,

I am not

worthy to

have you

come under

my roof.

And this

isn't

flattery.

He goes

on to

say in

verse 8,

but only

say the

word,

and my

servant will

be healed.

This Gentile

centurion

recognizes that

Jesus,

that Jesus

is able to

speak an

authoritative

word that

will heal

his paralyzed

servant from

a distance.

That's what

this Gentile

centurion

knows.

That's what

he believes

about Jesus.

And he

goes on in

verse 9,

say,

hey,

I get the

authority

thing.

I too

am a

man under

authority.

I say to

a soldier,

go,

he goes.

I say to

a soldier,

come,

he comes.

I say to

my servant,

do this,

and they

do that.

I get

authority.

But this

Gentile

centurion is

saying that

Jesus has

an authority

that supersedes

the emperor's

authority.

Jesus has

the authority

to heal

someone paralyzed

from a

distance.

that is

an authority

of God.

And so

at the end

of verse

10,

well,

excuse me,

in verse

10,

Jesus'

response,

we read

this.

When Jesus

heard this,

what the

Gentiles said,

he marveled.

He was

amazed.

Jesus was

amazed.

the only

other time

that this

word is

used for

Jesus in

relationship to

somebody else

is when Jesus

marveled at

the unbelief

of his

fellow Jews

in Nazareth

in Mark

6.

6.

And so

when this

word is used

of Jesus,

it's used

of his

marveling at

the unbelief

of fellow Jews

regarding him,

and he's

marveling at

the belief

of this

Gentile

in relationship

to him.

At the end

of verse

10,

Jesus turns

to those

Jews who

were following

him.

He was being

followed by

multitudes of

primarily Jewish

people.

And it's like

he hears this

and he turns

to them and he

says,

truly,

I tell you,

with no one

in Israel

have I found

such faith.

This Gentile's

belief about

Jesus stands

out even

among Israel.

This Gentile

centurion believed

that Jesus

possessed the

authority of

God.

Seemingly,

the fellow Jews

were having a

hard time with

that.

This Gentile

knew that

Jesus just

needed to

say the

word.

Just say

the word

and my

servant back

at my house

is going to

be healed.

You just

say the

word,

Jesus.

Only God

can do

something like

that.

In verse

11,

Jesus takes

the opportunity

to clarify

something.

Jesus is

going to

now go

high altitude.

He's going,

going to go

talk about

something in

the future

and he's

going to

go high

altitude.

Look at

verse 11.

He says,

I tell you,

many will

come from

east and

west and

recline at

table with

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

in the

kingdom of

heaven,

while the

sons of

the kingdom

will be

thrown into

the outer

darkness.

First,

I want you

to notice

future tense.

He goes

into the

future tense.

I tell you,

many will

come.

The sons

of the kingdom

will be

thrown.

What's

he getting

at?

Jesus is

taking the

opportunity

to talk

about who

populates

the kingdom

of heaven.

He's got a

teaching moment

here.

He says,

I tell you,

many will

come from

east and

west and

recline at

table with

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

in the

kingdom of

heaven.

The many

he's talking

about are

Gentiles.

Many

Gentiles,

many non-Jews,

many non-Jews

from east

and west,

what he's

talking about

is all

around the

world.

They're going

to come

and recline

at table

with the

patriarchs

of the

Jewish

faith.

Now,

the reclining

at table

is a

reference

to the

great

end-time

banquet

of the

people

of God.

Jesus

is saying

there are

going to

be Gentiles

from all

around the

world

who are

going to

be at

the

table

of the

great

banquet

feast,

which is

also known

as the

marriage supper

of the

lamb,

Revelation

19.

The promise

God made

to Abraham

in Genesis

12 that

he would

bless all

the nations

of the

world through

his seed

is being

realized in

Jesus

Christ.

the

citizens of

the kingdom

of heaven

are not

restricted to

Jewish

ethnicity.

Jesus

has thrown

wide open

the doors

of the

kingdom

to all

who would

believe

that he

is the

Messiah,

whether

Jew or

Gentile.

Jesus

is making

clear that

the outsiders,

Gentiles,

who believe

in who

he is,

are

welcome

inside

the

end time

banquet

feast.

But,

those who

are

insiders,

the sons

of the

kingdom,

the Jews,

by rejecting

Jesus,

are cast

outside

the feast.

Look at

verse 12.

While the

sons of the

kingdom will

be thrown

into outer

darkness,

in that

place there

will be

weeping

and gnashing

of teeth.

That sons

of the

kingdom is

an idiom

referencing

Jews.

And what

Jesus is

saying here

is that

those

insiders

who think

that they're

insiders,

the sons

of the

kingdom,

quote unquote,

by rejecting

Jesus as

Messiah,

they're going

to be

cast out

into the

outer

darkness,

the darkest

of darkest

places,

where there's

weeping and

gnashing of

teeth.

It's

torment.

He's talking

about hell.

He's talking

about rejecting

Jesus as

Messiah has

eternal

consequences.

And by the

way, it's

not just

for Jews

who reject

Jesus as

Messiah.

It's for

Gentiles too.

For those

Gentiles who

believe and for

those Jews

who believe who

Jesus is, who

we claim to

be, they are

welcomed into

the great banquet

feast at the

end of the

time.

For those who

reject Him,

they will be

cast out into

outer darkness.

So Jesus

takes this

moment,

standing in

front of the

Gentile

centurion to

inform those

listening about

the true

nature of

the kingdom.

Admission to

the kingdom

has everything

to do with

what you

believe about

Jesus, not

your ethnicity.

So in

verse 13,

Jesus turns

back to the

centurion and

says, go, let

it be done for

you as you

believed.

And we

learn that the

Gentile

centurion's

servant was

healed immediately.

They must have

figured that out

when they all

reunited at the

centurion's

house.

They're all

there and

like, okay,

my sundial,

when Jesus

said that, it

was at this,

wait, wait,

wait, you're

saying that he

was healed at

that time?

Immediate,

complete healing

from a

distance.

So what do

we learn?

We learn that

Jesus has

authority to

heal by word

only, something

that only God

can do.

We learn that

Jesus talks

about the

kingdom of

heaven as

about believing

in him.

It's not about

ethnicity, it's

about Jesus.

The kingdom of

heaven is

populated by

Jews and

Gentiles who

believe in

Jesus.

And of

course, we

see here Jesus

exercising his

authority for

an outcast, a

Gentile.

The third

encounter is

between Jesus

and a woman

with a fever.

We see this

verses 14 and

15.

And not just

any woman, this

is Peter's

mother-in-law.

Peter was

married and had

a house in

Capernaum and

his mother-in-law

was living with

him.

They were

taking care of

her.

In this, the

first encounter

we saw the

outsider was a

leper.

The second

encounter, the

outsider is a

Gentile.

And in this

third encounter,

the outsider is

this woman.

being a woman

in the first

century would

have been

considered a

second-class

citizen, even

in Israel.

Women would

not be able to

fully participate

in Israel's

worship of God

for a variety

of reasons.

But look at

what Jesus

does.

As soon as he

walks into

Peter's house

and he sees

his sick

mother-in-law,

he goes to

her.

He doesn't

call a

girlfriend to

go check on

her.

He goes to

her.

He's not put

out by her

illness.

He's not put

out by her

gender.

Like with a

leper, Jesus

touches her and

she's immediately

healed.

And the

completeness of

her healing is

demonstrated by

the fact she

gets right up and

starts serving

Jesus.

It points to

not only an

immediate healing,

but a complete

healing.

God's

love.

So we see

Jesus caring

for women

in other places

in the Gospels

as well.

In John 4,

Jesus has a

very interesting

encounter with

a Samaritan

woman.

So much so,

Jesus'

disciples were

like,

Jesus,

shouldn't you

come get

something to

eat with us

and not talk

to her?

And in Luke

7, a woman

of the city,

another way of

talking about

a prostitute,

she crashes a

dinner party that

Jesus was at,

not just any

dinner party,

he was at a

Pharisee's house

named Simon.

And this

prostitute walks

in and she

walks right to

Jesus, anoints

him with some

very expensive

ointment, and

then starts

washing his

feet with her

hair and her

tears.

And you know

what Jesus does?

He doesn't

flinch.

He welcomes

her doing that.

He allows her

to worship him.

Meanwhile,

Simon the

Pharisee's

flipping out.

Jesus

dignified

every woman

he encountered.

And Peter's

mother-in-law

here represents

another kind

of outsider.

And Jesus

exercises his

authority to

her.

He heals

her.

The fourth

encounter is

between Jesus

and many who

were demonized

and sick.

We see that

in verse 16.

those demon

possessed,

those sick

were considered

unclean by

pious Jews.

They would have

been avoided,

but Jesus

welcomes them.

Bring them.

And what we learn

is that not only

does Jesus

welcome them,

He casts out

demons with a

word.

Verse 16.

He heals

all who were

sick that were

brought to Him.

nowhere in

this passage

does Jesus

turn away

any outcast,

any outsider

seeking Him.

He welcomes

them all to

Himself.

He welcomes

and heals

them.

Jesus

once again

exercises His

authority

for those

who are

avoided,

for those

who are

marginalized,

for the

outsiders.

after what

was most

likely a

really long

day,

Jesus

welcomed

and healed

more

outsiders.

And then

in verse 17,

Matthew says

that Jesus

healing all

these people

was the

fulfillment

of Isaiah

53.4.

He took

our illnesses

and bore

our diseases.

This is the

famous passage

of the

suffering

servant.

God,

God's man,

His mighty

arm of

salvation

providing

deliverance

for people

caught up

in sin

in the most

shocking and

humble ways

that God

Himself would

suffer and

die in

their place.

What Matthew

is doing

is by

quoting Isaiah

53,

Matthew is

saying this

Jesus is

God's

suffering

servant

of Isaiah

53,

and He

has gone

to the

outsiders.

He has

come

for the

outcasts.

And He's

come to

heal us

of our

greatest

problem.

It's not a

skin disease.

It's not an

ethnicity

problem.

It's not a

gender

problem.

It's not a

problem of

demon possession

or being

just overwhelmed

with illness.

Our chief

problem is

sin sickness.

And Jesus

has come

to heal

that.

So here

we have

four encounters

between Jesus

and outsiders.

And so

what's the

point?

Well, it's

clear that

Jesus has

authority over

disease.

But that's

not the

point.

The point

is that

Jesus exercises

His authority

over disease

for outsiders.

That's the

point.

The emphasis

is not just

on His

ability to

heal, but

on who

He heals.

A leper,

a Gentile,

a woman,

demon possessed,

sick.

Jesus has

a heart

for outsiders.

Jesus came

for the

outcasts.

The kingdom

of heaven

is made up

of outcasts

and outcasts

outsiders who

see themselves

as they truly

are,

poor in

spirit,

and they

see Jesus

for who

He really

is.

The Messiah,

Lord of

Lords,

King of

Kings,

the suffering

servant.

He possesses

the authority

of God

because He

is God.

So let's

wrap this up

with three

New Year's

resolutions.

Ready?

New Year's

resolution number

one.

keep Jesus

the main

thing.

Jesus is

the issue.

What you

believe about

Jesus

matters.

Who do you

believe Him

to be?

Only God

in the flesh

has the

authority to

heal someone

paralyzed from

a distance

and only God

in the flesh

has authority

to forgive

sins.

Jesus

is God

in the

flesh.

We need

to keep

the main

thing,

the main

thing,

and the

main

thing is

Jesus.

Secondly,

the second

resolution

is

rejoice.

If you're

a believer,

rejoice.

And here's

why.

He came

for you.

you are

an outsider

and He

sought you

out.

We're all

outsiders.

Each of us

have been

separated from

and placed

outside a

personal

relationship

with God

and sin

is to

blame.

But Jesus

became a

man and

He came

to us

outside in

order to,

by His

grace,

bring us

inside into

a relationship

with God.

And He

exercised His

authority to

heal you of

your greatest

disease.

Isaiah 53

talks about

by His

stripes,

you have

been healed

of your

sin

sickness.

And we

didn't go

looking for

Him.

He came

looking for

us.

Out of His

great love

for you,

He sought

you when

you were

an outsider

and He

brought you

in.

If you're

in the

kingdom of

heaven,

you're in

it because

you're an

outsider.

By His

grace,

rejoice.

He sought

you when

you were

an outsider.

Resolution

number three,

value every

person in

your life

as an

image bearer

of God.

The kingdom

of heaven is

made up of

outsiders.

And we

are to see

others who

have yet to

encounter Jesus

the way that

Jesus sees

them.

He wasn't

put out by

a leper or

a Gentile or

a woman or

a demon

possessed person

or suffering

illnesses.

He wouldn't

be put out

today by

someone who's

transgender or

politically

obnoxious or

someone who's

homeless or

someone who is

mentally ill.

It wouldn't

throw him.

He'd move

towards them

because He

sees them as

image bearers.

And we are

to see them as

image bearers

too.

Who in

your life do

you need to

see as an

image bearer?

Who in

your life

could it be

this year

that God

reaches out,

saves them

by the blood

of Jesus,

and they

will be

placed next

to you

at the

final banquet

feast of

the Lamb?

Jesus

possesses the

authority of

God because

He is God

and He

exercises that

authority to

outsiders and

we're all

outsiders.

Do you know

how someone

should respond

to Jesus when

you recognize

Him for who

He is?

You become

His disciple.

You start

following Him,

obeying all

that He commands

and that's the

greatest resolution

you can ever

make.

Let's pray.

God in

heaven, we do

thank You so

much for Jesus

and who He

is.

Lord Jesus,

thank You for

coming for me.

Thank You for

coming for each

of us who

claim Your

name, who

have been

rescued and

cleansed by

Your blood.

We are

Yours, Lord

Jesus.

We will

follow You

where You

lead us.

You are our

King of

kings.

It's Your

fame that we

desire above

all else.

God, help us

to see others

the way You

see them.

God, would You

bring more

outsiders into

Your kingdom

of heaven?

Would You

build this

church?

Cause Your

grace to go

out in power

and save.

God, make us

a people who

are distinctly

followers of

Jesus from

variety of

backgrounds.

We know that

would bring You

great honor and

praise, Lord

Jesus.

It's Your name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.