LifeWay Family Bible Series for Oct. 10: Our hope is strong because God is its foundation_100404

Posted: 10/01/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Oct. 10

Our hope is strong because God is its foundation

Matthew 8:1-13

By Angela Hamm

First Baptist Church, Lewisville

Webster's New World Dictionary states that “hope” is “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; desire accompanied by anticipation and expectation.” Author Nicole Johnson describes hope in the following manner: “Hope is a little bit of a mystery because when you think about it, hope has no strength on its own. Hope is only as strong as what it hopes in. Hope is like a hitch that connects your heart to whatever is strong enough to pull it along–faith.” In Matthew 8:1-13, we see hope personified.

Jesus and the man with leprosy

As Jesus came down the mountainside, a huge crowd followed him. From somewhere within this crowd, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease that ranged from white patches on the skin to running sores to the loss of fingers and toes. Josephus tells us lepers were treated “as if they were, in effect, dead men.” People with leprosy were declared ceremonially unclean–meaning they were unable to go to the temple to worship God. Anyone who came in contact with a leper also was considered unclean; therefore, lepers were confined outside of the city, usually the dumps.

Imagine how life must have been for this man. He was forced to leave his family. He was forced to stay away from the temple. He had lost his dignity. He had lost his self-respect. Yet he had heard about this man called Jesus and had hope Jesus could help him.

The man knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus did the most amazing thing–he reached out and touched this man, this outcast, this untouchable person. Jesus said to the man: “I am willing. Be clean.” Jesus responded to this man because he wanted to. Jesus reached out and touched this man, the same man who people avoided touching because of his dreadful disease.

Jesus and the Roman officer

Matthew relates another incident of a man who needed healing. When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, he was met by a centurion, a Roman officer. The Roman officer had a servant who was paralyzed and in great pain. The officer asked Jesus to heal his servant.

It is interesting the Roman officer would come to Jesus. He was an outsider to the Jewish faith because he was a Gentile. He did not believe in the Jewish law Jesus had come to fulfill. Why did the Roman officer come to Jesus?

Jesus' response was, “I will go and heal him.” But the officer did not want Jesus to come to his home because he did not feel worthy for Jesus to be under his roof. The officer knew Jesus could just say the word, and his servant would be healed. He told Jesus he, too, was a man of authority. All the officer had to do was to say go here or go there or do this or do that, and it would be taken care of. The Roman officer's word was law to his soldiers. If he told his men to do something, he knew it would be done. His faith and hope in Jesus' healing his servant was illustrated with the influence he had with his soldiers.

Jesus was amazed with the Roman officer's great faith in him. The officer did not have a Jewish history, no Scriptures to read, no rabbi to teach him and no theological training, but he had a simple knowledge of Jesus. Hebrews 11:6 reads, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

The parallel

The man with leprosy and the Roman officer knew Jesus was the very person who could help them. They laid aside their cultural stigmas. They laid aside their pride. They laid aside the rules that others imposed upon them. They approached Jesus with hope because they knew he could help them.

Conclusion

How do we find meaning in these stories? Certainly the man with leprosy and the Roman officer were changed from their encounter with Jesus. How do we experience the same transformation in our own lives? What speaks to us from these stories? What needs healing in our own lives–marriage, home situations, addictions, finances, friendships, family relationships?

When all things seem impossible and there is no hope, remember Jesus can help when no one else can; Jesus will help when no one else will. Our hope is in Jesus, because nothing is too hard or impossible for him.

Discussion questions

How do you define hope?

Why are we so often filled with doubt?

What keeps you from having the hope that God can do anything?

How can we have greater faith in God?