Sunday 2nd Service, 237 Mission Committee Dedication Service
Title/Scripture: The Faith of the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-11)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Gwang-su
Date/Location: January 30, 2022 / Immanuel Church
Matthew 8:5-13
05 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help
06 and saying, “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
07 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
08 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
09 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
The Faith of the Centurion
(Matthew 8:5-11)
Introduction – Moved
1. Just say the word
– At that very hour (vv. 10-11)
2. The Word – JX – I
1) Genesis 1:3 God shone light
2) John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word
3) John 1:14 The Word took on flesh
4) Hebrews 4:12 Living Word
3. The time of the Word
(angels) Psalm 103:20
(will) Psalm 103:21
(army) (worship/prayer) Psalm 103:22
1. Fulfillment site of Christ who was to appear
1) RT7
2) Hebrews 11:38
3) Age of 7 disasters
2. Fulfillment of the incarnation site
1) Calling (Mark 3:13-15)
2) Sermon on the Mount
3) Root of incurable disease
3. Christ who will save the world – field
1) Military official
2) Judea
3) Rome
Conclusion
(writing)
(heart/soul)
(future)
Summary
▣ Introduction_ Moved
▷ Jesus was so moved that He said He had never seen such faith in Israel. Because the centurion’s servant was suffering from paralysis, the centurion came to Jesus knowing He was passing by. Seeing this, Jesus said He would heal him.
1. Just say the word – and at that very hour the servant was healed (Matthew 8:10-11).
2. The Word – JX – I
– If you know what the Word is, know Jesus Christ, and know who you are as a saved person, that is tremendous.
1) Genesis 1:3 God shone light through the Word.
2) John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.
3) John 1:14 The Word took on flesh and came to this earth. This refers to Christ.
4) Hebrews 4:12 The Word is living, active, dividing and healing the spirit and soul. It is even the Word that heals the marrow.
3. The Time of the Word
1) Psalm 103:20 O you angels who carry out the Lord’s word — praise the Lord. The moment you grasp the exact word of God, works occur.
2) Psalm 103:21 When you grasp God’s will within the Word, an army is mobilized. (O heavenly armies!)
3) Psalm 103:22 O you who are in the place where God is present! (O heavenly armies and angels!) — In the time we pray and worship, in the time we accurately grasp the Word, this happens.
▷ If Christ the King of kings, God the King of kings, the Holy Spirit of the Lord becomes my Master, there is no problem. Every moment you grasp that Word, works occur.
▣ Main
1. The fulfillment site of ‘Christ’ who was to appear
1) The 7 Remnants – the RT7 who held this covenant won without even going.
2) Hebrews 11:38 Those who overcame the world – as long as we hold rightly to the covenant of the gospel, works occur.
3) The age of the 7 plagues – a small number of people who held this covenant stopped the age of the 7 plagues.
▷ ‘Works even at the sight of the shadow’ – Satan, the protagonist of Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11, collapses even at the sight of the shadow of Christ.
2. The fulfillment of the incarnation site
1) The calling (Mark 3:13-15) – He called those He wanted, said He called them to be with them, to evangelize, and to give authority to drive out demons.
2) The Sermon on the Mount – He explained what prayer is and what true blessing is.
3) The root of incurable disease – He is the one who healed the root of incurable diseases that humans cannot heal.
3. ‘Christ’ who will save the world – He has come to this very site now.
1) Military official – the centurion is a military official. He is a person who has been continually hearing the covenant concerning Christ.
2) The nation of Judea
3) Rome – Christ will save the world, and this person has connections to both Judea and Rome.
▷ That Christ is important goes without saying, but the question is: who are you?
▣ Conclusion_ The important core of the Word must be noted in me.
1. Writing – it must be noted in writing.
2. Heart, mind (soul) – the standard is that it must be noted in my heart and mind, in my soul. From this point on, the blessing of the throne begins to work. Because it has been noted in the eternal, it is connected to the eternal.
3. Future – when this happens, the future becomes visible.
Transcript
The person whom Jesus praised most highly is this person. So we should look at what kind of faith it was. Simply put, it was a faith that moved Jesus.
▣ Introduction_ Moved
How moved was Jesus? It wasn’t just something like, “Wow, your faith is impressive.” He said, “I have never seen such faith in Israel.” Right? He gave the highest praise. It is important that we receive praise, but isn’t what we are praised for what matters? Looking at this centurion, He said, “Until now, I have never seen such faith in all of Israel.”
What did he say to merit that? As you know, his servant became ill and was suffering from paralysis. The centurion came knowing that Jesus was passing by, that He was there. You know, there are things we miss when we only have writing. When something is written, you can’t see the person’s face. Isn’t that why KakaoTalk leads to so many misunderstandings? You can’t see the face, and what’s written can easily be misunderstood. But this centurion didn’t send Jesus a letter — he came in person. Jesus saw this. He would have seen the centurion’s appearance. “My servant is sick, please heal him.” Seeing that, Jesus said, “Yes, I will go and heal him.” That is when the centurion said it. “Just say the word.” “I am not in a position to even receive Jesus. Just speak the word.” And he went on to say this: “I also have a hundred subordinates. When I speak, it’s done. I tell my subordinates to go, to come, they all do it. Just say the word to me.”
1. Just say the word – at that very hour (Matthew 8:10-11)
That is what moved Jesus. “I have never seen such faith in Israel. Let your servant be healed.” What does the Scripture record? “His servant was healed at that very hour.” Notice that it says “at that very hour.” That is the important part recorded in verse 11 today. This is significant. The centurion’s posture is important, but this is what matters. Why?
2. The Word – J.X – I
You have to know what the Word is. This person knew what the Word was, and he knew who Jesus Christ is. That is important. If you know what the Word is, know what Jesus Christ is, and know who you are as a saved person — that is tremendous.
1) Genesis 1:3
In Genesis chapter 1, verse 3, it says God shone light through the Word.
2) John 1:1
In John chapter 1, verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.”
3) John 1:14
“The Word took on flesh and came to this earth.” This refers to Christ.
4) Hebrews 4:12
Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12. What is the Word? It is living. It is active. It divides and heals our spirit and soul. Even our marrow — that’s our body, right? Even that it heals. Marrow includes cancer. This Word of God heals that. What a tremendous Word.
3. The Time of the Word
Do you know what happens when you hear, proclaim, and believe the Word? Right now. If you actually know what happens when you hold onto the Word right now, many things change.
There are many examples, but let’s look at David, who received the most answers to prayer.
1) Psalm 103:20 (angels)
Right now, “O you angels who carry out the word of God, praise the Lord.” So there is nothing to fear from people. This is the David who knows this. Right now, the moment you grasp the exact covenant of God’s Word, works occur.
2) Psalm 103:21 – will (army)
What does verse 21 say? This one goes a bit further. What do we need to grasp in the Word today? God’s will. When you grasp God’s will, it is not just anything — it says “O heavenly armies!” Here (Psalm 103:20) it said “O you angels!” Here it says “O heavenly armies!” When we grasp God’s will precisely within the Word, an army is mobilized. That is why we must pray properly. We must grasp the Word properly.
3) Psalm 103:22 – worship, prayer (O you)
What does verse 22 say? “The place where God is present.” That is worship and prayer. “O you who are in the place where God is present!” That means “O heavenly armies and angels!” Right now. This is important. I firmly believe this. In the time you pray, in the time you worship, in the time you accurately grasp the Word, this happens. Other than this, would God’s answers be running errands — or would Satan be running errands? Well, of course Satan is in God’s hands, but look at this. This enormous statement is what the centurion made right now. “Just say the word.” That’s it. Jesus was amazed and said, “I have never seen faith like yours in Israel.” If you don’t know this, there is no need to worship. Why would you worship? Right? If you don’t know this, there’s no need to pray. Why would you pray? When you truly hold onto the Word and pray, this thing from the introduction happens, I tell you.
As I mentioned before, when Christ becomes my Master — not virtually my Master, but actually my Master. That’s why. You must not be caught in Genesis chapter 3. You must always think about it. I must not be my own master. If Christ the King of kings, God the King of kings, the Holy Spirit of the Lord becomes my Master, there is no problem, I tell you. When you grasp that Word, right? Every moment you grasp that Word, works occur.
▣ Main
So what exactly is this Word?
1. The fulfillment site of “Christ” who was to appear
This is the first point. Christ who was to appear — He has come here now. The centurion came before Him. He spoke to Him. “Just say the word.” This is the fulfillment site of Christ who was to appear. He came here and spoke. It is exactly the same, everyone. I am not 100% certain — I am 300% certain. That’s right.
1) RT 7
The 7 Remnants were holding onto this covenant, weren’t they? They won without even going anywhere.
2) Hebrews 11:38
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 38 — look at those who overcame the world. As long as we are holding rightly to the covenant of the gospel, works occur. Those who still have the nature of unbelief think that at church you have to rack your brain at every moment and figure things out. That is not so.
3) The age of 7 plagues
So a small number of people who held onto this (Psalm 103:2-22) covenant stopped the age of 7 plagues. Would the centurion have come knowing all of this that I am now explaining, and said “Just say the word”? Or did he come without knowing anything and simply said, “Just say the word, because you are Christ”? Or did he come because Jesus had a reputation for healing well, and simply said “Just say the word” out of reverence? That we cannot know. But what is certain? This (introduction) blessing is sure. Right?
Whether they knew it or not, they were in that blessing. What they were in without knowing it is called grace. Right? By grace, without knowing, they were there. Having understood it? That is calling. The fact that you are sitting here, the fact that you are working in your church — did you sit down knowing that? You sat down without knowing, and that is grace. “Oh, your church will accomplish world evangelization.” You didn’t figure all that out in advance and think, “I need to attend this church.” And yet you are sitting there.
This centurion in Matthew 8:5-11 — honestly, I do not know what kind of faith he had when he spoke. But what matters is that Jesus was moved. “Wow, there’s such a thing.” And yet this (introduction) background exists, I tell you.
With the Word, God created heaven and earth. The Word is God Himself. The Word took on flesh and came as Christ. This Word is alive and active.
2. The fulfillment of the incarnation site
When was it? The prophecy of this Word is at its fulfillment site, and this Word has now become incarnate, and it is now the time when this Word is being fulfilled right here. It is the same thing, but what is happening here? He had not even come yet, and yet works already occurred at the mere sight of the shadow. Just hearing the news about Jesus (Main point 1) brought works. Why? Because Satan, the protagonist of Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11, collapses even at the mere sight of the shadow of Christ. He took on human flesh and came to this earth. And there, the centurion spoke to Him.
1) The calling (Mark 3:13-15)
What had Jesus already said? When He came, He looked at just one thing. “He called those He wanted.” He said, “I called you to be with you. I called you to evangelize. I called you to give you authority to drive out demons.”
2) The Sermon on the Mount
He gave the Sermon on the Mount on the mountain, didn’t He? This centurion appeared after that. He explained what important prayer is. He explained what true blessing is.
3) The root of incurable disease
And as I mentioned earlier, He is the one who healed the root of all kinds of incurable diseases that humans cannot heal. The centurion came to that very site. Just say the word.
3. Christ who will save the world – the site
What is automatically left over? This Christ was promised in Scripture. He is Christ who will save the world. He has come to this present site. The centurion dared to come to that very site. Tremendous things will happen from now on.
1) Military official
Specifically, I don’t know which unit’s centurion this man was. Simply put, he is a soldier, this man. And this man is someone who has been continually hearing the covenant concerning Christ. A centurion is, simply put, a military official right now, isn’t he? This soldier came to Jesus and said it.
2) The nation of Judea
3) Rome
Christ will save the world, and this person has connections to both the nation of Judea and Rome. Points 1 and 2 are important, but point 3 is even more important. You no longer need to know more about who Christ is — the question is who you are. Jesus praised this centurion (for “Christ who will save the world – the site”) enormously. “I have never seen such faith as yours in Israel,” He said. Christ is important, teaching Christ is important — that goes without saying — but the question is who you are. Jesus rarely praises like this, does He? What, for someone with good faith, He would say “let it be done according to your faith” to that degree, or He healed someone in difficulty to that degree. Later on there is one more person He praises besides this one. What was it? He praised the woman who broke the alabaster jar. He enormously praised this confession.
▣ Conclusion_ The Word – Note
This is the conclusion for you grasping the Word. Really, try this, I tell you. You already know what happens during worship time, right? I mentioned it last week too. As you continue listening to the Word, memorizing it all? That is impossible. And you might write something down and look at it once in a while. But always looking at it? That’s impossible. And in some ways it’s not exactly impossible, but there is actually no reason you must do it that way either. Do we carry around everything from the past? Knowing this fact, there is an extremely important core to this Word that must be noted in you. Three things.
1. Writing
It must be noted in writing. That is why you write when you attend worship. The Word of God that will truly move my life must be noted in me, noted in writing. Even just doing this is fine.
2. [Heart, mind (soul)]
What is the standard? It must be noted sharply in my heart and mind, in my soul. From this point on, the blessing of the throne begins to work. Because it has been noted in the eternal, it connects with the eternal. I am always experiencing this.
Even when I preach to you, I am not just listening passively — there is something that immediately gets noted in my heart. “Ah, I see.” In fact at church, various announcements come up, don’t they? Those need to be noted in my mind in a single word. That is prayer. And that is the answer. This is something people are not doing right now. So these things had been noted in the centurion as he came running. Right? So when Jesus said, “I will go to your house,” a normal person would say, “It is such an honor. Please have a meal, let’s go.” The centurion — he is well experienced at that kind of thing, having done it often. But he didn’t say that. He said, “Just say the word.” That is remarkable. You must hold onto this. And even if you forget what was noted in writing, it is alright. Because it has been sharply noted in the heart and mind, in the soul.
[Future]
There is one more important thing. When it becomes like that, the future becomes clearly visible. That is the note all the way up to that point. Then the future I hold through the covenant and Pastor Shin Bong-jun’s future will be in alignment. Right? That is what it means to be one in the Holy Spirit. Right? I see that the people before us in the Remnant movement did well. Because as I have observed, there are many fruits. I might say that the teams before us “served the Word faithfully.” So looking in every corner, there are truly many good Remnants. The reason I say this is because I can see things that say, “Oh, that could only have happened through holding onto the Word.” Especially overseas. “Wow, how did they manage to do that….” Why — when I am dying and problems come, holding onto the Word is not an easy thing. Everyone is looking out for their own interests, and when I am about to die, to hold onto the Word? That is not easy, I tell you.
Seeing people like this emerging in country after country, I think, “Ah, truly this is what the Word is.” And then, now, as I look toward a new future and prepare the timetable — what you and your teams are doing, Pastor Shin Bong-jun — looking at it this way, you are doing so many things that are precious to God. Ordinarily I don’t praise people much, because this is God’s work, what is there to praise? But this church is also doing the very important work of being God’s messenger right now. Even one person like this (Matthew 8:5-11) had an impact on Rome, I tell you. Right? If, through the Word-errand you run, this Word is noted in the hearts and souls of many people, and noted in their futures, what greater blessing could there be than this?
Grab this covenant today. So, there is not much you can do. You must note exactly one word. There is one thing I always ask of our secretaries at the office. Wherever you go for a meeting, please note just what was done beforehand. Note what was in front of last Sunday’s sermon too. Because the flow after it must follow that Word. That is why this (future) is important. The certain future of the covenant will become clearly visible to you. And in some ways you don’t even need to try to grab it, you don’t need to worry — it comes. Those who are witnesses who have grasped this have not been shaken by anything at all. They cannot be shaken. Let us pray.
Prayer. We thank God. We thank God who has raised up evangelism disciples across the nation and the world. Please let us experience the works of the Word. Please let us experience the power of the Word becoming flesh and coming to us. Please let us enjoy the blessing of realizing God’s work in this very hour. Please let us experience the power of God who, in the time of King Hezekiah’s prayer, sent the Lord’s angel and destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Please let David’s confession become our confession. Please let the centurion’s confession become our confession. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.