Matthew 13 - Part 8

 

Read Matthew 13

Do you remember the Roman Centurion who had such great faith?  He was a man under authority and told Jesus that he did not need to come to his house.  Just say the word and his servant would be healed.

Do you remember the paralyzed man brought to Jesus on a mat by his friends?  Those are some good friends.  Jesus first forgave the man’s sins and then to demonstrate to those who were skeptical that the Son of Man had authority to forgive sins, he told this man who was brought before him to get up and walk.

There was faith in the man and in his friends to get him to Jesus.  There was not faith among the Pharisees.  They were skeptics.

Do you remember the woman who just needed to touch the hem of the outer garment that Jesus wore? She knew that she would be healed and she was.  It was no the fabric of the garment but the fabric of her faith that made her well. 

We see faith and we see doubt and skepticism throughout, but the lack of faith seemed to be prevailing in Jesus’s hometown.  This was probably Nazareth and not Capernaum as everyone knew that Jesus had Mary for a mother and was the carpenter’s son.

They knew only the human lineage of Jesus, perhaps only the most recent part.  They did not have eyes to see that he was the Son of God.  Their faith was weak and Jesus performed no miracles there.

A prophet has no honor in his own home or his hometown.  There is a flip side to your faith has made you whole. 

Jesus did not do many miracles there, not because he lacked the power, but because the people lacked faith.

Faith matters.  Our faith matters when it comes to asking God to help or heal us.  Faith matters.

Amen.