Our Brethren of the First Century

(Draft of a sermon given in Waco, 10/16/10.)

In several ways I believe our congregation has very much in common with those earliest congregations from the first century. We’re small. We’re independent. Considerable faith is evident.

Let’s take a look back at that period of time, a time when Rome ruled the world. In this world there were Jews and there were gentiles. And in general gentile meant pagan. So, there were two religions, Judaism and the various shades of paganism. There were two cultures, Judaism and Hellenism.

Consider this city of Waco as a typical Roman Empire city. Visualize all the many churches we see here as pagan shrines or temples, and this room, maybe, as the one and only Jewish synagogue. Churches would be fewer and smaller, probably in homes.

Let’s begin at the very beginning of the church.

Acts 2:1-11
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. (All emphases in scriptures are my doing.)
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
KJV

Because Peter and the other apostles became able to speak in other languages and the listeners were all hearing in their own languages, I think we can safely assume that the great majority of these Jews from other lands “dwelling at Jerusalem” were just temporary, there for the feast, and not that fluent in Hebrew, or even Greek. There were Jews, or converts to Judaism, in almost every part of the empire.

Peter preaches a very moving sermon, but one which we’re pretty familiar with—so, let’s skip down to verse 41.

Acts 2:41-47
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
KJV

People didn’t want to leave. Jerusalem was where all the believers were. It was where the apostles were, the only place, now, to hear and learn of Christ.

So, they stayed. And in their desire to stay together, they had a go at communal living. And, even for people with the Holy Spirit, this produced some problems.

Acts 6:1-7
1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
KJV

Strong’s definition of “Grecian” is a Greek speaking Jew. Because of what we read in chapter 2, a better one would probably be a Jew that lived in a gentile nation. By contrast, here, the word “Hebrews” refers to native Jews, those from Judea or Galilee.

So, people sold “possessions and goods” to support the community. As there was no Eastern Union in that day where a Grecian could wire his broker to sell a piece of property in, say, Crete, most of the possessions sold were no doubt sold by Hebrews, a situation which may have led to the problem we have here.

The apostles had weightier matters to deal with, so the Grecians were told to pick out seven good men; they picked seven; and the apostles appointed them “over this business.” A problem is (at least temporarily) averted. Not surprisingly, all seven had Greek names. One, Nicolas of Antioch, the proselyte mentioned in verse 5, was not a Jew racially, but was a gentile who had converted to Judaism.

Thus, the church grew greatly in Jerusalem, and included, as the text says, many priests. The High Priest was always a Sadducee as were a great number of the other priests who served at the temple, and, thus, had a stake in the status quo. As Sadducees had no belief in a afterlife, it is likely all these believing priests were Pharisees. While most priests were Sadducees, a number were Pharisees. It could well be that the great majority of the converted Jews were Pharisees. Not only were they the largest of the maybe thirty recognized Jewish sects and already believed in a resurrection, they were the proselytizing sect. But, as we’ll see later, they brought along some problems of their own.

Not long after this Stephen was martyred, Herod had James, John’s brother, killed, and persecution drove most of the believers, except for the apostles, out of Jerusalem. Personally I think God influenced their decision to scatter now as well as their decision to stay earlier.

Wherever they went, though, they carried their message. They were known as the Minim, Hebrew for “the Way,” or Nazarenes for their belief in the prophet from Nazareth. They were first called “Christians” in Antioch, the text tells us.

For roughly ten years it was an all-Jewish church. It wasn’t considered a separate entity but merely another sect of Judaism. Then things changed.

Acts 10:1-9
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

This is a professional soldier, a Roman officer, commander of 100 men. This would make him the equivalent probably of a captain in today’s U.S. Army or Marine Corps.

As well, he’s a Godfearer. I meant to bring the Wikipedia article and read it, but since it was full of things like “Pauline theology” and modern Hebrew terms for customs that may or may not have been practiced in the first century, I passed on that. In short, though, Godfearers were non-Jews who accepted the God of Israel as the true God, forsook paganism and its idolatry, kept certain laws that were generally referred to as the Noachide laws. They stopped short of becoming true Jewish proselytes, though. God- fearers were welcome at synagogue.

Josephus mentions them in his work, Antiquities of the Jews , and in another place too I believe. In the Old Testament there are references to “strangers that sojourn among you;” these are likely very similar to the New Testament Godfearers. As well, there is another word, stemming from the same root as "Grecians", that the KJV translates as "Greeks". Context generally shows these to be devout persons, and I believe these, devout non-Jews, to be the same people as those called Godfearers.

Continuing.

3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
KJV

While on the housetop Peter has his well-known vision of the unclean animals being lowered for his dining pleasure. Let’s skip on down to verse 19.

Acts 10:19-48 (19-30, 40-48)
19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
21 Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
(Here’s the meaning of the vision.)

29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Cornelius relates to Peter what the angel said, and Peter preaches him the gospel. Drop down to verse 40. Peter is speaking.

40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Here “circumcision” is an obvious idiom meaning the Jews there, Peter and those with him.)

46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
KJV

And apparently Peter and the men with him indeed tarried some days with Cornelius and his household. Let’s continue into chapter 11.

Acts 11:1-4
1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him (that idiom again),
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised (the other half of that idiom, non-Jews), and didst eat with them.
4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning…
KJV

So, Peter goes back over the whole matter again. Drop down to verse 11.

Acts 11:11-18
11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
KJV

Now we have one non-Jewish household in the church. Cornelius, a Godfearer, was the first Others soon follow.

Turn to Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13:1-3
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
KJV

This was the beginning of what’s called “Paul’s first missionary journey.” They come to Antioch of Pisidia. Begin now with verse 14.

Acts 13:14-48
14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. (So, he’s addressing both Jews and Godfearers here.)
17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
30 But God raised him from the dead:
31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
KJV

After ten years as an all-Jewish church, considered only as another sect of Judaism, Gentiles are being accepted. Jews did not have to give up their Judaism to be accepted into the group of believers. Gentiles, though, had to renounce their paganism. So far all had, like Cornelius, already done so.

That Jews were not expected to give up their Judaism, consider these scriptures as Paul made his list visit to Jerusalem:

Acts 21:17-20
17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
KJV

So, the big question of the mid-first century was not whether Jews needed to give up some of their Jewishness to become followers of the messiah, but, instead, whether or not gentiles must become Jews to be his followers. In this context one can more easily understand the motivation of those men in Acts 15:1. They were wrong, of course, but the Jerusalem conference was needed to clarify the situation.

Whenever I read in Acts I feel a strong kinship toward these first Christians. They’re dead and we’re alive. But they are a part of us—and we’re a part of them as well.

In closing, turn to Romans 1. Here we have a church made up made up of both Gentiles and Jews, a church in the very heart of a pagan empire, a church with real problems. There seemed to be more misunderstanding than understanding of doctrines such as law and grace and faith and works. And in the letter Paul is stern with them.

Let’s look at part of Paul’s greeting to these, our first century brethren, verse 7.

Rom 1:7
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints...
KJV

So, Beloved of God, are there any comments or questions?

My First Sermon

I attend a small independent seventh-day congregation. While there is no pastor , several of the men rotate as speakers. As well, we have an outside speaker about every three months. Well, sometime back I was asked if I would like to join the speaking rotation. Feeling honored, I readily accepted.

Concerned mostly about the timing (about 45 minutes is the usual), I spent considerable time preparing. I wrote up a working draft and downloaded the scriptures in line so that I didn't have to turn to them each time. Then, when the time came, I used this draft as my notes. All went well and afterwards I updated the draft, adding and deleting some things I remembered handling differently as I spoke.

As I said, the sermon went well. Beforehand was something else though. I was sitting down, drinking a cup of coffee, talking to a man beside me, when a two year old boy crawled up into the chair beside me and promptly fell off onto his head. He yelled bloody murder; his mother screamed; I turned quickly; my coffee went up into the air coming down all over my slacks and part of my shirt. When services were about to get underway, somebody finally noticed that the songbooks hadn't been passed out. Then, as the song leader stood there, they couldn't get the music to play. For our small congregation the music has been recorded. So we all waited while they frantically worked to produce sound.

I was nervous anyway, and in the past I'd probably have gotten really upset, but this time I just had to laugh

I'm including that final draft here.


“Your Faith Has Made You Whole”

As the apostles Paul and Barnabus were preaching the gospel in the city of Lystra, they noticed a man… but, let’s read the text…

Acts 14:8-10
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

This man, then, had done nothing to demonstrate faith. But Paul perceived that he had it, faith sufficient to be healed. And he was. In the Gospels are a number of passages telling of people healed by Jesus, who afterward were told, “Your faith has made you whole,” or something similar. These people had obviously done something to show their faith. Some were Jews; at least one was a Samaritan, a couple were Gentiles. I want us to look at each of these instances in order to learn what each one did to demonstrate his or her faith, a faith that, in Jesus’ own words, was a necessary part of their healing. Faith in action. Let’s begin with some blind men.


The Blind Men following the Healing of Jarius’ Daughter
Jesus had been called on by one of the rulers of a synagogue, one named Jarius, to heal his daughter who was near death. This he did.

Matt 9:27-32
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that
country.

How did these two men exhibit faith. Well, of course, when asked if they believed that Jesus was able to heal them, they replied that they did. However, this wasn’t all. First, they had followed him, crying, “Son of David, have mercy on us.” The men weren’t saying that he was just a son of David, but the Son of David. “Son of David” was a term used by the Jews to refer to the Messiah, the Anointed. People of the day were well aware of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy, where he referred to this person to come as the “Messiah, the Prince”, and they knew that it was about time. Two blind men on the streets of Capernaum believed that Jesus was the Messiah and said so, loudly.

Let’s consider here the messianic concepts of the first century a bit more. Jews of that day were expecting a messiah who was a king and through whom would come national independence and world power, and bring peace, the idyllic wolf and lamb peace described by Micah and Isaiah. The king, as the Biblical text shows, would come from the lineage of David, hence “Son of David,” or Messiah ben David.

But, as we know, there were many other prophecies as well, considered messianic, which showed a much different tone. These instead of a ruling king showed the anointed one as a suffering servant. This other anointed one, the servant figure, was referred to, for lack of a better name, Messiah ben Joseph or the Son of Joseph. These were thought to be separate individuals and this man was to save the nation also, they thought, but in a much different way. Let’s look at John 11 beginning with verse 47. Just recently Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, a fact becoming well known.

John 11:47-53
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

Caiaphas, the high priest, being a Sadducee, would naturally consider these to be two different individuals since Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife. Obviously, he could see Jesus only as the Son of Joseph. The vision of the blind men extended well beyond that.


The Blind Man at Jericho
Mark 10:46-52
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

So, blind Bartimaeus, begging by the road, asked what the commotion was and was told that “Jesus of Nazareth” was passing by. He began crying out, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” and when others tried to hush him up, he only cried the more. “Son of David” again. Bartimaeus showed he believed Jesus was the Promised one. And he received sight.

(This passage we’ve just read backs up those scholars that claim all the synoptic gospels were originally written in Hebrew. Strings of independent clauses connected by “and” are poor English and poor Greek, but make perfectly good Hebrew, I’m told. We’ll see this quite a bit.)


The Woman Who Touched His Garment
Matt 9:20-22
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

A woman who had been ill twelve years believed that if she could only touch his garment, she would be healed. She did and she was. Let’s read it again in Mark.

Mark 5:24-35
24 And Jesus went with him (Jairus); and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Now, let’s consider a prophecy of the Messiah that’s at the beginning of Malachi 4:2.

Mal 4:2
2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; …

The term “wings” used here is idiomatic and refers to the corners or fringes of his garment, the garment of “the Sun of righteousness”, the Messiah. They are blue and white tassels explained in Num 15:38-9. Thus, the faith demonstrated by this woman, that faith that had made her whole, was to act upon her belief that this Jesus was indeed the Messiah and that touching his wings could bring healing. And, of course, it did.

Suppose she had been wrong. If Jesus weren’t the Messiah, she would not have been healed, of course, but she likely would have been in more trouble. How would the crowd have treated a diseased person such as she who clutched the clothing of a healthy, respected rabbi? I doubt this possibility even crossed her mind. If it had, she’d probably have talked herself out of it.


The Ten Lepers
Luke 17:11-19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Jesus healed ten lepers, at least one of whom was a Samaritan. The location is not given beyond Samaria or Galilee. These men loudly proclaimed Jesus “Master” and all were cleansed. One, a Samaritan, returned to glorify God at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. But where were the nine? Did they go to the priests? Did they, too, glorify God, but elsewhere? The text doesn’t say; however, the implication is they didn’t. But the stranger who did is told that “your faith has made you whole.”

The Centurion’s Servant
Without altering the point of the story at all, Matthew has apparently shortened it somewhat by having this centurion approach Jesus directly. Luke goes into more detail, and, likely, this is the way it happened.

Luke 7:1-10
1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

Whatever the centurion knew of Jesus, in no way did he doubt his power. Jesus was stunned at the faith he showed.

He was humble too. My thought would be that a humble Roman centurion was extremely rare, except in the presence of a superior.

Likely the centurion was what the Jews referred to as a “God fearer.” Cornelius, the first Gentile converted, was one. (In Acts 10:2 we’re told that he “feared God with all his house.”) God fearers were non-Jews who accepted the God of Israel as the true God, forsook paganism and its idolatry totally, kept those of the Ten Commandments that were generally referred to as the Noachide laws, i.e., they did not murder, steal, lie, or commit sexual sin. They stopped short of becoming a true Jewish proselyte, though. God fearers were welcome at synagogue. Probably the majority of Gentiles converted early in church history were from this group.

(The next time I speak I want to go more into “God fearers.”)


Healing the Gentile Woman’s Daughter
Matt 15:21-28
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

What do we know of this woman? Racially she was a Canaanite woman, living in a Gentile area, around Tyre and Sidon. However, she knows of Jesus, calling him “Lord” and, also, “Son of David.” Another God fearer? The text doesn’t say. I rather doubt it. But she acknowledges him as the Messiah, the “Son of David,” and begs his mercy for her daughter.

The other thing we notice is her humility. Jesus gave her every opportunity to surrender to her pride: Who does he think he is calling us dogs. We’re just as good as anybody. C’mon, girl, we’re out of here. Or her doubts: C’mon, girl. The real messiah wouldn’t treat us like that. We’re out of here. But she knew that the only hope for her daughter was that man standing right in front of her. And she realized that she brought nothing to the table. Canaanites were strangers to any covenants God had made. That was okay. She had no call on Jesus at all, but was completely willing to accept whatever he would provide her and her daughter.

We have looked at a number of instances of persons being healed who demonstrated strong faith, faith that played a part in their healing. In most of these cases the people healed showed that they believed Jesus to be the promised Messiah. This was their faith. And their faith was strong. This was where they showed they “had faith to be healed.”


But What’s the Lesson Here for Us?
These were all familiar scriptures, but I love hearing them. I love stories of faith. I believe they strengthen my own. And that’s good because a little doubt is still doubt.

Also, they show that humility never hurts.

We have an advantage in that we’ve believed in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah for some time. And while “Son of David” is not a term we use these days, another bible word, Christ, is. “Christ” is the English translation of the Greek word Christos which means “the Anointed One,” another term the Jews used referring to the Messiah.

Often in the past when I referred to Jesus Christ, I would use “Christ” almost as if it were a last name, kind of like, “Mr. Christ, or may I call you Jesus?” Now when I use it, I always want to remember to consider what it really means.


Peter and Martha Show Their Faith
We won’t turn there but I want to read from three also very familiar scriptures showing the faith of disciples Peter and Martha.

Matt 16:13-16 (NIV)
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

When Jesus was in Bethany four days after the death of Lazarus, Martha proclaimed her faith in words very similar to Peter’s.

John 11:23-27
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

In both these passages note that the phrase “Son of God” is used along with “Christ.” This is the case in a number of places.


John 6:66-69
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.


Wrap-Up
Jesus of Nazareth is that Christ, the longed for Messiah, who came with “healing in his wings” and who will return to fulfill the rest of his mission as “Lord of lords, and King of kings,”-- as the “Son of David.”

These are things we believe, just as those we read about today did. They were blessed from their knowledge and belief, and we are blessed as well.