Text: Matthew 8:5–17
Preacher: Pastor Brian Sauvé
A Kingdom Which Cannot Be Shaken
Before we get into our text this morning in Matthew 8—where we will continue to follow as Matthew records a series of 10 miraculous signs that Jesus performs in the three chapters following the Sermon on the Mount—I’d like to sort of prime the pump with one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible, Hebrews 12:18–29.
There’s a lot going on in this passage, but fundamentally, it’s about the glory of what Jesus has done as the mediator of the New Covenant—the glory of what he has done in establishing his Kingdom by means of his blood. It reads,
“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
-Hebrews 12:18–29
Our first human parents were made to dwell with God on his holy mountain, a garden mountain. But they fell—and literally so. They were banished from that holy mountain, the way barred by an angel with a fiery sword.
But we didn’t cease to be for that—man did not cease to be for God’s holy mountain. We didn’t stop longing for the peaks there with him. But we just couldn’t climb back up. When God brought Israel to Mount Sinai—described in the first half of this passage—they had come to another mountain which was barred to them by fire and death. Only Moses could go up, and not to dwell, but to bring back the Law, which was a ministry of death. This mountain couldn’t bring them up to life, only condemn, because they couldn’t keep the Law.
What makes this passage glorious, what makes it one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible, is the second half, where we learn that, through the ministry of Christ, through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been brought back up where we could not climb by our own strength: God’s holy mountain.
In fact, we have been brought higher than Sinai: We stand on the heavenly Mt. Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering—even to God himself. And so we have received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.
That’s really what the gospel according to Matthew is about: The gospel of the Kingdom of God, the good news that the King has come, and his Kingdom with him, and that his Kingdom cannot be shaken—though many other things will be shaken, shaken even to the ground.
In our passage this morning in Matthew 8:5–17, we’ll follow the Lord through three scenes, where we will see the superiority of his Kingdom over the tyrannical kingdoms of men, over the Curse of sin and its effects, and even over the kingdom of darkness, the powers and principalities set against the throne of God.
Look with me, if you would, at Matthew 8:5. This is the Word of the Living God:
“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he 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.”
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.”
-Matthew 8:5–17
Thus ends the reading of God’s holy Word. May he write it on our hearts by faith and set our feet to walk in it with joy.
Three Scenes, One Superior Kingdom
In what we just read, Matthew plays back three scenes for us. And what I hope you will see as we work through them is that each scenes shows us the superiority of Jesus’ Kingdom, the authority of his Kingdom—this Kingdom that has arrived with his arrival—over three powers and realms:
1. The kingdoms of men
2. The Curse of sin
3. The demonic principalities and powers
The Kingdom vs. The Empire
In the first scene, Matthew shows us an encounter between Jesus and a commander in the Roman army, a centurion. Look at verse 5,
“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
-Matthew 5:5–7
Now, there is a subtext to this scene that would be easy for us to miss. Think about what a centurion actually is. A centurion is a commander of 100 men in the Roman army—and the Roman army are the oppressors. I mean, the average Jew in Capernaum in the first century would likely think of a Roman centurion the same way a Frenchman would look on an occupying Nazi soldier in 1941.
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43–48? Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. He’s about to give us an object lesson. But first, notice the manner in which this enemy of Israel approaches Jesus.
Right away, we know that this is a humble man. Contrast him with Naaman the Syrian in 2 Kings 5, who was healed of leprosy by the prophet Elisha. Naaman was also a military man, the commander of the Syrian army—a very important man. Unlike the centurion here in Matthew 8, whose servant was ill, Naaman himself was ill.
Yet he did not come with humility, but haughtiness and arrogance. He had to be humbled. The centurion here is already humble. He comes to Jesus, not for himself, but for his servant—his inferior by station. And he is clearly moved by compassion for this man, who is suffering terrible. So he is humble enough to come and make a request of a Jewish healer.
And Jesus is quick to reply, “I will come and heal him.” Verse 8,
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.”
-Matthew 5:8–9
Wow! This man understands, somehow, who he is dealing with, at least on some level. He understands, as the crowds did after hearing the Sermon on the Mount, that Jesus is one with authority. He has command authority, something a military officer understands. An officer gives commands, and his soldiers obey.
But notice the faith of this centurion. What is he saying is under the authority of Jesus? What is this man saying that Jesus can do by mere command? Healing! This man is saying that Jesus has the authority to speak a word and bend reality around that word. No wonder Jesus responds as he does; verse 10,
“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.”
-Matthew 5:10–13
Jesus marvels at his faith, and heals the servant with a word. But notice what it is that astonishes Jesus. It is not just the man’s faith, but the fact that this faith is resident in a Gentile. This is about the unlikeliest person you could have created for a Jewish person to expect to respond with faith at the coming of their Messiah—and that is essentially who you have before Jesus in this scene.
Messiah was supposed to free Israel from her enemies. Many Jewish zealots at this time awaited a Messiah whom they believed would come and crush Rome, this occupying army and enemy. Yet here is a commander of that army, demonstrating massive humility and faith in their Messiah—as we will continue to see, especially by the end of the gospel of Matthew—as the Jewish authorities utterly reject their Messiah and demand that Rome crucify him!
He came to his own—the sons of the kingdom, the Jewish people—and as John tells us, his own did not receive him. But to those who did receive him, he gave the right to be called children of God. And so the Kingdom of God which has arrived with Christ is one in which rebel Romans and unclean Gentiles will be made loyal sons and clean sons of Abraham—true sons of Abraham, who have faith like Abraham did, even as many of Abraham’s genetic descendants suffer outside the walls of this Kingdom.
So I want you to see here the power of King Jesus and his Kingdom. He has not come to convert a few ethnic Jews. No, he has come to plunder the nations—and already they are coming into the fold, even in Matthew 8. Jesus’ Kingdom is superior to the Roman Empire—just as it is superior to every human empire.
What we’re seeing is nothing less than the beginnings of what the prophet Daniel saw in Daniel 2, where the kingdoms of men are represented as a great statue—but as he watches, a stone that is cut out by no human hand strikes the statue, toppling it and turning it to dust that blows away, even as the stone becomes a mountain and swallows up the world.
Jesus has come with a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, but which will shake the kingdoms of men, toppling the wicked and converting its peoples. Jesus has come to make the world his table, and to bring in many from the East and West to feast with him.
The Kingdom vs. The Curse
In the second scene, we see the glory of his authority expanded yet again. Verse 14,
“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.”
-Matthew 8:14–15
Rome was one enemy. Here is another: Death. Illness. Disease. Here is a great enemy—one of your enemies, by the way. Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. This is no light thing, especially in the first century. Fevers killed, and this one has laid her out. But Jesus walks in, and with a touch, heals her.
Notice the pattern: He heals he, and she rises to serve him. What a glorious picture of the gospel, right? We aren’t saved from our sin to just sit there. This is actually good news, by the way, because we weren’t made to sit around. We were made to worship. We were made for glory—to reflect the glory of God as we adorn his world, receive his gifts, and use them to serve our neighbor in thankfulness to God.
As Paul told the Corinthian church, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Amen. She was healed, and leapt to serve. May we so do.
But notice what Jesus has just put on display in healing this woman. In the first part, we saw that his Kingdom is superior to the Roman Empire—now we see that his Kingdom has power over even the Curse of sin.
Why is there disease, death, and suffering? Why are their viral illnesses and cancer and genetic diseases? Why are there stillbirths and miscarriages? Why is there heart disease and autoimmune disorders?
The answer is sin. It is the Curse. As Paul tells us in Romans 5:12, “…sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
And yet Jesus has authority over them all. He displays just a hint of that authority in these healings, because what he will ultimately do—what he will do by the time he is done with his work of salvation and the story of history closes—is to utterly end the Curse, and utterly defeat sin and disease and death and suffering.
Maybe you are familiar with the Oscar Wilde story about the portrait of Dorian Gray—about the woman who had a painting of herself that would age and and shrivel up so that she didn’t have to.
Jesus is something like that story, as Mathew concludes in verse 17, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” Jesus defeats sin by becoming sin on the cross—the just for the unjust—and bearing the Curse for us.
But just as he did not become unclean when he touched the unclean leper in Matthew 8:1–4, so the Curse didn’t stick to Christ. He broke it, set it aside, and makes his blessings flow wherever the Curse had reigned.
The Kingdom vs. The Strong Man
Finally, we see his power, not just over the Gentile nations, and not just over the Curse of sin, but even over the domain of darkness, the Kingdom of Satan. Verse 16,
“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.”
-Matthew 8:16–17
Jesus’ command authority extends not just over the world of physical stuff—matter and bodies and illness—but over the spiritual world as well. In Luke 11:20–22, Jesus explains what it means when he casts out demons,
“…if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.”
-Luke 11:20–22
His ministry of exorcism means that world, which had been given over to the demonic powers and principalities by Adam, the one to whom it had been entrusted, was returning to its proper ownership. The God-Man, the Second Adam, the better Adam, Christ, the Lord, had come, and his Kingdom had come with him. He came to wrest the house back from the enemy, to bind him, and plunder his goods.
So when Jesus casts out demonic spirits from people, it is a sign that he has come to cast them out of the world—to exorcise the world. He had come, as Paul said, looking back over his shoulder at the cross, to put them to open shame. God would triumph over the kingdom of darkness though his Son.
Jesus is King over All
So see the picture this passage paints for us from above:
Christ is King of kings.
Christ is King over all human empire, over every pretender to sovereignty. He looks down on every human throne, seated as he is above them all. Therefore, do not fear the tyranny of the god-pretending state. It is dust. It is chaff. It’s glory is as the glory of the fields. Remember Psalm 37. The first stanza teaches us to sing:
Fret not thyself at evil men,
Nor envy those who worketh wrong;
For they will soon fade like the grass,
And wither like the new-cut herb
And so the last stanza as well:
The foolish ones, the foes of God
Are like the glory of the fields
And they, like smoke, fast blown away
Shall soon be gone, and vanish, they
Christ is King over every human empire, chieftain warlord, general, congressman, senator, president, king, judge, or tyrant. His Kingdom will stand, though all others crumble.
So don’t tremble at them. Don’t fear them. Don’t spend all your energy fussing about the government. They are like grass. Their glory is like a passing breeze. Rather, fear God and build his Kingdom as a faithful servant. Catechize your kids. Love your wife. Work diligently with your hands. Worship the Lord. And pray for them as you do so—as we do each week in our service. Pray for them, because we ought to live with expectation that, if the Lord can bring centurions in Capernaum to himself, he can bring city counselors in Ogden.
Christ is King over the Curse
And Christ is King over the Curse. He, as the holy judge over all things, pronounced it, and he can break it. He is the God who curses sin, and subjects all creation to futility—but he did so in the sure hope that he would bear that Curse himself, break it, and make his blessings flow where there was only cursing.
Therefore, do not fear that which can wither the body, but he who can destroy both body and soul in Hell. Though our outer selves are wasting away—and they are—by the resurrecting, renewing grace of this healing King, our inner selves are being renewed day by day into his glorious image. Though we are clay pots, we await our transformation into glory.
Don’t fear death. Be used up, poured out, and planted like a seed waiting for the Spring. Because Spring is coming.
Christ is King over the Powers and Principalities
Christ is King over the domain of darkness. The ruler of this world is judged. He is cast out. He is bound. His house is ripe for plundering.
That, by the way, is what you are for—that’s your job description now: Plunder. Plunder his house, plunder the world, as you bear witness to the mercy and glory of Christ and his gospel.
Plunder his house as you raise your children to fear God and send them out like leaven into the world. Plunder his house as you repent of your sin and gladly trust in the promises of your master. Plunder his house as you embrace the willingness to be thought a fool in order to preach the gospel that is foolishness to those who are perishing, but the very power of God to those who are being saved.