January 13, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Radical Jesus

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Opening Prayer

Lord of my life, give me a vision to inspire me, that working or resting I may always think of You.

Read Matthew 8:1-13

[1] When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. [2] A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” [3] Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. [4] Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” [5] When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. [6] “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” [7] Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” [8] 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. [9] 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.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Jesus may be truly described as a radical. Amongst other things he insisted on caring for those sections of the community who were normally despised” (John Stott, 1921-2011).

How many times before have you read today’s passage? Is it so familiar you’ve skimmed it? Take a moment to imagine you are there. Absorb the atmosphere of being jostled by a large crowd intent on seeing what Jesus will do next, puzzled and challenged yet attracted by his earlier radical words. Imagine the heat, dust and clamor of voices, necks craning for a better view, the shocked murmurs as Jesus hones in on an individual whom he, as a rabbi, should have avoided like the plague. Jesus touched him! He’s defiled himself!

Whether it was faith or sheer desperation that caused this man with an incurable skin disease to appeal for cleansing, his plight evoked an immediate response from Jesus. Note that the request for cleansing reminds us of the bigger issue of sin that only Jesus can deal with. His life would have been a living death of physical and emotional trauma, exclusion and deep loneliness. He was used to being shunned with revulsion; not for him hugs or a touch of the hand on the arm. Regarded as unclean and highly contagious (Lev. 2:13,45,46), the first thing he received from Jesus was the gift of touch, rapidly followed by complete healing. Imagine what this looked like, how he felt and the impact on the watching crowd.

We need to face the danger of over-familiarity with these Gospel stories and our failure to grasp the drama, the enormity and the challenging nature of what Jesus repeatedly does. In different settings, Jesus consistently refuses to regard or treat people according to society’s prejudices. The common theme is the bringing of new life into places of death and hopelessness, sometimes literally as we see from the next story about the centurion’s servant (5-13, see also Luke 7:1-10). Is the Western world largely cynical about the church because we are failing to communicate this radical Jesus?

Apply

What is it about Jesus that you find attractive and exciting? Pray for an opportunity to enthuse about this to someone today.

Closing prayer

Lord, Jesus, Your example as to how we should live is a constant challenge. Empower me to love as You loved when You were on earth.

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