A Conversation with Jesus About Faith & Healing (Matthew 8:1-13)

·27 min·2 clips

A pastor unpacks books from years in storage and discovers how words in fiction mirror Jesus' power to change lives.

The episode begins with the speaker sharing a personal story about moving and unpacking books, including the science fiction series Ender's Game, to illustrate how words can influence events. This transitions into the sermon's focus on Jesus' words in Matthew 8. The speaker reads the scripture passage where Jesus heals a leper by touching him and then heals a centurion's servant after marveling at the centurion's faith. A prayer follows for illumination of the text. The speaker then poses a question about what listeners would want Jesus to do if he appeared, linking it to human desperate need beyond physical necessities. The sermon is structured around two kinds of words from Jesus: words of healing and words of warning. For healing, the speaker details the leper's condition, explaining that leprosy required physical healing, purification from uncleanness, and social restoration from outcast status. This is compared to modern medical shows like The Pit, where healing involves more than just curing diseases. The speaker highlights Jesus' touch as reversing the order of holiness, referencing Ezekiel's prophecy of a life-giving river. For warning, the speaker focuses on Jesus' commendation of the centurion's faith and warning to the sons of the kingdom, cautioning against religious legalism exemplified by the Pharisees. The sermon contrasts focusing on one's own worthiness versus Jesus' worthiness, urging listeners to gaze on Jesus rather than religious practices. It concludes with a call to live like Jesus, loving outsiders, and a prayer for strength to follow his pattern.

As heard by us

A church-centered sermon connecting the leper's exclusion, emergency-room care, and Christian service to a wider vision of healing.

This single-episode sermon frames faith and healing as matters of bodily need, social belonging, and neighborly responsibility. Its treatment of the leper's exclusion, including the command to cry "unclean," leads into a picture of Jesus as the model for serving people pushed…

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Why you'd press play

You can press play when a leper's healing makes belonging feel like the real question.

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