And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2)
I’m going to be one of those super geeky English teachers right now and say that I love words….I love the sound of them, the look of them, everything about them! Clearly, teaching English was the best career choice for me! I’m sure my students roll their eyes and snicker at each other as their crazy English teacher waxes philosophic about the beauty and power of words. Yes, I am that teacher. And I’m kind of proud about that 😊. Part of my love for words manifests itself in learning (and teaching my students) to understand what particular words mean- and why a writer chose a particular word. In teaching them about diction (word choice), I always make this statement: “Words don’t just fall out of a writer’s pen. Words are chosen on purpose for a purpose.” Their task, then, becomes to determine the writer’s meaning and purpose.
Occasionally during my early morning Bible reading a word just kind of arrests me….just kind of makes me stop and ask myself, “What?” and then “Why?” Let me describe this scene. There I am, sleepily reading my Bible at some ridiculously early hour, sipping a scalding cup of hazelnut coffee from my favorite mug, praying fervently for God to show me something I need to see in His word, for Him to reveal Himself to me, all while attempting to focus on the words on the page…when, suddenly, BAM! Just like that! After the Lord has repeated it, oh a half dozen times or so, a word jumps right off the page and grabs me. I’m not even kidding when I say that sometimes it almost feels literal. At this point, I set my coffee cup down and prepare to learn. Recently, one of those words has been WORSHIP. Particularly what that word meant to a leper, a ruler, the disciples, and a gentile.
Take a look at these verses:
- And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2)
- While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” (Matthew 9:18)
- Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)
- Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” (Matthew 15:25)
I don’t know about you, but I love reading about Jesus’s interactions with people…from those who approached Him with their own personal need, to those who approached Him with their own personal agenda, to those who approached Him with their own personal self-righteousness. Here specifically, each of these powerful vignettes reveals a person (or persons) in need….in need of a healer, in need of a deliverer, in need of a Savior. And in each one of these stories, that need was met through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So how does one go about approaching the Lord Jesus Christ with a need? In these scriptures, the leper, the ruler, the disciples, the gentile ALL approached Jesus with worship. But what did that worship look like? How did they worship Him? Did they crawl to him? Prostrate themselves at His feet? Bow before Him? Cling to His garments? Wear sackcloth and ashes? WHAT DID THEY DO? Those were my questions as I read through these verses…all while praying frantically for the Lord to show me, to give me eyes to see. So He did.
True story: As I read and prayed that morning, the Lord reminded me of what I always remind my students: look for repetition…if something is repeated, there is a reason! (Remember, words don’t just fall out of a pen or a quill or whatever. They are there on purpose for a purpose). And then the Lord showed me that “worshiped” was just one of the repeated words in each of those passages. So? Are you looking? Do you see it now? Do you see the other one? SAYING. Right near the word “worshiped” is the word “SAYING”…..”a leper came and worshiped Him, saying…”.; “a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying…”; “those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying…”; “she came and worshiped Him, saying…”. Clearly there is a pattern here. Despite the ridiculously early hour, despite having only a half cup of coffee on board, even I could see the connection. Worship and saying go together. Worship and saying go together. Worship and saying go together. Get it yet? Worship and saying go together. So the obvious next question has to be: what were these various individuals saying?? What were they speaking? That’s the easy part….Each one of them spoke not only of their need but of their unalterable, undeniable, unshakeable belief in WHO He was and WHAT He could do. In speaking of Jesus, each one said “You can” and “You are.” Each one of them spoke FAITH. And you know what? Jesus heard and responded to their faith! Each one of them! Every time! And that beautiful truth still holds today! Jesus hears and responds to faith….your faith, my faith. Every time! Jesus moves mountains when He hears faith! Jesus raises the dead when He hears faith! Jesus cleanses the leper when He hears faith! Jesus casts out demons when He hears faith! Jesus calms the storm when He hears faith! Jesus heals the sick when He hears faith! Because when we speak faith, when we say what is true about Him, we are actively engaged in worshiping Him. Because worship and saying go together!
I challenge you today to listen to your words. Listen to what you are speaking. Because the Lord most certainly does! He hears all you have to say. He hears all I have to say. And He moves when He hears faith. He moves when He hears worship. He moves when He hears your complete and total belief and trust in WHO He is and WHAT He can do. Because, “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). But with faith, we will “abound with blessings” (Proverbs 28:20). So, as you worship today, speak faith!