FAITH IS FOR REAL
Matthew is quite clear that without faith one cannot be a disciple of Christ. For Matthew faith was not so much an assent to certain articles of faith as a radical attachment to Christ, best illustrated in Chapter 9 of his gospel where Christ ‘saw a man named Matthew sitting by the custom house, and he said to him, “Follow me”. And he got up and followed him.’ There was no discussion, no hesitation, and no promise. It was as if the call spoke to something deep in him and his whole being responded totally and unquestioningly. It echoed the call of the first disciples by the Sea of Galilee, when Peter, Andrew, James and his brother John, just left their boats and their father, and followed him.
Matthew’s take on Christ is faith-centred. It often seems as if he collected in his gospel every thing Christ ever said about faith, and he goes to some trouble to stress the intimate connection between the miracles Christ worked and the faith of the man cured. The plan of his gospel alternates chapters about what Christ taught, with chapters about what he did. But for Matthew both were ways in which he came to know Christ and to trust in him.
It is significant that when he collects the main thrust of Christ’s teaching in the chapters on the Sermon on the Mount, at its high point he places Christ’s assurance that we should trust our heavenly father. Christ argued that if the Father takes care of ‘the grass of the fields which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith?’ (6:30) He spoke of an attitude of trust in his Father. ‘Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts first, on his righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well.’ Matthew’s faith developed into an attitude, which in turn depended on his attitude of trust in the Father.
When you become familiar with Matthew’s gospel you quickly recognise who among the people who approach Jesus is hostile, and who is a believer. The sincere call him, ‘Lord’ as the two blind men of Jericho did, ‘Lord! Have pity on us, Son of David.’ But the Pharisees who came to trap him asked, ‘Master, is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ (22:17). The Pharisees may have been unwilling to believe in Christ even when they asked, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ (22:36) but even with those who were sincere, the real test comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord”, who will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.’ (7:23)
Those who came to Jesus to be cured manifested their faith by putting their hope in him and risking terrible disappointment if he did not cure them. I often think none of the cures illustrates this better than the cure of the paralytic. Luke and Mark say that his friends lowered the man down through the roof, but Matthew simply says, ‘some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven’’.’ You will notice Christ did not say he would be cured, and when Christ told the paralytic, ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home’, his faith was really tested. A feeling of awe came over the crowd, says Matthew, when ‘the man got up and went home.’ (9:1-8) He had believed.
Two other cures illustrate a very special faith. In both cases they were not Jews, not members of God’s chosen race. The first is the cure of the Centurion’s servant in Chapter 8. The Centurion had pleaded with Jesus to cure his servant who was paralysed and in great pain. Jesus agreed to accompany the Centurion and cure his servant. The surprise comes when the Centurion protests that there is no need for Jesus to go to his house. ‘Sir I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured’. When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this’. And to the Centurion Jesus said, ‘Go back, then, you have believed, so let this be done for you.’ And the servant was cured at that moment. (8; 5-13)
Even more astonishing is the account of the cure of the daughter of the Canaanite woman. (15; 21-28) Again it is a cure of someone outside the law, regarded by the Jews as unclean, and referred to as dogs.
Obviously Christ was embarrassed. He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, but the faith of this woman does not allow Jesus to ignore her. She came up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord’, she said, ‘help me’. She would not be put off. Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again. It would have been scandalous for the Jews for Jesus even to speak to this pagan woman, whom they regarded as unclean, but there was no way they could countenance his curing her. Faith was again to be decisive in what Jesus did.
Faith was the firm ground on which the disciple, the Christian, stood and hoped in God’s goodness, in Matthew’s gospel. ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall; it was founded on rock.’ (7:24-25)