Holy: The Sacrifice and Power of Faith

At TheGoodNewsCast.com, we believe in Jesus, the Good Shepherd—who gave his life for the flock and calls them to follow in pursuit, laying down their lives for his sake.

In a world scarred by conflict, disaster, and division, it is not always the names in headlines that change the course of history—it is the quiet, courageous souls who give without expectation. First responders, aid workers, and local guardians often stand at the crossroads of life and death, offering their time and often their very lives for the sake of something greater. Their sacrifice may go unnoticed, but it is not unseen by God.

Like the leper who came to Jesus in Matthew 8, an outsider reached for healing—and was answered by hands that reach first. First responders, aid workers, and local guardians are the touch of the system, the presence of order in chaos, and the breath of life where there could have been death. In these hands, we witness a reflection of Christ himself—who moves toward suffering with open arms.

Jesus' response to the leper is more than a miracle; he tells the healed man to show himself to the priest to uphold the Mosaic Law, showing the leper is now holy unto God. Through faith in Christ, the unclean becomes holy. Through his authority, the defiled are accepted. Faith entrusted to Christ, becomes the wave offering of the Old Covenant—set apart and presented to God as holy.

Essentially, the Mosaic law is fulfilled through faith in Christ.

“And by the law no flesh is justified; but by faith in Christ, we become clean and holy before God.” Romans 3:22

It is a faith that heals with authority. It gives back to God an acceptable and holy sacrifice.

• When the Storm Hits

• Giving Back

• Faith in the Fire: A Sincere Sacrifice

• The Guardians

• Made Clean: The Fulfillment of Faith

When the Storm Hits

When Hurricane Helene struck the southeastern United States earlier this year, nature unleashed its fury without restraint. Winds roared at 140 miles per hour, tearing apart homes, drowning highways, and snapping trees like twigs (Associated Press). In the wake of the storm, destruction wasn’t just visible—it was without restraint.

But while the world turned to headlines and reports, first responders turned to the people. Firefighters, paramedics, and rescue teams stepped into collapsing buildings and surged through rising waters. They step into danger to save others. Some never returned home.

In Georgia, a firefighter was swept away trying to rescue a stranded family. In North Carolina, two paramedics lost their lives when a tree crushed their vehicle during a call. Their names didn’t fill the airwaves (“Hurricane Helene’s Victims”). There were no national ceremonies. Yet in quiet corners—on memorial walls, in locker rooms, at kitchen tables—their stories are told and remembered.

Giving Back

This kind of sacrifice—the laying down of one’s life for others—isn’t just sacrificial. It is holy.

In Matthew 8, Jesus walks into his own kind of storm. He doesn’t just calm it; he confronts the forces. He touches the untouchable. He casts demons out of a man so tormented he lived among tombs. The demons flee into a herd of pigs, which then plunge into the sea—a dramatic reversal of what the world deemed unclean now becomes holy and acceptable to God. Jesus sheds light on what it means to be clean, holy, and accepted. Faith in Christ fulfills the Mosaic Law where the defiled are healed and made holy. What was broken is mended. What was unclean is now accepted.

This is the gospel’s paradox: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob didn't reject the outsider, and Christ fulfills this law by inviting it into his holiness. The world may overlook his sacrifice, but God sees it. Just as first responders run toward danger to save others, Christ stepped in and offered what seemed lost and impossible. An offering holy and acceptable to God.

The Apostle Paul wrote that believers are to offer themselves as “living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). And in the Book of Mormon, Moroni echoes the same call: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him… then is his work sufficient for you” (Moroni 10:32).

First responders mirror this truth. Their sacrifice reflects a deep truth: that in every storm, someone steps forward. And in every storm, we remain holy. As a result, wherever there is faith in Christ, there is also holy sacrifice.

Faith in the Fire: A Sincere Sacrifice

In the world’s most volatile places—where bombs fall, borders shift, and truth is buried—there are those who respond in service. Aid workers, many of them volunteers, step into war zones to save lives. They bring food, water, medicine, and hope. And sometimes, they don’t return home.

Earlier this year, a humanitarian convoy from World Central Kitchen was struck in Gaza. Despite carefully coordinating their movements with local military units, several aid workers were killed (Time). These were people who had fed tens of thousands.

In Donetsk, Ukraine, three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff members died under artillery fire while delivering medical supplies. Their mission was not political. Their presence was not strategic. Their sacrifice, however, went unnoticed.

These stories are not unique. Across war zones, aid workers risk—and often lose—their lives to care for others. And while their names may not ring a bell or receive national tribute, their sacrifice are remembered in the unseen places where God is closest.

It is in this spirit of sincere sacrifice that we encounter a Roman centurion in Matthew 8. He’s not a Jew, not a disciple, not even someone expected to understand the ways of God. Yet when his servant is paralyzed and suffering, he declares his faith in Christ.

“Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8

Jesus marvels. “Truly I tell you,” he says, “I have not found such great faith, even in Israel.” And then he prophesies: “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…” (Matthew 8:10–11). This Gentile soldier demonstrates what faith in Christ is like. Faith in his word alone was sufficient—and Jesus called it greater than anything he’d seen among God's people.

In the same way, the sacrifice of aid workers—uncelebrated, unpoliticized, and often unnoticed—resembles the very faith Jesus honored. Their work, like the centurion’s faith, reveals the essence of the Mosaic Law's intention: a sincere sacrifice.

“The work of God is this,” Jesus said, “to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29). Faith in Christ, whether in Capernaum or modern Gaza, is a holy offering. A sacrifice that does not go unnoticed by God.

In war zones or among the wounded, those who give sincerely have an eternal reward in heaven. They come from the east and the west—and still, they take their place at the king's table.

The Guardians

In the heart of Sudan’s collapse, where the world’s attention has long since faded and institutions have crumbled, hope has not disappeared—it has been replanted. Not by governments. Not by organizations. But by people. Once mechanics, shopkeepers, and teachers, these civilians are now organizing underground schools, distributing food, and administering emergency medical care (Time).

They wear no uniforms. They carry no flags. They receive no international acclaim. Yet their sacrifice is stunning. Without foreign funding or organizational backing, they are doing what entire systems once imagined—and often doing it better.

“They are doing the work we used to do,” said a displaced aid worker from Khartoum. “And in many ways, they’re doing it better—because they know the terrain, the people, and the urgency.” But their work is not simple. They carry on with great risk and with no guarantee of future support. Still, they give back.

This response—of giving back—has its roots in the Mosaic Law. When a leper was healed, he was commanded to first go to the priest and offer a wave offering before the Lord (Leviticus 14). It was an offering of giving back.

“All I have come from God. And so I give it back.” Leviticus 14

Jesus, in commanding the healed man in Matthew 8 to follow this very process, affirmed that this act of giving back was necessary. It pointed to a deep truth that he himself would embody: that God requires a living sacrifice. The cycle is God blesses. The people give back through faith in Christ's sacrifice.

This is what the people of Sudan are living out—whether they know it or not. In their scarcity, they are creating abundance. In their weakness, they are becoming stronger. Their work is more than humanitarian—it is holy. No spotlight shines on them. No offering bowls are passed. And yet, their wave offerings rise each day—in their giving. And God sees.

Made Clean: The Fulfillment of Faith

In moments of crisis, systems may collapse—but people rise.

When hurricanes tear through neighborhoods, when wars level cities, when the world falls silent—there are those who respond. A firefighter disappears beneath floodwaters while rescuing strangers. An aid worker dies for delivering food in a war zone. A schoolteacher, once focused on grammar and chalkboards, becomes the anchor of a community in the ruins of civil war.

These are real people with real experiences. And while the world may never carve their names into stone or hand out medals in their honor, their sacrifices are etched—forever—into the lives they touched. These are the heroes of our time.

They are wave offerings—holy unto God. They mirror a deep truth, one found in the opening scene of Matthew 8, where a man marked by disease kneels before Jesus to be healed.

“Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Mattew 8

Jesus does the impossible. He reaches out and touches the man—violating every social and religious boundary. “I will,” He says. “Be thou clean.” And instantly, the man is healed. But then Jesus commands something unusual: “Tell no one—but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”

The Mosaic Law pointed toward heaven: an offering made in gratitude saying, “All I have is from you, O God. I trust and thank you.” The priest received the offering as acceptable and pleasing to God.

Jesus embodies what the Law was intended to do: heal and make one holy. The firefighter who gave his life to save a family. The aid worker who fed the hungry at the cost of their own breath. The teacher who became a guardian when no one else would. They are wave offerings that demonstrate what giving back is like.

And so, when we see these lives poured out, we are not just seeing faith in action. We are seeing a fulfillment of God's law. A reflection of Christ, who gives back. Their sacrifices, like that of the healed leper, are living testimonies of a holy God.

Wherever faith in Christ is, healing follows. Wherever sacrifice in his name is, God receives it. And where both faith and sacrifice meet—whether in the mud, in the fire, or in the rubble—we see not only the cost of sin but also God's power and authority to make it holy, pleasing and acceptable in Jesus' name.

Works Cited

Associated Press. “Hurricane Helene Kills at Least 44 and Cuts a Swath of Destruction Across the Southeast.” AP News, 27 Sept. 2024.

“Hurricane Helene’s Victims Include First Responders Who Died Helping Others.” AP News, 1 Oct. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/8f4b65a0ca5278dbac9faaf49f1ecce6

“Locals in Sudan Are Saving Lives Aid Agencies Can’t Reach.” Time, 11 Mar. 2025, https://time.com/7204654/sudan-humanitarianism-crisis-err-aid/

“The World Central Kitchen Aid Workers Killed in Gaza.” Time, 2 Apr. 2024, https://time.com/6962699/world-central-kitchen-workers-killed-israel‑bios/