Matthew 8:5-13

Matthew 8:5-13 NIV

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 
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. 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.”
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. 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. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
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.

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The main point of this episode with the Roman Centurian is the lack of faith, among Jews, in Jesus as the Son of God, and the complete authority given Him. The Centurian exemplifies faith as a way of shaming the Jewish listener to this story.

A popular theory is that the gospel of Matthew was written for a Jewish Christian community that was experiencing persecution at the hands of their neighbors, other Jews who felt Christianity was a heresy. While Jesus ministered among the Jews in Galilee, He encountered people who refused to believe He had the authority to teach or heal.

The Centurian stood apart. He was a gentile, not a Jew. He believed Jesus could heal his paralysed servant without touching him or seeing him. He believed Jesus had the authority to heal injury and drive out disease. Jesus could command tissue to restore itself to health. He could command germs to surrender to a divinely supported immune system. Jesus can heal remotely from anywhere.

How about your faith? Do you believe Jesus can heal remotely from anywhere? Do you believe in the power of God given to The Son? Do you believe Jesus is God who walked among us? When was the last time you asked the Lord of heaven and earth for help? Did you doubt or were you convinced of His power and authority? Were you willing to accept His response, whether it was what you wanted or not?

Jesus concludes that many gentiles, non-Jews, will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven, but the chosen people of God, who kill His prophets and spurn The Son, will find themselves ousted. They presume they are in good standing with God because they were born Jews into the covenant through Moses. But remember what John the Baptist said.

Matthew 3:9-10 NIV

"And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

We belong to a new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ and in the authority given Him from above. Yet Christians too can presume they are in good standing with God simply because they bear the name Christian. They say they believe, but their lives tell another story. What do you really believe about Jesus and how does that affect the way you live each day?

If I truly believed Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth with full authority to rule, then why do I have frustrations and fears? Like the old hymn says,

"Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is he
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me"

Where then is that happiness and freedom that comes from faith that God is in control?

I think of the disciples in the boat struggling against a sudden storm on the Sea of Galilee. They cried out in fear for their lives, but Jesus was asleep. They roused Him and said, "Don't you care if we die?!" Jesus commanded the wind and waves to be silent and they obeyed. Then Jesus asked them, men He trusted to lead His church, "Where is your faith?"

That's the funny thing about faith. We can say we believe, but when life's challenges confront us, suddenly the sky is falling! I know I freak out first before I calm down enough to pray. Even when I pray I want my will to be done, which is to not have to face the challenge, to avoid suffering. Jesus didn't want to suffer upon the cross. He'd rather the people of Jerusalem and the leaders of Israel embrace Him as the Son of David and the Son of God. But they did not. Instead they crucified Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, "Not my will, but Thy will be done."

What freedom could we enjoy if we let go and let God be in control of everything. I'm mean everything. I haven't learned how to do that just yet. I pray for more faith, a tested, tried and true faith that fully trusts in the authority of Jesus.