Matthew 8 - 11.14.25

Scripture: Matthew 8:5-13

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 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. 9 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.”

10 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. 11 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. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 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.

Observation:

I have often been drawn to this passage. I am in awe of his faith, how someone who is not a Jew, and in a position of authority humbled himself for the sake of his servant. What stood out as I read this is Jesus asking the centurion, “Shall I come and heal him?” The man was obviously wanting Jesus to heal his servant.  Jesus by asking opened the door for this man to express his faith, a faith that Jesus later said was greater than any he had seen.  Then Jesus talks about the feast and subjects of the kingdom being thrown out.  As I went back to read this, for a moment I thought I accidentally copied part of Jeremiah. :-).   This part seems a bit out of place.  I’m guessing he did this to show that not only Jews would be present in Heaven.  If fact, some would not be admitted.  Then, he told the centurion to go home, he granted his request just as he believed.

Also notable is the centurion calling Jesus “Lord.”  He had come to believe in who Jesus was.  He was a man of authority and humbled himself.

Application:  

Are there times in my life when Jesus gives me a question to answer so I can come to a realization and declare my faith?

What do I believe?  How do my words and actions show it?

How can I handle times of questioning differently?  Times of trials?  Do I humble myself acknowledging Jesus as Lord and asking Him to move?

Jesus was amazed and declared to everyone that the centurion’s faith was greater than any He had seen.  Are people today looking at my faith that way?  Are outsiders looking at how I live my life and believing in a God who can do miracles?

I want to be a light for his kingdom.  I want to have faith that believes so strongly in Jesus and His power that God is amazed by my faith.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus declared, “Nothing is impossible for you.”  Am I walking in faith like that?  Am I letting you work through me to do what is impossible for man, but easy for you? Lord, please help me keep your greatness at the front of my mind. So, I can walk in faith. May the worries of the world not choke out your truth.  You are mighty and holy, so awesome in power.  The centurion observed you working as an outsider and came to you.  Lord, we do not know who is watching.  I pray I am being a good example that draws others to believe like this.

Thank you for all you’ve done in my life and are yet to do.

Amen

- Cindy Howard