That You May Know - Pt 7

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8:5-13 ESV).

Today we will look at the character of Jesus through the healing of the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). This is one of my favorite stories. Here we see Jesus, the "founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), marveling at the faith he found in a man. It's the only instance that the gospels record such a response from Jesus (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10). Both Luke and Matthew use the Greek word thaumazo which is translated "marveled" or "amazed" to describe Jesus' response to the centurion's faith. The only other time this word is used to describe Jesus' response to others' faith is when he marvels at the lack of faith in the people of Nazareth where he grew up (cf. Mark 6:6). The centurion was one the most unlikely persons to amaze Jesus. He was a Gentile. Doubtless he had a pagan upbringing. He was a Roman, stationed in Palestine to subject the Jews to the Emperor's rule. He was a man of war. He achieved the rank of centurion by distinguishing himself above others in the brutal Roman martial arts. Not exactly the résumé you'd expect for becoming one of the Bible's great heroes of faith. But here he is in Capernaum. He shows us a miracle of God's marvelous grace. And he's a first-fruit and a foreshadowing of what Jesus had come to bring about. He was a living illustration that "many [would] come from the east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (v. 11). This centurion is also a reminder to us that while man looks on the outward appearance, the Lord looks on the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7). I think we will be surprised someday when Jesus doles out rewards. Most of the great ones among us will probably have lived in obscurity. Jesus is not as impressed with titles, degrees, and achievements as we are. He is impressed with those who really do humbly believe him. That gives me great hope!