The Faith That Impresses Jesus

Matthew 8:5-13:  Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Faith is an essential element in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior. It is a simple matter of believing and trusting, yet it opens up to us the complexities of all mighty God in our lives.  Jesus came first to His own people the Jews as their Messiah, but on three occasions His praise of the greatest demonstrations of faith in Him was spoken about Gentiles that came to Him with unhindered and pure expectations from Him (v. 10).

Faith must have clarity as to the person of Jesus.  It is the basis on which we come to Him with a clear singleness of focus.  Coming to Him is the first and simplest demonstration of the faith expected of us (Hebrews 11:6).  He is without question the One we seek. Today, our faith has a backward focus of the completed Scriptures to support our future expectations of the Lord Jesus.  This Gentile centurion had only what he heard from those around him concerning this man.  There is one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5).

Faith must have certainty as to the position of Jesus.  The centurion reveals what he thought about Jesus’ position by acknowledging his own unworthiness to be in the presence of Jesus.  When we are certain and clear about Jesus we should be struck with the reality that we are sinners in the presence of the Sinless One, who is willing to come into our sinful realities to dwell with us and bring answers to our petitions of Him (v.8a).

Faith that impresses Jesus must have confidence as to the power of Jesus.  A true vision of who the Lord Jesus is causes us to rest in the full reality of His power, the power of His position (Matthew 28:18, and the power of His sheer ability to do miracles that defy the order of natural laws that regulate the universe of ordinary men (Matthew 26:64).  Our faith should agree with the centurion’s -- If You just speak it Jesus, it shall be done according to your power. It is this understanding that makes faith simple.  It is resting upon the authority and ability of our Lord Jesus and wait for Him to answer, “…as you have believed, so let it be done for you”.

Prayer: My Lord and God, I marvel at such greatness and power You extend to me and others like me that don’t deserve it.  Thank You for being faithful to what You have promised us through Your Word.  Thank You for hearing my prayers and giving me the knowledge that however You choose to answer, and whatever time You choose to answer, it is never a matter that my requests are too hard for You. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.

(by Pastor Wayne Cockrell)