The Gospel According to Matthew
(Matthew 8:5-13)
INTRODUCTION: This passage is about the great faith of the Centurion The Centurion was a soldier or a Captain in charge of a hundred men. They were trustworthy and chosen to become a Centurion by their leaders. They were leaders.
READ: Matthew 8:5-13
The Faith of the Centurion
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.
There are several things about this story that are worth noting.
1. The Centurion was a man of great wealth. In Luke, this story has more details, one of which is about how Jesus was told by the elders before the Centurion came to him that this Centurion had given donations to the Synagogue. This was in an effort to soften Jesus, and make it more likely that He would help this Roman Centurion. Matthew doesn't find those details important.
2. Right off the bat what does Jesus say? This is interesting because, He is not just offering to be kind, but He is offering to break the law. First he touches the Leper, now He is offering to go into the home of the Roman Centurion which is against Jewish law.
3. This very wealthy Centurion is asking for the healing from a Jewish man, for his nameless servant.
4. The Centurion understands that Jesus can not go into his home. He understands the Jewish law, and add that to the donation, he probably is a believer who has not converted.
5. Jesus is amazed. No where else does it talk about Jesus being amazed. Jesus, God, was amazed at this mans faith.
Questions for thought:
1. What does it say that Jesus is willing to break another law, to go and enter the Centurions home? What was more important to Jesus? He also tells us to obey the law of the land, yet when healing the leper, and now when offering to go to the Centurions home, why did he find it necessary to break the law or be willing to break the law? What can we learn from this?
2. This man of great authority acknowledges Jesus' authority. He had great faith in Jesus and His power. Do we have great faith in Jesus' power? Do you see Him as a God who can do ALL things? What keeps us from having faith that amazes God?
3. Are we willing to take the time out for the nameless servants in our life?
4. Here the miracle is not really about the servant, it is about the soldier, it is about everything leading up to the great miracle. It is about the how the miracle came to be. What is the how? What made the huge difference here? What miracles have taken place in your life? Was it really about the miracle or could it have really been about what came before?
I remember a miracle that didn't happen in my life. My grandfather, a great evangelist and psychologist, whom many loved and who dedicated his life to bring people to Christ had just finished writing his first book. He had just finished speaking at Florida camp meeting and he was sick. When he arrived at our home in Charlotte we soon realized that he needed to be checked out at the hospital. He was soon diagnosed with lung cancer. He soon found out that the medical community had no hope for him, so he gathered those around him who he believed, believed in miracles and asked for an anointing. As we prayed and believed that Jesus could heal him, if he decided to, my grandfather prayed, "Lord, what I want is to let my life glorify you. It is all I want. So if in a miraculous healing I will glorify you, heal me, and if even in death I can glorify you, then let it be." I stood their by his bed and cried. Not because I was sad at the thought of loosing my grandfather, (though I was that too) but the tear came from seeing the beautiful relationship between my grandfather and His Lord. He had such a love for His Savior.
Later after his death just weeks later, I sat in his room before he was taken from my mothers home. We were there as my grandmother was saying her goodbyes. I sat their looking at his body, and at a picture album of pictures I had taken of him just after diagnosis. His now lifeless body was so ugly in comparison. His hair was the same, his weight had not changed much, and so I couldn't figure out what was making him look so bad. Then as I looked at his face in the photo album I realized that the only difference was the gift that we each have right now and that was LIFE! The breath that has been given to us by Jesus. His amazing gift for each of us. Life was what made a person beautiful. It wasn't hair, or perfect skin, or a perfect nose, but life. It is the sparkle in our eyes, the color in our skin, the grace that we share, it is Love. It is Jesus in us that makes us beautiful and nothing else.
We didn't have a miracle but my grandfather brought glory to God in his death just as he had hoped and wished. So why share this story? It also isn't about the miracle or the lack there of but about faith and about Jesus working still!
This story is not about the miracle but about the faith, about this very powerful man who was willing to believe in this Jewish man. Who proclaimed him to have the ultimate authority. Are we willing to have faith? Are we willing at all cost, willing to proclaim him to be the ultimate authority? Are we willing to live our lives in such a way that we are more concerned about reaching out to those around us than looking perfect to the world?
Who am I?
Because of Jesus I can have a great faith. I can put my trust in Him and know that no matter the outcome I can trust that if I am willing to surrender my life to Him, He will be glorified!
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