And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.
Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.
But the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go! and he goes, and to another Come! and he comes, and to my slave, Do this! and he does it.
Now when Jesus heard this, He marvelled and said to those who were following, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.
I say to you that many will come from East and West, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven;
but the sons of the Kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said to the centurion, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.
And the servant was healed that very moment.
Jesus was impressed with this soldier's faith. So what was this faith? It was an understanding of how authority works: he was accountable to authority higher than his, and others under his authority obeyed whatever he said, because of his authority over them.
He understood how Jesus had authority over all. He knew that, having authority over paralysis and tormenting, that He would only need to command them, and the servant would be released from their hold.
Jesus told him that what he believed to be true was true, and according to the truth he believed, it would be done for him. What he expected to happen, would happen. He expected for Jesus to issue the command, and his servant would be healed, and it happened just as he expected it to.
Often Jesus told people that what they believed and expected to happen, is what would happen for them. So if you think you can't or if you think you can, you're right; what you expect to happen will happen for you.
People who don't even believe in God subscribe to this actuality. It's one of the ways God designed this World to work for us. We must believe.
This centurion believed in Jesus, and Jesus honored that faith and complimented him for his understanding of how this works.
Just as his authority over his soldiers and servants compelled them to obey his commands, he knew that the authority Jesus had over what He had made would also obey His commands.
Jesus said that there would be many Gentiles who would have the faith to enter the Kingdom of God, and there would be chosen Israelites who would miss it.
It all depends on our faith. God has always wanted us to believe what He says; in every story, with every person, in every time, at every level of His revealing Himself and His program for us. At every step, He just wants us to believe Him, and trust Him to be true to what He said.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son ... (Hebrews 1:1-2)Now that Jesus has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:7), our faith must be in Him, to trust Him to be our personal sacrifice as the Lamb of God. Then we will be given His Spirit, to teach us, and strengthen us to do what we know to do in His power. Then His Kingdom will live in us (Luke 17:21) as we give our allegiance to Him as our King.
But one Day He will return to this Earth to sit upon His throne that He gave David to rule from (I Chronicles 29:23), and His government will be righteous and just; it will look like what He described in the Sermon on the Mount.
O my Father, You are so good to us all. You know that we are but dust, yet You love us with a Love that we can't comprehend. You made us so that we could live forever with you; but You also made us to be able to die, so that a Savior could die for us, to cleanse us and make us perfect, fit to live with You where You live.
Father, there are so many who don't realize what You have done for them. They don't know that they deserve death, and that Your Son has already come to take their death, paying that eternal debt we all owe for sin. They've not yet felt the need to seek You, because when they seek You they will find You. And You have not been found of them yet.
My Father, I pray for all Your lost sheep who have not been found yet. I pray for my own loved ones, my family and my friends, who don't know You yet. Please show Yourself to each of them, draw them to Yourself, and teach them Your ways.
O Father God, continue to send workers into the mission fields to find them all.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, every tongue in every language will proclaim Your glory and honor and power and authority and blessing, through all eternity; for You alone deserve all praise and credit for all You have done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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