The Greatest Faith Jesus Encountered

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

Matt 8:5 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.... 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.

Jesus marveled at the faith of an unnamed Roman military officer. Why? What was so special about this man and his faith in Christ?

This man understood something that not even Jesus' disciples or the Jewish leaders comprehended. The centurion, who was concerned about his sick servant, realized that Jesus had the authority to act without being personally present. He understood the power of delegated authority.

He said to Jesus: "Don't bother coming all the way over to my house, just say the word, and my servant will be healed." This was the greatest faith that Jesus had seen at that time.

We have to learn to separate our circumstances, time and distance from what God can do. Things don't have to "line up" for God to work. Jesus' authority is supernatural and not bound by the natural order. He does work in the midst of our circumstances, but don't let circumstance cloud your faith.

Like that centurion, let Jesus to "say the word" in your heart and through the Scriptures and the other part of what He said also becomes a reality: "Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”