THE CENTURION WITH GREAT FAITH

Matt. 8:5-13

Morning Meditation 10/3/16

Verses 5-13 say, “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

In Matthew chapter 8, the Sermon on the Mount has ended, and Jesus descends the mountain and makes His way to Capernaum. Several marvelous things happen in this chapter. Jesus heals a leper instantly. He heals the centurion’s son with the spoken Word. Then he proceeds into Capernaum and finds Peter’s wife’s mother sick with a fever. His simple touch heals her. When the evening came, we are told in verse 16, that they brought many that were possessed with devils. Matthew says, “. . . and he cast out the spirits with his word.” They also brought the sick to Him and Matthew says, “. . . and healed all that were sick.” And we are told that He did this “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (vs 17). His fame was growing in this chapter. There were those who wanted to follow Him. They were volunteers. But Jesus sees their shallow commitment and tells them that there is no personal gain from following Him and that it will require a willingness to sleep out under the open sky. He told them that the kingdom of God would have to come first, even before caring for a dying father. By this time He had reached the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and His disciples entered a ship to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They encountered a storm and He was sleeping through it. The disciples came to Jesus, “saying, Lord, save us: we perish” (vs 25).. He rebuked them with the words, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” He exercised His power over nature “and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (vs 26). The chapter ends by telling about Him casting the demons out of two demon possessed men and the whole city gathering to meet Jesus and asking Him to leave. This chapter is full of activity. Jesus manifests His power and some accept Him and others reject Him. But they did not ignore Him. The entire world will either accept Jesus or reject Him. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matt. 12:30). No one can straddle the fence when comes to Jesus.

The centurion came and besought the Lord for the healing of his servant. Jesus heard the man’s plea and said to him, “I will come and heal him.” At this point the centurion did something that you would not expect from a Gentile in that day. Matthew says, “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Jesus is gives a great compliment for this man’s faith. So let’s pay close attention to the ingredients that are in this story..

First of all, humility is a necessary ingredient of faith. The man said, “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof . . .” The words “I am” speak of his state. He saw himself as God sees all men. Men are not bad because they do wrong. They do wrong because they are bad. Man is a sinner by nature and by choice. No man can approach God on the grounds of his worthiness. Jesus gives us a story to illustrate this. This is found in Luke 18:9-14. I will not give the Scripture but just refers to portions of it. Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee the other a publican. We have in the Pharisee a respected fundamentalist. We have in the publican a man hated by most Jews. He was in the employment of Rome. The Pharisee prayed and we are told what he prayed. His prayer rehearsed the things that he did that one would think would give him a good standing with God. The publican prayed with a bowed head, confessed himself a sinner, and cast himself on the mercy of God, and was thereby justified. The centurion put on the publicans shoes that day. He said, “I am not worthy. Lord, I am nothing but an undeserving sinner.” This attitude is a necessary ingredient of faith.

The next ingredient is insight. How the centurion came up with his reasoning and applied it to Jesus will have to remain a mystery. Even the Jews who studied their Bibles never came close to this. The centurion said, “ . . . Lord, . . . speak the word only.” The word “speak” is an aorist tense and imperative mood. It is speaking of the event of Jesus giving the order for the healing of his servant. The imperative mood means the spoken Word would be a command.

The centurions reasoning is stated: “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” The centurion was under authority. He carried the badge of Roman authority. When He was operating within the sphere of the authority that Rome gave him, he had all the power of Rome to back him up. He understood being under authority, and as a result, having others under his authority. He applied this to Jesus. He is recognizing that Jesus is under authority. One only needs to read the gospel of John to see the emphasis Jesus makes on having been SENT by the Father. “For God SENT not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that SENT me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that SENT me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). (The caps are mine). The fact that the centurion recognized the chain of command impressed Jesus with his insight. What He was trying to drill into the heads of His disciples (that the Father had sent Him) this man comes out with.

This insight was also an insight into the spiritual world. He recognized that Jesus was SENT and could SEND. He could send healing. Have you ever wondered if the holy Angels are the instruments of the Lord’s power to heal, to walk on the water and to control the elements? A lot of Christians have never come to realize that there is an unseen dimension around us and that it is real. There is no disobedience in that realm because God is Sovereign and controls all. But someone will say, “Isn’t Satan and the demons a part of that world?” I did not say that the disobedient were not there. I said there was no disobedience there. Satan minds God and must get permission for everything he does. Have you ever read the book of Job with this in mind? This means that what Satan does to us, God allows. What God allows, He controls. This is the meaning of Romans 8:28. God makes what Satan does, work for good to those of us that Love Him. Amen. Someone hold my mules!!!

Jesus gave one of the greatest compliments that one could have, when He said, “. .. . Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Faith recognizes the chain of command. Jesus said, “All power (authority) is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore . . ..” Jesus has been given power and He is giving power. As ones who have been given power (authority), we have the right to exercise that power as long as we are operating under the revealed guidelines of Jesus. Our authority is not given to consume on our self-life. It is given to glorify God and exalt Jesus. We are to operate in His Name.

Jesus had finished the Sermon on the Mount and came into the city of Capernaum and received the request of this centurion. Jesus fulfilled the longing of this centurion’s heart: “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” (vs 13).

May the Lord increase our faith and help us to operate in the seen world out of the unseen. Just remember, we cannot bring things from the unseen world to the seen world of time and space, except in absolute obedience to the Father. Our authority ends when we step out of line with His will. This might explain why more miracles do not take place in our lives.

In Christ

Bro. White