"When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment." - Matthew 8:5-13
The centurion recognized the authority Jesus had. authority is something that is delegated from a higher authority. Recall what Jesus said in John 17
"When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." - John 17:1-3
Jesus had been delegated authority by God, the Father. The centurion placed his faith in Jesus as the one who had authority "over all flesh". Faith is the "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) The centurion was a Gentile. Jesus marveled at his faith which was greater than the Jews. But with authority must come submission by the ones subject to that authority. The centurion had authority over the natural - but he recognized that Jesus had greater authority over the supernatural - the eternal. And he submitted to it - deferred to it - acknowledged Jesus as the Christ.
That is what putting our faith in Jesus means. Not our will but His will be done. And that is where faith often fails. People yield to the natural and reject or ignore the spiritual authority of Jesus. The act of faith is an act of submission to a higher authority.
"And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened." - Matthew 9:27-31
The exercising of faith is an act of trust. Proverbs 3:5,6. I won't quote it - you should know it by heart by now. Our natural inclination is to trust in ourselves first and perhaps only ourselves. Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? Then walk in that belief. Live each day by faith and not by sight.
Do you believe that all Jesus has to do is to "only say the word, and my servant will be healed". Well, He already has - He said it on the Cross.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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