Lesson 717

(Lesson 717)(08-06-13) Today's lesson on faith takes us to Matthew 8:5-13, "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 marvelled, 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."

That Centurion demonstrated absolute faith in Jesus, recognizing that He was the Son of God with all the power of the Father. The Centurion knew Jesus did not need to go, or do, anything physically. He knew, by faith, that Jesus was God in the form of a man, and had the power to heal his servant from anywhere simply by willing the healing to be so. Which, we learn later in the quote, He did.
Jesus raised up the faith of the Centurion before His fellow Jews to scorn them for their own lack of Faith in Him, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

Jesus goes on to say that, because of that lack of faith among His own people, the Jews, He would give over the authority of the Kingdom (His Church) to the Gentiles, "And I say unto you, That many *(Gentiles) shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, *(The fathers of the Jews) in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom *(The Jews of Jesus' day) shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

*The words inclosed in parentheses, within the above quote, are not an actual part of what Jesus said, I added them to better clarify the intent.

Just as Jesus healed the Centurion's servant because of his unwavering faith, He stands ready to heal the sinful souls of all who will place that same unwavering faith in Him. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20.

It might seem that faith would come more easily to those who walked and talked with Jesus, watching Him perform miracle after miracle, like perhaps the Centurion. I don't believe that to be the case, I believe that through God's divine word, we are given an even clearer picture of the many miraculous things Jesus did and therefore it should be easier for us today to have faith, than it was for those who walked with Him.~