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Matthew 8:5-13
Message No. 0727 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca
Not only was the authority of Jesus Christ being constantly questioned by the (learned) Pharisees, based on their lack of knowledge of the scriptures, even the Jews were sometimes skeptical. They were pleasantly surprised to see the miracles that were performed by Him, but they could not think beyond what they saw. If Jesus was physically present to perform miracle number one, the Jews believed that He had to be physically present to perform all miracles. It didn’t completely sync to their minds that Jesus was acting based on God’s authority, and that the authority of God did not operate solely on physical presence.
So, when the centurion in Matthew chapter 8 approached Jesus and appealed to Him for the healing of his paralyzed and tormented servant, his understanding of Jesus’ authority was a breath of fresh air. First off, the centurions of those days were roman soldiers, in other words, they were Gentiles, supposed unbelievers. These were not supposed to know anything spiritual about the God of Israel. However, it did seem that after watching Jesus perform miracles many times, some of these solders were able to deduce that if He could work such wonders, He did not need to be physically present to heal anyone. If He used His words to heal someone, He could speak the same words and the recipient in a distant location could effectively receive healing also.
After listening to the plight of the centurion regarding his servant, Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion’s response was surprising. In Matthew chapter 8 verses 8 and 9:
The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Upon hearing this, Jesus could not but compare what He just heard with His historical experience with the Jews. They didn’t fully believe Him, and their understanding of who He was did not go beyond seeing His acts. They thought that He was just a prophet and a miracle worker, but they did not expect that He could perform miracles remotely. They did not understand His authority at the same level that the centurion did.
Aren’t you surprised today that when there’s a crusade or some evangelical activity, some unbelievers received miracles that people who have been in church for years did not receive? That’s because the marginal growth of faith in the unbeliever who just believed is far higher that the Christian who has been in church a long time. The new believer is not familiar with doubts. They hadn’t asked anything from God before, so they have no experience of unanswered prayers. They accept the word of God just as it has been preached to them, and this size of faith is enough for God to act. This is one explanation why the centurion told Jesus not to bother to come under his roof. He expected that Jesus had authority to command healing, even from afar.
However, just because you have been a Christian for a long time does not mean that you cannot receive instant healing and other miracles. The fact is, to whom much is given, much is expected. We do not expect that an adult child will receive things as easily as a toddler would. Why? Because the adult child understands better how things work, and what inputs need to go into a process before the expected outputs are produced. The adult child also needs to take responsibility for things that the toddler does not even understand yet.
As adult children of God, we need to remain obedient to our Master. We need to fulfil our own responsibilities. We cannot be lazy and just sit there and expect mana to fall from the skies. We need to not only understand the acts of God, but we need to know the ways of God also. We need to understand the authority that Jesus handed over to us, and we need to exercise it when necessary. We need to stand solidly on the fact that God will back us up when we act according to His will. When our obedience is complete, we will not need to struggle before receiving anything from our Father. Do you understand the ways of God yet?
PLEASE ACT NOW:
If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!
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