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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Have you ever marveled at anything? Has anything ever amazed you? Inasmuch as Jesus was as wise as He was and knew all the things that He did, would you think that He would ever have marveled at anything or encountered anything that amazed Him? It is interesting that there are only two biblical events in which Jesus was involved in which it was said that He marveled; look at one of them with me.
“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.' And Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.' 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.' When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour.” (Matthew 8.5-13).
The principal in today's focus story was a centurion. For those unfamiliar with this term, it simply means that he was a Roman soldier who had charge over 100 men. In fact it what this latter trait that caused Jesus to marvel in connection with the degree of faith which he possessed. When the centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant (see Luke 7.1-10 for a more complete account), he did so with a view to his own unworthiness and with great humility of spirit. He thought himself unworthy even for Jesus to venture under his roof! Although he saw his plight as such, this did not stop him from seeking Divine help from the Lord. Even as the centurion explained, he was a man under authority; he had others over him as well as others under him in the army structure in which he operated. In this role, he knew that his superiors had the right to command him to act in a certain way and it was incumbent upon him to respond in obedience. Likewise he knew that the soldiers under his command had a similar obligation. To put it as he did, “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.” With this understanding of authority, the centurion asked for Jesus to heal his servant from a distance!
The implication is clearly that the man knew that Jesus was Master over many things, including space; that is he believed that the power of Jesus was not restricted to the specific space that He occupied, but that He had the ability to perform miraculous deeds even when the thing or person being acted upon was in an entirely different location. When one ponders this conclusion of the centurion, it is truly an amazing conclusion. If Jesus was Master of diseases then surely He was also Master of time and space! This was the centurion's amazingly accurate conclusion! In Matthew's record, we learn that Jesus' healing power transcended time and space and that the centurion's servant was healed “that same hour.”
Why had others not drawn the same conclusion as the centurion did? Was it really necessary for Jesus to touch or speak directly to those afflicted in order for them to be healed? Today's focus text shows that God [Jesus] is Master of all the material universe (including time and space). Here is another fact to ponder: If Jesus is not Master of the entire material universe, He is Master of none!
Questions:
1. In your own words what is a centurion? What might be a parallel term we use today?
2. According to Luke's record, what favor had this centurion done the Jews around Capernaum?
3. How great was this man's faith when compared to the faith of the Jews among whom he lived? Why was this a point worthy of note? What did Jesus say would happen to the “sons of the kingdom”? Who are these people?
4. Using a concordance can you find the other New Testament event at which Jesus marveled (KJV & NKJV)?
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