When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. Matthew 8:5-10 NIV
Considering what it would take to amaze Jesus stretches my mind. The Son of God, King of kings, present and active in history. Truly – what could amaze Him, particularly anything about a human? Certainly not our wisdom, our gifts, our strengths, power, or talents. According to the Gospel writers (and this is significant because the accounts are from eyewitnesses, people who knew Jesus closely and intimately), there is one very rare thing that positively amazed Jesus – He was amazed by humble, persistent, and confident faith in Him, especially when it came from an unexpected source.
The Roman centurion in human terms was much more powerful than Jesus. He came with the power of Rome behind him, and Rome was a cruel taskmaster. But the officer did not flaunt his power or authority. He was marked by amazing compassion, unusual on its own. He did not ask for his own healing but for that of his suffering servant.
The centurion was also distinguished by amazing humility. Despite his high rank, despite the fact that he was from the ruling class and Jesus was a commoner, not even a Roman citizen, the centurion approached Jesus humbly. He recognized that Jesus was great, surpassing anyone he had known. He told Jesus that he wasn’t worthy for Him to even come under his roof. In fact, his faith was so centered on who he believed Jesus to be that he insisted that Jesus did not even need to physically come to his house. The centurion recognized Jesus' divine authority, saying, "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:8). He believed in Jesus with such powerful faith that he trusted Jesus could do anything from a distance that He could do in person. Jesus was amazed! He declared that this man, thought by the religious Jews in Israel to be pagan, possessed greater faith than He had seen in all of Israel.
The one who makes Jesus the clear and certain object of their faith and confidence, the one who actively and fully puts their trust in Him, will delight and amaze Jesus. That was why He came – to be the object and focus of our faith.
- Faith is more than believing that Jesus is; it is putting the full weight of my trust in Him.