Another Jesus Moving Faith
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Another remarkable faith story was the story of the Roman Officer (Centurion) who came to plead with Jesus for his servant to be healed. Lets read it in Matthew Matthew 8:5-13.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him,
“Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
Matthew 8:5-13 NLT
The story of the New Testament could not be written without reference to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, one of the greatest civilizations in history, had conquered and occupied most of the Mediterranean world at the time Jesus was born. The Romans were considered superior (Acts 16: 37-39; 22:25-29), and extorted a lot of taxes from their vassal nations. They were hated by the Jews, together with those Jews that helped them collect the taxes! That was why tax collectors were grouped with sinners, and despised (Matthew 9:10-11). The Romans were also very liberal when it came to religion, and had many gods. They were therefore considered gentiles and pagans by the Jews.
It was therefore surprising for a Roman soldier to plead with Jesus to heal his servant. Not only that, he called Him, “Lord”! Jesus was impressed, and promised to come and heal the servant. Then the soldier surprised everyone the more, saying:
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.
Jesus was greatly moved and said to those following Him,
“I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”
He then added,
“I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus granted the Roman soldier’s request saying,
“Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.”
And the young servant was healed that same hour.
A Roman, considered superior; humbled himself and came to Jesus. He called Jesus “Lord,” and pleaded with Him for his servant. He believed Jesus had authority to command healing from anywhere; and got what he wanted!
That was another “Jesus moving faith“!
MEMORY VERSE
“Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.”
( Matthew 8:13 )
QUESTIONS
- Are you looking to Jesus to step into your situation?
- How willing are you to acknowledge and believe His authority?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help me
to come to You,
shedding off all that the
world has made me; and
believing all that You are.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
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We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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