8:5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help: 8:6 “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” 8:7 Jesus said to him. “I will come and heal him.” 8:8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. 8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this’ and he does it.” 8:10 When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! 8:11 I tell you, many will come from east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness , where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant was healed at that hour. (New English Translation)
We find ourselves in the midst of another story where Jesus heals yet another sick individual. This is nothing new to Jesus. He’s already traveled throughout Galilee healing all kinds of disease and sickness. In fact due to this, word spreads and all kinds of persons approach him begging to be healed of afflictions and illness (Matt 4:23-25). So what makes this account and healing so spectacular, one where Jesus states; “I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel”?
As we approach the text we learn that this centurion comes asking Jesus for help. (The Lukan account, 7:1-10, mentions that the centurion sends Jewish elders to speak on his behalf. Even with this the principles and truths that will be presented are just as valid because these elders are the representation of the centurion, and as acting representatives they relay the centurion’s faith in Jesus and his healing act.) We are presented with a man of power and authority, a centurion (a man placed in leadership over one hundred soldiers) coming to ask a favor of a Jew. Better yet this Roman centurion is a Gentile. A Gentile and a Jew together. What? The centurion is asking a favor from a lowly carpenter who has the ability to heal. And Jesus a Jew, do we even need to go into the fact that Jews viewed Gentiles as unclean. So you have this unclean man of power approaching this lowly Jewish healer.
The favor asked of Jesus is that he would heal the centurion’s paralyzed servant, who happens to be at home. Jesus’ response is “I will come and heal him.” Grammatically the Greek could be translated as Jesus stating a question, “I will come myself and heal him?” or to rephrase “You wish for me to come and heal him?” We must remember that Jesus is a Jew and that the centurion is indeed a Gentile, also Jesus’ ministry is to the Jews. (The only other instance in the book of Matthew where Jesus is presented with the healing of a Gentile is Matt 15:21-27. And Jesus’ initial response was ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’) The centurion’s response in vss. 8-9 better fit Jesus’ statement posed as a question.
The centurion knows that Jews would view Gentiles as unclean but he does not let this deter him. Lord just say the words and I know that you can heal my servant. “Just say the words and my servant will be healed.” How powerful is his statement? Even though the centurion calling Jesus ‘Lord’ is a powerful statement, it is not the most significant portion of this sentence, since it would not have the same soteriological implications that arise post-resurrection. But, the significance lies in the fact that the centurion wishes for Jesus to heal from afar. The centurion places his faith in healer Jesus who could heal from near or far. This is why Jesus has not seen such faith in all of Israel, because all this time the Jews have brought their sick to him. In fact, due to the centurion’s statement Jesus is amazed.
Due to the centurion’s declaration Jesus conveys a symbolic message about the gathering of the kingdom. What is so surprising is the crowd that is invited along with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In a nutshell Jesus says, Gentiles will be reclining with the patriarchs and the sons of the kingdom (unfaithful/ faithless Jews) will be thrown out. Jesus expounds upon this further in his parable come Matthew 22. This centurion’s faith in what Jesus can do, even for an unclean Gentile, impresses Jesus so much that He heals the paralytic immediately, and from quite a distance.
Faith in Jesus to do the impossible, or the seemingly impossible. The Jews brought their sick to their healer, but one man’s faith allowed him to approach Jesus and ask for healing from afar. Whose faith was stronger? Who placed more faith in Jesus? In reading this I wonder how much I truly ask of Jesus. Do I bring my sick to him or do I ask him to work miracles from afar? Do I believe that Jesus could do such a thing? Maybe it’s time to stop limiting Jesus and time to start letting him do far greater things than we ever thought imaginable. Maybe then both we and Jesus can be amazed.
Terry Jones
No comments:
Post a Comment