Title: The Centurion's Faith / Matthew 8:5-13
Content The Call to Worship: Psalm 29:1-2;
Prayer for forgiveness: Mal 2:6
The Bible says there are different kinds of faith.
There is great faith (Matthew 15:28) and little faith (Matthew 8:26).
There is living faith and there is dead faith (James 2:17).
There is faith without falsehood (2 Timothy 1:5), and there is also faith without root (Luke 8:13).
Also, there is perfect faith (James 2:22) and false faith (1 Corinthians 15:14).
So, who is the Lord praising?
Those whom the Lord praises are also people of good faith.
In today's verse, Jesus praised the centurion's faith, saying, "I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith."
Why did you praise him?
What kind of faith did the centurion praise Jesus for?
1. The centurion was a man of faith who knew how to kneel before Jesus.
When Jesus was entering a town, a Roman centurion came and knelt at His feet.(5)
He is a Roman centurion, a garrison of occupation and rule of colonial Israel.
It was not unusual for a person in this position to kneel before Jesus on the street in the presence of many people.
Of course, this kind of behavior is not normally seen, and if it is reported to the superior, there is a risk that the centurion will be severely punished.
Nevertheless, the centurion did not hesitate to come to Jesus.
He knelt down to Jesus and prayed earnestly, 'Please heal me, for a servant in my house is paralyzed and in great distress.'
Why did he get down on his knees before Jesus, not considering his status and status as a centurion?
First, because he was a soldier who loved and cherished his subordinates very much.
He was not quite as ill as General Naaman.
However, like the Canaanite Syrobonic woman (Matthew 15:22), his son was not possessed by a vicious demon.
The general who would fight for his life was not sick.
It's just that the centurion's servant who runs errands is sick.
However, regardless of position or face, they kneel and beg Jesus in front of many people.
This shows how much he cares and loves each and every one of his belongings.
Dear saints,
Kneeling for yourself,
Kneeling for your children,
How much have you prayed for your neighbor?
Second, it was because he was a soldier who knew that his abilities were limited.
What could a mighty Roman centurion lack?
But there are some things in the world that cannot be done by authority.
There are things that cannot be accomplished with a sword or force.
There are things that cannot be achieved even with millions of dollars.
With wisdom, there are things that are impossible even with all kinds of talents.
No, even if you put all of these things together,
In other words, power and power,
There are things that cannot be achieved even with all the money and wisdom.
This is a human limitation.
This centurion knew his incompetence in the face of the servant's illness.
So he came to Jesus and knelt down.
Prayer is a powerful weapon that only those who realize their lack can do it.
Are you feeling the limits of your talents and skills?
At that time, please kneel before the Lord, who is the subject of all power.
You look around and there is no one to help you?
In that case, please kneel before the omnipotent and omnipotent Lord who made the impossible possible.
Our Lord, who lives even now, is able to help you and me.
2. The centurion believed in the authority of Jesus.
Jesus said to the centurion, 'I will go and heal him.'
Then the centurion waved his hand.
"no.
How could the Lord come to our shabby house?
Just say one word.
I am also under someone else's control, and there are soldiers under me.
When I tell my subordinates to go, they go; when I say, “Come,” they come;
When Jesus heard these words, he was greatly moved and amazed.(11)
Jesus said to the people around him, 'I have never seen such faith in anyone in all Israel.
In the future, many people will come from east and west together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven and will enjoy the kingdom of heaven, but the descendants of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And when he said to the centurion, 'Let it be done for you as you have believed,' the miracle of the paralyzed servant was immediately healed.
This centurion was well aware of the meaning of 'power'.
Behind the centurion's worldly power is the power of the Roman government.
Roman authority is the aggregate of the political, economic, and military power of the Roman government.
Therefore, if you disobey the centurion's command, you are resisting Roman authority.
The Roman authority does not leave such people alone.
When you resist authority, you will be punished.
The centurion knew how great this power was.
Authority expresses its power through words.
Just one word.
No need to push and pull with violence.
The centurion is well aware of the power of Jesus.
Ordinary people may have known Jesus as just a leader or reformer.
But the centurion knew that he was the Son of God.
He knew that the power of Jesus was the power of the great Creator that no one could resist.
Therefore, the centurion said to Jesus, “Jesus, with one word of the Lord, the heavens and the earth and all things will be created. Do you really need to come to my house?
I believe that if you just tell me, the disease will go away cleanly."
It is a great confession of faith in the power of Christ.
So, what kind of authority does Jesus Christ really have?
First, Jesus has the authority of the Creator.
According to John 1:1-3,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning, and all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made."
That's right.
Not one of the heavens and the earth was created without the power of Jesus Christ.
God created the heavens, the earth, the world, and everything in them through Jesus Christ.
Jesus is also the preserver of all things.
If you look at the words of Hebrews 1:1-3 in the Bible,
“The God who in ancient times spoke to our fathers in various parts and in many ways through the prophets has spoken to us in these last days as a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made all the worlds. He is the splendor of God's glory, the image of His very nature, upholding all things by the word of His power, performing the purification of sin, and sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high." He says.
Second, Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus called his disciples and told them the reality of the Lord before he ascended to heaven after being resurrected.
“Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me; therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Come on, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”
Jesus is the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth.
He said that this Jesus will always be with us until the end of the world.
Therefore, taking Jesus Christ as your Savior,
believe in those words,
Those who profess those words must believe in the fact that the authority of God who made the heavens and the earth is behind them.
3. The centurion was a man of simple and unadorned faith.
When discussing the history of faith, it must be said that the people of Israel have much more faith than this centurion.
But the Lord said.
“I tell you the truth, I have not found such great faith in any of Israel.”
Everyone!
It doesn't matter if you've been religious for a long time.
It doesn't really matter what your office is in the church.
It is about how much pure faith you have without adornment.
God told Noah to build an ark.
Those who have not yet experienced the heavy rain.
Building an ark doesn't make a toy.
It is not something that can be finished in a day or two.
Not ten or twenty years.
Despite the ridicule and ridicule of the people, they silently built the ark for over a hundred years.
How simple and pure is your faith?
God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son.
Does it make sense?
When you entrust your son to those who have already given up, does it make sense to raise him well and offer his son as a sacrifice when his parents' dreams are fulfilled?
Is it something you can easily obey?
But early in the morning Abraham takes his son up the mountain.
What a simple and pure belief.
What did the Lord say?
"Many will come from east and west to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Why?
As a descendant of Abraham, he boasted of being God's people from generation to generation, but in reality he had no faith.
But the centurion's faith was very simple and pure.
As if he absolutely obeyed his superiors,
Just as his subordinates move quickly with a single word,
It is the belief that a servant's illness will be healed with just one word of the Lord's authority.
Looking at verse 13,
Jesus said to the centurion,
“Go, let it be done as you have believed.” At that hour the servant was healed.
That's right.
Faith creates great history.
The prayer of faith moves the throne of God.
What is your current problem?
It doesn't matter how big and difficult the thing you are facing is.
Faith on the knees like a centurion matters.
Like a centurion, we need to have faith in the power of the Lord.
It takes a simple, unadorned, candid faith like a centurion.
The Lord is pleased when we find people of such faith.
And you will tell.
"Go, let it be as you have believed."