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    • « Matthew 8:3-4

    Matthew 8:18-22 »

    Matthew 8:7-13

    Published by Pastor Jeff July 29th, 2008 in Devotional, RED.

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    Jesus said to him, “I will go 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 astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. — Matthew 8:7-13

    Instructions:

    • Read the passage
    • Read the devotional
    • Spend time in prayer
    • Leave a comment
    No one in all of Israel has faith like this centurion. That’s what Jesus said. In all Israel! Putting yourself into that scene, you would have been shocked to hear any Jew talk favorably about any Gentile, but this Jew was a prominent Rabbi who some thought was the Messiah, God’s Chosen One, and this Gentile was a centurion and therefore a representative of the oppressive Roman government. No one could have predicted these words of Jesus.

    By saying this, Jesus was calling his own people faithless and a centurion faithful!

    How often do we judge people by their appearance, their background, or their ability to say things the “right way”? Of course, Jesus doesn’t do that kind of judgment. His judgment is based on who the centurion actually is, and who he is is a man of deep confidence in the total authority of Jesus.

    In the centurion’s thinking, Jesus doesn’t need to know the diagnosis of the sickness, Jesus doesn’t need to touch the sick person, Jesus doesn’t even have to be near the house. As a man with total authority, Jesus can simply declare something and it becomes reality. If Jesus says a person is well, that person will be well from the moment the word is spoken. The centurion was right.

    But we’re focusing on the words of Jesus, and what he says is terribly challenging. Basically, he says that there is room in the kingdom of God only for those who live under the supreme authority of Christ. The centurion has faith in Christ’s authority so strong that he lives his life based on it, and people like that are the ones who will be welcomed into the kingdom.

    Take this as a serious challenge. In Jesus eyes, it matters not what you look like, what your background is, or anything else. What matters is whether you are willing to submit yourself entirely to his authority. Are you? If you aren’t the promise of the kingdom is not for you.

    BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: There is room in the kingdom only for those who live under Christ’s authority.

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