The Day Jesus was Amazed!

The day Jesus was amazed began with a fellow asking a favor of Him.  The favor was that Jesus heal his servant.  Now mind you, all he did was ask a favor and did so through 3^rd parties, some Jews whom he knew well.  This was because he wasn’t a Jew but had a warm spot in his heart toward them, and their God, so much so he had built a synagogue for them in Capernaum.

This was interesting, a gentile of some stature asking a favor of Jesus.  This favor wasn’t inconsistent with the man’s life stance—had he not built a synagogue for his Jewish friends, not to curry their favor, but one might well think the favor of their God?  So Jesus elects to check out this situation by heading toward the Roman Centurion’s home (the whole story is found in Luke 7:1-10), but before Jesus can get there, the Centurion sends other friends protesting Jesus’ coming to his house with these words, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.  Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You.  But say the word and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:6b & 7).

This was a powerful word of “faith” and then the Centurion included his rationale for such faith:  “For I also am a man placed under authority (implying the Centurion recognized Jesus was also a man “under authority”), having soldiers under me.  And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:8).

Not often was Jesus amazed (NKJV says “marveled”) by persons or events, but here was one such situation and it prompted Jesus to turn to the crowd following Him saying, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Luke 7:9).

The scriptural account does not indicate Jesus gave any sort of dismissive word, but the account shows the Centurion’s emissaries took action.  “And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick” (Luke 7:10).

From this account there are possibly some things we might infer:

1) The Centurion’s household would never be the same.  All of the household were aware that the servant was “sick and ready to die” (Luke 7:2), now he was “well”.  More apt than not the majority of the household servants would have been Jewish and would have been aware of the prophetic traditions of Israel—where the prophets moved in demonstration and might of the power of God.  In fact, a little later on in this same chapter when He approached the City of Nain, Jesus encountered a funeral entourage bearing a dead man.  Jesus looked upon the mother of this dead man, had compassion upon her and proceeded to raise him from the dead.  “Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen up among us’; and ‘God has visited His people’” (Luke 7:16).  They were right on both counts.

2) The Centurion’s faith would have been an inspiration to his household and to all his Jewish friends who interceded on his behalf toward Jesus.

3) Be sure, God was pleased.  “But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).  Remember faith is both a noun and a verb, an experience and action.  God wants and expects both of His children.

Are you pleasing God?