And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:5-13
Here is an extraordinary thing to consider. Faith is predicated upon obedience?
Notice that Jesus does not say, "No greater sense of destiny have I found in Israel..." Nor does He say, "No greater sense of power have I found in Israel..." Nor does He say, "No greater sense of purpose have I found in Israel..." He doesn't even refer to the obedience of the centurion. He talks about the faith that the man has and how he applies it. And He "marvelled" at him. Jesus was caught off guard because He had grown accustomed to the spiritual slackers all around Him...many of whom made lots of noise about the "Glory" of God and Israel
Obedience to Jesus is faith.
Scary news for those who are pre-selected and consider themselves credentialed, card-carrying members of the "God prefers us because we say so (SOW = Sovereignty of WE)" club. Since part of their initiation is to actively exclude and hate and condemn sinners, then it really doesn't matter to whom they are related. Their real daddy is the devil...they never looked closely at the signature on the credentials.
On this Good Friday, we who have no known ancestral ties to Abraham can be thankful to Jesus for the prophecy he delivers here that includes us. By faith, the smallest movement of obedience toward Jesus and what He wants for us, we can accept the contract He sealed with His own blood. He offers us the gift of Himself; Salvation and a new life through His death, burial and returning to life to open the door to an eternal home.
Oh Jesus, Friend of sinners. Make us centurion-minded followers of you. Immediately ready to say "Yes" to your command to take up your cross and make it our own. There is no other available. Thank you for making this one available in time to close the deal on your perfect plan for mankind.
Sinner.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:5-13
Here is an extraordinary thing to consider. Faith is predicated upon obedience?
Notice that Jesus does not say, "No greater sense of destiny have I found in Israel..." Nor does He say, "No greater sense of power have I found in Israel..." Nor does He say, "No greater sense of purpose have I found in Israel..." He doesn't even refer to the obedience of the centurion. He talks about the faith that the man has and how he applies it. And He "marvelled" at him. Jesus was caught off guard because He had grown accustomed to the spiritual slackers all around Him...many of whom made lots of noise about the "Glory" of God and Israel
Obedience to Jesus is faith.
Scary news for those who are pre-selected and consider themselves credentialed, card-carrying members of the "God prefers us because we say so (SOW = Sovereignty of WE)" club. Since part of their initiation is to actively exclude and hate and condemn sinners, then it really doesn't matter to whom they are related. Their real daddy is the devil...they never looked closely at the signature on the credentials.
On this Good Friday, we who have no known ancestral ties to Abraham can be thankful to Jesus for the prophecy he delivers here that includes us. By faith, the smallest movement of obedience toward Jesus and what He wants for us, we can accept the contract He sealed with His own blood. He offers us the gift of Himself; Salvation and a new life through His death, burial and returning to life to open the door to an eternal home.
Oh Jesus, Friend of sinners. Make us centurion-minded followers of you. Immediately ready to say "Yes" to your command to take up your cross and make it our own. There is no other available. Thank you for making this one available in time to close the deal on your perfect plan for mankind.
Sinner.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment