Matthew shared, “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 you 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.” In chapter eight and verse ten of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus, “marveled, and said to them that followed … I have not found so great faith” where we read:
When
Jesus heard it,
he marveled, and said to them that followed,
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
The verse reads, “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed,” Matthew began with the word, “when” or “at the time and moment” “Jesus” which means “Jehovah is Salvation”and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “heard it” or “were endowed with the faculty of hearing, attended to and considered what had been said”, “he marveled” which means “Jesus wondered in admiration”, “and said unto them” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to the multitude of people” “that followed” or “who joined with, became as disciples and accompanied Jesus”. Jesus “wondered with admiration” when he considered what the centurion proclaimed, and he began to speak to the people who were “accompanying” Him.
The verse goes on to say, “... Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Matthew continued with the words, “Verily” or “surely, truly and of a truth” “I say unto you” which means “Jesus uttered, proclaimed and declared”, “I have not found” or “Jesus had not discovered, met with or come upon through scrutiny and examination” “so great faith” which refers to “such large and long quantity of belief, trust and the conviction of the truth of anything”, “no, not in Israel” or “not even and neither within the nation of Israel which means he shall be prince and was derived from family of the patriarch Jacob”. Jesus certifiably declared that He hand not encountered as “great faith” as this centurion exhibited within all the nation of “Israel”.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus admired the “faith” He saw in the “centurion”. Though this man was a Gentile who was born outside of the Jewish nation, he demonstrated “great faith” by knowing Jesus could simply say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus took note of this man's “faith”, and proclaimed to all those who were following Him that he had not discovered this kind of “faith” anywhere, and that included Israel. God desires for all people to come to Him in “faith”, and when they exercise “faith” like this “centurion”, they shall receive from Him and He shall admire their “trust in Him”.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus said, “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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