Matthew 8:5-13

A Roman Centurion Comes To Christ In Faith

6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."

7 Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8 But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

9 "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."

10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

11 "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;

12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

13 And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. "

Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-In-Law

14 When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.

16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."

The Faith Of The Centurion

The reason this Roman soldier was called a centurion is because he was in charge of 100 men whom he led into battle. Being a centurion also meant that he was hated by the people of Israel as were most Roman soldiers. Rome occupied the Jewish nations at this time and were known for their oppressive behavior toward the Israelites.

This Soldier Was Different

The centurion mentioned in this lesson was different because he did not let known prejudices stand in his way of showing faith toward Jesus. In fact, his faith was so strong that Christ was amazed and "marveled" at this humble behavior. Jesus knew that many of the religious leaders did not even come close to comparing to this Roman where faith was concerned.

Getting into Heaven - or Not

Lastly, He told the crowd that lack of faith would keep many of the religious Jews out of the kingdom of heaven. In its simplest form, they did not accept Christ as Savior because tradition did not allow it.

Tradition can Weaken Faith

But, how about us? Do we have traditions embedded so deep that we can not take a step to have faith in Christ? God works in His own way and we must have enough faith to put away our prejudices and habits to accept Him as Lord. Don't let a habit ruin your relationship with God. Try and capture the faith of the centurion.

Peter's Mother-In-Law

This woman showed thanks to Christ by waiting on him -- Something we sometimes neglect is asking God what we can do for Him when He helps us through difficult times or sickness. Have you asked God what you can do? Have I?

Love in Christ

- Bob

And ..

Matthew 6:25-34 - Jesus Teaches about Worry