"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." Matthew 8:10
The centurion put complete trust in Jesus' ability to heal his servant. He saw neither disease nor distance as an obstacle to Jesus' power. Jesus was 'astonished' to find so great an expression of faith in such an unexpected place--a Gentile--and He was astonished to find so little faith in the expected place--'Israel.' He later asked His disciples in the midst of the storm, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" (8:26). Our faith may astonish Jesus either by its greatness or smallness.
Father, you must sometimes be astonished by the smallness of my faith. Though I should be much further along in this journey I still struggle to trust and believe in the storm. Help me to exercise my little faith that it may become greater and that You may manifest Your glory in response.
I'm praying for you.
Pastor Mark
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The healing of the leper and a request to come and heal begin the 8th chapter. I noticed that the first was a response to a request and the second was in response to stated facts of need. Both show Jesus’ compassion to heal hurting people. That is a good thing to know. Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion. The answer to this man’s faith was — “Go your way. Let it be done unto you as you have believed.” As I looked at the healing after healing progression of this chapter I was drawn to the reaction of the Disciples and what might be happening within them. They saw so much but understood so little. After Jesus calmed the roaring sea they were thrown into deeper perplexity of trying to figure Him out. Certainly they had never seen anyone like Jesus. This chapter essentially underlines two types of people: Those who seek Jesus and those who ask Him to leave them alone. I am left with the conclusion that not much has changed in the last two thousand years.
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