Authority and Faith

Part 3

10^th November 2012

Matthew 8v5-13
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering."
Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
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. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

(Continuing from last week)

The centurion understood that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth, that if Jesus spoke a word of command, what He commanded would inevitably happen. And Jesus was astonished. He said, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith". And is it great faith, isn't it? Do you have such great faith? Do you truly believe that Jesus does precisely what He chooses to do, and no-one can stop Him? Do you believe that He is the absolute Lord?

I sometimes hear people pray, "Lord, it would be great if you could...". But whatever we're praying for, there's no doubt that God could do it. He who made the heavens and the earth, He who parted the Red Sea, He who rose from the dead, can do anything. We should be praying, "Lord, it would be great if you would choose do this". We need not doubt that God can do it. Instead we need to seek His face, to find out if He wants to do it.

And then, having heard these words of great faith from a Gentile, Jesus said, "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth".

Many Jews in Jesus's day thought that, just because of their racial heritage, they were guaranteed eternal life. They would have been horrified to hear Jesus say differently. And there are still people around who think that just because they're nice people, or they go to church, they're guaranteed eternal life. But the only thing that guarantees us eternal life is the blood of Jesus. We are all sinners, Jew and Gentile, and we all must repent and believe in the blood of Jesus before we can be born again to eternal life. And that repentance must include coming to understand and accept that Jesus was not just a good man, not just a great teacher, not just a prophet, not merely the Saviour of the world, but the Son of God, and the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

And all who believe this, and who chose to follow Jesus Christ, "will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". It was inconceivable to the Jews that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be patriarchs to the Gentiles also, but that's what they are - the patriarchs of all who believe in Jesus. But all who do not, "will be thrown outside, into the darkness". Why? Because Jesus says so. He has all authority in Heaven and Earth. He says to this one "come" and he comes, and to that one "go" and he goes.

And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would" and I'm sure the centurion obeyed, and went. And "his servant was healed at that very hour". What Jesus commands, happens. There is no limit to what Jesus can do for you.

But if we have truly repented, we have accepted that Jesus knows what we need better than we do. It's a terrible mistake to think that, if Jesus really loved me, he would do whatever I ask. Jesus does really love all those who believe in Him. Jesus died on the cross for you, Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to you, Jesus gives His church to you, and Jesus knows what's best - better than you do. You can enjoy His grace if you will first acknowledge that He is Lord of your life, and you are not.