When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman
officer came and pleaded with him, "Lord, my young servant lies in bed,
paralyzed and in terrible pain." Jesus said, "I will come and heal
him." But the officer said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come
into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be
healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers,
and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, 'Go,' and they go,
or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say to my slaves, 'Do this,' they do
it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who
were following him, he said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith
like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from
all over the world--from east and west--and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites--those for
whom the Kingdom was prepared--will be thrown into outer darkness, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the Roman
officer, "Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened." And
the young servant was healed that same hour. Matthew 8:5-13
The emotion of awe included a sense of amazement,
wonder, admiration, respect, surprise, reverence, or esteem. This Roman officer
really surprised Jesus with his faith. Jesus was amazed. Not many people showed such a depth of faith like this
officer. He wasn’t a Jewish believer or one of Jesus’ followers, but he must
have heard of the incredible power of Jesus to heal. The officer wasn’t asking
Jesus to heal his child or parent—but his servant. That servant must have been
a special person…and the officer a compassionate man. He was very humble, too.
He didn’t insist that Jesus come to his home. Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word
from where you are, and my servant will be healed. Such faith! Just say the word.
 |
| Jesus has the power to heal from heaven. Should He be in awe of our faith in Him? |
Do you have such faith? His servant was
paralyzed and in pain. We have a friend, Mel, who is a paraplegic—with no
feeling below his waist due to an auto accident almost twenty years ago. He
doesn’t feel pain in his hips or legs. The pain is there…but he doesn’t feel
it. He is about to have some surgery to remove some bone fragments that cause
internal sores that just don’t seem to heal. My prayer for him is that Jesus
will touch him…just like He did the Roman soldier’s servant. Jesus doesn’t have
to come down from heaven where He is seated at the right hand of God. He doesn’t
have to be in the same room—the power of Jesus can reach anyone anywhere. Do
you believe that? I do. Jesus has His reasons for not healing some people…and
that can be hard to understand. But He still has power to heal today…just like
He did 2,000 years ago there in Israel. Jesus was amazed at the faith of that
Roman soldier. Would He be amazed…in awe…of your faith in Him today?
Prayer
~ Lord, show us Your power from a distance….just as You healed that Roman
officer’s servant, heal our friend Mel so that he recovers quickly from the
surgery that he is facing soon. Give him strength and may he feel Your presence
with him even now. We praise You Lord, for the way You minister to those in
need…and especially to those who believe
in You.
Daily
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 1-3
© 2018 Text and
photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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