When Jesus was Amazed!

In my previous post I discussed the early ministry of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, then jumped over the Sermon on the Mount to chapter 8, and “Lessons from the Great Physician.” The first of those lessons was based on the healing of the leper and the need to establish the will of God.

When Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, it is recorded that “the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). In this church age, how desperately we need preachers and teachers who speak with authority from God’s Word. Fifteen minutes of wishy-washy words of encouragement are not going to impact the world in this post-christian era.

An angel told Peter and John to “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” (Acts 5:20). Paul wrote to Timothy, a young preacher: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (II Timothy 4:2).

In Matthew 8:5-13, when Jesus entered Capernaum, we have the record of the healing of a Roman centurion’s servant. Let’s look at it carefully and discover the second lesson from the Great Physician. “When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.'” (Matthew 8:5-7).

The corresponding record in Luke says the servant was sick and at the point of death, and was highly valued by the centurion (Luke 7:2). The centurion’s request was not on behalf of a soldier under his command, but for a servant, a slave, one who had no rights, yet his master was filled with compassion for him in his pain.

The fact that the centurion came to Jesus showed that he had some belief in this miracle-worker who was meeting the needs of great crowds of people in Galilee. Note that as with the leper at the start of the chapter, there was no hesitation in the Lord’s reply: “I will come and heal him.” Jesus didn’t ask permission from the rabbi of the Capernaum synagogue, he didn’t ask for any details from the centurion, he simply spoke those powerful words, “I’ll come and heal him.”

Now in verses 8-9 we come to the words that amazed Jesus. “But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.'” (Matthew 8:8-9). What a revelation! That is living faith in action; just say the word.

Some have suggested the phrase should be rendered “command the word” or “speak a command.” This centurion’s belief surpassed even that of the disciples, according to Jesus. All it takes is a spoken word of authority and someone close to death can be completely healed. Now that is the second lesson — accept the authority of the Word.

“Hearing this [verses 8-9], Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, ‘I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!’… Then Jesus told the centurion, ‘Go. As you have believed, let it be done for you.’ And his servant was cured that very moment” (Matthew 8:10,13 CSB). The authority of the Word works! We believe the weather forecasters, even though we know they are not always right! Let’s believe God’s Word even if it is often in direct opposition to what we see with our five senses.

The Bible speaks of the authority of the living Word in I Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” That Word is at work in you! God is at work in you!

It also speaks of the prevailing Word in Acts 19:20, “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” The words that Paul spoke to the Jews and Greeks in Ephesus were so strong that they brought their books on magic arts and burned them — a collection of books worth 50,000 pieces of silver! We too need to burn some old beliefs and limiting traditions and accept the authority of the Word.

Finally, in Matthew 8:13 we see the word of authority that Jesus spoke on this occasion and the result of those words. “And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.” Thank God for the authority of the Word!

So the first two lessons from the Great Physician are to Establish the will of God and to Accept the authority of His Word.