Such Faith

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed… Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:8, 10)

Obviously the centurion knew who Jesus was and what he was capable of doing because he approached Jesus with confidence, telling him about his servant at home who was suffering. The heart of the centurion was also full of love in order for him to seek out Jesus to heal his servant. His words to Jesus not only speak of his faith in the healing power of Jesus but also of his humility. Just as John the Baptist proclaimed, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27); the centurion states that he is not worthy for Jesus to enter his home. This is the perfect example of the disposition our hearts need to be in, having faith enough to approach Christ and believing that he is capable of all things but also acknowledging that we are not worthy to even loosen the strap of his sandal.

This story also reminds me of the power of intercessory prayer and the impact our faith can have on one another. We don’t know if the servant believed in Jesus or if he knew that his master was going to seek Jesus to heal him. But it didn’t matter, it was the centurion’s faith that Jesus was amazed by and his faith that allowed his servant to be healed. We see this same result with the healing of the paralytic in Mark’s gospel. The paralytic is carried to Jesus by four men. They were unable to get near Jesus so they climbed on the roof, opened it up and lowered their friend down in front of Him. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven’… He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.” (Mark 2:5, 12) It was the faith that Jesus saw in these four men, that lead him to heal the paralytic.

Living out our faith and allowing other’s to see God working in our lives will help lead others to Christ. We are called to love one another and in doing so we need to pray for one another and ask the Lord to intervene even if the person doesn’t believe. Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8:13) And at that very moment his servant was healed. Those who witnessed this interaction between Jesus and the centurion came to understand that God’s healing love knows no boundaries. Jesus didn’t need to be in the presence of the servant in order to heal him. These people were forever changed after witnessing the power of the centurion’s faith. We, too, can forever change the lives of others by allowing them to witness our faith in Christ Jesus.