Matthew 8 Continued
The
Faith of the Centurion
What
is your faith in? What is it that keeps your life from being
absolutely gravy?
Then
your faith is in that thing or person.
We
all have needs and things we imagine to be needs, but if we've been
around long enough, we need only reminisce to recognize their
salvation as false.
When
we blame things for our current predicaments, there shouldn't be a
surprise when we jump from thing to thing with a fool's ferocity: job
to job, city to city, marriage to marriage, church to church, diet to
diet; the list goes on for miles, all with the idea they'd give us
the peace and joy we seek.
While
there is validity in change, it must be based upon truth, which is
always weightier than emotions and ideas.
As
a Roman Centurion in authority, this man had a multitude of
philosophic options at his disposal, as Rome was all about new ways
of thinking. Had he responded as a Stoic, he might have assuaged his
guilt with a belief that only the strong survive, and a paralytic
servant served no other purpose but to live as an example of man's
failure to thrive. Or perhaps he could have thought as a Hedonist:
“Hey buddy, let's get sloshed, and surround ourselves with the
finest beauties, for today is all we have and all that matters.”
However,
he believed in the unknown: a rabbi of the people he was hired to
police. This centurion didn't allow prejudice to rule his actions,
yet truth direct them.
Imagine their meeting: A man of
battle, paid to be aggressive on call, armored for the unexpected,
and vigilant: extra-aware of how the moved about him: he heard their
fearful whispers and felt their silent hand gestures of warning.
Jesus
was no common man. He could look lovingly into the eyes of a man that
had likely made his earthly life difficult. His step-father Joseph
had run from men like him shortly after Jesus was born. Jesus would
be beaten, dragged and nailed to a cross, by his comrades, and yet
Jesus did not burden him with career advice. He was willing to deal
with this one centurion as an individual.
How
quick are we to cast broad nets of judgment upon an entire culture,
city, country, people group: “These people are like this” or
“these people are like that.” Jesus never allowed bias distort
his vision of people.
“But
the centurion replied, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under
my roof'”
Neither
are we worthy for the Son of God to come and sup with us. We are full
of evil intentions, but He is filled with love for us.
Verse
12 states: “...the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the
outer darkness.”
What
is being referred to here is the Jewish people. They were God's
people of promise, having been the recipients of much special
revelation, though latecomers to what God was doing. For many of them
God was all about religion. A number of rabbis taught that all people
needed to do was show themselves as being externally godly. This
mix-up of God's intentions ultimately hurt His plan for His people.
He wanted to free them from the sick expectations placed upon their
lives, and its accompanying burden.
Christ
has freedom in mind for us as well, a freedom well-paid for, by the
blood of Jesus.
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