Jesus was Amazed-By Josh

I have to admit that I tend to shy away from reading out of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It has to do with my pride. I have heard numerous times growing up that new believers should start with the gospels. I don't feel like a new believer. I feel more mature than that. I like to dig in to the more advanced stuff. I want to dive into the lessons of Job, Paul's writings from prison, or maybe get really ambitious and read through revelations. Besides, if you've read one of the gospels you've read them all right?

All that to say, I have committed to reread the gospels. I am not very deep into my new venture and I already feel like the Lord is revealing new things to me. Things my pride could not see. I have always struggled with having a proper view of who God is. When I think about heaven I long to see the angels. I want to see the seraphim's described in Isaiah 6 with six wings. I want to hear them shout "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, The whole earth is full of his glory." I want to feel the temple shake by the mighty sound of their voices. Yet, I can't help but realize how wrong I am. Desiring the created instead of the Creator. If their worship is that powerful how much greater is the One they are praising. My view of God is so small. This plays out daily in my life. I cling to worry instead of living a carefree life of faith.

I came across this small story early in Matthew and I thought it was worth sharing.

Matthew 8:5-13 (New Living Translation)

5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer[b] came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant[c] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

8 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. 9 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.”

10 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! 11 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. 12 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.”

13 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.

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Several things stuck out to me as I read this. A few verses before this story takes place it mentions that a crowd was with Jesus. When this officer "came and pleaded with him" it was in front of a number of people. Next, I felt the urgency on the part of the officer when he said his servant was laying in bed paralyzed and in terrible pain. Then the craziest thing happens, Jesus simply says "I will come and heal him." No questions asked...The officer just received what he desperately desired from the best of the best, the ultimate physician. His response...I am unworthy to have you come into my home. Say the word and it is as good as done.

That doesn't sound much like our culture today does it, passing on an opportunity to have Jesus into their home. The same Jesus who was creating all the buzz. The Jesus who was quickly becoming well known. We long to be in the presence of greatness. Whether it's athletes, musicians, or politicians; we desperately want to be associated with excellence for our gain. People connect themselves with royalty and fame through their cousin's uncle's brother's friend. We long to be associated with the people who appear important in the eyes of this world.

This Roman officer understood who Jesus was and what he was capable of. My favorite part about this story is that Jesus was amazed at what he heard. I don't know about you but I would love to amaze God. I long to have faith that stands above the rest. Jesus said he had not seen faith like that in all of Israel. I know we have all heard this verse a thousand times before but I thought this story put a new perspective on it.

Matthew 17:20 (New Living Translation)

20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]”

I don't pretend to know what faith as small as a mustard seed means, but I do know what it looks like. It looks like the officer in the story. Listen to Jesus' response to this mans bold faith, "because you believed, it has happened."