#DailyDevotion Does You Faith Amaze Jesus?

Matthew 8:5-13 ⁵He went to Capernaum. There a captain came to Him and begged Him: ⁶“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home. He’s suffering terribly.” ⁷“I will come and make him well,” Jesus said. ⁸“Lord,” the captain answered, “I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. But just say a word, and my servant will be made well. ⁹I’m only a man who has to obey others, but I have soldiers under me. I tell one of them, ‘Go’, and he goes. And another, ‘Come’, and he comes. And my servant, ‘Do this’, and he does it.” ¹⁰Amazed to hear this, Jesus said to the people who were following Him, “I tell you the truth, not even in Israel have I found such faith. ¹¹I also tell you, many will come from the east and the west and will eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹²but those who were born to be the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown out into the dark. There they will cry and grind their teeth.” ¹³“Go,” Jesus told the captain. “Let it be as you believed.” And the servant was made well in that hour.

What does it take to amaze God? Jesus is amazed in a couple of spots in the Gospels. He is amazed once at the Jews’ unbelief. Here we see an instance of Jesus’ amazement of someone’s faith in him. In Capernaum there was a Roman captain who apparently is a God-fearer. We know from the other Gospels he supports the local synogogue there. Now this servant must be very special to this Roman soldier for him to come to Jesus. I guess though being a God-fearer the Word of God he heard regularly on the Sabbath must have tempered him some.

Now this captain recognizes Jesus has authority (which happens to be a theme in Matthew). He has heard what Jesus has done. He may have seen Jesus exercise his authority earlier. He also is a man of authority and one under authority. If captain says jump, they don’t ask how high. They jump as high and as far as they can. Whatever he tells people under his command to do, they do it. He recognizes Jesus has even a higher authority than him.

So he humbles himself before Jesus, begging him to heal his servant. In all humilty he tells Jesus he is not worthy for Jesus to come under his roof. All Jesus has to do is speak the word and he knows his servant will be healed. Jesus tells us, “not even in Israel have I found such faith.” Jesus is amazed at this guys faith in him and in his authority. Makes you kind of question what sort of prayers do we make of Jesus and the Father. Are we demanding or commanding in our prayers? Are we humble and begging like this captain? Do we pray doubting God will do what we ask in Jesus’ name, to the point we are basically wishing? Do we pray with boldness and confidence, nevertheless with humility we come only in Jesus’ name and his authority trusting God our Father will hear us for Jesus’ sake and do what is best for us and those we pray for?

Now Jesus takes a moment to reprove the crowds who do not believe in him. The Jews following him, in particular the Pharisees, Scribes and Priests who do not believe in him along with any of the rest of the crowd, who are heirs of the kingdom,, will be thrown into the dark where they will cry and grind their teeth. Those who were strangers, foreigners to the kingdom of God will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because they put their faith in Jesus. Now where will you be? Will you be like the unbelieving Pharisees who say, “I’ve been a member of St. Backseat for all my life,” but will enter darkness because you didn’t really believe and trust in Jesus or will you be dining well in the kingdom because your faith in Jesus amazed him? Amaze Jesus with your faith.

Heavenly Father, give us the Gospel of Jesus Christ so through that Gospel we may receive faith and enter into your kingdom at the end of the age. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.