I don’t need your touch, but just say the …
Let’s get after it people. In Pt.1 of Da’ Centurion we discovered that this simple act of faith astonished Jesus; or should I say Jesus was astonished at his faith. Jesus stated that this guy’s faith act was the greatest act of faith that He had witnessed in the land of Israel. Crazy! I want that said of me and my actions of faith. But now we need to get into what was the faith action that astonished Jesus. Let’s read Matt 8:5-13 again and then get into it.
Matthew 8:5-13
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
So what was that one faith action that shocked Jesus? In Matt 8:6 the Cent tells Jesus what’s going on. He states "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." In the very next verse (Matt 8:7) Jesus states He would go and take care of the problem. Matt 8:8-9 records the Cent stating “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." The dude is a military man. He understands how to give and receive orders. I think it would do a lot of people good to be in the military for just a bit so that they could get a better understanding how authority works, but I digress. . .Let’s go back to the statement. Why is it such a big deal?
On the surface it does not look like the Cent did anything big, but let’s compare what he did to two Old Testament heroes of Faith. Let’s compare the Cent to Moses and Elijah. I’m picking Moses and Elijah because they appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). They must have done something right in their lives to reappear with Jesus on top of that hill!
1. Moses. This guy did incredible things in the name of God. He motivated 1,000,000+ people to shake off slavery and head out towards a promised land. You need FAITH to do that. There is one story about Moses’ leadership and personality that I just love. In Exodus 32:10 God stated He was done with the children of Israel and would start all over with Moses. The very next verse (Ex 32:11) states that “Moses sought favor of the Lord his God. ‘O Lord,’ he said ‘why should your anger burn against your people’…” Instead of taking the opportunity for God to make him into a great name/nation he asked God to spare Abraham’s seed. That’s huge! But how did the Cent trump Moses? Even in all his greatness, Moses still needed a touch from the Lord. A visual touch but a touch nonetheless. After the great miracles that happened in Egypt, after the splitting of the Red Sea, even after the bread from heaven and everything else recorded in the Exodus Moses still asked to see God, to see His Glory. Exodus 33:12-23 records that story. I’ve wanted to see God too. Years ago I worked 2nd and 3rd shift custodial/security for a church. Late at night I would sing, at the top of my lungs, SonicFlood’s worship song “I want to know you” but I quickly realized how freaked out I would be if God actually revealed Himself to me at 2am in a huge church sanctuary.
2. Elijah. Come on: ELIJAH! I like Elisha better because he was the bald headed prophet, but Elijah was the man. Elijah called fire down from heaven. FIRE FROM HEAVEN!! He punked a bunch of false prophets. I love that story. It’s found in 1st Kings 18. “What, is your god stuck on the toilet?” That’s the New King Jimmy version of 1st Kings 18:27. When you have some free time read through the books of 1st & 2nd Kings. There are some great stories of faith actions in there. But in 1st Kings 19 we see Elijah needing a touch from God. In 1st Kings 19 Elijah is hiding out in a cave on the mountain of God. Elijah did not get to see God that day but he did hear God’s gentle whisper. I’ve cried out to hear that whisper. Just last year in a deep worship service I remember crying out to hear His voice. I just wanted to hear something.
What sets the Cent apart from Moses and Elijah is that the Cent didn’t need Jesus’ touch. He didn’t even want Jesus’ touch. Read again what he said: “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word.” He just wanted Jesus’ Word. He didn’t even talk to Jesus, his buddies did. I know Matt records the Cent talking to Jesus but Luke 7:6 states “So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the Centurion sent friends to say to him: ‘Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.’” The Cent’s friends were acting as power of attorney for him, that’s why Matt records it as if the Cent was before Jesus himself. Moses needed to see God, Elijah needed to hear God, but the Cent just needed the Word. That is what set his faith apart from all the others in history. We so often beg for a touch from God but what we really need is His Word. Hebrews 4:12 says the Word is “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” “Living and Active” means the word is actively alive. Now I’m not saying it’s bad to desire a touch from God and that God won’t touch your life, but just putting that desire into perspective: We have God’s Word.
Back to the story, Jesus was ready to go to the Cent’s house. Jesus was going to give His touch and I fully believe that if Jesus did touch the servant then the servant would have been healed. But if the Cent took Jesus’ touch over Jesus’ Word then the Cent’s servant would have had to wait, and wait, and wait for that needed healing. Since the Cent opted for the Word over the Touch Matt 8:13 declares “And his servant was healed at that very hour.”
This story is very similar to the first chronological healing. If you recall the story from John chapter 4 the Official son was healed because the Official took Jesus at His word. The difference between the Official’s faith and the Cent’s faith is that the Official really wanted Jesus to come but the Cent just needed that Word.
We can wait for God’s touch, and I believe He will touch our lives where we need it, or we can be Super Stars of Faith and just take the Word. Once again, Hebrews 4:12 states “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
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