Da’ Cent Pt. 3

Now That’s Heavy!

The Centurion, this guy had top notch faith. That has been well established. There is not much more I can squeeze out of this orange, is there? Well, I’ve got one more thing for us to look at. I am sure there is plenty more juice here, but I am only going to give it one more squeeze before moving onto chronological healing #9.

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.

In Pt. 1 we covered the fact that up to this time this was the greatest--GREATEST--action of faith that Jesus had witnessed in the land of Israel. In Pt.2 We covered exactly what that action of faith was: it was the desire for Jesus’ Word over Jesus’ Touch. It was that simple action that proved to be the best. That’s it. That’s about all that needs to be said of the Centurion, right? I wish, but Matt’s account gives us something that is so harsh and so strong that it can’t be ignored. Oh Matt 8:11 & 12, how heavy you are! Jesus went from praising this dude’s faith to condemning a bunch to hell. CRAZY!!! We better discuss what Jesus said before moving onto Chronological healing #9.

Here is Matt 8:11 & 12 one more time, and remember Jesus stated this after recognizing this guy’s faith.

Matthew 8:11 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."

First let’s get after Verse 11. V11 really is not all that bad when you read it by itself. It’s a great prophecy but when you combine it with V12 it turns into a sobering script. In V11 Jesus said “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.” Without diving into the Greek translation of “many” I think it’s safe to assume that many means MANY. That’s a good thing. In Pt. 1 of “Da’ Centurion” I pointed out that the Cent was not a Jew so he did not grow up with the teaching of the O.T. If you haven’t read Pt.1 of the Cent then stop reading this one and go back and read Pt.1 & Pt.2. The Cent was just one of the MANY that have, are, and will come. I’m one of the many that is coming to the feast. I can’t really tell you if I’m from the East or the West that Jesus was referring to. My last name has German roots but even that is sketchy. But I can tell you with much confidence that my ancestors came from the Garden of Eden. What happened between the Garden and now is really anyone’s guess. . . Anyway, I really hope that you who are reading this are a part of the “many.”. If not then email me and we can talk about how to get into that feast.

Now for Verse 12: “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Oh wow. Hello Hell. Remember where Jesus was and who he was talking to when he said this. He was not in Spain. He was not in South America. He was right there in promised land boldly stating this. Both Matt 8:10 and Luke 7:1 kick this story off stating that Jesus had just entered Capernaum. Get a map and look where Capernaum is. Better yet get all techie and Google Earth where Capernaum is. Jesus’ crowd that day was Jewish. They were the “subjects of the Kingdom” that Jesus was talking about. Jesus just told a bunch of Jewish people--who because of their birth right felt they deserved to be at the feast--that they would be replaced by peeps from all over. Not only did He say they were going to be replaced but he also said where the subjects were going to be sent to. Why would Jesus say that? That is not a very seeker-friendly statement. That’s bold! The reason why Jesus said that is because of Faith. They (the kingdom subjects) lacked faith. Compared to this Gentile they lacked faith. Hebrews 11:6 states “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” They never fully bought into who Jesus was. But the Cent did; so much so that he realized the power of the Savior’s Word.

Are we, as the New Testament Church, any better? James 2:17-19 states “17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Last year I had the privilege of teaching a class on the book of James. In studying for that class I realized that James was writing to the same people that just some 20 years before turned the world upside down--the same people recorded in the first half of the book of Acts. Are we so capable of loosing our faith to? Matt 7:16 states “By their fruit you will recognize them.” It’s time we best check our fruit and make sure it’s fresh.

I know this could get deeper into the grand old theological question of “once saved, always saved” but really I just want us to keep our place @ the King’s table. Many more from the east and west can and will join us because His food is GREAT, but I tell ya I’m not losing my spot. Best way to keep yours: TAKE THAT WORD and STAY FRESH!!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy