Daily Devotional July 26 - Go Thy Way

 "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion (Roman man of power over one hundred men), beseeching Him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented, And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thous shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, God, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not is Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." Matthew 8:5-13

There are so many lessons in these passages, but I want to focus in on one. Jesus is not about religion; what side of the fence you were born on, what denomination you attend or who you watch or don't watch on TV. Jesus is about faith.

This centurion was a leader in the Roman army. More than likely he was part of the group of men that helped build the temple in Jerusalem under Herod's reign. Generally speaking a centurion was loyal to the Roman empire and he had to carry out brutal punishments to those in the region who broke the Roman law. This was a man who had learned the art of war and was very good at it. But somewhere along the way he found out that Jesus had authority in another realm that he was unfamiliar with. Somehow in his heart he knew that his servant had no chance except the captain over sickness and death were to give a command, i. e., Jesus.

He knew he was not worthy, even for Jesus to enter his home, unlike so many Christians today, who really think a lot of their situation, but he also knew in his heart that this Jesus had power over this realm. I think it is interesting that Jesus commends him as having more faith than all of Israel. This tells me something about what Jesus is looking for in us. It is more than a superficial accounting of the days we served as SS Superintendent. It is also more than the lip service that so many people give God and their pastor. Jesus is looking for men and women that know that He is Lord and that He has the power to do what man cannot do. Jesus is looking for men and women, teens and children that believe and trust God.

It doesn't matter who you are or what you have done, but it does matter what you believe about the Master. What do you believe? Is it enough to secure a miracle?

Jesus said to the centurion, "Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."
Jesus says to me, "Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."
And Jesus says to you, "Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."