Read: Matthew 8:5-13
Jesus had just returned home. He had
been traveling throughout Galilee and Judea, teaching and healing with ever
increasing crowds following Him. (Matthew 4:23-25) The crowds had become so large, teaching
required Him to sit on the side of a mountain. From there He spoke for hours teaching
life-impacting wisdom. (Matthew 5-7) Then, on His way down from the mountain, a leper
approached Him. “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” To which Jesus
responded, “I am willing, be clean!” (Matthew8:1-3) It
was after all of this that Jesus finally entered Capernaum only to be
approached by a Roman centurion.
Like the leper, the centurion too
had a need. Well, not him exactly, but someone he cared about. In addition to
the soldiers under his authority were servants and slaves in his service for
his comfort and convenience, but mostly so he could accomplish his assigned
duties. It was one of these servants, actually
a pais, a boy, a mere child that
prompted him to go out of his way and seek out Jesus. Graciously granted access
to Jesus, he stated the pressing need, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at
home, fearfully tormented.” Without being asked to do anything specific, Jesus
responded, “I will come and heal him.”
Like the leper, the centurion was given the same respect, compassion and
willingness.
Jesus graciously offered to
go with the centurion. This grace is
seen in His willingness to do the necessary: heal this servant boy that was
unable to move and racked with pain. It
is also seen in His willingness to do the unnecessary. Jesus knew that He
didn’t need to go to the child’s bedside to heal him. He had to power to heal
without going anywhere. Besides, He just arrived back to his home village. Jesus also knew the cultural and religious
distain that would be heaped on Him for entering a Gentile’s home, let alone a
military facility. Jesus also knew the
pressing needs right there in Capernaum, including His own disciple’s mother-in-law
sick with a fever (Matthew 8:14,15) that had threatened other lives in Capernaum. (John 4:46-54)
It wasn’t necessary for Jesus
to touch the leper in order to heal him, but He willingly did the
unnecessary. It wasn’t necessary for
Jesus to go back to the centurion’s home in order to heal his servant, but
again He was willing to do the unnecessary.
Why? Because it wasn’t about what He could or couldn’t do. It was about
love and grace conveyed in the unnecessary – in going beyond the needed, the
expected, the comfortable or convenient, or even the prudent to express just
how much He genuinely cared.
It was the centurion
recognizing the unnecessary that Jesus identified as “great faith.’
This centurion was a man entrusted
with the responsibility and authority over a 100 soldiers. He was also under
the authority of the Legate. Whether he
was given or giving orders, he was quite familiar with single word commands
that demanded prompt obedience: go – come – do. No discussion. No negotiation. They
eliminated unnecessary instructions or commentary. These commands carried the
weight of rightful authority. He had that kind of authority over soldiers,
servants and citizenry in a conquered country.
He recognized that Jesus’ authority far exceeded his own. It was
authority over the seen and unseen unhindered by any distance or location. The centurion believed the unnecessary was
unnecessary. “Just say the word and my servant will be healed.”
Jesus said the word. “Go!” This isn’t the same word the centurion used
as an example of his authority: “Go! and he goes.” That word is poreuo – depart, continue on one’s journey. Jesus said “Hupago!” – to come under (as in authority or cover). He wasn’t
speaking to the centurion but to the unseen.
This is the same command He gave Satan in Matthew 4:10. “Then Jesus said
to him, “Go, Satan!” The fallen one had
a choice: come under Christ’s authority or slink away and find cover. We have
his choice - “Then the devil left Him.”
In Matthew 8:32, Jesus says the same thing to a legion of demons
tormenting two men. “Go!” Here Jesus
again “just says the word” – “Go!” And
“the servant was healed that very moment.”
Jesus told the centurion, “It shall be done for you as you have believed.” He simply believed Jesus had the power and
authority to do the necessary, with or without the unnecessary. And it was done!
The full extent of Christ’s love and grace made available in the believing.
The leper believed all that was
necessary was the Lord’s willingness. The centurion believed all that was
necessary was the Lord saying the word. The
question we are left with is: What do we believe is truly necessary?
[Make it personal]
What does it mean to you that
Jesus treats everyone with the same respect, compassion and willingness?
What does it mean to you that
the Lord is willing to do the unnecessary for your sake?
What do you convey when you
are willingly go beyond what is needed, expected, even prudent for the sake of
others?
The leper said to Jesus, “If
you are willing …” What does this
represent in your coming to Jesus with your personal need or that of another?
Jesus told the centurion, “It shall be done for you as you have believed.” Is what you believe enabling or disabling the
necessary?
