NOT Guaranteed

By James Hoffman

Matthew 8:5-13 (NASB95)

5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

Devotional

Where do you come from? Often times what situation we grew up in often determines core values. This can be for the better, but it is also for the worse as well. For the Israelites it often worked against them, especially so when Jesus was on the Earth. One especially cutting point that Jesus makes to this is in Matthew 8.

In Mt 8:5 a centurion comes to Jesus, asking for his servant to be healed. Notice here that this isn't a Jew like Jesus has been going around healing and preaching to. He's a centurion, a Roman military officer. This is why He suggests that Jesus ought not enter his house, because he was likely aware that it would have been taboo for a Jew to enter his household (even though Jesus is willing to do so anyways).

This centurion, unlike most of the healings that Matthew tells us about, believes Jesus can heal his servant without needing to touch him (see the previous passage where Jesus heals a leper by touching him as well as the next passage where Jesus heals Peter's mother in law by touching her). At this Jesus is amazed. He says "I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel" (Mt. 8:10 NASB). He proceeds to declare that many will enter the Kingdom of God, yet the Jews will inevitably be excluded from this Kingdom. The Jews didn't learn from the failures of their ancestors who murdered prophets and refused God. As a collective they would go on to have Jesus crucified.

Now let's connect this to our modern situation. Many of us today were raised in the church, and I've encountered many that think getting raised in the church is enough. The reality is that it isn't. Just because you went to Sunday school as a kid doesn't mean you are saved, nor does it mean that you are guaranteed a spot in the Kingdom. We must have faith like the centurion here. We must have faith like the Apostles, faith that directly lead to their deaths at the hands of Rome. It is by our faith that we will be guaranteed a seat at Abraham's table, not where we are from.

Prayer

Lord, forgive me for any sense of entitlement I have taken on. Might you give me the faith I need to be apart of Your Kingdom, and might you help me keep it. I ask this is the name of Jesus, my Lord, Amen.