Authority Over Distance
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." Jesus said to him, "Shall I come and heal him?" The centurion replied, "Lord...just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me....I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Matt. 8:5-9. NIV.
The second miracle is the healing of the servant of a Gentile (Matt. 8:5-13). To the Jewish way of thinking, only a leper was more unclean than a Gentile. While lepers couldn’t enter Jerusalem at all, Gentiles could not worship in the Jewish Temple, since they could go no farther into the Temple complex than the outermost court, fittingly called the "court of the Gentiles."
The centurion, recognizing his unworthiness in the eyes of a Jew, exemplifies remarkable faith. Comparing Jesus to himself as a military commander, he says that Jesus does not need to go to his house to perform the miracle. All He needs to do is issue a command, and the healing will take place.
The centurion is the first person in Matthew's Gospel to understand the scope of Jesus' authority--that He doesn't even need to be present for His word to be carried out. Thus He had authority, not only over disease, but also over distance.
Jesus not only commends the centurion for his faith, but He also utilizes the occasion to present a picture close to the Jewish heart. The Jews expected that at the coming of the Messiah a great banquet would take place, in which all Jews would sit down to a feast. Gentiles would not be present.
But Jesus puts a new twist on the story. According to Him, many Gentiles (those "from the east and west", verse 11) will be at the feast, but many of the Jews ("the children of the kingdom") shall be cast out into outer darkness" (verses 11, 12).
Thus with one stroke Jesus put forth two themes that will run throughout His ministry: the salvation of the Gentiles and the precarious situation of the Jews if they reject the Messiah.
This second miracle is pregnant with meaning for us today. Nowhere do we find a better description of the authority of Jesus in relation to the angels whom He sends to care for the needs of those who have faith in Him. He still reaches across the distance of time and space to be with and bless His people. For that we can praise God daily.
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." Jesus said to him, "Shall I come and heal him?" The centurion replied, "Lord...just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me....I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Matt. 8:5-9. NIV.
The second miracle is the healing of the servant of a Gentile (Matt. 8:5-13). To the Jewish way of thinking, only a leper was more unclean than a Gentile. While lepers couldn’t enter Jerusalem at all, Gentiles could not worship in the Jewish Temple, since they could go no farther into the Temple complex than the outermost court, fittingly called the "court of the Gentiles."
The centurion, recognizing his unworthiness in the eyes of a Jew, exemplifies remarkable faith. Comparing Jesus to himself as a military commander, he says that Jesus does not need to go to his house to perform the miracle. All He needs to do is issue a command, and the healing will take place.
The centurion is the first person in Matthew's Gospel to understand the scope of Jesus' authority--that He doesn't even need to be present for His word to be carried out. Thus He had authority, not only over disease, but also over distance.
Jesus not only commends the centurion for his faith, but He also utilizes the occasion to present a picture close to the Jewish heart. The Jews expected that at the coming of the Messiah a great banquet would take place, in which all Jews would sit down to a feast. Gentiles would not be present.
But Jesus puts a new twist on the story. According to Him, many Gentiles (those "from the east and west", verse 11) will be at the feast, but many of the Jews ("the children of the kingdom") shall be cast out into outer darkness" (verses 11, 12).
Thus with one stroke Jesus put forth two themes that will run throughout His ministry: the salvation of the Gentiles and the precarious situation of the Jews if they reject the Messiah.
This second miracle is pregnant with meaning for us today. Nowhere do we find a better description of the authority of Jesus in relation to the angels whom He sends to care for the needs of those who have faith in Him. He still reaches across the distance of time and space to be with and bless His people. For that we can praise God daily.
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