Hearing that, Jesus became amazed and said to those following him: ¨I tell you the truth, with no one in Israel have I found so great a faith.¨ Matthew 8:10 (Reference Bible)
This story of the Centurion is beautiful in the fact that there was found someone who actually stood out on their belief in the power and authority of Jesus. Unfortunately, he was not considered to be one of God´s people.
Here in Matthew 8 verses 5 to 13 hopefully we can gleam some very vital instruction into what the Savior tried so often to show us.
As Christians we claim to believe in the existence of a superior entity. This Entity we call God and He dwells in another realm. Our own realm, this world and universe was brought into existence by Him and is dependent on Him not only for creating but for sustaining it as well.
Claim, we say, because as strong as our belief may be, we cannot see with our natural eyes into this ¨other¨ realm.
When we say we believe in Jesus Christ, we should agree that by some miracle work from above, the very Son of God, was somehow fit into a human body and subjected Himself to the laws and limitations of our lesser existence. He walked here on earth as you and I do today, yet, he was still in contact with His Father and could easily see what power and authority He really had. He could see, but we cannot. We need faith to take us where our limited senses simply fall short.
This Centurion was honest enough to recognize that Jesus was not completely like you and I. He believed that what was impossible for us, was simply a natural ability for one who obviously knew what He was talking about and Had that closeness with His Father above. If Jesus wanted something to be a certain way, it was totally within His power to have it that way.
We Christians today should accept this story as fine instruction and hope to imitate this kind of faith that even impressed our Lord.
Jesus is alive and is right now by the Father´s side. This means that He is working for you and I at the moment. He has the ear of His Father and still has all the power and authority that He has always had, perhaps even more as He was victorious in the great task He came to perform in the salvation of our race.
The story holds a strong warning as well as example. There were others following Jesus that day, but He remarked about the faith of the Centurion. We should heed this warning and pray earnestly that we do not become one of those He mentions when He says that the sons of the kingdom are cast out into the darkness. We should hold that rightful seat at the banquet in heaven. But Jesus says quite plainly that there will come some genuine souls to sit at that banquet in the place of those who call themselves by His name.
Perhaps each one of us should take a careful look at our relation to the Lord again today. We should refuse to take any text or fine theory or even our own correct doctrine. Demand to hear the voice of our Savior to tell us personally that our relationship is that close. Our hearts have long been embedded in this world of fallen ways and will try to deceive us.
We should rather be like this Centurion than all those souls who followed close to Jesus but never stuck their necks out far enough to stand of what they believed. Jesus remarked about the faith of this man. Wouldn´t it be nice that He could turn to those around and say, look at this one.
It may not be enough for us to simply say that we believe. What are we doing today to give Jesus all the power and authority He deserves over all the powers and possibilities in our universe and the greater one which we still cannot see.
Let us exercise faith in Him right here and right now as did that man so long ago.
Amen
Scott W
Searching For Christ 
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