Justified! The Series: Chapter 4 – What You Believed Could Happen Has Happened!

5-6 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”
7Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”
8-9 “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10-12 Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”
13 Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.

Matthew 8:5-13 MSG

I know this is an often preached about and talked about passage of The Gospels. According to The Gospel of Matthew, this was the second miracle performed by Jesus (the 1st was the healing of the man with leprosy in the same chapter), but it was very important because of what it established. In case you don’t know, during this time only Israelites/Jews would be able to receive salvation, everyone else, including this Roman captain aka centurion, was a gentile/pagan and therefore unworthy of salvation. What’s interesting about this situation is that the Roman centurion approaches Jesus as he is entering Capernaum, and asks for Jesus to heal his servant. This is remarkable for several reasons; this centurion can’t possibly personally know Jesus, this centurion had to know that he was “unworthy” to receive a blessing at the hands of a Jew, and lastly why did he have confidence in Jesus’ ability to heal his servant? The exchange begins with the centurion making a request of Jesus, not for himself, but for his servant. This is interesting because this moment is actually a prayer or request of intercession, where the centurion is standing-in for someone who can’t help or advocate for themselves. I believe that this was a reason for Jesus’ willingness to help someone who by traditional Jewish standards was undeserving of a blessing. For the Roman centurion to use his one chance encounter with Jesus not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of someone else was a real show of character. Many of us if we had the chance to ask Jesus for anything would use the opportunity for something selfish, even if the opportunity could be used to deliver or help someone who couldn’t help themself. Jesus seeing the faith of the centurion offers to accompany him to his house, yet the centurion refuses. This could have been for several reasons, primarily the centurion understanding some of the customs and laws of the Israelites knew that Jesus entering his home would make him unclean, and therefore he probably felt unworthy or ashamed to invite him in. Rather I choose to believe that the centurion exercised his faith. He understood the power of words, given his own authority in the military. It only took a word for whatever he desired to be accomplished, understanding his own authority gave him a foundation to understand what a simple word/command from Jesus could accomplish. The centurion up until this point had only heard of Jesus, who at this time was likely known as a new teacher, who had performed some miracles never before seen or recorded in Israel, much less the world. The centurion allowed what he had heard about Jesus to influence what he believed about Jesus in a positive way.

How does what you hear about Jesus impact what you believe about Jesus?

The centurion using his understanding of authority (the power of words), in addition to what he had heard of Jesus’ power, fueled his faith to believe that Jesus could fulfill his request with a simple word/command. Upon Jesus observing the Roman captain’s faith, he JUSTIFIES him in front of everyone present, both Jews and gentiles. Jesus actually gives us and the people present a glimpse into the future when he says

I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 8:11 GNT

Jesus here, very early in The Gospels establish faith as the key to inheriting salvation, receiving grace, receiving forgiveness, and becoming a child of God. Jesus uses the interaction with the centurion to show the children of Israel what true faith looks like, and that by faith alone do you receive the goodness of God, not through works; and he also uses this moment to show those who may believe they are unworthy of God’s goodness how to access him through faith.

Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.

matthew 8:13 MSG

Look at that, Jesus in that very moment JUSTIFIES the centurion in the presence of God and man. The Roman centurion’s servant is instantly healed through his faith, and the word of Jesus. Faith wins again!

Reflection Time

Do you believe that Jesus is capable of doing what you need him to do for you? Do you believe that Jesus is capable of doing what he promised in his word? If you and Jesus crossed paths at this moment, what would you ask him for? Why? Do an assessment of yourself; are you a child of faith or works? Do you put your confidence in what you are able to do, or what Jesus has promised that HE will do for those who believe? Spend some time reading about the promises of God to familiarize yourself with what you are entitled to through faith.