Astonishing Faith
>
When people came into contact with Jesus they were simply astonished. They marveled at his ability to heal their sicknesses. They were taken aback when he prayed and especially amazed when he showed compassion and forgave those they had determined didn’t deserve his compassion.
But what amazes Jesus?
Two occurrences in Scripture mention that Jesus was amazed. The first incident is in Mark 6:4-6.
He was amazed at their lack of faith. Another passage presents a quite different picture, one where Jesus is astonished at a person’s faith.
Matthew 8:5-10
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
Jesus says that he has not found a single person in all of Israel with the faith of this pagan, despised, Roman heathen. Those in the religious establishment are found lacking in the faith department.
Amazing.
If Jesus is astonished with me, is it for my great faith, or the lack of it? Too often, I fear, it is for the latter. May God give us the kind of faith that the centurion demonstrated.
