Matthew 8:5-13 … authority and faith

Matthew 8:5-13 … authority and faith

⁵ And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

⁶ And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

⁷ And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

⁸ The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

⁹ For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

This centurion knew what it meant to be a leader, he knew of the pulls on the leader’s time and energy. Also he knew and understood pure power and accepted the duty of command. With this in his mind and the faith that Yeshua was all-powerful, he could immediately accept Yeshua at his word. Can you?

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. (G2474 Ἰσραήλ Israel (yiy-sra-el’) n/p. the adopted name of Jacob, including his descendants both natural and adopted)

¹¹ And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

He is telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is promised to the “seed” or children of Abraham. To be a part of this promise one must become a part of the Covenant that is bound within the Tanakh/Old Testament.

Romans 11:16-27 “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

When God takes away our sins we are then able to join in the covenant and the family or House of Israel. When a family adopts a child, does the child live harmoniously with the new family if he holds to the traditions of the orphanage? Not usually.

What if the child behaves the same as the family where he was rescued from? Imagine if the old way of life was full of strife and anger, or cold and distant? This would not work out well under the new situation. Likewise there are rules that must be followed, curfews and bedtimes, as well as, chores and housework to sustain the family. Where do you think this line of thinking came from? It is Biblical! Once we are grafted into the family there are things we need to learn and do in order for the house to run smoothly.

¹² But the children of the kingdom (royalty, ruling class) shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Here the word kingdom means those that are oppressing authority over the believers because it lacks ‘of heaven’; this would include Rome and the Pharisees.)

¹³ And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.