Tuesday, January 28, 2014

January 29, 2014

“He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he MARVELLED because of their unbelief.” Mark 6:1-6

As he entered Caper′na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he MARVELLED and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”  Matthew 8:5-10

Twice during his earthly ministry Christ ran into faith that cause Him to marvel. One was on His return to His home town where their refusal to believe, despite admitting to impressive evidence, stunned Him.

The other encounter was with a Roman centurion. Who would have thought that a Gentile would outdo His Jewish friends and relatives of Jesus in the religious faith department?

But he did, and it wasn't even close!

Those who should have had faith in Jesus didn't and a man who shouldn't have had faith did? Why?

Those are intriguing questions that deserve some investigation. I will give it a try in some upcoming posts, but there is a more urgent question that is haunting me.

Does God marvel at my faith?

Is He blessed by how I believe in Him today or is He distressed by the limits of my faith?

Am I boxed in by my misconceptions like the Nazarenes or am I able to believe beyond the box as the centurion did?

These are serious questions deserving of sober soul-searching.

Search me, O God......