At thy Word
Posted on December 24th, 2023 by RedeemedMatthew 8
5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains.
7 And Jesus said to him, I will come and restore him.
8 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured.
9 For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to 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.
Indeed the above scriptures is one of the many instance where the authority and power of the living Word is manifested. The authority of Jesus’ Word is seen, as sicknesses, powers, nature and all of creation responds instantly as they hear his voice. Even death and the power of the grave, the deadliest enemy of man, hears and obey the voice of the Son of God. For Lazarus as recorded in scriptures was dead and buried but when Jesus came into the scene, called out his name, death and the power of the grave, something that men fear so much, heard and recognize the authority of the One who called Lazarus to come forth and had to let go of him! For behold, Lazarus came out of the tomb and Jesus told them to loose him and let him go.
The above scriptures therefore was an account of one who understands how authority works. The Centurion as he watched Jesus going about his ministration to mankind, knew by virtue of his training that this Jesus must be Divine or have the Divine and Supreme Authority backing Him. He knew that only God or one God has given such authority could do the things Jesus did. He knew he must be a ruler to weird such authority, because kings rule by words or decrees. No one has displayed the kind of authority Jesus displayed, and yet remained so kind and merciful.
So the time came therefore, that the centurion had a need, such that he found no help anywhere for his servant, for his servant was at the point of death. Recognizing who Jesus was, he approached him for help, but he did this from the point of his understanding the power and authority he knew Jesus had.
He told Jesus to just say the word and his servant would be healed. Even when Jesus said he would come and heal the boy, the centurion said he was not worthy of Jesus coming to his house - to me this is self recognition. Just like many before they came to Jesus recognized that they were sinners, doomed to be separated eternally from the Father. This recognition made them reached out to Jesus, whom the Father has given as a ransom for mankind, so that anyone that believes in him shall be saved.
The centurion recognized that Jesus has authority over all things. Armed with this he approached Jesus, and he got what he asked for.
The way he approached, made even Jesus marveled, for Jesus said he has not found such great faith even in Isreal.
For me the faith of the centurion and how he came to such powerful revelational knowledge about Jesus need to be studied. I sincerely believe this man has so much to teach us, even the believers of the now.
This brings us to Jesus’s encounter with Simon Peter.
Simon Peter and his partners had gone fishing, and labored throughout the night but had caught nothing. Tired and wearied, they were washing their nets preparing to go home when suddenly Jesus needing a boat to reach a greater audience asked Peter to give him his boat to use for the purpose of reaching out to the multitude who needed to hear him.
Even though Peter as at then wasn’t a fan of Jesus because then, ‘the righteous’ had nothing to do with ‘sinners’. The Leaders therefore expected Jesus not to relate with ‘sinners’, for that was the tradition passed down then.
It was therefore a surprise, I am sure to Peter when Jesus asked him for his boat, and the following encounter occurred.
Luke 5
3 And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul.
5 And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].
As I studied the above scriptures, I realized Peter's reaction was similar to that of the centurion.
I also came to realize that at one point in time everyone who is born again or born of God’s Spirit came to this conclusion that they were not worthy but however the mercies and grace of God reached out to us and transformed our lives, and today we are recorded as followers of Jesus, redeemed by his sacrifice on the Cross, washed of His Blood, and made righteous by His righteousness alone.
Peter when told by Jesus to launch into the deep complained that they had deployed all the tactics they knew of catching fishes all through the night yet caught nothing but however, because it was Jesus who was asking him to launch forth into the deep, he would go ahead and do just that. Even though he had nothing to do with Jesus then, yet he believed Jesus was different, and he could trust his Word to do the supernatural. Just like the Centurion said, just say the word and I know my servant will be healed! Peter said, at thy word I will cast forth, even though all his senses must have been telling him otherwise.
Luke 5
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [at the point of] breaking,
7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made;
10 And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon (Peter). And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men!
11 And after they had run their boats on shore, they left everything and joined Him as His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.
The lives of these men were never the same after they encountered Jesus, because Simon, whom Jesus later named Peter, left his business and followed Jesus all his life. According to Jesus, he became fishers of men.
For the Centurion, he was a changed man after encountering Jesus for Pilate could recognize this and he was the only one he asked if Jesus has breathed his last after the crucifixion.
Mark 15
43 Joseph, he of Arimathea, noble and honorable in rank and a respected member of the council (Sanhedrin), who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, daring the consequences, took courage and ventured to go to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
44 But Pilate wondered whether He was dead so soon, and, having called the centurion, he asked him whether [Jesus] was already dead.
45 And when he learned from the centurion [that He was indeed dead], he gave the body to Joseph.
The mercies and goodness of God is recorded all over scriptures. Jesus came to reconcile man back to God. The price of sin he came to pay, and the debt man owed was settled once and for all.
There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live not according to the flesh but according to the dictates of the Spirit. Roman 8:1.
May you find peace that only comes from the LORD.
God bless.
Peace.
If you would you can accept the LORD as your saviour by saying a simple prayer of faith.
Ask for his forgiveness and invite Him to be LORD over your life, and ask Him for the gift of His Spirit to empower you and live for Him.
Look for a bible believing Church and learn more about Him who is called Faithful.
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