11.9.24 - (Matthew 8:5-10)

Introduction

Hello Dwell, this is Kenneth.

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Today is Saturday, November 9th. Thanks for joining us for today's Dwell Kids Daily!

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For the next few minutes, I invite you to join me as we look to our Great King by opening our hearts to hear from Him through the words of the Bible.

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Silence

As we begin, let us remember that God calls His people, young and old, to be still and know that He is God. Let's take a few seconds to clear our minds, so that we can hear him better.

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Opening Prayer

(Saturday)

Father in heaven, your way is pure and your words are perfect. Remind us today that you are a shield for all those who take refuge in you.

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Passage

Today our passage is from the 8th chapter of Matthew’s gospel account, verses 5-10: (ICB)

5 Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When he entered the city, an army officer came to Jesus and begged for help.

6 The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He can’t move his body and is in much pain.”

7 Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

8 The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed.

9 I myself am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any other person I have found, even in Israel.

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Exhortation

Stories are wonderful ways to learn new things. By listening to stories we can learn from other peoples mistakes, but we can also learn what is true, good, and beautiful. Think about David’s story in the Old Testament. We learn about how God honors courage and trust as David slays giants, we learn that God is grieved by David’s unfaithfulness, and we learn about God’s goodness through David’s many songs. Stories have a way of showing rather than just telling.

Let’s look at our passage today.

A Roman centurion, which is a commander in the Roman army, comes to Jesus in need of help. His servant is sick at home, and the Roman centurion believes that Jesus can heal him. Now, at this point Jesus is healing many many people everywhere he goes. And this Roman, has heard of these great deeds and comes to Jesus and asks him to help his servant.

Now, this is a little strange because the Roman soldier technically has authority over Jesus. He is a part of the Roman Empire which has defeated and occupied the land of Israel. Many Jewish people hated the Romans for doing this, so the Romans and the Jewish people didn’t get along very well. But, here is a Roman officer coming to a Jewish man (Jesus) asking for help. So, we should notice how strange and rare this actually is.

When Jesus hears the Roman centurion’s request, he says that he will go see the sick servant, but the Roman says that he is unworthy to have Jesus enter his home, and that he knows that Jesus has the ability to command the sickness to leave his servant, even from far away. The Centurion explains it this way. He says that he himself, as a commander in the army, can tell people to come and go, he has authority, even over people that might not be near him at the moment. He knows that Jesus has authority that far surpasses his own, and that Jesus doesn’t even need to see his servant in order to heal him.

Jesus tells his disciples that this Roman soldier has greater faith than any of the Jewish people he has met in all of his travels.

Call to Action: Let’s take a moment to reflect on this passage, and the great faith of the Roman Centurion.

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Closing Prayer

Let’s pray together.

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Father thank you for this story in Matthew’s gospel. Thank you that we get to see and experience great faith in Jesus. Help us to have this kind of faith. Faith that trusts in Jesus authority over all things. We pray this in the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Outro

"It's been great to be with you today."

Tomorrow, we'll be in the 65th Psalm. Until then, go in peace, and let the word of King Jesus dwell in you richly.

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Alternate Outro (Record Every Time)

Now, go in peace, and let the word of King Jesus dwell in you richly.