Jesus meets a man with impressive faith.

Matthew 8:5–13 NKJV

5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Intro:

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

1. We are told in verse 10 that when Jesus heard the words of the Centurion, “He Marveled”

a. Literally, Jesus “admired” this man’s faith

b. The Bible defines faith for us in - Hebrews 11:1

c. I have met some people that I have been truly impressed with their faith.

d. People that no matter what they go through, things that would devastate most people, but they stand firm in their faith.

e. They put their faith and hope in The Lord

f. It is one thing to impress me, but the man that we read about here, impressed Jesus.

g. At this point in His ministry Jesus has traveled many miles and encountered countless people

h. He has preached to many people, performed many miracles, healed many sick folk but there is something different about this man

2 We are going to look at his story, and see how great faith works, and how it can work in our lives.

a. Faith is essential to the Christian life

b. Our Salvation is by grace through faith

c. We are to walk in faith daily

3. We find through the Word of God instances where faith is rewarded:

a. There is the faith of those 4 men who brought the man to Jesus who was paralyzed

b. There is the faith of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment

c. There is the faith of the lepers who were cleansed

d. The list goes on and on. Here is man with faith.

I Request that Requires Faith.

Matthew 8:5 NKJV

5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,

1. This man made his request known to Jesus. In his plea we see that he had faith.

b. He had a great Concern. His servant. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, the centurion comes to Jesus pleading with Him.

c. A centurion was a Roman military who commanded a group of 100 men. A plt commander today.

d. We can see much about this man’s character. Some in his position, may just let them die, or sent them away. But this man invested his own time to seek out Jesus.

e. The Centurion had great faith. He had concern for his servant.

f. What a great example for us. Do we have love and concern for people that need a miracle? We need to go to Jesus for them, pled with Him.

h. The Centurion’s servant is described as being “sick of the palsy” this would be better translated “paralytic or paralyzed” The servant was in a helpless situation. We are not told what caused the issue but we are informed of the extent of the illness… v6 says that he was “grievously tormented”. The servant was in a bad situation and needed a miracle. Somehow, the centurion had heard of what Jesus had been doing in the area and he believed that Jesus could help his beloved servant.

e. The servant was paralyzed. “dreadfully tormented” KJV “grievously tormented” he word “tormented” is literally translated “tortured” He was is a helpless situation.

f. His servant was in a bad situation, and in need of a miracle. So he brings his plea to Jesus. He had heard of Jesus, of maybe witnessed a miracle.

g. There are a lot of people out there that may heard the name Jesus, but have not heard of Jesus, by that I mean they don’t know how Jesus can change their life.

h. There are a lot of people that are tormented. It could be a sickness, it could be relationship problem, it could the loss of a job. Share with them what Jesus can do for them.

II. A Response That Rewarded Faith.

Matthew 8:7 NKJV

7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Aren’t you glad that when you go to Jesus you get a response?It may not always be the response you want, be you will not be ignored! You may get a yes, a no, or a not right now… but you WILL GET A RESPONSE! This man took his issue to Jesus and Jesus said “sure, I will heal him”

1. Call out of Jesus, He responds. It may not always be the response you want, be you will not be ignored! You may get a yes, a no, or a not right now… but you WILL GET A RESPONSE! This man took his issue to Jesus and Jesus said “sure, I will come and heal him”

a. In vs 13 we see that his request was answered. That was his reward. Knowing that Jesus would heal his loved servant.

b. We come to Jesus to pray for the ones we loved that are ill.

c. We come to Jesus to pray for the ones we love that are lost and bound for hell. God wants them to be saved, you should witness to them. But pray that if they want Liston to you, that they will respond somehow.

2. When Jesus says that He will come and heal the servant, the Centurion response.

III A reply that revealed faith.

Matthew 8:8 NKJV

8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

1. This man was not saying that Jesus was not welcome in his home. He was saying “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home”

a. We are not worthy of Jesus hearing and answering our prayers yet we often act like He owes us something! But praise God HE DOES HEAR AND ANSWER OUR PRAYERS! Our prayers may be a little more productive if were we less arrogant and more humble when praying them!

b. The Centurion simply says “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” What great faith! It was also humble.

c. I believe that he had seen Jesus heal with that spoken word.

Matthew 8:9 NKJV

9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

He was a man that was “under authority, but he also had authority. He took orders, he gave orders. It would not be hard for him to obey orders (commands from Jesus.

a. This shows that he believed that Jesus higher authority then he did. All Jesus had to do was speak a word.

Matthew 8:10 NKJV

10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Elab the storm, “why are you so afraid, why is it that you have no faith?”

a. Here a Gentle, a Roman. Look what Jesus says about him. What does Jesu say about your faith? My faith?

b. Jesus marveled that this mans faith, he was truly impressed. According to Jesus, had not seen faith like this. Greater faith then any He had seen in all Israel. (Jews)

c. Jesus marvelled at his response and used him as an example to teach those who were with Him.

d. The faith of the Centurion not only impresses Jesus, it makes an impact on others when they see his faith.

e. It is a faith that changes this mans life.

Matthew 8:11–12 NKJV

11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Look back verse 10, Jesus is speaking to those that are following Him, Jews. The Jews are God’s chosen people. For many of them in their minds, people they were Jews they had a ticket to heaven. And Gentiles had no hope of going their.

a. Here is a Gentile who in the words of Jesus had greater faith then any faith He had seen in Israel. VS 10 east and west, speaking of Jews and Gentiles in heaven. And in VS 11, there will be Jews in hell.

b. The only people that will be in heaven, are those who have ...........

c. There will be good people in hell, there baptist in hell etc......

d. Jesu would heal this mans servant, but sharing the gospel was the most important thing.

Matthew 8:13 NKJV

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

1. Remember, the miracles and healing were a part of what Jesus did, but the gospel was the most important thing.

He had a burden and he went to Jesus with a concern for a loved one

b. Jesus heard his plea and answered his prayer

c. The servant’s life was changed as a result He had a faith that impressed Jesus… DO WE???

(1) Do we have a burden for our lost loved ones

(2) Do we really believe in a place called Hell

(3) Do we have faith that Jesus can save our loved ones

(4) Then we must go to Him on their behalf, and see what He can do

(5) If we have never trusted Him ourselves, today could be the day that our life is changed forever!