The Art of Following: By Faith, Not by Sight

Follow-By Faith:-, Not by Sight Matthew 8:5-13

English Standard Version (Chapter 8) The Faith of a Centurion

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

(The Need) 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”

a circumstance out of his control of a man who by position is always in control.

The Need is Whatever is out of our control. The example is the Centurion's ill servant.

The centurion expresses belief not only in Jesus’ authority over sickness and disease, but also over time and space (anticipating His ability to heal from a distance).

(Christ’s Compassion) 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Christ, the Master, Teacher, Son of God is still compassionate today. He was and is the example of the mercies of the Father. Paul says, God, the Father of all Mercies. These mercies were being revealed in the ministry of Jesus. The merciful one who says, Follow Me. The merciful one who has the highest of standards of his disciples.

(A Man’s Faith) 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

9 For I too 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 servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Faith is not blind. It is an expression of awareness that control of circumstance is not in our hands, our ability. Faith is quite aware of the what-if elements. We experience this when we see a physician. We believe in their authority to care for that which is medically out of our control. We do not investigate their credentials, research their education. These my be the closest expressions of “blind faith”. We believe that their title, MD. is valid, true. That their authority to order a regiment of meds. treatments is valid. We follow them.

This centurion understood this order of authority. He didn’t seek evidence. Maybe he had heard the stories or personally witnessed the works of Jesus. However he came to this point of his life, he was convinced that there was no other to whom he could turn in his time of need.

His Faith is his own faith… in the One whom he believes has All Authority.

His Faith is not a common faith… it is complete and not needing peripheral evidences.

His Faith is immediate, not needing the time of a relational connection to feed curiosity.

His Faith is what Jesus has in mind when he asks the question, “will the Son of Man find faith on the earth?”. This statement of the faith expectation of Jesus was in the Parable of the Persistent Widow, regarding Prayer.

Luke 18:6-8 “6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?””

(The Pleasure of Jesus & lesson to others) 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

The ability of one man to surprise the all-knowing Son of God. Key words, Marveled & Such Faith!

Marvled=wonder!, Not only at the entity of the faith, but that it was declared! “Matthew frequently refers to the astonishment of Jesus’ audience (e.g., vv. 27; 9:33; 15:31; 22:22), but this is the only place in this Gospel where Jesus Himself is astonished (compare Mark 6:6; Luke 7:9).” Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. 2012, 2016. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

It was expressed in a surprising manner. Public, not ashamed, For all to hear! Thus it would affect this man’s public image…A Roman centurion as a believer in Jesus. Think on that!

(The Declaration) 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

How Jesus recieved the pleasure of such an expression of faith— A declaration of judgment is made.

First- the impact of such a faith expression: many Gentiles, in addition to the centurion. Jesus is pointing to the time when people all over the world would become His followers. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Second- Elsewhere, darkness refers to distance from the light of God’s gracious presence (4:16). The place of God’s wrath is depicted as the gloom of darkness, probably signifying departure from His presence (2 Pet 2:17; Jude 13). Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Third- Reflects the unspeakable anguish of being separated from God. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

(The Fruit of Faith) 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

The focus is not on Jesus’ ability, rather on the faith of a single person, a Gentile, Roman, “enemy of Israel.”

The following of Jesus is not by sight…rather by faith. It is not by finding enough evidence to satisfy our agenda of information & credentials.

Following is a daily expression of Jesus as the authority of one’s life. It is an expression of trusting his merciful heart and his authoritative declarations. A disciple is one who follows “orders” as it were.

The Power of Your Following- Living out the Art of Following Such a Man.

Charles Stanley wrote: True Discipleship

There are some people who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, but do little to act on their belief (James 1:27; 2:14–26). Others actively follow Christ: They live as true disciples, passionately pursuing the Lord’s will in all things. These are the ones who take their relationship with Christ seriously.

Ask yourself: Are you merely a believer or actually a follower of Jesus? Trusting in Jesus Christ is fundamental, but it’s only the first step. Your primary purpose is to take a lifelong journey following in the Lord’s footsteps—honoring Him with your actions and speech and increasing in biblical wisdom.

A Christ follower’s life is summed up in the phrase,“Complete obedience.” In fact, Jesus defined true Christians as those who prove their love for Him by obeying His teaching (John 14:23). When it comes to obeying God, our only response is I will or I won’t.

Should you be interested in Stanley’s full article on True Discipleship, copies are available here on the communion table.

What would Complete Obedience look like in your life? How will the following of Jesus be viewed in the eyes of your community, peers and social circles? Following is an art form focused on the Man, Jesus- Son of God.