Centurion’s Great Faith

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. Matthew 8:8

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! Matthew 8:10

Why was Centurion associated with having such a great faith? What did Jesus see in Centurion that he did not find in Israel? Did we ever ponder this question? What did the centurion see in Jesus that Israelites have not seen in Jesus?

Israelites just saw the healings and miracles when Jesus moved physically. In old testament until this chapter, miracles happened in God’s presence or in presence of a prophet. The centurion saw that we don't need Jesus' or a prophet's physical presence for a healing or miracle. A simple word from Jesus can perform a healing or miracle. The power of Jesus' word is the same as Jesus physically appearing and performing a healing. Many disciples and Israelites were with Jesus, but they did not realise the power of Jesus’s words like the centurion did.

Centurion was actually a history-maker. He broke the notation that God’s presence or Jesus must be physically present for a miracle from the Old Testament time to the New Testament Jesus period. His understanding was simple: with or without God’s presence or prophet’s presence, a word from Jesus can perform a miracle. He broke an understanding of God which existed for almost 2000 years. The disciples and Israelites, the people of the Old Testament, did not grasp this, but a gentile did. Even Jesus was startled or surprised by how the centurion got this understanding. Jesus never said “such great faith” to anyone apart from the centurion.

His close circle of disciples, who had witnessed his miracles firsthand, but did not get the understanding. But a gentile got it. The disciples and Israelites witnessed Jesus' power and authority, while the centurion learned about the source of Jesus' power and authority. It’s in the words of Jesus. The centurion showed a different perspective of faith. Faith begins with a revelation of God's ways or the person of God, which we then apply(this revelation) to meet our daily needs.

Centurion understood that - Jesus' word has the same power as if he were physically present to perform a healing or miracle. He highlighted that Jesus' word has the same healing power and authority as if he Himself were physically present. If the disciples had understood this earlier, there was no need for Jesus to travel from one city to another; instead, the disciples would have carried Jesus' words from city to city to heal people. This eventually happened after the day of Pentecost. The disciples carried the power and authority in the word of God from city to city. The centurion got a glimpse of this work by his faith.

Centurion received his miracle through this understanding about God's authority: there is enormous power in Jesus' words, whether he is physically present or not. There are still so many different understandings about Jesus in various fields. Centurion comes from an army or leadership background. He applied this leadership aspect to his association with Jesus. If he was able to command his soldiers with a single word or command, imagine what Jesus (with a single word or command) could do(accomplish) with a massive army of heavenly hosts or angels at his disposal.

The centurion might have realised that Jesus had millions of mighty angels at his command. The centurion said, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof”- because he recognised his own unworthiness in comparison to Jesus' worthiness. He has at most 100 soldiers, whereas Jesus commands millions of angels. He recognised his own unworthiness in comparison to the great Monarch or Ruler, Jesus. A glimpse of Jesus' greatness is revealed to him, by which he recognised his own unworthiness. Did we ever receive a glimpse of Jesus' greatness, by which you recognised your own unworthiness?

These angels have incredible power and can perform miracles in a second(instantly), yet they cannot act on their own. These millions of angels are eagerly awaiting for an instruction or command from Jesus to perform a miracle. One word or command from Jesus can trigger millions of angels to perform an instant miracle. That is why, when Centurion stated, "Say the word, and my servant will be healed," he meant that if Jesus gave the command or word, that can trigger millions of angels ( one or millions of angels) to perform an instant miracle. One word or command from you, Jesus, can result in an instant miracle.

Note: For performing a miracle, millions of angels are not needed, one angel is more than enough.