When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus said to those people that were with him, "I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any person I have found, even in Israel.
Many people will come from the east and from the west. Those people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And those people (the Jews) that should have the kingdom will be thrown out.
They will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}." Then Jesus said to the officer, "Go home. Your servant will be healed the way you believed he would." And at that same time his servant was healed.
- Matthew 8:10-13 (ERV)
THOUGHT:
The most amazing aspect of this story is not Jesus' power to heal, but the faith of the Centurion who opened the door for Jesus' amazing work to happen. I would love to bless the Lord with my faith and my concern for others, especially in trying times. We get a glimpse of heaven in this meeting between Jesus and a Gentile and this faith and a genuine concern for others.
Nationality, race, status, and position are all irrelevant. All that matters is Jesus and his love for us. We will get to see him bless all kinds of people in incomparable ways. I can hardly wait... But I will; I will wait so that I can show Jesus' concern for those broken whom only he can mend.
PRAYER:
Holy God, my ever-near Father, please hear my prayer today. I pray that my faith in you, and my concern for others who need you, will open the door for you to do amazing things. Search my heart, use my hands, stir my hope, and use me to help others because I believe you can do amazing things through a common person like me when I believe in you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures:
At that time, the Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be tender and good. But now, there is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called, "death." But death will be destroyed forever. And the Lord my Master will wipe away every tear from every face.
{In the past,} all of his people were sad. But God will take away that sadness from the earth. All of this will happen because the Lord said it would. At that time, people will say, "Here is our God! He is the One we have been waiting for. He has come to save us. We have been waiting for our Lord. So we will rejoice and be happy when the Lord saves us." - Isaiah 25:6-9
Then I looked, and there were many, many people. There were so many people that a person could not count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. These people were standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Jesus). They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands. They shouted with a loud voice, "Victory belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
The elders and the four living things were there. All the angels were standing around them and the throne. The angels bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. They said, "Amen ! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!" - Revelation 7:9-12
Peter said to them, "Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people that are far away. It is for every person that the Lord our God calls to himself." - Acts 2:38-39
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