The centurion's faith

“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’” Matthew 8:8-9
Here we have the account of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant. Centurions were respected men in the Roman army, the leaders of nominally 100 men. They are always presented in a positive light in the Scriptures. They were, of course, Gentiles.
This centurion demonstrates faith in Jesus. He knows that his servant will be healed if Jesus would just say the word. He recognised that Jesus had authority over sickness. He understood authority: he was under the authority of his superiors and ultimately Caesar, and he had authority over the soldiers he was leading. He reasoned that in the same way he told his soldiers and servants to come and go and do things for him, Jesus could also command sickness to go and blessing to come. His faith was based on logic: principles that apply in the physical world mirror those greater principles that apply in the spiritual world.
It’s also interesting to note Jesus’ response: “When Jesus heard this, He was astonished and said to those following Him, ‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith’” (Matt. 8:10). This is one of only two times in the Gospels that Jesus was surprised: the other is in Mark 6:6 where He was amazed at the lack of faith of the Israelites in his own home town. Here was a centurion with the faith that would be expected of an Israelite.
Do you have faith today like this centurion? Are you satisfied, knowing what the Word of God says about something, or is your faith weak, such that you need more proof? Have you come to realise the extent of Jesus’ authority over your life and everything that happens?