Marvellous Faith

I recently had the chance to visit one of Australia’s greatest natural landmarks – The Twelve Apostles. Taking in the picture, I must admit that I marvelled at the capacity of the waves to forge such great rocks from the coastline. I’m sure we can all think of times when we have ‘marvelled’ at something. Perhaps it was a breath-taking piece of scenery, a new development in technology, or an amazing show of human skill. In the Scriptures, we read an account of when Jesus ‘marvelled’. In some ways, this is surprising. What could possibly be good enough for the Lord Himself to marvel? We’ll find it was the simple faith of a Roman centurion.

This man came to Jesus because he had a sick servant. When Jesus offered to come and heal the servant, the centurion responded, ‘Just say the word and my servant will be healed’. Matt 8:7. This man knew that only a word was needed. He understood the power of the words of Jesus. However, more than this, he understood why every word of Jesus had such great power. We know this because he continued, ‘For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go! And he goes’. Matt 8:9. The centurion knew that his own words had power because he was under authority and he had authority. When he addressed his men, he carried delegated authority from his General. He had committed himself to be a faithful and obedient servant. However, he was more than a parrot, or someone who delivered messages. Within the confines of the General’s strategy, he added his own capacity to lead the men. If this were not the case, why was he needed? By using this parallel, the centurion showed great insight into the nature of Jesus’ work and ministry.

According to His own testimony, Jesus came into the world to do the Father’s will. This does not mean that the Son was always subservient to the Father. There is no hierarchy within the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, the Son did humble Himself to become obedient to the Father’s purpose. This allowed the Father to send the Son into the world for us. Jesus came with the full authority of the Father and spoke on His behalf. And yet, He was still the Son with His own unique capacities. When He spoke, every word had the capacity of the Father to bring new life, plus His own capacity to redeem from death. This explains the amazing power of His words. With this insight, it is little wonder the centurion cried out, ‘Just say the word!’ This illumination had birthed an incredible faith in his heart. All he desired was the word of Christ and he knew everything else would take care of itself. It was this simple faith that caused Jesus to marvel. He proclaimed to all within earshot, ‘Truly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel’. Matt 8:10.

David Baker

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Feature Articles
May 2008

Marvellous Faith

The Living Song

Present Truth

The Faith of Abraham

Wisdom and Folly

The Valley of Baca

The Nature of Business

Willing Obedience

Light to the Nations