Posted by Matthew 8:13
“Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.”
Just a Measure of Faith is all You’ll Need
Sometimes, when it comes to believing, we can let our emotions get the best of us. We may feel we don’t have enough faith, or we may think that having faith for ourselves is different from the faith we need for others. Didn’t Jesus say that faith as small as a mustard seed can moves mountains? (Matthew 17:20). Genuine Faith, regardless of the amount or who it’s for works with God.
The case of the centurion is one of several recorded in the gospels, where people who weren’t present with Jesus, or it isn’t recorded that they had any faith, received what they needed from God. In other words, these people received their blessings through the faith of someone else acting on their behalf. Jesus was touched by the centurion’s humility as well as his faith for someone else to receive from God.
The centurion approached Jesus on behalf of his servant and waited until he heard Jesus speak the words that healed his servant. It takes a simple faith to wait on God’s Word to be spoken for someone else. Faith to believe that God will give whatever we ask for others, still comes from resting on His promises until our request is granted.
Faith That’s Through the Roof
On another occasion Jesus forgives and heals a crippled man, because his friends had the faith for it! The man’s friends carried him to Jesus, somehow gets him up to the roof of a house, and takes the homeowner’s roof apart to lower him down to where Jesus was teaching. (See Luke 5:24-25). In both cases Jesus acknowledged the faith they were exercising on the behalf of others.
The Power of Real Faith
If your thinking that the centurion and the crippled man’s friends possessed a high level of faith, you’d be wrong. Jesus told the Centurion “Let it be done just “as” you believed it would,” not “how much” you believed. The word translated “as” is “Hōs” which means; because, or on account of. Jesus recognized and responded to the faith of the crippled man’s friends. In both cases it was the presence of faith, that Jesus acknowledged.
The centurion was confident that Jesus would heal his servant, plain and simple. The crippled man’s friends put a hole in a mans roof to get him to Jesus. You too, can use the faith you already have, for someone else. God plays no favorites with people where faith in Him is present (see Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11). The one whose voice calmed the storm and raised the dead is the same one who will grant your request for yourself or others.
Take time to become familiar with God’s promises, let them fill your heart and mind; they’ll provide all the confidence you’ll need to ask for blessings for others. Use the measure of faith God gave you, Ask Him anything for someone in need, and wait until He grants your request. Be confident in His compassion for all, and Be Encouraged. -JSP
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