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.” 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 great faith. (Matt.8:8-10)

Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was astonished at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. (Mark 6:4-6)

As far as I know, Jesus was only amazed or astonished twice in all of the gospel accounts. Both moments revolved around faith. In Matthew’s account, a Roman centurion, who believed in Jehovah, had asked Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus showed his willingness to heal the servant, the centurion saw no need for Jesus to go to his house but believed that if Jesus would only say the word, his servant would be healed. Even Mary and Martha, at the death of Lazarus, believed that if Jesus had been present he could have saved their brother. This centurion would have said that Jesus could have commanded healing no matter where he was and it would be done.

Part of the story, is that Jesus was called to minister only to Israel. He typically bypassed non-Jews. It’s not that he didn’t care, but simply was called to announce the good news to God’s covenant people first. However, this Roman soldier caught the attention of the Jewish Messiah and by his faith, even amazed Jesus.

The basis of the centurion’s faith seems to be found in his understanding of authority. Roman armies thrived on clear and unyielding lines of authority. Any breach of orders or failure to carry them out often resulted in harsh physical punishment or death. This centurion was used to his orders being carried out without question and was also quick to obey any he received. He, apparently, had seen Jesus heal by command and so understood that Jesus walked in some kind of supernatural authority. The authority of a command does not depend on the proximity of the one giving it to the one receiving it. Even if a command were conveyed 500 miles before it was pronounced, it carried the same authority. The centurion had no sense that Jesus needed to stand over his servant to command healing; he simply had to command it. I wonder if we, as Americans, struggle with healing so much because we have such a tattered view of authority.

The second astonishing event recorded in scripture was in the Messiah’s own hometown. Jesus had returned to Nazareth where he grew up. Even though stories of his miracles all around Israel were being reported in Nazareth, the lack of faith there amazed him. We are told that Jesus could do very little there because of their immense lack of faith. Apparently, because Jesus grew up there, they could only see him as Mary’s boy and could not open their hearts to the possibility that he was the Chosen One of God.

But why could Jesus do only a few miracles there? He performed notable healings over people who didn’t even know who he was and had no expectation of healing. Two things are suggested. One is that a lack of expectation, because we don’t know who Jesus is, hinders the move of God less than a negative expectation because we believe we know who Jesus is. It is harder to minister healing to a Christian who believes that Jesus no longer heals than to someone who knows nothing about Jesus. No expectation is easier to overcome than a negative expectation.

A second explanation is that Jesus couldn’t because God wouldn’t. On several occasions Jesus stated that he only did what he saw the Father doing. Even his healing was directed by the Father for the Father’s purposes. Luke tells us, “One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick” (Luke 5:17). Luke makes a point that Jesus was healing that day because the power of the Lord was present for him to do so. In the same way that God empowers us for ministry, Jesus was also dependent on God’s power. Perhaps, in Nazareth, God was not present in power because those who should have had faith in the Son, chose not to believe. God expected the Jews to have faith because they were children of the covenant, the audience of prophets, and the keepers of God’s promises. When they had hardened their hearts with unbelief, God would not act. That same mindset of unbelief among the Jews drove the apostle Paul to turn his ministry toward the Gentiles rather than God’s covenant people.

The irony in these two accounts is that the Roman centurion, raised as a pagan in a vastly pagan culture, believed to an astonishing degree while the majority of God’s people who awaited the Messiah would not believe. This irony points out the danger of man’s religion that, over time, often defines God and what he will do in very narrow terms. Anything outside the box is rejected as deception. Remember that the Pharisees, when confronted with the undeniable miracles of Jesus, simply declared that he was performing miracles by the power of Satan. In one sense, it was religion that crucified Jesus. The Centurion, on the other hand, probably had no defined theology about Jesus but new miracles and authority when he saw them and sensed that Jesus was certainly more than a man. His lack of religious definition opened him up to the possibility of Jesus.

I am not saying that we should not study the word and develop convictions about our faith. Scripture often talks about sound doctrine. The key is to always study with a mind that keeps asking God for a fresh revelation of Jesus by the Spirit who “leads us into all truth.” Many religious leaders, study scripture in an effort to find more passages and arguments that “confirm” what they already believe rather than studying to see if what they already believe continues to line up with God’s word.

The first approach makes God’s word fit their theology while the second approach bends a person’s theology to fit God’s word. The first approach, which Jewish scholars took in the days of Jesus, stifles faith because it rejects moves of God that do not fit in the well-studied box of theologians. The second approach continues to open us up to a greater revelation of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and increases faith because we carry the view that we don’t yet have all the revelation of God that we need. As we see new things, we certainly need to test the spirits, but with a heart that is open to the possibility that God is up to something we have never seen before.

I don’t know about you, but I would love to think that I somehow astonished Jesus by my faith rather than by my unbelief. Lets continue to ask for greater faith and be open to new moves of God in these last days. Jesus said that those who believe in Him would do even greater things than he did. I wonder what those things will look like? Blessing in Him today.