Matthew 8:1-13
After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. And a leper approached and bowed low before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help: “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible anguish.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof! Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant was healed at that hour.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
This week, we will be reading about how different people responded to Jesus. Some didn’t like Him. Some rejected Him. Some weren’t sure. But some, like the leper and the centurion, had faith. Faith is never about simply ‘believing’ in God. It is about a deep trust and reliance in the power and faithfulness of God. In what areas of your life do you struggle to trust God in?
Perhaps it feels like God is a long way away. When life is going well it can feel like we trust God, when in reality we are trusting in the physical securities around us. It's only when these securities come crashing down that we find out where our trust is. Do you trust in other's opinions of you? Do you trust in your employment and career? Do you trust in the security that your nation has? What if these things were taken away?
Prayers
Pray that your brothers and sisters in Christ will grow in their faith today