by Rebekah Harvey

In the past several days of our Bible reading the way that Jesus recognized the faith or lack of it with the people that He interacted with has really stood out to me. In reading these accounts in each of the Gospels, different perspectives are recorded. In Matthew 8 reading about the interaction of Jesus and the centurion and the great faith he had is very interesting. Matthew 8:10, records “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” The faith of this centurion made Jesus “marvel”, which means to feel astonishment, and admiration. This type of faith is something that we should all desire to have to please the Lord Jesus.

In another encounter Jesus had got into a boat and crossed the water and some people brought a man that was paralyzed to Him and Matthew 9:2 says that Jesus “saw their faith”. This man received an amazing gift, not only was he healed and rose up and went home but Jesus told him his sins were forgiven. He was made
right inside and out, because of the faith of these people.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” In order to please God we must go to Him in faith. Galatians 3:11 says, “So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Throughout Hebrews 11 we read about the faith of the Old Testament heroes and that they “obtained a good testimony” by their faith.

Our faith is what gets the attention of the Lord, through our faith we live. Our faith is a gift from God, Ephesians 2:8 tells us, ”for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” I encourage you as you read through the Gospels and the New Testament to notice the interaction of the people and the response that Jesus has to their faith in Him. I want to have faith like the centurion and cause Jesus to feel astonishment and admiration! How about you?