Part 2 Encountering Jesus with confidence

 

Someone who had reason to put confidence in himself—and thereby be a lost soul—was the centurion in Capernaum. He came to Jesus asking him to heal his servant who was suffering terribly. Jesus agreed, but the centurion was so confident in Jesus that he said, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8, NIV).

Stunning his Jewish listeners, Jesus complimented this Gentile by saying his faith was greater than that of anyone he’d met in Israel. Jesus then launched into a short description of heaven and hell, inverting all their cherished beliefs by saying that many would come from east and west (Gentiles!) for the feast in the kingdom of heaven, but subjects of the kingdom (Jews who relied on their Jewish identity to enter the kingdom) would “be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verses 11-12). It’s as if Jesus said, “Things are not what they seem. I am the key, and confidence in me is what you need.”  

TODAY’S EXPERIMENT - Let’s look at how the centurion presented a picture of the ruined soul’s way forward by having complete confidence in Jesus. Read Matthew 8:5-13, first putting yourself in the place of an onlooking disciple. Notice how easily Jesus spoke with a (heathen) Roman centurion. Allow yourself to be appalled by Jesus’ compliment of his faith. Then read the passage again. This time put yourself in the place of the centurion. What is it like to have such confidence in God? Pray about what you would look like if you had this kind of confidence.

Johnson, Jan; Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation (Redefining Life) (pp. 41-42). The Navigators. Kindle Edition. 

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