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Matthew 8:8-9
In the Bible passages in which Jesus heals, and or, shows compassion on a foreigner, being one who is non-Jewish/not from the descendants of the Israelites, the one in which is being healed shows us the proper attitude to have in believing in Jesus and His power to heal. This centurion addresses Jesus as “Lord” (Matthew 8:6, 8) showing his submission to Jesus and humble attitude in recognizing Jesus as being greater than he. This is quite the recognition as a centurion most likely would have felt superior to any Jew as they were there to govern them. It is as if the centurion is almost embarrassed about his being in authority and makes it clear that he has a respect for Jesus that is above himself as he states in Matthew 8:8-9, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
This is a proper example of the attitude we should have in respect for Jesus.
When we come to Jesus with our needs and prayers, we sometimes expect Jesus and our Father God to answer our prayers just as we ask, as if we already have it all figured out and simply need God to do what we ask of Him. Then when we do not receive the answer from God that we desire, we become disgruntled at God and turn to other means of solving our problems in an effort to receive our own desired results. But this is not seeking God’s will for our lives. God is not our puppet that moves as we pull the string in the direction in which we desire Him to move. We must keep in mind, always, that God is in control and we are bringing our needs to Him because we are not in control and we need His help. We must come to God with a humble attitude, like the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13, and an open heart and mind to allow God to work as He wills and be open to the fact that in many cases God will answer our prayers in ways that we would never had expected, and in most of these occasions will be better than we could ever have expected. He will leave us in awe of His majesty if we will present ourselves to Him to seek His will for our lives.
Dear LORD,
This centurion, an outsider, has given us a great example of the humility and respect for You and our Savior Jesus that we should all come to You with our prayers and needs. Please help us to see that You are greater than we are, even when we think that we have it all figured out. Your way is always best for us. Please help us to be open to change our desired results to match Your will for our lives that we would bring glory to You through our obedience to You and our faith in our Savior Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.