Now, at His entering Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him and saying, "Lord, my boy is prostate in the house, a paralytic, dreadfully tormented." And He is saying to him, "I, coming, will cure him," And answering, the centurion averred, "Lord, I am not competent that Thou mayest enter under my roof, but only say the word and my boy will be healed! For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I am saying to this one, 'Go,' and he is going, and to another, 'Come,' and he is coming, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he is doing it." Now, hearing it, Jesus marvels. And He said to those following, "Verily, I am saying to you, With no one in Israel so much faith did I find."
Matthews Account 8: 5-10, Concordant New Testament
I've enjoyed watching The Chosen series on the life and ministry of Jesus simply for the fact that it presents the life of Jesus in a way which most people can relate. This was the case in a scene which depicts Jesus' interaction with a Roman centurion soldier. Many have referred to this interaction in the scriptures as "The faith of the centurion." or "The centurions faith." Either reference would be a good indication of the nature of this mans interaction with Jesus. This centurion has come to Jesus seeking Him to heal his "boy" who is sick at home. Obviously, to confront Jesus in such a way we can assume that he knew something about what Jesus could do. Either from conversations with the locals or simply from hearing of the reputation of Jesus, this man knew that Jesus would be able to heal his boy. What impressed me about this scene in The Chosen is Jesus' reaction to the request of the centurion. Amazed, Jesus turns to His followers and proclaims that He had not witnessed one in all of Israel with such "Bold confidence" in what He could do. Obviously, these words of Jesus were similar to those we find in scripture, and the producers took a few liberties with that, but I believe that they do justice to what the scriptures proclaim that Jesus said. To have "Bold confidence" in Jesus is to believe that He will do what He has proclaimed, no matter what. To have bold confidence in Jesus is to know that we live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}. To truly know Jesus is to be confident in what He has done and what He will do.
That, if ever you should be avowing with your mouth the declaration that Jesus is Lord, and should be believing in your heart that God rouses Him from among the dead, you shall be saved
Paul to the Romans 10: 9, Concordant New Testament
I was thinking the other day of those words as I prayed, bold confidence. What was interesting wasn't the results of my prayer, as that has not yet been revealed. What I noticed was that instead of waiting anxiously for the Lord to answer my requests, as I have done so many times before, I now found myself anticipating where it was that the Father was leading me. Not fearful, but confident. Obviously, I have grown a bit in my faith and trust in the Lord, which is evidenced by this situation. But how is it that I came to such a bold confidence about who Jesus is and what He can do? Part of this is trust in who He is and part is believing in what has been revealed unto me by the Father. For my own knowledge of my life in Christ didn't come from countless hours of studying scripture. It didn't come from the words of a Sunday sermon. No, my knowing of who Jesus is, and who it is that I am in Him, has been revealed to me by the Father Himself {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}. It is God, who in His timing, has revealed Himself in me. I look upon the moment the man Saul was introduced to Jesus, the One he had been persecuting. Think of how many times God could have introduced Himself to Saul, yet He chose that moment to reveal Himself unto Him. This is exactly how God works. Not by human predictions, but by His will and grace for His children. To know and understand this is to have that bold confidence in our own life in Him.
~Scott~
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