10th August 2025

At the end of your life, wouldn’t you like to be commended by God for the way you’ve lived?  In our header scripture, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that those ‘ancients’ in the Old Testament were commended because of faith, and he goes on to say, ‘It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him’ (v.6 MSG).

When we come to the New Testament, one impressive example of faith is that of the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13. The centurion assures Jesus that as far as he is concerned, it is not necessary for the Master to visit his home to heal his paralysed servant. He understands that Jesus need only say the word, and the servant will be healed: ‘For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it’ (v.9 NIVUK).

Jesus was taken aback by this comment, “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great  faith’ ”(v.10). What a commendation!

Now, why does Jesus find the faith of the centurion so astonishing? Why is this such astonishing evidence of faith? Here are some reasons:  

First, in an age where superstition was rife, the centurion believed that Jesus’s healing power did not lie in some form of hocus-pocus, or sleight of hand. It didn’t even require his personal presence, only his word. It was not necessary for Jesus to touch or handle the servant: he needed only to say the word, and it would be done.

Second, the centurion came to such confident assertions even though he was a Gentile, probably not steeped in scripture. He certainly would have had less knowledge than those in Israel. Yet his faith was purer, simpler, more penetrating, more Christ-honouring than theirs.

Third, the astonishing element in this man’s faith is the analogy he draws. He recognises that he is a man under authority, and therefore, he has authority when he speaks in the context of that relationship. When he tells a Roman soldier under him to come or go or do something, he is not speaking merely as one man to another man. The centurion speaks with the authority of Caesar. The chain of command means that when the centurion speaks to a foot soldier, Rome speaks. In effect, the centurion is saying that he recognises in Jesus a similar relationship.  

When Jesus speaks, God speaks. Now the centurion, of course, was not speaking within the framework of a fully worked out Christian doctrine of Christ, but the eye of faith had enabled him to trust Jesus’s word, and believe that when Jesus speaks, God speaks. This is the faith we need if we are to be commended by God.  

Jesus was clearly concerned that we have faith since he said, ‘…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ (Luke 18:8). May he find this astonishing faith in each of us, and may we too be commended.

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church