Where is your FAITH?
Matthew 8:5-13
5 As Yeshua entered K’far-Nachum (Capernaum), a Roman army officer came up and pleaded for help. 6 “Sir, my orderly is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly!” 7 Yeshua said, “I will go and heal him.” 8 But the officer answered, “Sir, I am unfit to have you come into my home. Rather, if you will only give the command, my orderly will recover. 9 For I too am a man under authority. I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 On hearing this Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him, “Yes! I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isra’el with such trust!11 Moreover, I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham (Abraham), Yitz’chak (Isaac) and Ya‘akov (Jacob).
12 But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!” 13 Then Yeshua said to the officer, “Go; let it be for you as you have trusted.” And his orderly was healed at that very moment.
We don't know the name of this Roman army officer. We don't need to know. What is significant is, that he was not Jewish. The officer stated that he was "unfit." It isn't that a Jew could not enter the home of a Gentile, but there was the possibility of both sides being upset that it occurred. Jesus accepted the officer's reason and was understanding. By healing the orderly, Jesus was clearly showing the people that what He was bringing them was for everyone who believed. He was sent for the Jews and lived as a Jew, but anyone who chose to BELIEVE would have the LIFE He promised.
Kfar Nachum is literally translated, "village of Nahum." It is one of the main sites in Israel that attracts tourists from all over the world. You can see an ancient synagogue (it does not date back to the time of Christ, but you can see the layer below that does). Ancient houses. All by the water of the Sea of Galilee. This is the village that was known as Jesus' hometown once he left Nazareth. Many, many healings occurred in this village, and yet - as we will see later - this village was cursed.
This Roman officer may have traveled from Tiberius to come see Jesus. It was a decent day journey for this to happen. His FAITH is what allowed Jesus to heal, even from a distance. Stop today and think about your faith. Do you truly believe that Jesus can change the hearts of people? Do you truly believe that when people "go to Jesus" that He listens and acts?
We might not be able to just travel "down the road" to see Him. But, we do have access every day through Holy Spirit. Keep interceding. Keep believing. Jesus is the ONE Who can change lives.
Love and blessings,
Rose
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