April 26: Just say the word

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help: “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant was healed at that hour.  (Matthew 8:5-13  NET)

This Roman soldier stationed in Israel somehow had found real faith in Jesus Christ. He knew that Jesus had been sent by God and had unlimited power. He also knew that Jesus was a healer. When he came to Him asking for the healing of his servant, he came with confidence knowing that he had come to the One who could help him. When Jesus says that He will come and heal his servant, his faith explodes! He tells Jesus that He does not need to come to his house—in fact he thinks he is unworthy to have Jesus come under his roof since he was a Gentile. The centurion suggests that Jesus just say the word, standing where He was, and the servant would be healed.

And this is exactly what happened! Jesus just spoke the word and the servant was healed on his bed at the centurion’s house. Jesus said, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” What the centurion’s faith was able to envision and claim—Jesus did for him. Jesus was amazed and please at his faith. In the same way Jesus is pleased when we believe great things about Him. If you can conceive in your mind and believe in your heart, Jesus can do whatever you need for Him to do. The centurion knew Jesus was God's Son and His Messenger on earth, so nothing was impossible for Him.