Amazing Faith – A detailed study

Click here to read Matthew 8:5-13

"...He was amazed..." Matthew 8:10

There are many things that amaze me and when I searched through the gospels I found out that Jesus amazed people in general. I found out people in the countryside were amazed, the people in the synagogues were amazed, the disciples were amazed, the Pharisees and Sadducees were amazed, Pilate was amazed, etc. They were amazed by His teaching; they were amazed at His authority; the miracles He performed were amazing and so on and so forth.

However, when I ran a search on the things that amazed Jesus, I came across only two such occurrences:

1. He was amazed at the Centurion’s faith (Luke 7:9, Matthew 8:10)

2. He was amazed at unbelief of the people in His hometown (Mark 6:6)

It caught my attention that the two things as per my search that amazed Jesus were:

1. Faith

2. The lack of faith.

There are many incidents in the gospels where people have expressed their faith in Jesus which resulted in a miracle. Jesus even commended a woman once and said her “faith was great”, but there is only this one time where it says Jesus was “amazed” at someone’s faith. And so I decided to do a study on the faith that amazed Jesus. Before we start studying about the centurion’s faith, I’d like you to understand a statement Jesus made about faith.

The Bible says in Matthew 17:20, “…For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” I want you to carefully notice the structure of the sentence above. It DOES NOT say “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed AND you say to this mountain…”It says “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you WILL say to this mountain…” So Jesus is NOT saying that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed and you couple it along with speaking to the mountain, it will move. What He is saying is that if you do have faith the size of a mustard seed, speaking to the mountain will be an impulsive reaction born out of that faith. It is like saying if you are thirsty, you will want a drink. Or, if you have some sickness in your body, you will feel uneasy. So, I want to lay a principle here before we study the “amazing” faith the centurion had: You can tell a lot about a man’s faith by his words. Hence by studying the words of the centurion, we can study his faith.

The centurion had a servant who was almost dying and he reports this to Jesus. Jesus offers to come to his house to cure the servant. If I were him, I’d be the happiest person on earth to have Jesus visit my “situation” to solve it. However, the centurion replies: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

Observation #1

If you read about any other miracle that occurred as a result of someone’s faith, you find that the person’s faith rested on what Jesus could do for them. Jesus says, “I’ll come and heal him” If I were to paraphrase the centurion’s reply it would be something like this: “That wouldn’t be necessary, I know who you are. I’m an officer and I get things done by telling the soldiers under me. You could do the same” His faith was not based on what Jesus could do for him, but on Who Jesus was.

Observation # 2

The centurion says, “…I am also a man set under authority…” I want you to take note of two key words in that phrase; i.e. “also” and “under” In the Indian Navy, the officer ranks are as follows, in decreasing order of authority: Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Commodore, Captain, Commander, Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant, etc. If you know who you are under, you will know who is under you. For example, if you know you are under the Rear Admiral, i.e. you are the Commodore; you will know the Captain and those below him are under you. The centurion thus acknowledges that the “situation” he is facing is “under” Jesus and hence Jesus has authority over it. His faith was based on the knowledge of the authority of Jesus.

Observation # 3

When the centurion tells one of the soldiers under him “Go”, the soldier goes. This reveals that soldier understands the language of the centurion. India is a country of many languages, and unfortunately (or fortunately) I only understand two of the many. One of the languages I do not understand is Hindi. Now if I get pulled over by a cop who speaks Hindi, I may know who he is (observation #1) and I may acknowledge his authority (observation #2) but if he gives me an instruction in Hindi, I will not comprehend it. Hence the centurion acknowledges that Jesus speaks the “language” of the “situation.” His faith was based on the fact that the “situation” can comprehend what Jesus commands it.

Observation # 4

When the centurion tells one of the soldiers, “Go” or “Come” or “Do this”, the soldier does so. This implies that the soldier is not only capable of comprehending the language of the centurion, but also capable of accomplishing the task given. For example the centurion tells a soldier “Go get that file for me”. If the soldier doesn’t have arms, can he accomplish the given task? No. The centurion says “Go over there”. If the soldier cannot walk, can he go? No. So when the centurion gives a command, he knows the soldier under him is capable of executing his orders. His faith was based on the fact that the “situation” can not only comprehend what Jesus commands it, but is also capable of executing His orders.

Observation # 5

When the centurion gives a command to a soldier below him, does he

a) Doubt the soldier will do it? NO

b) Hope the soldier will do it? NO

c) Believe the soldier will do it? NO

Then?

d) Knows the soldier will do it!:)

There’s a difference between knowing and believing. You see, I believe man has walked on the moon, but I know I haven’t. I don’t believe the fact that “I haven’t walked on the moon”. I know for a fact that “I haven’t walked on the moon” He was as confident of Jesus fixing his “situation” as giving an order to a soldier below him. His faith was based not on what he believed Jesus would do, but on what he knew Jesus would do.

Observation # 6

The centurion says “…speak the word and let my servant be healed…” It was not a request, nor was it a plea, it was a statement. It was almost a command. Was the centurion being rude? No. The centurion even addresses Jesus as Lord. He could have said, “Could you please speak the word...” or “I request you to speak the word…” When I approach a higher authority to meet a need of mine, I usually request. I do not demand. Here we see no request, no plea, no begging. If I were to paraphrase it, the centurion tells Jesus, “don’t trouble yourself by coming home, just do it!” Why is that so? The centurion compared this situation, to him commanding a soldier under him, to execute a need of the centurion and not the need of a soldier. If I approach my boss with a possible solution to my problem, I request. On the other hand, if I approach him with a possible solution to one of his problems, I don’t. In other words, the centurion is telling Jesus “this is how you can solve YOUR problem” His faith was based on the knowledge that Jesus was infinitely more responsible to solve his “situation” that he himself.

Observation # 7

The centurion says, “… if I say to my slave” The keyword here is “my”. He doesn’t say “any” slave, but he says “my” slave. He compares the situation that he is in to him commanding “his own” slave. In other words, he considered the “situation” as something Jesus had personal interest in. His faith was based on the knowledge that Jesus was infinitely more interested and willing to solve his “situation” than he himself.

• His faith was not based on what Jesus could do for him, but on the knowledge of Who Jesus was.

• His faith was based on the knowledge of the authority of Jesus.

• His faith was based on the fact that the “situation” can comprehend what Jesus commands it.

• His faith was based on the fact that the “situation” can not only comprehend what Jesus commands it, but is also capable of executing His orders.

• His faith was based not on what he believed Jesus would do, but on what he knew Jesus would do.

• His faith was based on the knowledge that Jesus was infinitely more responsible to solve his “situation” that he himself.

• His faith was based on the knowledge that Jesus was infinitely more interested and willing to solve his “situation” than he himself.

NO WONDER JESUS WAS AMAZED!!!

I plan on writing practical applications and practices to the 7 observations above. However, I will post a separate one on that as I do not wanted to lengthen this particular article further.

The mathematics of loaves & baskets

Click here to read Matthew 16:5-12

Mark 16:9 “…do you not remember? …” Jesus broke 5 loaves of bread and with it fed 5000 men - the disciples collected 12 baskets full of broken pieces thereafter. Another time he broke 7 loaves of bread and with it fed 4000 men and the disciples collected 7 baskets. Logically or arithmetically speaking if 5 loaves fed 5000, 7 loaves should be enough bread for 7000 (or to feed 4000, 4 loaves should do). Similarly, if 5 loaves produced 12 extra baskets of broken bread, 7 loaves should be enough bread to gather 16.8 extra baskets. However the principles of God are different from the principles of arithmetic. So how do we understand this logic then?

Now the disciples were witnesses to both these miracles but they were really slow in picking up an important lesson Jesus wanted them to learn through this. One day when Jesus and his disciples had just crossed over to one side of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples realized that they had brought no bread with them. This story is illustrated twice in the gospels – in Matthew 16:5-12 and in Mark 8:14-21. After the disciples realized that they had not brought any bread with them, Jesus said to them “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” (Mathew 16:6). When the disciples heard this, they thought Jesus was saying this because they did not bring any bread along with them. “They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.””(Matthew 16:7)

Jesus became aware of this and says to them “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” (Matthew 16:8-11) Mark accounts it this way: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven” Then He said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:17-21)

Now if we recall the two miracles, i.e. the feeding of the five thousand, and the feeding of the four thousand, there are many things that may come to one’s mind. However of all things that happened, Jesus asks them if they remember the following statistics:

People	Loaves	Baskets
5000	5	12
4000	7	7

Now, if I were to add one more figure under the “People” column, say 3000, will you be able to formulate a mathematical equation to come up with the right digits to fill in under “Loaves” and “Baskets”? Why was it that Jesus considered it very important that the disciples remember the number of baskets and number of loaves and the number of people? And what does any of that have to do with faith? “You of little faith…” Doesn’t that have to do with your memory? Jesus should have rebuked them saying, “You of little memory…” And what do loaves and baskets have to do with the yeast of Pharisees and Sadducees?

Let me answer those questions for you. What God can do for you and through you and in you do not depend on how much you have or how little you have. It does not depend on how big you are or how small you are. Rather, it depends on your faith in God. Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves, with 12 baskets remaining, to prove that God’s power does not depend on how little you have. However on another occasion, when he had to feed 4000, he used 7 loaves and had only 7 baskets remaining. He did this to prove that God’s power does not depend on how much you have. Just because they had more loaves and less people to eat it, it did not mean they could gather more baskets. What God can do for you depends on whether you give him what you have and not on the size of what you have. In both the miracles, Jesus asks them this question: What do you have? On one occasion they had 5 loaves, on another they had 7 loaves. Whatever they had, they gave it to Jesus and he worked a miracle. Are you feeling inferior because you only have 5 loaves and the people around you have 7? Give your 5 to Jesus. He fed a larger crowd with 5 than with 7. They gathered more baskets with 5 than with 7. Do you have a feeling of self-righteousness and pride because you have 7 loaves and others have 5? Do not be fooled – He fed a larger crowd with 5 and they gathered more baskets with 5.

That is why Jesus rebukes them for their little faith. When the disciples realized they had no bread, Jesus said, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They thought Jesus said that because they had no bread. Jesus replies, “You of little faith…do you not remember…” In effect, Jesus was saying that His power does not depend on what you do have or what you don’t have. It depends on whether you have faith or not. The disciples then realized that he wasn’t talking about bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. What was common to both these groups of people? They believed the way to please God was to obey laws and traditions. They considered themselves higher than others because they adhered to strict laws of Judaism and to the laws of Moses. Jesus says beware… Beware of thinking believing that what God can do for you depends on your works. The power of God depends on faith and not on works. “Immeasurable power for those who believe…” (Ephesians 1:19) So how do we understand the mathematics of loaves and baskets? – By faith. Here ends today’s article.

On a separate note, I would like to leave the reader a question to ponder upon.

Paul says,

· Galatians 2:16 – “…We know that a person is justified not by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

· Romans 3:28 – “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”

· Romans 5: 1 – “Therefore since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

· Romans 4:2,3,9b – “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed (had faith in) God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” “…Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.”

James says,

· James 2:14 - “What good is it, my brothers, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?”

· James 2:24 – “…a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

· James 2:26 – “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.”

· James 2:21 – “Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the alter?”

Based on the above verses, are Paul and James teaching two contradicting versions of the gospel? Please leave your thoughts, comments and questions below.

The glory in the wind

Click here to read Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:31 “…You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In this passage of scripture we see Jesus commanding the disciples to get into a boat and go over to “the other side” of the sea. (Matthew 14:22) That was their target destination – the other side. As they were making their way on the boat, they experienced extremely difficult circumstances. A very strong wind began to blow against them. The gospels record that they strained very hard at the oars trying to steer the boat to “the other side” all night. Early in the morning Jesus came walking toward them on the sea. (Mathew 14:25). The disciples were terrified. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”” (Mathew14:27)

Upon hearing this, the Bible in Mathew 14:28 says that, “Peter answered him “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on water.” Think about that statement for a moment. Peter answered?? Peter answered?? Which question was he answering? Jesus didn’t ask him any question. I would have liked it if the Bible had said “Peter stated” or “Peter requested” because that would have made more grammatical sense, but the Bible wasn’t written to satisfy my likes. Certain versions use the phrase “Peter replied.” The root word there implies “Peter answered.” What was he answering?

We find that in the earlier verse, Jesus reveals Himself to them - “…It is I…” Every revelation of who Christ is to us is also an invitation for us to walk like Jesus walked. Peter was answering that invitation. Peter was giving his reply to that invitation. “But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me, so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles…” (Galatians1:15,16a). Think of the first time the truth of the gospel was revealed to you. Did you really need an invitation? No. You just knew that the invitation was there. When Christ revealed His salvation to you, you would have replied, “Lord if that is you; bid me to come to you.” And the response forever will be “come.”

“…So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water and came toward Jesus, but when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught him saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mathew14:29-31) There are four things we see happen to Peter: 1. He noticed the wind 2. He became frightened 3. He began to sink. 4. He cried out for help. However the response of Jesus was none of the following: 1. “You of little focus, why did you notice the wind? 2. “You of little courage, why did you fear?” 3. “You of little perseverance, why did you sink?” 4. “You of little composure, why did you panic?” The response of Jesus was “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” This indicates that the four things that happened to Peter happened because he doubted and he had little faith. It was because of the lack of faith that he noticed the wind, became frightened, began to sink and cried out in fear.

Think for a moment what Peter went through. He noticed the wind. What does the wind have anything to do with walking on water? From the little science I know, anything that’s denser than water will sink and vice versa. The wind has nothing to do with whether something sinks or floats. I could try walking on water right now and I am sure I will sink – regardless of whether there is a wind blowing or not! So why was it that Peter took special note of the wind that caused him to fear? Although the wind had nothing to do with Peter walking on water, the wind was the chief cause of a previous failure. It was due to the wind that they could not row the boat ashore. There are many “winds” that we as believers take note of. The wind of failure, the wind of hurt, the wind of opposition, the wind of rejection and so on and so forth. Are the “winds” of yesterday that caused you failure and dejection causing you fear for your walk today?

“…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” (Philippians 3:13) Do not let the factors that caused you failure and difficulty yesterday become your focus. You cannot walk your walk today focusing on yesterday’s winds. If you do, you will become frightened, you will sink and you will panic. So actually what did Peter doubt? He doubted whether yesterdays winds will affect his today’s walk. Notice that the disciples were terrified in the boat. (Verse 26) Then Jesus comes along and says do not fear. (Verse 27) Then Verse 30 says he became afraid again. Keep a constant watch over your life to not let yesterday’s fears creep in to today’s ventures. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:21-26). Remember the Lord’s compassions are new every morning; they do not depend on the winds of yesterday.

Finally, verse 24 says “the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.” It does not specify which “land”. Whether it was the land from where they started or the land to which they were going. There are two ways of looking at this verse. One way is to say that the boat is far from the destination; far from the “other side”. Another way is to say that the boat is far from where it started. I may not be where I hope to be; nor am I where I ought to be; but by the grace of God, I am not where I used to be. Isn’t it amazing that even though the wind was against the boat, the boat still drifted far from where it started? “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20). Give God the glory for every wind that has come your way.

There is so much I see now
That I was oft blind to
The more of Him I get to know
The less I try to do

His works in me depend not
On mine failure, sin or hurt
But on unbelief and its blot
Will cleanse in me all dirt

When I sense His face and voice
In manners not yet known
Faith in Him will hold its poise
And doubt at last is blown

Thus in Him will my trust rest
Though with my eyes I don’t see
For I know He knows best
I’m glad His love found me.

I cannot do it

Mark 5: 4 “…he had often been restrained with shackles and chains but the chains he wrenched….shackles he broke…” In this passage of scripture, we read about a demon possessed man whom “no one could restrain”. This conclusion is arrived at because “he has often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke to pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.” (Luke 5:4) Although we may not be demon possessed and living among the tombs ourselves, there are many aspects about the spiritual walk we can learn through him. We see the problem being tackled here by two different approaches: i.e. the approach used by the people around him and the approached used by Jesus. The approach used by the people around him was to put restrictions on him viz. the chains, the shackles etc., to control his behaviour. Sooner or later they arrived at the conclusion that “no one could restrain him”. Similarly in our walk with the Lord we try our level best to resort to “restrictions” to live a life free of sin. Sooner than later, we realize that no matter how many times we decide and we resolve and no matter how hard we try, we do not have the power to live a life free of sin. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”. (Romans 7:15). The Apostle Paul in his struggle against sin came to this conclusion one day: “For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it” (Romans 7:18). The truth is, we cannot do what is right by resorting to “fix” our external actions because the problem is not external, but internal; i.e. the heart. “...it is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come…” (John 7:20, 21). Hence, Jesus approached the issue from another angle; i.e. he dealt with the heart. In other words what chains and shackles did not achieve, the Word of the Lord by the Spirit of God did! Jesus became like us (human) in every aspect and he lived a life without sin – not by the application of external “restriction” or law, but by the Spirit of God. In fact, Jesus came to fulfill the law. He then went on the cross to crucify and kill this flesh in which “nothing good dwells”. And because God chose us and destined us in Christ (Ephesians 1:4, 5), we were also crucified with Him! (Romans 6:6) Jesus then rose again from the dead because death could not hold Him in its power (Acts 2:24). And after Jesus was glorified, God poured out His same Spirit on us, so that we may live as His witnesses. “…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2: 20). So how can we live a righteous life? – Only by faith in Christ. Beware of implementing “restrictions” on ourselves to overcome sin and then blaming God for its failure. “…the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans1:17). So then remember, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it”.