Matthew 8:10 – “On hearing this, Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him,’Yes, I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such trust.'”
This is the only incident recorded in Scripture where Jesus was caught off-guard in wonder and amazement because of the faith of a certain Roman officer. In contrast, there were various occasions where He expressed sadness at the lack of faith of
his own people, (e.g., almost immediately afterwards, in an episode when a furious storm arose on the lake they were travelling across. [8:23-26]).
Who was this Roman officer, based in Capernaum a Roman garrison coastal town on the N.W. shore of the Sea of Galilee? Most probably, he fell under the category of a ‘God Fearer,’ a Gentile who admired and supported the tenets of Judaism
whilst still maintaining his own non-Jewish identity. Notwithstanding, the Jewish people despised their Roman oppressors, even though there were some exceptions, such as in this case. Here we see how the Roman officer displayed
uncharacteristic compassion for a very junior member of his staff. He placed his complete trust confidently in Jesus to meet an impossible request. Jesus was staggered!
Why would Matthew have included this incident in his narrative? Whether Jew or Gentile, God desires that we develop a relationship of trust with Him as mirrored by the Roman officer. Whether we may consider the circumstances to be little or great; from day-to-day circumstances to momentous events, Jesus cares about every detail of our lives.
It was most unusual for a Jew to ever even consider entering the house of a Roman, for to do so would be to become ‘defiled.’ Yet, Jesus did the unexpected in order to seek out the servant who lay close to death. He who is without sin made
that which was defiled pure rather than the opposite. We see this in various other interactions which Yeshua had with others who He ministered to.
In the Book of Hebrews chapter 11, we are presented with a list of ‘heroes of faith’ who were accounted as righteous through their confident trust and obedience in God, irrespective of what circumstances they faced.
God calls each one of us to be ‘heroes of faith.’ Whether we are like the Patriarchs or amongst the nameless and faceless makes no difference to Him; each one is considered a ‘hero.’
How good would it be if today we were to amaze God with an act of confident faith in response to an insurmountable mountain we may be facing! Even if our faith is a little shaky God is big enough to deal with all our imperfections for He is far more
impressed with us simply as His beloved children than about all our grand attainments and performance oriented achievements.
