This morning we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus,” by looking at a situation in Mark 1, where a leper came to Jesus looking to be healed.
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share be sharing with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(Mathew 8:5-11, 13 NKJV)
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. Godly leaders are humble and compassionate.
— At the time of the text, the Israelites were subject to the Romans. For a Roman officer, who was in charge of 100 soldiers, to come and submit himself to a Jew and even call the Jew “Lord” was an act of humility. Most Romans had no dealings with the Jews, much less an officer in the Roman Army.
— This Roman officer did not go out of his way to find Jesus for his wife or his child. No, this man left his home, looking for Jesus, the miracle worker, in order to find help for his servant! His servant was at home, paralyzed and in pain, and his man, who held a position of power and prominence, humbled himself to go find a Jew who could help.
— The Centurion operated with compassion. Like I shared yesterday, compassion takes empathy to another level, and it springs into action. At first, the commander had empathy for his servant while he was at home, seeing his servant in pain. But once the officer left his home, looking for Jesus, his empathy crossed over into compassion.
— This military commander decided to serve his servant! This is true leadership! Godly leaders understand they are called to serve those they are blessed to lead.
— Jesus came to serve, not to be served.
— Jesus humbled Himself to do only what the Father led Him to do, which is why He identified well with this Roman officer.
Here are three quick things we glean from this:
— To interact with God, you must be humble.
— To make a difference in the lives of others, you must show empathy and compassion.
— To be a Godly leader, you must serve those you are assigned to lead.
2. It takes an understanding of authority to access supernatural power.
— The first thing the Roman officer said, after claiming to understand how authority works, was that people had authority OVER HIM. His authority was derived from HIS SUBMISSION!
— I have taught you many times that you cannot be IN AUTHORITY if you are not UNDER AUTHORITY!
— This is why Jesus was so powerful. He was completely submitted to the Father in all things, at all times. If you want to walk in divine power, you must live the same way.
— The Roman officer said that he could tell people to “Go” and “Do” because he obeyed his leaders when they told him to “Go” and “Do.” What he was saying was, “Whoever I have authority over, is SUBJECT TO MY WORDS!” I can say “GO” to someone I DON’T have authority over, and they DON’T have to GO! I can say “DO” to someone I DON’T have authority over, and they DON’T have to DO! But if I say “GO” or “DO” to someone who is under my authority, they have to do what I say.
— I will give you what I believe the Roman officer was saying to Jesus in the Rick Piña Version (RPV). He was saying, “Mr. Jesus, I am not here because I am a Roman and You are a Jew. That has nothing to do with it. I am here because I perceive that You have authority over sickness. I don’t. If I did, I would have simply SPOKEN to the sickness and it would have to go, because anything under my authority has to do what I say. But since I don’t have authority over sickness and my servant, whom I care about, is home and sick, I am here looking for you. I believe You have authority over sickness. Since You do, I don’t need to you COME to my house. I just need you to OPEN YOUR MOUTH and exercise Your authority. Speak the Word ONLY and my servant will be healed!“
— Jesus called this man’s understanding of divine authority “Great faith!“
3. The reason why Jesus called the Roman Centurion’s faith “great.”
Jesus called what this man did faith. Why?
Several reasons:
a) The military commander believed Jesus had authority over sickness.
This is something many people don’t believe today. The ones that do, can benefit from Jesus’ power and authority over sickness. The ones who don’t, fail to believe or receive the healing power of God, through the finished works of Jesus.
b) The Centurion believed Jesus was submitted to the Father.
The man understood how authority works. He knew that your level of authority comes from your level of submission. He believed Jesus was living on earth, submitted to heaven. And since His authority on earth was derived from His submission to heaven, then Jesus was authorized to release heaven on earth!
My prayer is that people today would understand this and come to Jesus in faith daily. Not only that, but if you ever get a revelation of the fact that you are supposed to live like Jesus in this world (with a mentality that, as He is, so am I (1 Jn 4:17)), then what Jesus did, you can do.
Jesus took your place on the cross, and now, you are supposed to take His place in this world!
c) He was willing to take God at His Word!
The Centurion was willing to take a WORD spoken in that moment without having to SEE it for himself at home.
I pray that you get to the point where you are willing to take God at His Word. In the world, they say, “I will believe it when I see it.” In the Kingdom of God, we say, “You may never see it until you believe it!”
To walk with God and live a life that is pleasing in His sight (which requires faith), you must learn to take God at His Word!
This man had GREAT FAITH! I pray your faith is being built up through this series.
4. God will meet you at your level of faith.
In yesterday’s message, we learned that God will meet you where you are, in your condition. Today we learn that God will meet you where you are, in your level of faith.
Later, I will deal with the story of Jairus and his daughter. Jarius’ level of faith required Jesus to actually come to his home and touch his daughter for his daughter to be healed. Jesus could have simply SPOKEN healing over Jairus’ daughter, but Jairus did not have that level of faith. Jairus wanted Jesus to physically go to his home and physically touch his daughter. Jesus did it because that is where Jairus’ faith was.
The Roman Centurion was at a different level of faith. He was willing to take Jesus at His Word, without Jesus going to his home and without Jesus laying hands on his servant. Jesus called this “Great faith!” My point is that God will meet you wherever you are. He will deal with you according to your level of faith.
In this season of refreshing and restoring, I pray you have the desire to grow your faith. You should want to be where the Roman officer was, where faith is concerned. The goal is to take God at His Word, even before He does it, without having to SEE anything with your physical eyes and believe that it’s already done! When you get this level of faith, you will experience the power of God on a regular basis.
5. Here are a few quick lessons from Jesus’ interaction with the Roman Centurion:
— Godly leaders care about those they are blessed to lead.
— Godly leaders seek God for the welfare of their people.
— It is impossible to please God without faith (Heb 11:6).
— Most of us say we want to live a life that is pleasing in God’s sight.
— To please God, we must live by faith.
— Part of living by faith is taking God at His Word.
— The Roman officer’s servant was healed the MOMENT Jesus spoke healing. Jesus said it, the Roman officer believed it, and the Holy Spirit manifested it, way back at his home, without Jesus or the officer having to be there to do anything or to see it with their own eyes.
— As we begin a new year, my prayer for you is that your faith will increase as we study each miracle and that you become a person who is more moved by the UNSEEN than the SEEN.
— What God says to you in the Spirit and what HE reveals to you in your prayer closet has to become more real to you than what you see with your natural eyes. If you ever get to this point, you will live as Jesus did, and you will do what Jesus did.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your love and grace! I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
As I study the miracles of Jesus, my faith is reignited and increased!
In this season, I will experience supernatural manifestation like never before because I developing my faith to the point where I can take You at Your Word.
I believe what You say, even when I don’t have any sense-realm evidence to support it, and even when it ‘flies in the face’ of what I am dealing with at the moment.
I walk by faith and not by sight. The UNSEEN is more real to me than the SEEN!
Speak the Word ONLY, Father, and my situation will be changed! As You speak the Word, I take You at Your word, and I boldly declare that GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
