Miracles - Believe Before You See

When I was in school, the teachers were allowed to “paddle” students who would not behave. At least once a month, the sound of one of our peers getting their bottom warmed up by a flat piece of wood would fill the halls and float into the classroom.

I was paddled by every one of my homeroom teachers at least twice during 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  The Principal and Vice Principal even got a little of the action. I was paddled for fighting, cussing, spitting spit wads, running in the hall, passing notes, chewing gum, and for telling my teacher to shut up. I was an idiot!

Man, in my school, the teachers could paddle until you stopped laughing.  If the first “three licks” didn’t wipe the smile off my face, a second teacher would step up to the plate for their turn. Teachers were not only educators; they were well-trained punishment machines. 

Teachers had authority. They could tell me what to do. And if I did not do it, they had the authority to do something about it.

And today, Matthew introduces us to a man who understood authority better than almost anyone in Capernaum.

Matthew 8:5-13 (NLT2)
5  When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6  “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7  Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8  But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9  I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11  And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12  But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13  Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

 This man was a ROMAN Centurion. He has rank. He has resources. He has people who answer to him. The first life-changing application we can learn from this Centurion is…

Spend your INFLUENCE on someone who cannot REPAY you

This centurion HAD influence. He was a Roman centurion, a military officer. When he spoke, people moved. When he gave an order, people responded. When this man spoke, people listened. But notice who he is spending his influence on…His servant.

His servant is lying in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain. He could have said, “That is too bad.” He could have found another servant. He could have decided that somebody else would deal with it. But instead, this POWERFUL man spends his influence on somebody who could NOT repay him.

God has given you some measure of influence. You may not think you have much.  But you have influence. If somebody answers when you call, you have influence. If somebody asks your opinion, you have influence. If you are a parent, you have influence. If you lead people at work, you have influence. If you have a friend who listens when you speak, you have influence. If God has given you RESOURCES that can meet somebody else’s need, you have INFLUENCE.

Somebody around you needs you to make the call. Somebody needs you to open the door. Somebody needs you to make the introduction. Somebody needs you to use what God has placed in your hands to help them when they have nothing to give you back.

And in this miracle, the centurion realizes his INFLUENCE has a LIMIT. He can get an audience with Jesus. But he cannot heal his servant. He can give orders all day long. But now he is facing sickness that does not care about his title. And suddenly this man who is accustomed to using his influence to stomp on the challenges of life…is LIMITED.

Have you ever been there?

You can make the phone call. You can give advice. You can stay up all night trying to figure it out. And you still cannot fix it. Your child is hurting, and you cannot fix it. Your marriage is struggling, and you do not know how to fix it. Someone you love is sick, and you cannot fix it. You have reached the edge of what you can do.

I do not like that place. I like fixing things. I like solving problems. And sometimes I can become so determined to handle something myself that asking for help feels like failure. There is a difference between strength and stubbornness.

This man knows exactly what he can do. And he knows exactly what he cannot do.

Know your LIMITS and ask for HELP

There is NOTHING wrong with KNOWING what you CANNOT do. The centurion was not insecure. He was not weak. He was not confused about who he was.

He says…I tell somebody to go, and they go. I tell somebody to do something, and they do it. He knows what he can command. And he knows what he cannot command.

He can COMMAND a soldier to move. He CANNOT command a paralyzed body to move. He KNOWS his limits, so he asks JESUS for HELP.

And maybe you relate to that…Maybe we hate asking for help. I would much rather be the person saying, “What do you need?” I do not like being the person saying, “I need you.” Because somewhere along the way, we started believing that needing help means we are weak.

It does not.

Over the last year, I have had to learn to ask for help with depression. I have had to learn to accept help with finances. I have had to learn to ask for help in automotive issues with my cars. I have had to learn to ask for help with Pastoral leadership. I have learned to say OUT loud. I CANNOT DO THIS BY MYSELF. I CANNOT fix this.

I need somebody to pray with me. I need some wisdom. I need help.

And that is exactly what this centurion does. Jesus said, “I will come to your house…” And the centurion said, “You don’t have to come to my house – I believe you can HEAL him right HERE and RIGHT now. He believes the AUTHORITY of Jesus is greater than DISTANCE. He believes the AUTHORITY of Jesus is greater than PARALYSIS.

Jesus does not have to enter the room. Jesus does not have to stand beside the bed. Jesus does not even have to see the servant. Because the centurion understands authority, he KNOWS all JESUS has to do is say the WORD. That IS faith. And apparently it is unusual faith. His FAITH amazes Jesus.

Throughout the Gospels, people are amazed by Jesus. They are amazed by His teaching. They are amazed by His miracles. But here, Jesus is amazed by this man’s faith.

Jesus turns to the people following Him and says He has not seen faith like this in all of Israel.

If I pray about something, I want to see change happen immediately. God, show me You are working. Show me the relationship is getting better. Show me the door is opening. Show me the treatment is working. Show me something!

 But in this miracle, the servant is back home…the centurion cannot see him. He cannot check whether his fingers are moving. He cannot see whether the pain is gone. He cannot see whether the servant has gotten out of bed. And all he has to go home with is the word of Jesus.

Jesus tells him: “Go back home. Because you BELIEVED, it has HAPPENED.”

The Centurion has to start WALKING home BEFORE he sees the miracle.

 So the final life-changing truth we can learn from this miracle is this…

BELIEVE it before you SEE it

Faith is deciding that I can trust Jesus even when I cannot yet see what Jesus is doing. Maybe right now you are praying, but you cannot SEE anything changing. You are doing what you know God has asked you to do, but you cannot see where it is leading. You are praying for your marriage. You are praying for your child. You are praying for healing. You are praying for freedom. You are asking God for direction. You are waiting for an answer. And everything inside you wants to say: “God, just show me something. Show me that you are WORKING.”

But will you trust Jesus though you cannot see what He is doing? Anybody can celebrate after the miracle. Anybody can thank God after the door opens. Anybody can praise God when the report comes back clear. Anybody can talk about God’s faithfulness when everything worked exactly the way we hoped it would work.

But what about before? What about while YOU are waiting? What about when YOU prayed for a MIRACLE and nothing changed today? Will you choose to believe before you see?

Jesus says in v. 13: “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.”

Now put yourself in his place. This means the centurion has to turn around and walk away. He has no cell phone. No text message. He has not seen his servant stand up. He has not heard his servant’s voice. He is going home with one thing. The WORD of Jesus. So he KEEPS walking home.

And maybe that is what your faith needs to look like this week. You prayed…Keep walking. You asked for help…Keep walking. You still cannot see the answer…Keep walking. You still do not know how this turns out…Keep walking.

You are somewhere between the prayer and the answer. Somewhere between asking and seeing. Somewhere between “Just say the word” and walking through the front door.

So I want to challenge you this week. Do not wait for the miracle to start living like you trust Jesus. Do not wait for everything to make sense before you obey Him. Do not wait until your fear disappears before you take the next faithful step.

This Roman officer came looking for a miracle for somebody he loved. And two thousand years later, we are still talking about this man. Not because of how many soldiers he commanded. Not because of his rank. Not because of his money. Not because of his influence. We remember him because he reached the limit of what he could do...

So whatever you brought into this room...Whatever you have been trying to control...Whatever prayer seems unanswered...Whatever situation you cannot fix...Whatever has you wondering what God is doing...

 Bring it to Jesus.