SO GREAT FAITH
I HAVE NOT FOUND SO GREAT FAITH, NO, NOT IN ISRAEL
BY
LUCKY EYIS AMIWERO
08033068549
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BIBLE CHAPTERS/VERSE |
BIBLE REFERENCE |
PRACTICAL APPLICATION |
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MATTHEW 8:5-7
RELATED CHAPTERS
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5)And when JESUS was
entered into Capernaum,
there came unto him a
Centurion , beseeching him
6)And saying, LORD, my
servant lieth at home sick of
the palsy, grievously
tormented
7)And JESUS saith unto
him, I will come and heal
him
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I HAVE NOT FOUND SO
GREAT FAITH
There came unto him a
centurion a captain of a
hundred Roman soldiers,
saying my servant boy is
lying at home sick of the
palsy, grievously tormented
or afflicted, with great pain
the Centurion was so
concerned , the concern of
the Centurion shows that he
is good man and the
servant was dear to him, he
centurion , begging JESUS
for help.
He could have let many
obstacles stand between
him and JESUS- pride,
doubt,, money, language ,
distance, time, power, and
race , but he didn’t allow
the barriers to block his
approach to JESUS.
The great faith of the
centurion aroused JESUS to
receive the supposedly
rejected , he was stirred up
by the centurion’s humility,
the act of humility was seen
from:
Being a Roman officer and
a gentile, yet he approached
JESUS who is a Jew for help,
approaching a Jew was
socially unacceptable and
unheard of for a Gentile but3
also being an officer of
Rome make it worse , JESUS
knew that the centurion had
great courage and humility
to approach him for help, he
came to JESUS as “LORD”
acknowledging his superior
being and Messiahship .
He approaches him as one
who could meet his need:
He knew and confessed that
he had a need, a need that
other men could not meet,
Knowing and confessing are
both essential when a
person really wants a need
to be meet.
He knew where to go and
to whom to go in order to
have his need met, he was
willing to do all he could to
have his need met, he have
trust in JESUS to satisfy his
needs.
JESUS’ responding to the
centurion’s cry for help was
forceful : “I will” these
words declares that JESUS
will over all such barriers
and divisions to meet a
man’s need, he is ready and
able to meet the need of
any one who believes in
him and trust him, Servant
or master, noble or
common, parent or child,
rich or poor, man or
woman, sinner or saint,
hopeless or saved, helpless
or capable, hopeless or
assured, JESUS has no
favorite ,he is for all who
believe and trust in him, the
answer of JESUS CHRIST,
which is short and full, not
only shows the readiness of
CHRIST to do good, how
soon and easily he complied
with him being a centurion’s
request and absolute
promise to heal him, he did
not say that he would come
and see him as ordinary
physicians do; but he would
come and heal him at once
and the whole request is
granted.
JESUS’ power was stirred
by the Centurion’s love for
his servant, he centurion
was pouring out his heart of
love for another person, in
the eyes of the society the
person should have been
meaningless a servant, and
yet he meant much to him,
he loved him
unconditionally the servant,
the believer is to love, he is
not only to love those close
to him, but he is to love all,
the centurion love his
servant, the servant was
disable for work yet the
centurion took care of him,
he did not reject him, or
sent him to another home
or put him under the care of
someone else he personally
received the slave with
open hands and was looking
after him, this bound of love
stirred up JESUS
dramatically , believers
should express love and
compassion more than the
centurion love to all
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MATTHEW 8:8-9
RELATED CHAPTER
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8)The centurion answered
and said, LORD, my, I am
not worthy that thou
shouldest come under my
roof: but speak the word
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I AM NOT WORTHY
This was an expression of
great humility, it refers,
doubtless, to the centurion
view of his personal
unworthiness, and not
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only, and my servant shall
be healed
9)For I am a man under
authority, having solders
under me; and I say to this
man, go and he goeth; and
another come, and he
cometh; and to my servant,
do this, and, he doeth it
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merely to the fact that he is
a gentile, it was the
expression of a conviction of
the great dignity and power
of the savior, and of a
feeling that he was so unlike
him that he was not suitable
that the SON of GOD should
come into his dwelling.
JESUS power was stirred
up by the centurions sense
of humility, he did not say
“My servant is not worthy
to have you come’ but he
said, I do not deserve to
have you come under my
roof, a sense of personal
humility, which gripped him
JESUS CHRIST the one that
have powers to meet our
needs, he the centurion
confessed his inadequacies
to the LORD, which is also
expected from any believer,
we must confess our
inadequacy to have the
LORD help
Society considered the
centurion greater than our
savior JESUS, but the
centurion humbly confessed
a deep unworthiness before
CHRIST, he saw something
of GOD in CHRIST,
something that caused him
to humble himself before
CHRIST, believers are to see
GOD in CHRIST and to see
value in every man, the
value that
GOD puts upon even the
poorest , we are to always
humble ourselves before all,
no matter how it may hurt.
BUT SPEAK THE WORD
ONLY AND MY SERVANT
SHALL BE HEALED6
The centurion expressing
absolute faith in the power
of CHRIST, a Roman soldier
of all people, were hated by
the Jews for their
oppression, control and
ridicules, yet this man’s
genuine faith amazed JESUS
and put to shame the
unbelief of the Jews and
their religious leaders, said
the centurion, I have
authority over 100 men who
obey me to the letter , and
to my servant, that was
more properly his domestic
servant, who waited upon
him, and did those things
for him by every soldier , I
have under me soldiers who
are under obedience.
I say to one go and he
goes; and another, come,
and he comes, I am
prepared therefore, to
believe that your commands
will be obeyed, as these
obeyed by me, so do
disease, storm and sea obey
you , how much more shall
disease not obey you, the
original sources of power
having control over all
things, simply give
command and he felt
assured he would be
obeyed, CHRIST had only to
say to disease go and it
would obey him, you have
authority over demons and
one word from you will be
enough to heal my servant
JESUS marveled at the faith
of the gentile and unbelief
of the Jews
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MATTHEW 8:10:
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10)When JESUS heard it, he
marveled, and said to them
that followed, verily I say
unto you, I have not found
so great faith, no, not in
Israel
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WHEN JESUS HEARD IT, HE
MARVELED
When JESUS heard this, he
was amazed as a man not
as GOD , nothing could
present itself unto him
unawares, unthought of,
and not known before, to
and said to those who were
following him, I tell you
truthfully, I have not found
such great faith as this with
anyone in Israel, the
centurion’s faith surpassed
anything that JESUS found
among the Jews, for it
combines a loving concern
for another person with
great trust in CHRIST
And it was the more
remarkable , that he came
from Gentile, and from a
soldier too, he was not just
a Gentile , but a roman a
citizen and a soldier of the
nation that enslaved the
Jews, JESUS not only
received the Centurion but
he commended him for his
faith, he illustrated what
faith is, is in believing in the
LORD JESUS CHRIST, but
without faith it is
impossible to please GOD
HEBREWS 11:6
What JESUS CHRIST is after
is faith, he marveled, he
embraces all who come to
him by faith, no matter who
they are and where they
come from
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MATTHEW 8:11-12
RELATED CHAPTERS
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11)And I say unto you, that
many Shall come from the
east and west and shall sit
down with Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven
12)But the children of the
kingdom shall be cast out
into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth
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MANY SHALL COME FROM
THE EAST AND WEST
JESUS used the centurion’s
great faith to predict revival
and expression of the faith
of a Roman centurion to
state that many pagans
nation from the east and
west would be converted to
the gospel, and be saved, as
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
were, signifying, that the
Gospel would be preached
in a short time to all
nations, and many would
believe in him, as Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, so would
partake of the same
blessings of grace with
them: such as, adoption,
justification, pardon of sin .
The centurion had
something unusual, he had
whatever had given
Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob their entrance into
heaven, he had faith, he
was a gentile, not a son of
Abraham by birth, but he
had just become a son of
Abraham by faith
ROMANS 4:11 , the
centurion was exemplified ,
a foreshadowing of the
coming conversion of the
Gentiles
THE CHILDREN OF THE
KINGDOM
The Jews, who were subject
of the kingdom, and
commonwealth of Israel,
from which the Gentiles
were aliens: that is , the
children, or the people to
whom the promise of
kingdom of heaven was
made , in the first instance ,
been promised, the natural
heirs who had forfeited
their inheritance (ISRAEL)
they expected the kingdom,
or to whom it properly
belonged; or the Jews, they
supposed themselves to be
the special favorites of
heaven, they thought the
Messiah would enlarge
their nation and spread the
triumphs of their kingdom,
they call themselves the
members of the kingdom of
GOD, to the exclusion of the
Gentiles, JESUS used the
occasion to draw their
attention and said that
many of the Pagans would
be saved and many Jews
lost
SHALL BE CAST INTO OUTER
DARKNESS JESUS CHRIST
predicted that the Jews
who persist in unbelief shall
perish, they will be rejected
by GOD despite the fact that
they have been chosen to
be the children of GOD and
given so many privileges,
they will be in outer
darkness, this represent an
image of future
punishments, it expresses
miserable state and
condition of persons out of
the kingdom of heaven,
who are weeping for what
they have lost and the
gnashing of their teeth is
the expression of pain of
what they endure the
unbelieving Jews , and the
fact that the wicked ,
unbeliever who are lost will
be shut out from the
kingdom of heaven, from
peace, joy, and hope: will
weep in hopeless grief, and
will gnash their teeth, it is
being cast into the gloom
and blackness of outer
world, which is the misery
of the lost souls,
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MATTHEW 8:13
RELATED CHAPTERS
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13)And JESUS said unto the
Centurion, go thy way; and
as thou hast believed, so be
it done unto thee, and his
servant was healed in the
selfsame hours
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AS THOU HAST BELIEVED
Which refers to the great
act of faith of the centurion.
JESUS CHRIST having
finished the digression,
return an answer to the
centurion, agreeably to his
desire, saying to him, go thy
way: not displeased with
him, but as granting his
request for believing in him
and trusting and having
faith in him that CHRIST
could cure his servant by a
word speaking, it was done
accordingly.
JESUS CHRIST by his
almighty command said, let
him be healed, and he was
healed; just as GOD in the
creation said, let there be
light, and there was, light,
and the servant was healed
in the selfsame hour, at the
very exact time, and when
the centurion returned
home to his house, in the
selfsame hour he found his
servant healed, which show
JESUS great power that
proves his Messiahship, his
great power to meet the
centurion request his
unlimited power.
Entrance into heaven is
based upon one thing faith
in CHRIST, godly parents
and children, religious
attendance, baptism and
church membership all are
useless without faith in
CHRIST, without faith, man
has only the judgment of
GOD to look forward to.
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MATHEW 9:20-22
RELATED CHAPTERS
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20)And, behold, a woman
which was diseased with an
issue of blood twelve years,
came behind, him and
touched the hem of his
garment
21)For she said within
herself, if I may but touch
his garment, I shall be whole
22)But JESUS turned him
about, and when he saw
her, he said, Daughter, be of
good comfort; thy faith hath
made thee whole, and the
woman was made whole
from that hour
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AND BEHOLD A WOMAN
DISEASED FOR 12 YEARS
This woman had suffered
blood issue constant
bleeding, which rendered
her ceremonially unclean
and made what so ever she
touched as unclean as well
for twelve years, LEV 15:25-
30 , which is the same age
of Jairus’ daughter ,it was
incurable by any human
power, and she herself
knew it to be so, having
been afflicted with it for
twelve years, and tried the
skill of many physicians/
doctors, probably of all that
were of note in the country;
having spent all that she
had upon them, and yet
could not be healed and
therefore the woman
unwilling to touch JESUS
CHRIST and render him
unclean
She was desperately
hopeless , feeling ashamed,
embarrassed, and
unworthy, according the
law she is not supposed to
be around the crowd
surrounding JESUS she
being unclean person, she
was supposed to be
isolated , but her
desperation drove her to
JESUS, she believed that
JESUS will not touch her,
but could only touch the
hem of his garment , and
she reason within herself
that JESUS would never
know, and she will be
healed , JESUS turned to
the woman,, there was no
way she could have felt the
touch to his robe, as he was
pressed and thronged by
crowd, yet when she went
up behind him and touched
his robe he know, because
her faith touched him, it is
the faith that touched
JESUS, power and life went
out from JESUS into her,
when a person place his
faith in JESUS and his
power, it infuses his power
and life into that person.
But JESUS saw her, he said
daughter, adopting the
woman, he called her
daughter and adopted her
in to GOD’S family, he gave
her assurance that she was
accepted by GOD, she
experienced the
consolation of GOD and
release from pressure and
desperation and revels new
found peace and she was
made whole, his power and
life infused into her, and she
was saved and made whole,
she was afraid of being
rebuked by JESUS but she
was wrong , and bidding her
take heart and be of good
cheer, since he meant not
to blame her for what she
had done, but to commend
her faith in him, whereby
she received a cure by the
object of her faith had
performed it for her, as she
was made whole in that
hour
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MATTHEW 15:22-28
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22)And, behold, a woman
of Canaan came out of the
same coasts, and cried unto
him, saying, have mercy on
me O LORD, thou son of
David: my daughter is
grievously vexed with devil
23)But he answered her not
a word, and his disciples
came and besought him,
saying, send her away; for
she crieth after us
24) But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house
of Israel
25)Then came she and
worshiped him, saying,
LORD, help me
26)But he answered, and
said, it is not meet to take
the children’s bread, and to
cast it to dogs
27)And she said, truth,
LORD; yet the dogs eat of
the crumbs which fall from
their masters table
28)Then JESUS answered
and said unto her, O
woman, great is thy faith;
be it un thee even as thou
wilt, and her daughter was
made whole from that very
hour
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A WOMAN OF CANAAN
CAME OUT OF THE SAME
COAST AND CRIED
The most important point is
that this woman is a
foreigner a Greek, Syro
Phoenician by birth
MARK 7:26 a pagan and a
descendant of the
worshipper of Baal, she
may have heard or seen
JESUS in earlier days
MARK 3:8 they about Tyre
and Sidon came to JESUS,
this woman was therefore,
a Gentile, O LORD, thou son
of David, these expresses
her faith in his power,
dominion and government,
that all persons and things,
and so all diseases were at
JESUS command, and
control; and that being
LORD of all, he could
remove them at his
pleasure, this shows her
knowledge and believe of
him as the Messiah, that
even though being a
Gentile, might come at the
knowledge as a convert to
the Jewish religion, or
through general report
which might reach,
especially the neighboring
Nations.
The woman cried out for
three things:
but for another person,
her daughter
David to hear her
No matter the need, JESUS
can never turn from a
desperate cry for his mercy,
the woman had a desperate
need- her daughter was
under the power of Satan
and she possessed two
qualities from which JESUS
can never turn her away,
She truly loved another
person, her own daughter,
she loved so deeply that she
considered her daughter’s
problem her own, have
mercy on me, she cried her
love was the normal love of
sympathy, it was true
oneness , a union of living
between her and her
daughter that she felt, she
approached the right
person, JESUS himself, and
cried out for mercy, she
approached the true LORD
and cried for mercy.
HE ANSWERED HER NOT A
WORD
This was done to test her
faith, there was deliberate
silence of JESUS, not that
he did not hear her, or that
he shunned either her
person or request, or that
he was not moved with it;
but to continue her
persistence and to try her
faith and make it manifest ,
for like reasons JESUS
CHRIST does not always,
and immediately , answer
the petition of people the
woman’s love and sense of
desperation were really
seen, she was not going to
let go, she kept after JESUS,
despite his silence.
And the disciples objected
and saying send her away;
not with sort of answer,
without curing her
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daughter; or without
promise of cure no they
desires she should be
dismissed, because she
cried after us: because she
was troublesome to them,
was persistent with them;
she followed them
wherever they went: there
was no getting rid of ;her
cries were piercing, that
they could not bear them;
and therefore request
CHRIST that she should be
sent away ,the woman was
creating an embarrassing
situation by crying after
them, the disciples judged
the Lady to be unworthy of
JESUS CHRIST
Faith has to be awakened
in a person’s heart before
CHRIST can Minster, there
must be true and sincere
heart, a genuine seeking
and awakened faith ,this is
what JESUS was doing to
the woman to awaken her
faith
I AM WAS NOT SENT BUT
UNTO THE LOST SHEEP OF
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
JESUS state that his
personal mission while on
earth was confined to the
Hebrew nation, he came
primarily to the house of
Israel while on earth, he had
to concentrate his ministry
if he were to achieve his
purpose
THEN CAME SHE AND
WORSHIPPED HIM,
She followed the disciples
into the house: and
observing another rebuff by
CHRIST’S answer to them,
she pushes on, through all
discouragements; her faith
grew stronger, and her
persistence become
greater; she called JESUS
CHRIST LORD, and the son
of David before, but now
she worships him as GOD:
saying, LORD help me;, the
woman, nothing daunted by
her rebuff and the disregard
with which her appeal was
received, she following
persistently , and growing
bolder in her persistence fell
as a begging at CHRIST feet,
, while he still seemed to
repulse her, she was
learning new and fresh
faith and hope ,that this
short request, she prayed
unto the LORD,
The woman needed to
learn persistence, humility
and trust, and to learn that
there is only one true
religion and only one true
Messiah, , she was a Greek
from a proud pagan nation
and might be a worshipper
of false gods, therefore was
underserving of being heard
by the true Messiah or true
LORD, no other gods could
do anything for her or for
anyone else, he alone is the
LORD and Master whom she
was to worship.
TO TAKE THE CHILDREN’S
BREAD, AND CAST IT TO
DOGS, Divine right, and
redemptive right of all of
GOD
Jews were the first children
of the kingdom MAT. 8:12
there bread here refers to
the benefits that the
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