![]() ![]() That doesn’t sit well does it? We want the head honcho to lay hands on us and pray for us. Elders and home group leaders and others can do it. We don’t like it when they talk about the body ministering to the body meaning the pastor doesn’t have to pray for everyone. If we go up to the front of the church to be prayed for, we want the pastor to pray for us, not just some home group leader. Doesn’t he know I am the commander of the armies of the King of Aram? Most of us are so full of our own importance because we are tainted with the human disease – I’ism – sin. Not just send a messenger and tell me to go wash in the Jordan. What an interesting reaction! But isn’t that like most of us? Doesn’t Naaman exemplify us all? I thought he would come and meet me. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.” But Naaman became angry and stalked away. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. Naaman is an interesting story, full of lessons for us. Just think for a minute what happened in other parts of Scripture. In fact he didn’t want to Jesus to come to his house because he felt unworthy for that to happen and as we saw yesterday, because it would make Jesus ceremonially unclean if He entered his house. He believed that Jesus could accomplish the healing with just a word. As we concluded yesterday it was not because He would send the disciples to do the healing. He had absolute confidence that Jesus just had to speak the word and his servant will be healed. He totally trusted Jesus to be able to do anything. Jesus found great faith in Israel too, just not as much as this Gentile was evidencing. “Not even in Israel” – doesn’t mean there was no great faith in Israel. Such great faith – so great, so large, so strong! A Gentile Roman officer showing faith greater than any Jew. Jesus didn’t want the crowd to miss the impact of what this Gentile had to say. ![]() So much so that he turned to look at the crowd following and made sure they got the point. There was something about his statement that amazed Jesus. The word for amazed is meaning marvel, wonder, be amazed, surprised. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “ I tell you, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant in perfect health. I say to one ‘Go’ and he goes, to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. For I, too, am a man under authority and have soldiers under me. But just say the word, and let my servant be healed. That’s why I didn’t presume to come to you. For I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ![]() He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus, “Sir, stop troubling yourself. So they went to Jesus and begged him repeatedly, “He deserves to have this done for him, because he loves our people and built our synagogue for us.” When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and save his servant’s life. There a centurion’s servant, whom he valued highly, was sick and about to die. After Jesus had finished saying all these things in the hearing of the people, he went to Capernaum.
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