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Jesus Came for All | Matthew 8:5-13
The proof is in the pudding
Caleb Lee
February 05, 2024
I’ve often made the mistake of placing too much emphasis on outward appearances.
Especially when it comes to church and what a Christian is “supposed to look like.”
Imagine how much worse it would have been back in Jesus’ day!
5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to 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 this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
It’s incredible to think that a Roman centurion, someone who was actively partaking in conquering the Jews, recognized who Jesus was when the Jews couldn’t.
How much humility it would take for the centurion to come before a Jew and recognize Him as Lord!
It’s interesting to note what Jesus responds after He marvels at the centurion’s faith.
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus gives a warning here to the ones who follow Him.
Just because you’re culturally a Jew, or even culturally a Christian, it doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically get into Heaven and live in eternity with Him.
And at the same time, just because you don’t “look like” a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean that you’re not.
Jesus calls all people to believe in Him.
No exception.
It doesn’t matter what your cultural background is, what wrongs you’ve committed, how “bad” of a person you are.
He calls all people to believe and follow Him.
And that’s the beauty of what we believe. That God looked at our fallen world and instead of destroying it, came into it to provide a way to get back to Him.
He’s not exclusive about who He wants in His family.
He came to save everyone.
Have a blessed Monday, my friends.