Matthew Ch 8 vv 1-13

                Today we have two very different healings which both show the same Lord at work with all the compassion we are used seeing from Him. The crowds would have parted to avoid the man who knelt before Jesus because they were so afraid of catching his disease, but he came in complete trust to Jesus. He had heard about Him and knew what He could do. As Jesus reached out to touch the man the crowd might well have recoiled in horror, but Jesus wasn’t put off by the uncleanness. Instead He saw a man who believed in Him. It is still the case that we see people differently from the way He does. Pray for grace to see through His eyes.

                The centurion was an outsider too. He was one of the Roman occupying forces, but he was evidently a man of great compassion. To begin with he was concerned about a mere servant. Then he had taken notice of what was going on in the country and had decided that the Man from Galilee was someone special. Indeed, he had sufficient faith in Him to ask publicly for His help. He understood authority and recognised it in Jesus.

                It is a joy to see people coming to faith and in these days in the unbelieving west of Europe it is humbling to witness men and women who have come from other cultures, as the centurion had, embracing the truth. We rejoice in this at the same time as we grieve for those many who have made a deliberate decision to turn their backs on God.