There are only two times recorded in the Bible when we read that Jesus was amazed. It was highly unusual for the Son of God to be amazed. He knew what was in man, so very little could amaze Him. 

The first time was by the unbelief of the Jews in His hometown of Nazareth.(1) These were the people who knew Him the best. He had grown up among them. He counted them as friends and neighbors. He had done carpentry work for many of them. (Imagine having the Creator of the universe doing your carpentry work. It must have been stunning!) 

For almost thirty years they had seen Him live out a sinless life of righteousness. (Presuming that the Creator could possibly hit His own thumb with His hammer, not one disconcerting word ever came out of His mouth!) And yet, these friends and neighbors not only didn’t believe in Him – they rejected Him. Amazing!

The second time Jesus was amazed was quite the opposite. He was amazed by the faith of a man. It was a man who had never before met Jesus. He wasn’t one of Jesus’ closest followers. He wasn’t a devout religious leader. He wasn’t even a Jew. He was a Roman soldier.(2)

Whenever i think about a “man of faith”, i think of George Müller. Müller was an evangelist in the mid-1800’s and the founding director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. During his lifetime he cared for over ten thousand orphans in five orphanages and established one hundred seventeen schools. It is said that Müller never made requests to anyone for funding, and he never went into debt. The only One to whom he ever made his requests known was his Lord. Often he would receive unsolicited food donations only hours or minutes before they were needed to feed the children. On one well-documented occasion, thanks was given for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them plenty of fresh milk because his cart broke down right in front of the orphanage! 

In this autobiographical entry on February 12, 1842, Müller wrote:

   “A brother in the Lord came to me this morning and, after a few minutes of conversation gave me two thousand pounds for furnishing the new Orphan House ... Now I am able to meet all of the expenses. In all probability I will even have several hundred pounds more than I need. The Lord not only gives as much as is absolutely necessary for His work, but He gives abundantly. This blessing filled me with inexplicable delight. He had given me the full answer to my thousands of prayers during the [past] 1,195 days.”

Müller knew that his Lord was able and sufficient to meet every need. There was never any question of “if”; it was merely a question of “when”. And even in that question, Müller knew that the Lord’s timing was perfect. i don’t know if Jesus was ever amazed by Müller’s faith – though i know i am. But a significant difference between Müller and the Roman officer is the fact that Müller was a follower of Jesus. He had long before surrendered his life to Christ. But the day the Roman officer approached Jesus – though he believed Jesus was able – he had yet to trust Him with his eternal soul.

In a parallel account of the same miracle, we read that the officer had devised a plan for approaching Jesus. Though he had faith, he thought he could approach Jesus on his own terms. First, he sent emissaries on his behalf – making a case as to why Jesus should help him. Surprisingly, it was a group of Jewish leaders – and in that day, Jews were not in the habit of advocating for Roman soldiers. He presumed he could leverage relationships to gain the favor of Jesus. But he wasn’t going to use relationships as his only strategy. Second, the emissaries endeavored to merit the favor of Jesus on the officer’s behalf, by telling Him about the officer’s good works. As they pled that the officer deserved Jesus’ help, they underscored that “he loves the Jewish people, and even built a synagogue for us.”(4) Again, just like the Jews were not in the habit of helping the Roman soldiers, those soldiers were not in the habit of helping the Jews. 

But it was his personal appeal that caused Jesus to respond. It wasn’t about who he knew, or the works he had done, it was his faith – his wholehearted confidence in who Jesus was and his firm conviction that Jesus was able. Billy Graham once said, “God will not reward fruitfulness; but He will reward faithfulness.” 

And that’s true for each one of us – whether we are a follower of Christ like Müller, or an unrepentant sinner like the officer. It’s not about who we know or what we have done. We are not able to come to Him because we are worthy. We are able to come to Him by faith, purely because of His grace and His mercy. And Jesus is a Rewarder of faith. The writer of Hebrews says, “it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”(5)That is true whether we are seeking Him as a sinner seeking salvation, or as His child seeking His answer.

Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He reminded His disciples that “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”(6) Unlike most of the Jews, and even the disciples of Jesus at that moment in time, the Roman officer recognized Jesus’ absolute authority. He knew, as John Calvin wrote, that only He who has Supreme authority can “by the mere expression of His will, restore health to men” – physical, emotional and spiritual health.

“And the young servant was healed that same hour.”(7) The officer’s request was answered. In response to his faith and according to God’s will, the servant was healed. 

Does that mean that whatever we ask – if we ask in faith – like Müller or the Roman officer, God will give it to us? No. Faith acts in alignment with God’s purpose and His will. Faith is not the proverbial “rubbing of the genie’s lamp” to receive whatever we want. It is a recognition that He has all authority, and His purpose and plan will be accomplished. 

The apostle John was a first-hand eyewitness of the Roman officer’s encounter with Jesus that day. i can’t help but wonder if he was remembering that very day, when later he wrote, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”(8)

This was the first fruit outside of the Jews recorded in the Gospels. As Jesus was commending the officer’s faith, He was also emphasizing that salvation does not come from our good works or “who” we are. Salvation comes by faith – like the faith demonstrated by this Gentile officer.  Jesus said, “Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west” and enter into “the Kingdom of Heaven. ”(9)

And because of that faith, there will be a multitude of believers from every language, people, tribe and nation gathered around God’s throne in heaven worshiping Him.(10)

We are the beneficiaries of that amazing faith … and our lives are to be a reflection of it. What could happen if Jesus was amazed by our faith … today?

* * * * *

(1) Mark 6:6

(2) Matthew 8:5-13 (NLT)

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with Him, “Lord, my young servantlies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 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. 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.” 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! 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. 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.” 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.

(3) Luke 7:1-10

(4) Luke 7:5 (NLT)

(5) Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

(6) Matthew 28:18 (NLT)

(7) Matthew 8:13 (NLT)

(8) 1 John 5:14-15 (NASB)

(9) Matthew 8:11 (NLT)

(10)Revelation 7:9

Adapted from Walking With The Master, Ch. 23

Photo by Artem Sapegin on Unsplash