Matthew 8:10-13
“Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
This is, as Paul Harvey would have said, “the rest of the story.” And in it there is a sharp reminder for those of us who love theology that there are more important things, quite frankly, than theology!
Jesus’ pronouncement is relatively clear: entrance into the kingdom has nothing to do with pedigree or ancestry or ethnicity or even religiousity. Rather, it is all about faith, looking to the God revealed by Jesus for all that is needful in this life and trusting that God can and will provide it.
Hence, Jesus responds to the request made by this centurion without asking him to become a disciple or swear allegiance or learn and recite a new creed or any of the other stuff we associate with religious conversion. Instead, Jesus simply does what the centurion asks: heals a servant in need.
Of course, Jesus also takes this opportunity to foreshadow that all kinds of people from all kinds of places will gain entrance into God’s kingdom on the basis of their simple trust, while those who assume their right to enter will be sorely disappointed.
Prayer: Dear God, grant us the faith and courage to trust you in all circumstances. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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