Jesus, the Helpless, and Faith

The word (noun) faith is common enough, is it not? But what does it mean? What did it mean when Jesus used it? What does it mean in relation to Jesus?

You may hear it said: "You've got to have faith"? Really? What is that?

 One time we read of Jesus himself being amazed by faith: When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 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. 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.” 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. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 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 (Matthew 8:5-14 ESV). Note that Jesus is taken by the kind of faith in him shown by the officer: "such faith". Luke's variant extended account (chapter 7) has similar words.

The officer was very unlikely to have been a Jew or even a native of the area. His expressed faith stood in marked contrast to those Jesus had met in "Israel" to that point. He had complete confidence in what Jesus could do in the face of critical illness. Luke shows him as keeping a distance and certainly not presuming access. Was he doubtful of his welcome? (He had considerable power to compel but so humbly asked.) He may have understood that Jesus had come for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24). He may well not have shared the everyday religion of that community; he represented the occupying power. He was driven by his need and the lack of any alternative.

How did the officer know (so very confidently) that Jesus could answer his need (the need of his treasured servant) and might do so? What do you think -  was it likely he had been questioning people over recent time about reports coming to him (see below for the reports)? It was his job to ensure no disturbance should arise and take the occupiers by surprise. Certainly he could not ignore any currents of change in the community. Capernaum had become Jesus' hometown (Matthew 4:13; Mark 2:1). If the officer had been connected to Capernaum for the period, it would help explain his knowledge of Jesus.

So Jesus was impressed by the nature of the officer's faith in him. Was he saddened by the contrast with "his own"? How sad that the presumed "sons" would be in the outer darkness.

But, faith was surely shown by others, for example by the leper here; this pericope immediately precedes that of the officer at Capernaum: When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy[a] came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Matthew 8:1-4 CSB).

That leper expressed confidence in what Jesus could do, if only he would. Lepers were community outcasts - was he uncertain of his reception?  Jesus was (is) never deflected by community attitudes nor reputation. The leper is not said to have come with faith - but did he not? Assuming the leper had inward faith, note again that the pericope immediately precedes that of the soldier. Taking the sequence here as indicating chronology, Jesus in the leper did not meet such great faith in him as he did in the soldier. Was the difference that the leper felt he would be unacceptable? There was a difference - what do you think it was?

Reading on we see more demonstrations of Jesus' care at Peter's house. Jesus went to the home of Peter, where he found that Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever. He took her by the hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served Jesus a meal.

That evening many people with demons in them were brought to Jesus. And with only a word he forced out the evil spirits and healed everyone who was sick. So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

“He healed our diseases

    and made us well” (Matthew 8:14-17 CEV).   

The word, "faith", does not appear in this pericope. Nor does the related verb, believe. Did Peter's mother-in-law put her faith in Jesus? Is that a fair assumption? That lady was ill in bed. She was not brought, nor did she come. The other healings mentioned there, and the deliverances, by a word from Jesus, must imply some kind of faith - for they were brought to Jesus. If the sufferers themselves lacked faith in Jesus, those who brought them must have had some belief that Jesus could and would help.

Following the above: Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27 NIV). Hmm - "little faith". That is an unusual word. Did they have some confidence in Jesus at that moment. Enough to think it wise to wake him? They were learning. Was the "gap" in their trust in Jesus to be seen in their fear continuing? Mark (4) and Luke (8) have their own reports on this storm event. Matthew (above) seems really clear but taken together I wonder if Jesus' rebuke (challenge?) to the disciples came whilst or after he dealt with the unruly waves. Assuming the chronology holds, they had seen the leper, and Peter's mother, along with many others, cured. Above all they had heard the soldier's request and Jesus' pleasure at the "greatness" of that man's faith.

What had they seen? Going back in the text: Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every[a] disease and sickness[b] among the people. Then the news about him spread throughout Syria. So they brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics. And he healed them. Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (Matthew 4: 23-25 CSB).  This summary comes just before Matthew chapters 8-9 - the narrative is interrupted by chapters 5-7, where Jesus laid out for his followers the Law of God as it truly is.

Matthew next recounted some people who, despite great deliverance, sadly found the cost or risk of encountering Jesus too great: When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes,[a] two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

“All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone (Matthew 8:28-34 NLT). The pigs make difficult reading I think. The herdsmen told "what had happened" to the sufferers - Matthew's report is compressed but keeps the emphasis on them. Mark and Luke in fuller reports tell in more detail of one sufferer who has been restored and able to return to society. Jesus again demonstrated his role as healer of ills. Was there any faith exercised in this event? Nothing is reported of the sufferers' believing. It is complicated - did the sufferers exercise their wills as much as they could in coming near Jesus, against the tug of the evil forces? We see only the conflict between Jesus and the evil.

Jesus granted the request that he go away and left there to return to Capernaum: 

And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.

And some people were carrying to him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, child; your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings (Matthew 9:1-8 NRSVUE). Whilst it is clear here that critical antagonism to Jesus was growing, it is also clear that faith in Jesus was involved. The belief or trust is not emphasised; it is not even clear whose it was! It was more than the faith of one man, for it was "theirs". Is it possible the sufferer was not so keen as the friends? Was the sufferer reluctant to encounter Jesus?

Jesus in fact addressed the sufferer's sins! Sins, not paralysis. The man may not have welcomed that idea. Could his paralysis have related to him sinning? Yet, would Jesus have forgiven him if he was unrepentant?

One contrasting later report also comes from Jesus being in Capernaum: Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith (Matthew 13:54-58 NIV). In what way was their unbelief a hindrance? Was it unwillingness to come; unwillingness to bring? 

Did you see above that it was not the faith of a sufferer that brought or earned Jesus' healing. Don't we see that, yes, he answers; but there is more? There are the instances of no reported asking and Jesus still caring and saving the needy (or healing the sick). He ignored no need.

The sequence of the pericopes is unique to Matthew. (There are many distributed parallels in the other Gospels.) Matthew shows a role for faith in Jesus. More than that, he shows Jesus at work and making himself known. Have faith in - what?

May you be blessed by God

Allen Hampton

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