How to Amaze Jesus

Matthew 8

 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8)

Picture this scene: You are in a crowd, listening to Jesus preach. Of course, it’s wonderful, if you can even imagine the preaching of Jesus. And as Jesus is wrapping up, surprisingly, he calls you out of the crowd and up to the front with him.

“And now,” Jesus says, “I want you all to know about a person who has shown more faith than just about anyone. This person, (your name inserted here) amazes me and I want you in the crowd to know about it. He/she is the example that all of you should copy. There is no one who has amazed me more than (your name again). And I want to thank you, (your name yet again) for your obedience and your faith. Now, let’s hear it for (yes, your name a final time)!”

The cheers are nothing less than an ovation. Then, in great modesty, you return to your seat.

Well, as you no doubt know, that is a made-up story. It will, thankfully, never happen, at least, not in that way. But the story about the centurion, which you can read in your Bible, is a real story. I’m sure that you remember it, but if not, let me refresh your memory:

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “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 take their places at the banquet 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 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. (Matthew 8)

Jesus Healing the Centurion’s Servant

Paolo Veronese, 16th century

I was a witness to this event. And, as a resident of Capernaum and as a devout Jew, I was not especially happy to see Jesus shower so much praise on this pagan Roman occupier of our nation. The Romans, after all, are our enemies and though we live under their oppressive rule, we don’t have to like them.

But there was no way to misinterpret what Jesus said and did. He not only praised the centurion, he rubbed our noses in that praise by implying that the centurion’s faith was greater than that of us, the “heirs of the kingdom.”

I have to say, though, witnessing this event did cause me to think, and to ask myself, “what would I have to do to win the praise of Jesus? To amaze him as the centurion did?” Maybe you might think about it too, and perhaps you might remember others who actually sought out the praise of Jesus. Here are some whom I could remember:

A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.’ ” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.”  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad, for he was very rich. (Luke 18)

So, it seems, merely keeping the commandments alone did not win the praise of Jesus.

Another man also wanted to impress Jesus. Surely, he thought, his wisdom and knowledge would win his praise. But to his dismay, he failed:

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? (John 3)

And when some folks brought their children to be blessed by Jesus, his own followers thought to win his praise by ordering them away:

People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18)

One of those followers, Peter, was so hungry for the praise of Jesus, that he made an oath, one that he later regretted:

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This [the crucifixion] must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Matthew 16)

So, apparently, when we think that we know what’s best for Jesus, believing that he will be “amazed,” we may find just the opposite! Displays of wisdom and knowledge? Apparently not! Obeying commandments while holding back help for the poor? No, that won’t amaze him. And ordering away innocent children won’t win his praise either.

So, let me ask again, what can we do to win the praise of Jesus? What impresses him enough to hold any of us up as an example to follow?

Clearly, for the centurion, it was his faith. And there were others who demonstrated faith in Jesus: Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who, after meeting Jesus, faithfully changed his life’s direction. (Luke 19) It was Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who came to Jesus in faith to beg for the healing of his daughter. And the woman who suffered from the chronic bleeding? She came to Jesus in an unclean state, in faith that he could heal her. (Luke 8) And the boy who brought his five loaves and two fish to Jesus? His faith is remembered too. (John 6)

And there were others. Do you remember the woman who spent a year’s wages to purchase ointment so that she could anoint Jesus? (Mark 14) Why did she do that? Not only from faith, but more so from her love of Jesus. And Jesus commented that her act would always be remembered.

Do you remember the woman who brought her meager offering to the temple? Her gift, to Jesus, was greater than all of the others. Do you remember what he said?

“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12)

So, generosity, perhaps sacrificial generosity will win the praise of Jesus.

And one more: Mary Magdalene, in faith and love, went to the tomb on Easter morning not knowing that she would be the first to witness the Risen Christ. (John 20)

I hope I have made my point. But I must ask, where does this leave you? Will anything in your life win the praise of Jesus?

For me, I must confess that I can’t think of a single thing. I am sorry to say it. Hopefully, I can do better. Maybe, so can you.

But it occurs to me that perhaps I have all of this backwards. Yes, it occurs to me that none of the folks praised by Jesus were actually trying to amaze him. No, they were simply living out their faith and their love for him. And their generosity. As Jesus used to say, the praise-seekers have their reward.

No, in reality, it’s backwards when we try to amaze Jesus and seek his praise. What we should be doing, instead, is witnessing to our amazement in him, in his faith, his obedience and in his love and generosity. Yes, that’s what we should be doing. Instead of striving for his praise, we should be praising him! After all, it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus! Our lives should be nothing less than a tribute of praise to him.

I hope you are doing just that!