Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus performed numerous miracles. He healed the sick. He gave sight to the blind. He even raised the dead to life. In many cases, the people looking for Jesus’ divine healing actively sought Him out, knowing in their hearts that He had the power to heal them. Jesus rewarded such faith by providing the healing that they desired. In providing the healing, Jesus commended them for the faith that they had shown.
When a Canaanite woman came to Him seeking healing for her daughter, Jesus first seemed to turn her away. He told her that He had been sent only for the “lost sheep of Israel.” But this woman persisted in asking for her daughter’s healing, and Jesus granted her request. In doing so, He commended the woman for her great faith and her daughter was healed right there and then (Matthew 15:21-28). When Jesus was leaving Jericho, a blind man named Bartimaeus called out to Him, calling Him Son of David and pleading with Him for mercy. Jesus restored the blind man’s sight. Jesus then told Bartimaeus that he received his healing because of his faith (Mark 10:46-52).
One of the most profound acts of healing by Jesus came when He healed the servant of a centurion. The centurion was not a Jew but a Roman, but he had heard about Jesus and knew that Jesus could heal his servant. Despite the fact that he did not share the beliefs of Jesus and His followers, the centurion’s faith in Jesus’ ability to heal was so great and his respect for Jesus was so deep that he did not feel that he was worthy to talk to Jesus face to face, let alone enter his home. He believed that Jesus only needed to speak the word to heal the ailing servant. Jesus rewarded the centurion’s faith, but what makes this healing stand out from many others is that Jesus was “amazed” by the centurion’s faith (Luke 7:1-10). This is the kind of faith that we all should aspire to, faith that has the ability to amaze Jesus!
A Worshiper's Journal 