Jesus’ astonishment

In Matthew 7.28, the crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching “because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

However, just a few days later, we stumble across Matthew 8.10. Here, Jesus is “astonished.” The crowd’s amazement cascaded onto the pages of scriptures after Jesus completed his Sermon on the Mount, in which he radically redefined what the life of a God-fearer and God-follower should look like. Jesus’ astonishment erupted during an encounter with a centurion.

I love that Jesus was astonished. The centurion approached Jesus to intercede on behalf of a loyal servant who was paralyzed and “suffering.” However, rather than demand that Jesus adjust his schedule, the astute leader urged Jesus to “just say the word,” indicating that Jesus’ authority over all of life could be extended over distance to perform the healing. Wow.

Jesus was astonished, scripture records. He’s just a met a man who has not only matched the faith of any He’s met on his life’s journey but one whose faith exceeds the entire nation of Israel. In short, the centurion “got it.”

I love it that Jesus was surprised. You know what? I want my life – your life – to “astonish” Jesus today. Let’s trust Him and believe in His authority to do great things.

On this day...

• Brief grief - 2009
• Selfish prayer - 2007
• Harold Ockenga... - 2007

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