YOU ARE NOT WORTHY – Matthew 8:8
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, HE only commended two individuals for their great faith. Jesus told many individuals that it was their faith that made them well, but only two were set out as examples to us as individuals with great faith. Jesus commended the centurion in this passage as being great in faith and he was not even an Israelite. You might naturally think that if Jesus was going to commend two individuals for their great faith that they would be of the seed of Abraham.
Not only did this centurion demonstrate great faith, but he also demonstrated great reverence to Jesus’ position here on this earth. Jesus was willing to come to this man’s house to heal his servant but the centurion understood who Jesus was and the authority HE possessed and he did not feel worthy of allowing Jesus to be in his house.
How many individuals came to Jesus with the attitude that Jesus owed them healing? Some came and asked for healing and never came back to thank Jesus for healing them. Some came and asked for healing but where unwilling to obey Christ’s command to not tell anyone. Not everyone who demonstrated faith by seeking healing from Jesus had their priorities wrong, but there are enough stories that you should heed the warning to ensure that your attitude is right before God like this centurion’s attitude was.
The centurion understood who Jesus was and he knew what kind of a sinner he was and as such, he recognized that he was not worthy of having Jesus enter into his house. It does not matter that Jesus had come to this earth to save the world of its sin; the centurion feared God and desired to show Jesus the respect that was due HIM.
The main difference between the centurion and the Jews is that the centurion saw how unworthy he was whereas the Jews naturally assumed that they were good people. Because the centurion saw that he was a sinner and that Jesus was Lord, the centurion had the right attitude before Jesus and was later commended for his great faith. How many Jews did not hesitate in allowing Jesus in their house yet not maintain the right attitude towards Christ because they had a higher opinion of themselves then they ought.
You are a sinner saved by grace. Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice so that you might have eternal life. In order to fully understand what Christ did for you, you need to take the time to realize just who you are in Christ. You must decrease so that HE might increase. Do not be proud of your own righteousness because righteousness is as filthy rags. Instead, you need to change your perspective and understand that you are not worthy of the gift that Jesus gave to you. You are not worthy of the love of Christ.
You must add virtue to your life and change your focus. You cannot allow pride to causes you to think more highly of yourself. Instead, you must learn to understand that apart of Jesus you are nothing. When you do a great thing for God, it is not of yourself, it is because of the grace of God. Do not allow yourself to take for granted Christ’s holiness and your sinful nature. Instead you must renew your mind to be like the centurion who did not allow his position in this world to fool him into thinking he deserved God’s grace.