Matthew 8:5-13
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant from Afar
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
Job 1:6-22
Job Suffers Greatly
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Jesus healed a centurion's servant one day...The story starts by a centurion coming to Jesus, and asking for His help...“LORD,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”...Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”...The centurion replied, “LORD, I do not deserve to have You come under my roof...But just say the word, and my servant will be healed...For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me...I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes...I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”...When Jesus heard what this centurion had just said, He was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith...I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven...But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”...Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go!...Let it be done just as you believed it would.”...And his servant was healed at that moment...
Some people today think that Jesus is far away from us...We do know that He was at a distance from the centurion's servant...Jesus healed the centurion's servant from afar...The centurion's servant may not even know how he became healed...But we know that Jesus can heal people from a distance...So He could have healed all those in Israel, had He chosen to...But He did not...And today, He could heal all those who are ill, but that doesn't seem to be His Plan...Jesus seems to be more attune to get us and make us Spiritually well and closer to God...
But God does allows sickness, disease, and suffering...It was allowed in Jesus' time...God allowed Job to be sick...God allowed Paul to have a thorn in his side that (Paul's) prayers did not answer...One of Jesus' friends, Lazarus got sick and eventually died...Maybe there are Godly lessons about sickness and suffering...When things are the darkest, we often turn to Him...Some people find God or see Him better and differently in their sufferings...We see God differently when we are having problems, versus when everything is going right in our lives...And when we are in these trials of our life, I think we look very hard to find Him...Maybe something inside us tells us we have this greater need to seek Him, when things go amiss...I think that when we are in need, we look more for Him...And He is there, not far from any of us...Jesus want us to be Spiritually well, so we can be closer to His Father...