1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Knowledge Puffs Up
1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But the man who loves God is known by God.
Matthew 8:5-13
The Faith of the Centurion
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.
On the days I doubt, I ask the question is Jesus real?...And I seek more knowledge about Him and things about Him that will make Him seem more real for me...I want some facts to grab on and hold to about Him...But is that enough?...
St. Paul challenges us (or me) on this and says that there must be more...On seeking more knowledge of Him, what is that doing (for me)?...Knowledge is gained through a skill-set we have acquired through the experiences we have had in our experiences or our education...Knowledge is also the facts we know about a subject, or a particular subject and the more we know about that subject, the more knowledgeable we are about that particular subject...But knowledge about people and our Father and His Son are much more than facts, figures, and what we know about them...Just because I have knowledge of a friend or my spouse does not make a relationship...Nor does reading about your favorite place or subject, replace for instance going there and getting to experience your favorite place (or subject)...If I know all the statistics about my favorite sports player, do I really know them?...
St. Paul says we all possess some knowledge of some subjects...St Paul teaches us that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up...St. Paul is making us see this contrast in knowledge and love, about God...The difference in knowledge and knowing...Because we think we know and have knowledge of Jesus (or someone) do we really know Him...For us to take our knowledge to the next level on people and Jesus, we need love and a relationship...If I know all the facts and teachings of Jesus and know and have more knowledge of Him than anyone -do I really know Him without having a relationship with Him...The short answer is no...
But I think there is more than that when asking if Jesus is real...Faith plays a big role...The faith of one Roman Centurion was greater than anyone Jesus had met in Israel, and He tells us this...The Roman Centurion, a Gentile, knew much about Jesus (we are not told how he knew so much)...Perhaps he had heard others saying that this Man was healing everyone He touched or this Man was doing great miracles, but for some reason this Gentile believed in Jesus...He told Jesus that “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.”...He had knowledge of Jesus and faith in Jesus, that if this Man gave His word that His servant was healed, he would be healed...That is great faith...
St. Paul challenges us and says that the man who thinks he knows something or somethings, does not yet know as he ought to know...That knowledge needs something else...Paul in a sense is not only challenging us to know God even more, but to love God, so we can have a relationship with Him...I believe faith helps to take us to love...I believe the Roman Centurion loved Jesus...When we read about the historical Jesus, and we sometimes ask ourselves is He real or not real?...We cannot answer this until we not only know Him, but have a relationship with Him...The Centurion had this relationship with Him...One can tell by his faith and the words he spoke to His LORD...Knowledge of Jesus, got Him to go to Jesus for help...But his faith and relationship and his love for Him, got his servant healed...