Little Faith, Faith, and Great Faith

Would you like to join me for a little boat ride on the lake? Wonderful! I must warn you though, the weather is going to get quite rough. Don’t worry; we’ll be just fine.

Can you imagine being on a boat when a furious storm comes up? Would you have faith in the captain to get you out of danger? Let’s look at the disciples’ faith when they encountered this situation.

^23 “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew 8:23-27

In the midst of the storm, the disciples’ fear was greater than their faith.

Though it would be easy to blame the disciples for their lack of faith, I’m sure many of us have fallen into that same problem. During the storms of our lives, we allow our fear to grow instead of our faith.

Jesus points out the disciples’ “little faith” and asks why they are so afraid, right before He rebukes the winds and the waves to bring calm. What’s the lesson for the disciples, and for us?

Jesus has authority over nature – have faith in Him.

In Matthew 9:1-8, we see another example of faith. This time, it’s not “little faith.” In this account, we read about some men who bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. What does Jesus notice about them? Their faith! The fact that they brought this man to Him was an act of faith. It’s notable though that He doesn’t heal the man physically right away. What does He do? He forgives the man’s sins.

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son: your sins are forgiven.”

However, just as Jesus proved His authority over nature, here He proves His authority to forgive sins. Verse 6 reads, “’But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.’”

What was the lesson for the teachers of the law who thought Jesus was blaspheming and for us? Jesus has authority to forgive sins. Have faith in Him.

Our last example shows us an unexpected someone of “great faith.” You can read the account in Matthew 8:5-13.

A centurion approaches Jesus and asks Him to heal his servant who is at home, paralyzed and suffering. Jesus asks the centurion, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion humbly said he didn’t deserve to have Jesus under his roof. Instead, he told Jesus, “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…”

Now comes Jesus’ response, which is worth reading slowly. “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.’” (v. 10 emphasis mine).

What made this Roman soldier’s faith so great?

1. He didn’t consider himself worthy to have Jesus come under his roof (humility).
   1. One commentator noted: “Humble souls are made more humble by Christ’s gracious dealings with them.”
2. The Centurion told Jesus to just “say the word.”
   1. He had faith Jesus could heal by His word alone. This is what we see in the creation account in Genesis. God spoke and it was done.
3. The centurion had faith that Jesus has Divine power and command over all that is under him – the creatures of nature and nature itself. He recognized what so many of Jesus’ followers failed to recognize. Jesus not only has the ability to heal sickness, He has the AUTHORITY to heal sickness. The centurion had FAITH that whatever Jesus told the sickness to do, it would do, because He has authority over it just as the centurion was under authority and had soldiers under him.

As we think about how to live out our faith, we can learn a few things from the Centurion:

1. We can recognize the authority Jesus has over everyone and everything
2. We can humble ourselves
3. We can submit ourselves under His authority

I know the word “submit” can carry some negative connotations, so I would encourage you to read my post Surrender vs. Submit. And let’s remember that we are submitted to:

• the One who created the heavens and the earth.
• the one who loved us so much, He who was sinless, took on all sin and died that we might be reconciled to God.
• the One who forgives sins.
• the One who prepares a place for us in heaven, the One who gives us an inheritance that awaits us…and the list goes on.

Phew! What a boat ride we went on today. May we be people of GREAT FAITH, who trust our Captain, whether for ourselves or for others in the midst of storms, sickness and sin.

Let us go be radiant this week!