Have you ever been amazed? I mean really amazed? Have you ever been so taken with amazement you really didn’t have the words to even describe that feeling or emotion?
The dictionary describes being amazed as being “surprised” or “astonished.” I remember being amazed the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. The sheer size and scope of that incredibly majestic and beautiful landmark totally caught me off guard. Pictures of the canyon are pretty. But there is absolutely no way you can grasp even a small idea of the beauty and vastness of that famous landmark until you see it in person with your own eyes.
I also experienced amazement at the arrival of my three children. When my two home-grown kids arrived, it almost felt unbelievable to me this belly bump I had been sporting for 9 months resulted in the arrival of a tiny person. A tiny person who had grown inside of me! I didn’t carry my third child in my belly. I carried her in my heart as she was born in China. But her arrival was no less amazing. In a flag-lined government office in Nanning, I watched with amazement as a young woman, her nanny at the orphanage, walked in and placed this darling 11 month old baby in my arms to be mine forever. One moment an orphan. The very next moment a beloved daughter and sister. That office became my birthing room and that baby was mine before I ever touched foot on Chinese soil.
The Bible says Jesus was amazed…twice! Let’s stop right here for a minute. Does it amaze you to know that Jesus was amazed? If you are at all like me, you will find that simple fact, well, simply amazing.
First, Jesus was amazed by the faith of the Roman Centurion in Luke 7:1-10. In ancient Rome, the term, Centurion, meant Captain of 100+ soldiers. This Centurion had a servant he greatly valued who had become ill and was potentially on his deathbed. After consulting with some Jewish leaders about this Jesus he had heard about, he asked them to speak with Jesus about healing his servant. Because of the favor this Centurion had shown the Jewish people, the leaders did as he asked. As a result, Jesus headed towards the home of the Centurion.
The Bible says, “When he (Jesus) was still quite far from the house, the Centurion sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
“When Jesus heard this, HE WAS AMAZED. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, ‘I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’ And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.”
The second time Jesus was amazed is found in Mark 6:1-6. Jesus returned to his home town of Nazareth and began teaching in the synagogue there. While a few people who heard him were impressed, most who heard him were offended. They started saying things like, “Isn’t this the carpenter who used to work here?” Isn’t this Mary’s son?” Isn’t this the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?” “We know his sisters for Pete’s sake!” Who does his think he is?
The Bible says, “Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And HE WAS AMAZED at their unbelief.”
So, now we know. The two things that amazed Jesus in the Bible were 1.) The incredible faith of the Roman Centurion and 2.) The lack of faith of the people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.
My takeaway from these two stories is if Jesus is going to be amazed by me (and I hope he is), I want it to be for my deep, incredible faith and not because of my lack of faith.
During the many seasons of my life, the truth is he has probably been amazed at me for both reasons. Maybe the same is true for you. During this 2020 season of hard, I am trying to be intentional by leaning into my faith.
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we work on this together? Let’s make it a practice to ask God to enlarge our faith DESPITE what our eyes see or our ears hear. Let’s not form our theology based on what the news says, our friends say, or what social media says. Let’s base our faith on what God says. If there is one thing I know, it is God is a promise keeper. If he says it, he is going to do it. He won’t lie to me. He won’t lie to you. We can count on him to keep his promises to us. That knowledge boosts our confidence and will allow us to amaze God for the right reason…..our incredible faith.