In Matthew 8, a centurion came to Jesus to obtain healing for his ill servant. Jesus immediately said He would go and heal the servant.

The centurion said. “Not so” believing that he was unworthy for Jesus to even come under his roof. And then he made an amazing statement. “Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed” (Matt 8:8).

The centurion went on to explain to Jesus how authority worked and apparently knowing something about Jesus’ ministry, it was a simple matter of Jesus exercising His authority for his servant to be healed.

This level of simple understanding had a profound effect on Jesus. Matthew 8:10 says, “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

The centurion’s faith was very simple. It wasn’t dramatic and didn’t try to convince Jesus to heal his servant because of his great works. He had a straightforward understanding of how things worked in the realm of the spirit.

There was no begging or pleading on his part. Just, “Speak the word only.” To the centurion, anyone with true authority just speaks and results occur. Fighting and warfare are not necessary when true authority is present.

Fasting and long, vain prayers are not necessary when true authority is present. Sometimes, we make faith way too difficult to obtain and use in our lives as Christians.

In all the gospels, there is only one other time that Jesus marvelled. In Mark 6, Jesus had returned home to Nazareth and was teaching in the synagogue.

Yet verse 3 says they were offended. They thought of Jesus as just the hometown boy and where did He get all this stuff He was teaching?

Jesus responded and said, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And then verse 6 says, “And he marvelled because of their unbelief.”

Jesus marvelled once because of great faith and He marvelled once because of great unbelief. In Mark 6:5, it says “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.”

Note that it doesn’t say, “He WOULD do no mighty works.” It says, “He COULD do no mighty works.”

Jesus did not withhold mighty works from the folks in His hometown to punish them.

Their unbelief short-circuited the most powerful force in the universe and made it of no effect. He wasn’t withholding anything. Faith is clearly a powerful force. Unbelief is just as powerful.

The church would do well to learn how we can cause Jesus to marvel. Great faith is simple. It is not complicated and doesn’t try to barter with God. One property of great faith is great understanding.

The more we understand how things work in the realm of the spirit, the greater our faith will be.