In the gospels Jesus only recognized two people as having “great faith”, and curiously, both of them were Gentiles: 1) The Roman centurian in Mt. 8:5-13 and Lk. 7:2-10, and 2) The Caanan-ite woman in Mt. 15:22-28.
What was so special about the Roman centurian’s declaration to Jesus, “speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”? It was because the centurion understood authority and dominion! Because he was in the army and was under the authority of his commanding officer and at the same time had authority over the troops under him, he got the point of where Jesus’ power to heal came from. He had actually figured it out even before he went to see Jesus!
Nearly 2,000 years have passed since then, but the source of the power remains the same. And while Jesus is no longer walking this earth in the physical, His Spirit abides in us, and OUR power to heal is rooted in Him and the command He gave to His disciples in Mt. 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give,” and in Mk. 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” This was not simply a nice suggestion to His followers, it was a commandment! But we cannot do it in our own strength.
In Luke 9:1 and 10:19 Jesus gave His disciples power (Gr. exousia = authority) over all the power (Gr. dunamis = force, power, strength) of the devil.” So when we go out in obedience to His orders (see Lk. 9:2 and Mt. 10:7-8), how can He not work through us? And we will not only be able to do what Jesus did, but we will be able to do even GREATER works than He did. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (Jn. 14:12)
The devil may be going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pt. 5:8), looking to “steal, kill, and destroy”, but WE are on the winning side, as Jesus is with US, and has given us “life, and that more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10)
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