Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith.”
Matthew 8:10 (CSB)
An army officer who was not Jewish had just told Jesus that a word from Him was enough to heal his servant from a distance. Jesus was amazed. He told the crowd that He had not found anyone in Israel with faith this great.
Jesus’ words were surprising, because Israel had God’s Law, His prophets, and His promises. The people who had heard about God their whole lives had less faith than an outsider who simply trusted what Jesus said.
Faith, in the Bible, means trusting God and taking Him at His word. It does not depend on how long we have been around church or how much we know. A new believer who simply trusts what Jesus says can have stronger faith than someone who has been in church for years. So we ought to take Jesus at His word today, the way this officer did.
Jesus could be amazed because He is truly human as well as truly God. He is also our high priest, the one who goes to God for His people. The Bible says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus became one of us so that He could die for our sins, and He rose again to give life to everyone who trusts Him.