Matt. 8:1-4 "And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
This man who came to Jesus was an outcast. Moses taught in Numbers 5:2 that all lepers were to stay outside the camp. When the people came to the promised land, lepers were kept out of the cities (2 Kings. 7:3-8). If one touched a leper, he became unclean (Lev. 22:4-6). Because of that, anytime they were around anyone, they had to annouce themselves as unclean. (Lev. 13:45-46). Lepers were generally looked down upon as being cursed by God. They were shunned. Faith certainly wasn't expected from those people. And yet, see his faith: "If you will, you can make me clean." There was no doubt at all in this leper regarding the power of the Lord. When one compares him to the "good" Jew in Mark 9:22-23 who said "If you can" do anything to help, who comes out ahead?
Matt. 8:5-13 "And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lies in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And he said unto him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. And 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. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And the servant was healed in that hour."
Here we have a gentile, a 'faithless, uncircumcised dog!' No one would expect great faith from such a one. And yet his faith in the power of Jesus was such that he believed His authority stretched far enough to heal his servant. Contrast this with the Jews, all of whom asked Jesus to come to the sick person. In fact, in the very next chapter it is a ruler of the Jews who begs Jesus to come when his daughter is "at the point of death" (Matt. 9:18). Even Jesus is shocked at this gentile's faith.
So often in the stories told in the Gospels it is the people from whom the least is expected that the greatest faith is seen. It is the outcasts, those looked down upon who amaze even the Lord with their faith. Jesus taught in the synagogues, yes, but He also taught in the marketplaces, on fishing boats, atop mountains, along roadways and in homes. We should never limit ourselves in preaching the Gospel only to those we expect to respond. We might just be surprised at who has the greatest faith, and who actually has very little.
Mark 16:15 "Then he told them, "As you go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to everyone."
Lucas Ward