Do you see what I see?

Sometimes we can miss the obvious. I have a bit of a reputation amongst family and friends for doing this. It isn't that I don't pay attention, but rather that I pay attention to the wrong things.

For a full semester in middle school, a locker partner and I thought our books had been stolen. Our frustrations turned to laughter after a few months when we opened the empty locker next to ours to find that at some point in time we had put our lock onto the wrong locker. We were checking the wrong locker, which had our lock, while our books sat right next door, unguarded and untouched. Which one of us put the lock on the wrong locker was never discovered but simply reading the numbers on the lockers would have straightened us right out.

Matthew 8 provides an interesting parallel where one group of people can’t see what should be obvious. We read how the remarkable faith of the centurion stands out in comparison to that of many in Israel, including Jesus' own followers. The disciples had front row seats to the power of God in Christ and they still didn’t understand what they were seeing. 

As a refresher, a Roman centurion (commander) comes to Jesus to ask for healing on the behalf of an ailing servant. The Roman recognizes Jesus’ authority and makes it known that Christ can work miracles even when not physically present. Jesus does as the man requests and immediately heals the servant who is not even present. It is a remarkable story of the power and authority that Jesus had.

The centurion, being an extension and representation of Rome, knows about power and knows that it can be extended far beyond an immediate location. Just as Caesar did not need to be in Judea to order life there as he saw fit, so too could Jesus bring things about in the lives of those who trusted in him.

The extension of power beyond his physical presence that is seen in this miraculous healing should have opened the eyes of Jesus’ disciples. This Roman centurion recognized things in Christ that they failed to grasp. This is driven home in a scene just a few verses later.

Jesus and disciples head across the sea only to be caught up in a storm. The disciples, who have just seen the power of Jesus on display in numerous miracles, including the healing from a distance of the Roman’s servant, are suddenly panicked for their lives. 

As we all know, Jesus is woken and then proceeds to scold the disciples and quiet the storm. The contrast between the faith of the Roman centurion and the disciples is striking and purposeful. 

Whereas the Roman recognized the power and authority of Jesus to work miracles even when not present with a person, the disciples who had Jesus in the boat with them, failed to see His power and they feared for their lives.

If Jesus could heal from a distance, how much more so should the disciples have known him to be able to protect them when He was present. The Roman centurion recognized God’s power and authority to make things happen, even remotely. I imagine the centurion would have provided a remarkable contrast of calm in that boat with the disciples. 

Before you look down on the disciples, let's consider our own hearts. At Christmas we celebrate Immanuel, God with us. We do so with the full assurance of salvation from the cross and the fulfilled promise of the presence of His Spirit within us. The very power of God to raise Jesus from the dead resides in us!

And yet…

We have God with us and fear and anxiety still rule our hearts and minds. We see the waves and hear the thunder of storms that surround us and think ourselves lost. We live and plan and save, creating life preservers for ourselves as if Jesus is not in the boat with us ready to carry us through the storm.

Immanuel, God with us. In the boat. In the storm. And better yet, he is not asleep! He is wide awake and more fully aware of everything in our lives than we can ever hope to be. 

Christmas is a time for us to be reminded of the fact that Jesus chose to jump in the boat with us. Our appeals to our Father in heaven are to be paired with the acknowledgement that we already have God with us. 

Sometimes we need the obvious pointed out to us. The Roman could see things about Jesus that the disciples couldn’t see. Perhaps you too have missed seeing these things about Him. If so, use this advent season to be reminded of the obvious: God is with us and for us.