a long distance miracle

Matthew 8:5-13

This would have been so confusing for the crowds that were following Jesus. Matthew makes it clear that crowds from all the regions of Israel were following Jesus, that the crowds were large and that they were very impressed with Jesus' ministry so far: he spoke with authourity and he was healing the sick. It reminds me a bit of the hysteria surrounding Barack Obama during his run for presidency: he is an amazing speaker which set him above his competitors and people were flocking to him.
Then, probably very shortly after his amazing speech on the mountain, Jesus encounters a Roman centurion. I think to understand the full impact of this story, I would have to understand the hatred that the Jews had for the Romans. The only thing that I think would come close is the hatred between Jews and Arabs today. If Jesus was hoping to remain popular with the crowds, he would let this man have it. He wasn't only a soldier who followed orders but a commander who gave orders that involved the occupation and subugation of the Jews. The crowd was probably hoping for a brilliant, cutting reply from Jesus, along the lines of, "Well that would be one less Roman to worry about."
There are a few things that stand out to me in this encounter. One is that the Centurion is one of the few, maybe even only, who asked Jesus to heal someone else who wasn't related to him. Most of the others pleaded for their own healing or the healing of an immediate family member. This certainly sets the Roman Centurion apart.
The other thing is this whole exchange about authourity and faith. It's been a bit of a puzzle for me to try to figure out how Jesus saw such faith in the centurion's response. Here's what I think: First, the centurion demonstrated humility in coming to Jesus and not sending a servant and in admitting that he was not worthy (as a Gentile) to have Jesus (a Jew) come to his house. I think this demonstrated a lot of faith: "I know you can't come because I am a Gentile but maybe you can do something."
Second, the centurion demonstrated faith in that he recognized the authourity of Jesus. What I think the centurion is saying is, "I know you, having authourity over all things, can heal my servant without being physically present because even I, a mere man and one who only has limited authourity over other men, expect my orders to be carried out immediately and fully. How much more could you, having complete authourity, just give the word and have my servant healed?"
Here's what I learn from this passage: I trust God way too little. My faith is so small! He is God and my finances, my health, my safety, my family, my future, my ministry is all under his authourity. All he has to do is say the word and it will be obeyed. I really have nothing to stress over or fear. Also, I have often put myself in the place of the Jews. I feel a sense of entitlement because I am a Christian. My sense of fairness states that I, as a follower of Jesus, should receive more blessing and honour than someone who doesn't follow Christ. This is bull-oney! Every blessing and honour that has come my way is a result of God's grace and I deserve it no more than anyone else. This is easy for me to say but hard for me to really believe. God, make me humble like the centurion. Give me faith like the centurion had. I know that you are good and all powerful. All things are under your authourity. I know that you are gracious. I see that in my life. Please take away my sense of entitlement and let me truly celebrate the blessings you pour out to me and to others as evidence of your extreme grace!