We're turning in our Bibles, please, to Matthew's Gospel in the chapter 8, Matthew chapter 8, and we're going to break in to the chapter, the verse 5, and we'll read from the verse 5 down to verse 13 together. Matthew chapter 8 and the verse 5. The Word of God says, And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, go, and he goeth. And to another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, 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 west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Amen. We'll finish there at verse 13. In verse 10, we read here, and I suppose this is just the central verse or the central thought here. It tells us when Jesus heard it, He marveled and said to them that followed verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. This account that we have read this evening, as we come here to this passage of scripture, we read about a Roman centurion who has come to Jesus and he has a servant who is very unwell. It tells us in verse six that he says, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy. He's paralyzed. Now it's likely that his paralysis is a symptom of another condition. It's likely that the condition has come relatively recently upon this servant because up until this point or up until a very short time before this, this servant has been working for the centurion. He's been serving the centurion. But by verse six here, it tells us that the The centurion comes to Jesus and he says, he lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. In fact, if you were to read Luke's account of this in Luke chapter seven, in Luke chapter seven and verse two, the implication or the indication there in that passage is that this servant is dying. He's at the point of death. I think it's chapter seven, verse two, a certain centurion servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. So we have this centurion, he comes to Jesus, we have this servant who he's concerned about. Luke tells us that he was dear unto him, that's something that was unusual in and of itself, that a Roman soldier, a Roman centurion who had many men under his authority, he had gotten to that position as a centurion with command over a certain number of men because of his hardness, Because of his battle hardness, perhaps, because of his attitude and his leadership skills, he wasn't someone who really paid a lot of attention in many ways. Certainly, as history would tell us about these hard men who were in these positions in the Roman legions, it's not someone who would show much concern for a servant in the normal course of event. But it's clear here about this centurion, as we read about him in Scripture, there's something about him that's somewhat different from the normal. And he's come here to Jesus. He's heard about the Lord Jesus. He's heard about what Jesus has done. He's heard about the times that Jesus has healed people. And therefore, he's come and he has, in the first instance, sent messengers to him, seeking him to heal his servant from afar. At least that's what Luke tells us. In Matthew, we see that he comes onto him, or there comes onto Jesus a centurion. He understands who Jesus is. He understands the power that Jesus has, that wherever Jesus is, that this man knows Jesus can heal his servant. And that tells me that as the Word has gone from place to place about the Lord Jesus, the detail must have been there to imply to this centurion that Jesus was able to heal, that His Word was sufficient to heal. Because the Roman centurion says to Jesus here in verse 8, he says, speak the Word only. and my servant shall be healed." So he knows the power that Jesus has. This statement in and of itself is a tremendous statement of faith in the power of Jesus Christ. And it's a statement that's identified as a statement of great faith by the Lord in verse 10 this evening. Because look what Jesus says. He says, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Jesus speaks about his great faith. And as you read on through the account, you come to verse 13, and Jesus tells the centurion, he says, go thy way. And as thou hast believed, so it be done unto thee. And his servant was healed, that self see him are. We see this centurion coming to Jesus, speaking to Jesus, requesting of Jesus, asking Jesus to heal his servant from a distance. We see an understanding of who Jesus actually was in his actions. In verse 8, we see that he understands that Jesus is Lord. He says, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof. He had a sense of his own unworthiness. He had a sense of his own dependence upon the work of Christ. to answer his request. He displayed a sense of knowing the power of Jesus, and he had a faith to believe that Jesus could do what he requested of him. And Jesus has answered his request to heal the servant. That's a wonderful story. Scripture paints that picture for us, and it happened because the Bible tells us all about it. But while it's a wonderful story, there's a bigger picture here. A bigger picture is displayed in this account than we find it in verse 10 through to verse 12 when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about great faith. And He talks about that. He talks about how He has not found so great faith in Israel. And that's what I want us to think about this evening as we look at this passage of Scripture, because there's a wonderful word in verse 10 that's used in the New Testament many times, and it's the word marveled. It says, when Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them that followed, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Jesus marveled at his faith. Do you know that the word marveled is used 19 times in the Gospels? But of those 19 times, 17 of them, it's speaking about others as they marveled at Jesus. But only twice does it tell us that Jesus marveled. Two times, this is one of them. The other time, you read about it in Mark's gospel, Mark chapter six and verse six, and there he marvels at something completely different. It says he marveled because of their unbelief. Two things Jesus marveled at. He marveled at great faith and he marveled at unbelief. What a contrast we have. I want us to think this evening about the two things that Jesus marveled at, because as we think about those, we see a wonderful picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can see it from these verse 10 through to verse 12 in Matthew chapter 8. I want you to notice, first of all, of course, the very clear one that we have in this passage. Jesus marveled because of great faith, and it's great faith which brings salvation. Not great faith in ourselves, but faith in a great God. Faith in a great Savior. That's what brings salvation. We read about the Lord Jesus Christ here. He's commending the centurion because of his faith. And as he's commending him, he then goes on and he speaks about the scope of the message of the gospel. Because at the time that Jesus was preaching and as he was teaching in the land of Israel, the ministry of Jesus at that time was largely confined to a particular group of people. It was confined to the Jewish people. But while it was confined to the Jewish people, there's a principle here which is clear, that the message of the gospel is a message for all. Because Jesus says, after he says, I've not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. He says, I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. He's saying that faith and great faith is going out beyond Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's going out beyond Israel. Because this great faith has not been found in Israel. Bear in mind this centurion here, he's a Gentile. He's not a Jew. He's a Roman soldier. The message of the gospel is for all. And Luke's account of this incident in Luke chapter 7, the elders of the Jews had been sent to speak to Jesus. And you read there how they've come. And the Jewish leaders at that point in time, they still weren't sure about Him. They weren't sure about Jesus. They couldn't quite make up their minds about Him. And therefore, they come to Him. And if you turn over to Luke chapter 7, you'll see this. It tells us that the centurion, verse 3, when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews. beseeching him that he would come and heal his servants. So he sends the elders of the Jews, the Jewish leaders, and they've come with this petition on behalf of the centurion. But as you read down through that account, you'll see that the Jewish leaders, their heart was in a different place. And this passage in Luke chapter 7 tells us where their heart is. Because in verse 4 it says, they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, or literally earnestly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. The centurion's worthy. Why is he worthy? For he loveth our nation and he hath built us a synagogue. He's worthy because he's got deep pockets. He's worthy because he is doing these great things for us. And they've come with this petition because this man has donated to them in the building of a synagogue. They were interested in this man for one reason only, because he was wealthy, because he was generous towards them. An ordinary Gentile who didn't have that wealth wouldn't even have been taken under their notice. They wouldn't even have listened to him coming to appeal to them that he would go to Jesus. But this man was taken under their notice. Jesus isn't really talking about the Jewish leadership here. When Jesus encounters this whole situation and he speaks about this man, he makes a statement about the centurion's faith and he makes a statement and a parallel between it and the lack of faith that was evident by the Jews. And effectively what Jesus says here in Matthew 8 and verse 11 is that those who demonstrate faith in him will enter the kingdom of heaven. That's what verse 11 says. Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." It speaks about people from all places. people from all backgrounds, people from all circumstances. It speaks about those who come from a Jewish background who believe in Him as Messiah. It speaks about those who have come from a Gentile background who have found Him and find Him to be their Savior. And I want us to think about this just for a moment or two now. You see, He speaks about great faith here. What does the Bible tell us about faith? It tells us that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. So you're sitting here tonight in this church building. Perhaps you're sitting in your home tonight. I don't know, maybe the rain put you off, or maybe you weren't able to get out, or whatever the circumstances are. Maybe you're just not able to get out. But here's the thing, you're sitting listening tonight, and you have heard the message of the gospel many times before. You've heard about your need of God's salvation. You've heard about the fact that you're a sinner. You've heard about the fact that sin separates you from God. You've heard about the fact that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. You've heard the gospel. You've heard the word many times. You're not saved. You haven't placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your faith could be in many other things. Just like those Jewish leaders, their faith and their hope was in other things. They were hoping that by getting Jesus to help this man, perhaps he would come along and build another synagogue for them, perhaps, I don't know. But the Lord Jesus Christ has come. And the Lord Jesus Christ did many wonderful and amazing things when he came and he lived upon this earth. The Lord Jesus Christ healed people. The Lord Jesus Christ cleansed people. The Lord Jesus Christ, he did many amazing things. But the most wonderful thing that the Lord Jesus Christ did when he came to this earth was to go to that cross. And there on that cross, he took the sins of the world upon himself. And as he hung upon that cross, and he took the judgment of God, poured out upon him for guilty sinners, The Lord Jesus Christ did that for you and he did it for me. As he paid the sin debt, as he took that load upon himself and he took the wrath of God upon himself, he did it for you and for me. He did it so that we would go free. Ask yourself a question tonight. In your own heart, where you're seated right now, ask yourself, Why have I not put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Ask yourself that question honestly, not just a passing question and let it pass from your mind, but think about it. Why have I not trusted in Jesus Christ? This centurion here that we're reading about had heard about him. The centurion had sought the Lord Jesus Christ to work. He believed that he would work. And Jesus did what was asked of him. Jesus healed the servant. And you see, for you tonight, sin is your problem. And the Lord Jesus Christ, if you will only come. And by the knee, come and confess your sin. The Lord Jesus Christ, he will save you. Come by faith. Come believing. Come believing. Come to Jesus, look and live. It speaks about great faith here. I don't want you to think that you can't have great faith. I don't want you to think that you wouldn't be able to do that. In terms of salvation, the work has been done. Christ has done the work. He has paid the price. The Little Children's Chorus simply says, faith is just believing. what God says He will do. And He says, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Saving faith is coming to Jesus Christ, confessing your sin, accepting what Christ has done at Calvary, and knowing and believing that He will save you. And so He will. You see, the first thing that Jesus marveled at He marveled at great faith, which brings salvation. But the second thing that Jesus marveled at, and you can see this in Mark chapter six and the verse six, and we'll just read the verse there. Mark chapter six and verse six. It says, and this is Jesus, and he's in his own place. He came into his own country, it tells us in Mark six and verse one. His disciples followed him and The people knew him. It tells us in verse 3 that they saw him. He had taught in the synagogue. In verse 2, verse 3, they said, is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses and of Judah and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. They wouldn't believe him. This was his own country. Tells us in verse 5, he was in his own country among his own kin and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them." Look what it says in verse 6. He marveled because of their unbelief. Now, this word marveled in Scripture, it can mean a number of different things. It can mean admired. It can mean wondered at. And here, even Jesus As he looked at his own people, their unbelief was so great that Jesus marveled at it. His own people. His own town, in Nazareth, the place where He grew up. Many of the people there had known Him as He was growing up. They knew His background. They were the people who were looking for their Messiah. And they wouldn't accept Him. They wouldn't believe Him. Even though He was on their very own doorstep, these people would have seen Jesus growing up. Have you ever thought about the fact that as the Lord Jesus Christ grew up, He never sinned? Even as a child. He did no wrong. Think about that. Not once. And these people would have seen and known who Jesus was. They would have known that he was not a child who had ever gotten in trouble. He would never have caused Mary, his mother, or Joseph any problems at all. He never caused any difficulty for them. They never had any worries about him. Never had any doubts about him. If anyone should have believed, it was this people. They should have believed. But their own belief was great. In Matthew chapter 8 and verse 12, the passage we read, Jesus spoke about the Jewish people who would reject him. That's who he's speaking about in verse 12 when he says the children of the kingdom should be cast out into outer darkness. He's speaking about the Jew. He's speaking about how they will reject him. He speaks about their separation, how they'll be cast out. Now from a prophetic perspective, and I'm not getting into prophecy tonight, but we know that God isn't finished with the Jew. He's far from finished with the Jew. We know that the Jew are a special people set apart unto God. We know that towards the end of the tribulation period, after the rapture of the church, there's going to be a great turning to Him by the Jewish people. We know that Zechariah tells us in Zechariah 13, in that day, And I love that little phrase in that day. I know over this past week I listened to a preacher talk about that day, Zechariah 12, 13, and 14, and how many times it's mentioned. And he says about that day, he says it tells us exactly the timeframe, and that's exactly what it says. In that day, there shall be a fountain open to the house of David. and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. So we know that there will be that national turning to Christ, turning to their Messiah towards the end of the tribulation period. But do you see during the time, the life of Christ, this people rejected him, his own rejected him. They were still looking for their Messiah to come. And do you know what? They're still looking for their Messiah to come. And when Jesus spoke here about sitting down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, That's what the Jews believed would happen when their Messiah came. That's what they were looking for. And Jesus here, as He's speaking to them, and He's speaking to Jewish leaders as well, remember? Jesus is telling them that He had come. But they wouldn't recognize Him. And because they wouldn't recognize Him, because they wouldn't accept Him, because they wouldn't acknowledge Him for who He was, and they were choosing to reject Him, they would be separated. from the kingdom. There's a great parallel here with the message of the gospel. You see, if you show faith in Christ, if you believe, you'll enter into the kingdom. But if you don't believe, will you be separated from God for all of eternity? The verse says, cast into outer darkness. Verse 12, the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. And that phrase speaks about eternal punishment. It speaks about eternal judgment. It speaks about outer darkness. In Matthew 13, it speaks about a furnace of fire. It talks about how there should be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And the reality is, as we contemplate eternity for those who are lost, that is their eternity. Those who reject Christ will suffer eternal punishment. And first of all, they'll suffer in the place the Bible calls hell, but then ultimately it's revealed, it's outlined in Revelation 20, and verse 15 is the lake of fire. And as you read that, that is the outworking of unbelief. But yet it doesn't have to be the eternity for any who hear the gospel. It doesn't have to be your eternity tonight, because the Lord Jesus Christ offers salvation to those who believe. He offers salvation to those who have faith. But for those who reject Him, there's separation. For those who reject Him, there's judgment. For those who reject Him, there's punishment for all of eternity. I was thinking just over these past days about how the weather has been so changeable and how we've had snow and then we've had it starting to get a bit milder and then it's been back to snow again and then now we're starting to get milder and a bit of rain and who knows what's coming next week. We don't know. Our weather's so changeable. Last summer we were talking about a heatwave. And that's the reality of it. There was a heat wave across all of Western Europe. And of course, whenever we talk about the weather and the changeable nature of it and how it fluctuates so much, they talk about climate change. And that's what the world talks about now. And of course, that's all our fault. We need to reduce our CO2 emissions by 2030. And we have to do that. We have to cut them in half by 2030. Everything seems to have to happen by 2030 these days. I wonder what that means. I don't know. You would nearly think there was an agenda. But there we are. And apparently we need to limit the increase in temperature to one and a half degrees in order to avoid catastrophe. The world talks about all of these things. I want to tell you something tonight. We can worry about all of those things if we want. And as the people of God, we ought to care for the planet. We ought to. But we can't change the future. We can't change God's eternal purpose for what is going to happen with this world. There's a greater problem, and it's a problem for those who reject Christ. It's much greater than climate change or climate extinction or whatever they want to call it. Revelation 20 and verse 15, here's what it says. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is a real place. The lake of fire is a place of eternal suffering for the soul, for the one who has rejected God. But here's the thing, as I think about the lake of fire, It's not the extreme heat that's the greatest torment. It's not. As much of a torment as that will be. And we can think about how the rich man talked about how he was tormented in those flames. And we understand that. We read about that in Luke 19. But here's the thing. The greatest torment in the lake of fire is not the extreme heat. It's the separation from God. Particularly. And especially for those who heard the gospel and rejected it. Who heard about their need to have faith in Christ and said, I don't want this Christ. I don't want this salvation because I want my life and I want my here and now and I want this side or the other. Let me tell you, when you're in the lake of fire, you'll want none of it. You'll wish you'd accepted Christ. And that's all that will cross your mind. That's what will torment you and torment you and torment you for all of eternity. Why would you reject Christ? Why would you expose yourself to such torment? Will Jesus marvel at your great faith? Or will Jesus marvel at your unbelief? The choice is yours. It actually sits with you tonight. And who knows, but this could be the last opportunity. Because as we talk, and as I've mentioned about this idea that there might be an agenda, And all the rest of it, let me tell you, it doesn't matter about the world's agenda. God has an agenda. And it's all been ticked off. And we're nearly at the end. And let me tell you something, I sit in meetings and I've sat in meetings for years when I worked in local government and there was an item at the end, any other notified business, there is no notified business. There's no other notified business on God's agenda. Once his agenda is ticked off, it's ticked off. And once that happens, The Lord Jesus Christ is going to step out and he's going to call his church to himself. And if you haven't accepted Christ at that point in time, it's too late. It hasn't been adjourned. It's closed off. It's too late. Will it be too late for you because of your unbelief? I trust that there's none who are here tonight who will leave it too late and find themselves separated from God forever in the place the Bible calls the lake of fire. We'll not sing a closing hymn. We'll just close in prayer now. Our Father in heaven, we are thankful again for your truth and we're thankful, our God, for the gospel message. We're thankful for Christ, the one who can deliver us, the one who has been to the cross for us, the one who has taken the judgment of God, poured out upon him. Lord, we know that we can't enter into the depth of the suffering that our Savior went through for us. We will never know that if we've trusted in Christ. Father God, we do pray that each one who's here tonight We know the reality of their sin forgiven and that they're ready for heaven. Father, we leave it with you. We pray, O God, that you'll work in hearts by your spirit and by your mercy and by your grace. And Lord, we pray that any who don't know Christ would come and bow the knee, trust in the Savior, and not leave it too late, but be ready for heaven. Father, we thank you for your goodness to us. Bless us now as we part the one from the other. We ask in the Savior's precious name, amen, amen.