I don’t know how other people read the stories in the Gospels, but to me they are all pixels in a larger image, like brushstrokes in a painting. Matthew 8 is filled with amazing scenes of restoration. In the King’s presence, the brokenness of the world encounters the authority of its rightful king.
 
The encounter with the centurion was especially impactful. This man was not only a Gentile, but a representative of Rome’s incredible military power. Yet, he approaches Jesus with amazing humility and confidence in Jesus’ authority. Jesus was amazed by this man’s faith and then opened the scene up to a much broader picture of a large gathering where many will come from east and west and share the Kingdom banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
 
The promise and hope He speaks of should shape the way we, as followers of Jesus, live. We aren’t the ones who heal the nations by ourselves. Jesus is the King, and restoration comes through Him, and Him alone.
 
Knowing this ought to impact the way we live as someone who believes the King’s table will be filled with people gathered from places you might not expect. It ought to ensure we lay down any and all prejudices and preferences for one group of people over another. We should practice mercy without partiality, welcome fellow believers across barriers that pride would seek to preserve. Trust Jesus to do what only Jesus can do, and rejoice as our life bears witness to the reconciled Kingdom He is bringing.

Are the people or groups you instinctively imagine as being farther from God’s Kingdom than maybe you are? What boundary of fear, pride, culture, or preference might Jesus be calling you to cross with faithful love?

Father, You, and You alone, are the King whose authority reaches farther than my expectations. Forgive me when pride or familiarity makes me presume upon Your grace or when prejudice causes me to narrow the welcome You have modeled. Teach me to trust Your authority, practice mercy, and receive fellow believers as members of the Kingdom You are gathering from every nation. Amen.

“Because Jesus is gathering people from east and west, I want to become more willing to __________________.”