Faith or Great Faith?
Post No. One
October 9, 2026 (Early post for 10/12/26)
Scripture focus:
John 4:46-50
Matthew 8:5-11 & 13
Not all faith is created equal. Jesus Himself made a point of distinguishing between faith and great faith. He also gave us everything we need in the scriptures to see the difference for ourselves and to move from one level of faith to a higher (or “deeper”) level. Our scripture focus compares two stories: that of the royal official whose son was ill and that of the Centurion whose servant was paralyzed. One had a revelation of Jesus’s identity as the Christ. The other did not, and it impacted the way he approached Jesus when his son’s life was on the line. Jesus made a show of addressing the difference in each man’s approach to Him, so it behooves us to take a serious look at these encounters and glean actionable steps from the lesson He intended. In this article, we are going to dig into how the depth of our revelation around Christ’s identity influences 1) how we approach Him with our requests, 2) how He feels about our approach, and ultimately 3) how we experience Him.
Jesus’s Power is Rooted in His Identity
Our first encounter, that between Jesus and the royal official, comes from John 4:46-50. It reads as follows:
“46 He [Jesus] went again to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die. 48 Jesus told him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.’ 49 ‘Sir,’ the official said to him, ‘come down before my boy dies.’ 50 ‘Go,’ Jesus told him, ‘Your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed.” [emphasis added]
The official begged Jesus to come in person. He did not have a revelation of the divine aspect of Jesus’s identity. He knew what Jesus could do, but he did not yet understand who Jesus was—that He was God in the flesh (to his credit, the official’s experience led to the conversion of his whole household, and in that regard, the ultimate Will of God for his testimony necessitated a difference in faith prior to encountering Jesus. That said, this is no indictment on the official in any way.) We saw a similar response from Martha and Mary in John 11 when Lazarus died. When Jesus arrived at the place where Lazarus’s body lay, both sisters responded with, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (emphasis added). They too believed that Jesus had unique access to God and could perform miracles. Marth even believed that God would raise the dead if Jesus asked, as evinced by the rest of her statement to Jesus: “even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Jesus had to show Martha and the other onlookers that His power was rooted in something beyond a unique access to the divine. That divinity was not just something He could access, but it was in fact in Him. His power stemmed from the authority vested in His identity as God. Which is why, in Jesus’s final word to Martha on the topic of resurrection, an event Martha knew to be initiated and completed only by God Himself, Jesus firmly replied, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (Emphasis added) (For the sake of completeness, Jesus was also fully man, which is why He made a point to pray, and to do so in the presence of the people so they—and today, we—would know how to bring God’s will into the Earth as people).
The Centurion and His Paralyzed Servant: Faith in His Identity Astonishes Jesus
By contrast, in Matthew 8:5-11 & 13, the Centurion had a deeper revelation. He understood who Jesus was, not just what He could do. His revelation, coupled with his own experience as a man in power, influenced how he approached Jesus. This difference in approach evoked a different response from Jesus, as we see below:
“5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.’ 7 Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’ 8 The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. […] 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.” (Emphasis added)
Different than the official, the Centurion did not need Jesus to come in person. Jesus allowed us to see why the Centurion did not ask Him to come physically when He offered to come. The Centurion declined because he understood and believed already that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, before he came to Jesus. He was asking from a place of faith, not just in what Jesus could do, but in who Jesus was—in Jesus’s identity as the Christ. The Centurion had a revelation that Jesus was not just a powerful man with miracle-working power; He understood that when Jesus said a thing or sent a command, it must happen because of who He was.
This is why the Centurion referenced authority in his response to Jesus’s offer to come. He knew that if Jesus only said his servant would be healed, then whatever the source of the paralysis--be it sin, demonic oppression, or rebellious cells in the body--all would be under an obligation to obey. To believe that Jesus’s Word had supreme authority, that it would override any opposing force in creation, is to believe that He is God because, according to Scripture, Jehovah alone possessed that authority. His revelation made all the difference, and Jesus recognized the man's reliance on his belief in Jesus's identity as "great faith".
Jesus Wants to Reveal His Identity to All of Us
It is important to note that in both stories Jesus still healed. He still helped. He still granted the mens' supplications and performed a miracle for them individually. Jesus already knew what He was going to do; He was going to do the Will of the Father. Just the same, the Father already knows what we need before we ask Him. The two men were at different stages of development in their belief, but Jesus did not hold that against them. The good news for us is that we also do not have to be perfect in our faith when we come to God. What matters is that we come. He will meet and work with us where we are.
Nevertheless, Jesus directly acknowledged the difference in faith because it was important. It mattered to Him. Point being, if the depth of our faith matters to Jesus, beyond just meeting our need or granting our request, then it should matter to us as well. Therefore, we should be praying concerning this subject often, asking God to
1. reveal to us what we believe about who He is
2. show us where our beliefs about him are weak, misinformed, or incorrect, and
3. give us a deeper revelation of who He really is in those areas
So, here are some actionable steps:
1. The points above are intended as prayer points. Pray them!
2. Search the Scriptures, memorize them, and say them whenever applicable. Belief is influenced by repetition. (Jesus himself said scripture testifies about Him. If you are not familiar with the bible, just search Google for Scriptures about the identity of Jesus)
3. Seek testimonies from other saints who have experienced God in the way you want/need to
4. Read doctrinally sound Christian literature that speaks to Christ’s identity.
5. Listen to biblically sound gospel songs (unfortunately, not all are. More on that later). This will help truth penetrate your soul.
As believers in Christ, it is imperative that we work toward this kind of faith, that is, the kind that is rooted in a revelation of who Christ is, in the Earth, in heaven, and to us personally. This is something we can and should be praying into consistently—for God to give us a deeper revelation of who He is, in our situations, in our lives, in the natural and spiritual realms, etc. He’s eager to reveal himself to us!
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Below are some questions to consider. If your answers to any of these questions make you uncomfortable, take those uncomfortable feelings into prayer and express them to God. See what He has to say. That is how we see change.
1. Do I feel I have a firm grasp on Jesus’s identity in heaven? In the Earth? In my individual life?
2. Am I wrestling with some aspect of His Identity? If so, which aspect?
3. Is there a part of Jesus’s identity that I do not feel I have seen in my life/story that I would like to see?
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