Says Who?! - Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.
Jordan Byrd
May 4, 2025
When you put a puzzle together, what's your strategy? Do you start with the edge pieces, or focus on a specific part of the image first? These two strategies can help give us a visual for what we’ll encounter in Matthew 8:1-17. This portion of the gospel of Matthew, highlights a series of interactions that a number of people have with Jesus. As we reflect on these interactions with Jesus, we encounter a certain level of faith–a great faith. And I hope you hear the good news from God’s Word that Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces of what Jesus says He can do. Great faith expects the full picture of what Jesus says He can do. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith EXPECTS the full picture of what Jesus claims He can do. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.
Matthew 8:1-17
Over the past couple months, Julia’s been starting seedlings in our house. Recently, she moved them to a small greenhouse on our back deck. Then on Tuesday, a storm rolled through. The wind picked up the little greenhouse and flipped it over—scattering every tray of plants. Most couldn’t be saved. Some were completely ruined—stems snapped, leaves crushed. It was heartbreaking. Julia and the kids had spent a lot of time planting every seed. And every day, Julia made sure they were watered and had enough sunlight. Now—all gone. And to make it worse, I was out of town at a conference. There wasn’t much I could do. All I could think to do was empathy. I felt sad for all the work she lost and even more for the joy she lost in growing them.
When something like this happens, it’s easy for our imagination about God’s role to shrink. The plants are gone. So maybe we think, “Well, God can comfort us in the loss.” Or maybe we hope, “God won’t let this happen again next year.” Or maybe we pray, “God, help us afford new, already-grown plants to replace what we lost.” Each of these responses includes faith in God—and that’s good. But they also share something else: a potentially, unaware, limited imagination about how deeply God might care or how involved He wants to be. It’s easy to downplay it: “They’re just plants.” “God has bigger things to worry about.” “It’s just a hobby—not life or death.” “We can always buy more.” But all of those thoughts are potentially limits on what we think God can or should do. They might be reducing His activity only to what WE can make sense of. To solutions that seem practical or possible to us. And when we do that, we shrink our faith to fit only the pieces of our understanding—instead of stretching our faith to match God’s heart.
We live in a world that often leaves God out. And in that kind of world, we’re constantly shaped to see life through human wisdom and human perspective. Even if we don’t walk away from God completely, we can still be tempted to settle. We settle for less than what God can actually do. We settle for limited ideas of how He might work in the world—or in our own lives. We still believe God can show up, but our imaginations can be limited—to bits and pieces of the fuller picture of what God is about.
The good news in Matthew 8:1–17 is that in Jesus, we see, hear, and experience the full picture of what God is about. And the people who come to Jesus in this passage—they don’t settle for bits and pieces. They come with a faith that expects the full picture of God from the one who is God. They believe Jesus can do everything He says He can do—because He’s not just a healer or a teacher. He is God’s Son. He is the Lord in flesh. What we see in them is great faith. And great faith doesn’t settle. Great faith expects big things from God—not just the things we want, but expecting the things Jesus says, and shows we should expect from Him. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces of what Jesus promises. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.
Recently, we were in Elmwood Village, in the city of Buffalo, on a Saturday afternoon. As we were walking around, we saw a group of people protesting—trying to raise awareness about a few global conflicts. One of the issues they highlighted was the ongoing conflict between Gaza and Israel. I couldn’t quite read the sign one person was holding, but I could tell it had something to do with Israel—because they were dressed up like Moses, holding two stone-looking tablets like the Ten Commandments. They were doing their very best Charlton Heston impression. And if you're of a generation that doesn’t know what I’m talking about, look up the movie, The Ten Commandments movie. And It’ll make sense then, LOL.
Now, in the Bible, Moses is known for a lot of things. But probably the most iconic moment is when he receives God’s law on two stone tablets. It’s iconic because it marks a moment of clarity—a time when God made His desires for Israel clear and detailed. God’s promises weren’t hidden. They were written down. Multiple pieces of God’s Word were brought together, so the people could understand Gods’ way more clearly—so they could more clearly understand what God is about.
When Matthew 8:1 says Jesus came down from the mountainside, it’s not just a scene change. Matthew’s doing something intentional here. He’s calling back to Moses—to that moment when Moses came down the mountain with God’s written revelation. That was a moment of clarity, God’s will made known, God’s words in writing. Now, in Jesus, it’s more than words written in stone—it’s the Word made flesh, walking and talking directly to people. Jesus doesn’t just bring a message from God. He is the message. God’s heart, God’s power, God’s mission—all revealed in Him.
You see, the mountainside Jesus is coming down from is the same one where He just finished teaching—one of the longest, clearest, most detailed teachings we have from Him. It’s what’s often called the Sermon on the Mount. Just like Moses came down the mountain with God’s written law, so too, Jesus comes down with God’s words on his lips, and embodied in his actions with people. Jesus is God’s living Word—spoken with authority, straight from the heart of God. Jesus provides an even clearer picture of what God is all about. Jesus doesn’t just teach what God is about—He also shows people what God is about.
Matthew is helping his audience to see that Jesus is the greatest revelation we have of who God is, and what He’s all about. Before Jesus, there were only pieces of the picture. God’s law, and the prophecies that followed, helped humanity piece together a clearer picture of what God is up to. But when Jesus comes onto the scene, He is the clearest picture of what God is up to.
And in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave one of the clearest pictures we have of what God is really about. He said God cares for the hungry and the poor. That God blesses the merciful and the peacemakers. That God transforms hearts, not just habits—bringing light to the darkest places inside us. That God loves His enemies. That God forgives. That God even watches over the seemingly insignificant birds in the sky and the flowers in the field. Jesus wasn’t just offering tips for better living. He was revealing God’s heart—in detail—showing us the fuller picture of what God is about. It’s that greater detail—that fuller picture of who God is—that sets the stage for the kind of great faith we see in the people we encounter throughout Matthew 8:1–17. Jesus went beyond revealed pieces of who God is. Jesus provided a full, embodied picture of God.
One thing marriage has taught me—and keeps teaching me, because I’m not great at it—is this: Sometimes, physical affection isn’t enough. You also need words—words of love, affirmation, and care. And sometimes, words aren’t enough. You also need to hug, hold a hand to hold, or just sit together. Throughout the interactions we see people having with Jesus in Matthew 8:1-17, we encounter that God does not just reveal himself in words or just in actions. We see that in each situation, Jesus intentionally goes beyond words or actions. There’s a repetitive pattern that emerges among the encounters Jesus has with the healing of the leper (8:1-4), Jesus touches a diseased man, who was likely only ever spoken to. With the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant (8:5-13), Jesus speaks to an non-Jewish man who was never spoken to respectfully by most Jews. With the sickness of the mother in law of Jesus’ disciple, Peter (8:14-15), Jesus touches a woman’s hand, to show compassion—more than just offering words of comfort. And with the freedom brought to the demon-possessed people (8:16-17), Jesus speaks to the spiritual realm, in a way most people had no idea how to address or counter. Through both word and deed, Jesus provided a clearer picture of what God was about. Jesus spoke God’s words of love and compassion to real people beyond just teaching about it. Jesus accepted and mercy to real people with embodied affection, went beyond just teaching about acceptance and mercy. Jesus provided a full picture of God to people, not just pieces of God.
One of the things we’ve been leaning into lately, as a staff, is this question: What is God’s vision for CCC in this next season? And honestly, it’s tempting to dream small. To dream in ways that feel safe—within our reach, within our budget, within our comfort zones. To build toward a future that’s based on what we already know how to do. But what if that’s not the kind of dream God is inviting us into? What if the next season isn’t about what we can accomplish with our own hands—but about what God wants to reveal through his? What if God’s vision is bigger than that? What if what God wants to do here is something we can’t pull off on our own? What if it’s something that could only happen if God showed up and made it happen? That’s the kind of vision that requires great faith. Faith that doesn’t settle for what’s within reach—but trusts for what Jesus says is possible. We’ll continue to seek God for the dream He has for us; and we’d appreciate your prayers for that as well!
This contrast is the contrast of faith that we see again and again in the way people interact with Jesus in Matthew 8:1-17. In each interaction, faith stands at a crossroads. Will each person trust what’s normal and expected—from a human point of view? Or will each person trust the fuller picture Jesus reveals about God—a God who desires abundant life for the people he created? Is Jesus just reflecting the limited perspective of what human conceive God could do in a desperate situation? Or is he revealing a God beyond human imagination—one who brings life—only possible—if the Creator Himself is present and active?
We see this dynamic in Jesus' interaction with the leper (8:1-4). The leper approaches Jesus and asks, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:1-4) The leper doesn’t settle for just a piece of what Jesus might do. He doesn’t hold back, but has great faith, believing that Jesus can heal and cleanse, no matter how impossible it seems. This is faith that trusts Jesus can do what he teaches—that Jesus can do more than just talk about healing—that Jesus can actually heal and cleanse his life. The leprous man demonstrates a great faith in Jesus. The leper doesn’t settle for pieces of Jesus. The leper expects the full picture of what Jesus reveals that God is all about!
We see the same dynamic with the Roman Centurion, who comes to Jesus asking him to heal his servant. Jesus offers to come to his house, but the Centurion doesn’t think that’s necessary. In Luke’s account, we learn the Centurion says, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Luke 7:7) The Centurion has great faith. He believes Jesus is who he says he is—that He is the Lord God. He doesn’t settle for just a piece of what God can do. The Centurion EXPECTS the full picture of God in the flesh. And part of that picture is this: Jesus doesn’t have to be physically present to heal—he only has to speak, and it’s done. After all, Jesus is the same God who only had to speak the world into existence, in the beginning. If he could do that then, then he can surely do that with the Centurion’s servant now too. Even Jesus says—this man has great faith (8:10), “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…..’” (Matthew 8:10)
Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces of what Jesus says He can do. Great faith expects the full picture of what Jesus says He can do. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith EXPECTS the full picture of what Jesus claims He can do. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.
After hearing Julia’s sadness about her plants being ruined in Tuesday night’s storm, I did the only thing I knew to do—I prayed. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like, “Lord, if there’s any way to undo this loss, please do it.” The next day, as I was driving home, Julia called me. Through tears of love and joy, she told me how Shaelene Catalano had shown up at our house—with coffee, with dirt, and with seeds. And Shae didn’t just bring supplies to regrow the plants—she stayed and helped Julia replant them. Shae had noticed Julia’s online post about the situation, and she became the hands and feet and mouth of Jesus to our family at that moment.
I share that story because my first reaction to that loss was to assume God could only work within the limits of what I could see. My thinking was, “Maybe we’ll just have to move on.” “Maybe we can try again next year.” “Maybe we can go out and buy new plants.” That’s where my faith wanted to land—not in Jesus doing something new, but just in trying to make the best of it. And I think that’s often the temptation we all end up facing, right? To have faith in Jesus but only within the boundaries of what we think is possible. Asking Jesus to do something with just the remaining pieces. Rather than EXPECT a fuller picture of what’s possible from Jesus. God’s word in Matthew 8:1-17 is inviting us to not have a faith that settles, but to have a great faith that expects more of Jesus. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.
As we begin to wrap up, I invite you to consider this: Great faith isn’t about trusting God for our outlandish desires. It’s not about asking God to give us a lavish lifestyle or the biggest bank account. Great faith is about trusting Jesus for what He desires for you. It’s rooted in what Jesus taught, in what He revealed about God, and in what He says is most needed for you to have the fullest life possible. Great faith expects. It expects Jesus to do what He says He can do. EXPECT that Jesus will do what he says He can do in your life. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture of God from Jesus.
Look to Jesus.
Today, if you find yourself trying to make sense of life, with only bits and pieces of who God is, I invite you to look to Jesus. Look to Jesus to see the fullest picture of who God is. And I invite you to trust him for the hope, healing, and deliverance you long for in your life. Trust that Jesus can do what He claims he can do. If you’ve never placed faith in Jesus before, please find me, or another trusted follower of Jesus, and we’d be glad to help you begin having great faith in Jesus–and uniting your life to His under the water of baptism.
How great is your faith?
If you’ve already decided to place your faith in Jesus, I invite you to consider how great your faith is. Ask God’s Spirit to reveal areas of your life, where you’re tempted to limit what He’s able to do. Ask God’s Spirit to help you trust Jesus to do what He says He can do. Ask God’s Spirit to help you expect Jesus to bring about the full picture that God has in store for your life. Great faith doesn’t settle for pieces. Great faith expects the full picture from Jesus.