Who Impressed Jesus?

Jesus interacted with lots of people during His ministry. But who impressed Him?


Certainly He had friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And there was the apostle John whom He loved. But what strangers impressed Him? When He called His apostles from their jobs and lives, He said, "follow Me." But He doesn't praise them especially; He expects obedience. The men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 had good conversation with Him, but we don't see Jesus praising them.

So who received great praise from Jesus? I like what He said to the centurion in Luke 7:1-9. The centurion's servant was near death. The centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof....Say the word and my servant will be healed." "When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'"

Another case is with the woman in Matthew 15:28. Her child was demon-possessed. She had a conversation with Jesus asking for mercy, and saying, "Lord, help me." (Isn't this what we often pray?) Jesus recognizing her deep faith concluded with, "O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire."

So, to me, the answer is faith; that is what impresses Jesus. In the Bible we see that faith and trust go hand in hand. We must trust Him enough to do what He says, to live as He says live. We must not be too in love with this world, or with ourselves, or in a single word, self. As Hebrews 11:6 says, we must "believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It sounds simple enough, but it isn't really. It means changing the whole order of priority of our lives. But remember this: He is the "rewarder." Nothing else in this world rewards like Jesus does. Let's do it!