Toward the end of the epic work Gods and Generals, General Stonewall Jackson makes a visit to a dying general who is lying on a cot in a field tent. The conversation goes as follows:

Gen. Jackson: “General Gregg.”
Gen. Gregg: “General Jackson, I wish to apologize for the differences we had.”
Gen. Jackson: “The doctor tells me you have not long to live. I ask you to dismiss this matter from your mind and turn your thoughts to God and the world to which you go.”
Gen. Gregg: “General, you know that I’m not a believer.”
Gen. Jackson: “Well . . . then I will believe for the both of us.”

General Jackson’s timely word of comfort raises a few questions: Can one person believe for someone else? If so, what does that involve? How is one person benefitted by another’s faith? What does that possibility suggest about the nature of what it means to be human? Of what it means to be a Christian?

For many people, the very suggestion is problematic. We have no difficulty believing in the power of intercessory prayer. But intercessory faith? For some reason, that notion seems more bothersome. The American tradition has pumped a lot of Horatio Alger myths into our head about self-made men. Rip-roaring evangelists have told us that “God doesn’t have grandchildren.” Each of us stands alone. Each of us is accountable before God. Each of us must individually receive Christ in faith or perish. We are told that there is no family membership plan in God’s country club. You get in as an individual or you don’t get in at all. With this sort of direction to our thinking, intercessory faith seems like voter fraud. To suggest that a person’s faith counts for more than just his own life is akin to the political joke, “When you go to the polls, vote early and often.” Can one’s support of Jesus count more than once?

The Gospels record for us a number of instances where one persons’ faith is said to have moved Jesus to heal another. In the first of these, a couple of guys carry their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They encounter an obstacle to their good intentions when a large crowd blocks them from getting through the front door and near to Jesus. But the friends are determined. They climb atop the house and lower their friend through the roof. Luke tells us that when Jesus “saw their faith he said, ‘Man your sins are forgiven’” (Luke 5:20). Interesting, isn’t it? The faith of a few is motivation for Jesus’ miracle and the paralytic’s recovery. Faith, in this instance, shows up as a daring act of property damage. The friends know who Jesus is. They know the need of their friend. They find a way to connect the two. And note what else happens to the paralytic. Not only does he begin to walk. He walks away with his sins forgiven! An act of faith moves Jesus to restore the lame and pardon his guilt.

A similar example is recorded a few chapters later. In Luke 7, some Jewish leaders come to Jesus on assignment for a Roman centurion. The Roman military officer has a servant who is nearing death and the official is requesting Jesus’ help. The Jewish elders muster up their best speech, hoping to persuade Jesus and force his hand. They say stuff like “this Roman is a good Roman. He is a friend to our nation. His servant deserves immediate medical attention.” When the military official learns that Jesus is coming his way, he sends friends to tell Jesus to stop his journey:

“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (ESV, Luke 7:7-8).

The man knows Jesus can just say the word and the word uttered there can make a man well all the way over here. The Roman knows that Jesus doesn’t have to be physically present to act, just willing. It is apparent that the Roman is amazed at Jesus. But it is also true that Jesus is amazed at him: “When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’” (Luke 7:9).

The essence of faith on the part of the Roman centurion is a recognition of who Jesus is and the power He has to make others well. The centurion’s act of faith is seen as an effort to protect Jesus from an unnecessary waste of time.

One of the things that interests me in this story is that the person ultimately made well is on the sideline away from all of the action and yet is the recipient of the action. In the flow of the narrative there are proposals and counter-proposals, journeys started and abruptly ended. All the while, the one healed is at home lying on a bed. We know nothing of the servant’s faith or lack thereof. What we do know is that his Roman master loved him and acted in faith. Because of the military official’s faithful response to Jesus, the servant was made well by God’s own command.

There is a third gospel event describing how someone’s faith made another well. A mother comes to Jesus on behalf of her afflicted and oppressed daughter. She cries out to Jesus for help but he doesn’t answer. Though ignored and brushed aside, the woman refuses to give up. She begins to pester the disciples. Soon her request becomes so irritating that even disciples ask Jesus for help — please send this nuisance away! Bowing before Jesus she once again cries for help. Once again, though, Jesus denies her request, saying, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.” While still on her knees, the woman is quick on her feet: “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” The woman is alert to the implications of Jesus’ implied comparison and deftly refocuses the metaphor. Upon her persistence, and because of her statement, Jesus praises her for“great faith” (Matthew 15:28). Immediately, her daughter is made well.

In each of these three gospel stories, one person’s faith moves Jesus to make someone else well. All are made well with physical restoration; one is even made well with the forgiveness of his sins. What is the significance of these stories for us today?

To start with, we should realize that there is greater social dimension to our lives than we have appreciated. We are relational beings, shaped by and giving shape to the lives of others. We become truly human, truly alive in connection with others. God’s covenant mercies are expansive enough to include households, tribes, communities and nations. Furthermore, there is a greater social element to faith than we realize. Though we properly speak of “a personal faith in Jesus Christ” as “your personal Lord and Savior”, you are not simply believing in Jesus for yourself. Like prayer, faith has an intercessory quality to it. You are believing in Jesus for the good of others: your wayward children, a husband or wife, classmates, co-workers, neighbors and community leaders. You are daily trusting the promises of God for “your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2:39). The Lord blessed Laban because of Jacob (Genesis 30:27, 30). The Lord blessed the unbelieving Pharaoh because of Joseph (Genesis 39:1). The Lord blesses unbelieving spouses and children because of one believer (I Corinthians 7:14). Given these examples, perhaps we’d do well to speak of having a “social faith in Jesus” as “our social Lord and Savior.” For faith is not merely a private affair between the believer and his or her God. The faith that we have as God’s gift to us is a public affair wherein God uses us to bring about a world of good to others.

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