Luke 7:9 “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!”
It is hard to imagine Jesus being astonished! But, that is the clear meaning here. How? How is it possible for Christ to experience that emotion? Two answers will suffice to explain this. First, remember that Jesus had emptied Himself of much of His heavenly glory. Though we do not know the exact particulars, it seems that included certain self-imposed limitations. But, secondly, and likely more to the point, Jesus is human. This does not in any way mean He is not sufficiently Divine. It simply means that He is capable of all the feelings that human kind may experience.
It will be helpful to take this a step further. Is it really impossible for God to be astonished? Of course He is not surprised in the sense of discovering something He didn’t know. But, even if a regular human happened to know everything (just for the sake of illustration), would that keep that person from finding certain things to be remarkable? Astonishment as we see it here seems to be an understanding of the unique strength of this man’s faith in relation to the faith of others. And the human part of the response simply goes along with it.
So really what needs to be understood here is that God does have feelings just as humans do. However, Jesus may experience and express these in a uniquely human way being Himself God and man at once. Thus, the very Trinity is not unfamiliar with the inner workings of humans not only due to having made us, but due to experience itself. The Godhead knows and knows. And in this case, God knows great faith when He sees it!
Heavenly Father, You are so amazing to us! Never can we understand it all. We will always be learning more about You. How can we do any less with an infinite person? You are more intricate than anything with which we have to do. Thank You for the beauty of Your Person, and for giving us a glimpse into it. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.