Luke 7:1-10 6/10/07
In the Name of Him Who Makes Us “Sure of What We Hope for and Certain of What We Do Not See,” Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
It’s time to test your Old Testament history: What did Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham have in common? What did they have that Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph had? What characteristic did they share with Moses, with Rahab, and with Gideon? How were they similar to Samson, David, and Samuel? Actually, this is a take-home quiz. The answer is found in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. All of the people mentioned had in common what we might refer to as “fabulous faith.”
That phrase by itself contains a little bit of irony. By dictionary definition, faith is “belief that is not based on proof.” Fabulous means something that is “almost unbelievable.” So when we read about all the Old Testament “heroes of faith,” we have before us examples of people who accepted as true things which they had no real way of proving. We marvel at such faith, such fabulous faith, because humanly speaking it’s difficult to imagine anyone being able to believe so strongly in something or someone without having any proof to support their convictions. But that’s exactly what God’s definition of faith is all about (Heb 11:1), “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” That’s the only way we can understand how Abraham believed that he would be the father of a great nation, even when he and Sarah were past the age of bearing children. That’s the only way we can understand how Noah went ahead and built a big boat and waited 120 years for God to send a flood. That’s the only way we can understand how Moses was able to part the Red Sea so the Children of Israel could cross over on dry land. They all did it by faith!
This morning Luke tells us about a man who displayed a “belief that was not based on proof,” a man whom even Jesus himself points out as an example to be followed. Let’s take a closer look at this man, a Roman centurion, who shows us what it means to have:
I. It humbly turns to Jesus
II. It confidently trusts his Word
Jesus had just finished preaching his famous “Sermon on the Mount.” Now we find him withdrawing to one of his favorite spots in Galilee (v 1), “When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.” It was quite common to find Jesus in Capernaum whenever he was up in Galilee. He used this city as his northern headquarters, perhaps because it was also the hometown of some of his disciples. Capernaum was a busy city, serving as an important link for the trade route which connected Jerusalem to Damascus. For that reason there was usually a large number of Roman soldiers in town, making sure that traveling traders had a safe passageway from one city to the next. One such soldier plays an important role in the account before us this morning.
The man Luke mentions was a centurion, meaning he was in charge of 100 men. But we find this man in need, for someone whom he cared for was ill (v 2), “There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.” From the following verses we’re going to see that this man, though not a Jew, had come to embrace the Jewish faith. Here we’re told that he was in danger of losing a very important person in his life, a servant of his whom he “valued highly.” The prognosis wasn’t good, for this servant is described as being “sick and about to die.”
Didn’t this centurion have other servants to meet his needs? Sure, but notice here that he wasn’t just concerned for his own welfare. He wanted to help this man who had so faithfully served him, and he knew where to turn (v 3), “The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.” A Roman asking a favor of some Jewish elders? Why not? After all, he now shared their faith in Jesus, the one God had promised as the world’s Messiah. If this Jesus had power to save the world, surely he could save his sick servant from death. It was his faith which led him to turn to Jesus for help.
The Jewish elders thought a great deal of this Roman captain. In their eyes, he was deserving of a favor from Jesus (vv 4,5), “When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, ‘This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.’” Again we see examples of this man’s faith. For Jews to speak so highly of a Roman was pretty rare. But this man had put his faith in action by showing his love for the Jews, even building a synagogue for them to worship in. The Greek wording says that “he himself” built it, implying that he did so out of his own pocket. No wonder these Jewish leaders had no problem going to Jesus on his behalf. Surely this Roman centurion was deserving of a favor from Jesus!
We’re told that “Jesus went with them” (v 6), but it wasn’t because he owed this man a favor. The centurion himself knew that, and he exhibits the humble nature of his faith by what he does next (vv 6,7), “He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: ‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.’” Did you notice the phrases he used? “I do not deserve” and “I did not . . . consider myself worthy.” Even with his wonderful track record of love and good deeds toward the Jewish people, he still realized that he didn’t deserve any favors from Jesus. His humility was a fruit of his faith. No demands were made. No deals were proposed. The centurion was even hesitant to approach Jesus and didn’t even think he deserved to have Jesus enter his house. He didn’t turn to Jesus because of his own merits or because Jesus “owed him one.” He turned to him, humbly, because of his faith!
A great faith is a humble faith. It makes it possible to turn to God in every time of need. How does our faith stack up to that of the centurion’s? Ours isn’t so fabulous, is it! All too often, we try and handle things by ourselves first before we even think about letting God take care of our problems. Or when we do go to him, our selfish nature shows its ugly head as we usually put our own needs first and pray for others last, if at all. When we turn to God, do we feel that he “owes” us something, just because we’re “good, church-going” people? Do we grow impatient with him if his answer isn’t what we expected, or if we don’t get an instant solution to our problem? Have we ever questioned God, or even blamed him, when troubles do come into our lives? Fabulous faith? Hardly! We can learn much from the centurion. We can learn to pray for others and not just for ourselves. We can learn to humbly turn to our Lord and to trust that whatever answer he gives us will be what’s best for us. We can learn that God doesn’t owe us a thing, but in his great love for us he still blesses us and watches over us daily. We can learn that the same God who provided a Savior to assure us of eternal life will also provide all we need until we join our Savior in heaven. We can learn that when we humbly turn to Jesus, then we too can have a fabulous faith — not because we’ve earned it, but because it’s given to us as a gift of God’s grace!
Such a faith is vital for our spiritual welfare. Someone once wrote that “faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.” That’s a good description of what the centurion must have been thinking. After humbly turning to Jesus for help, his faith allowed him to confidently trust his Word.
That’s all the centurion needed (vv 7,8), “Say the word, and my servant will be healed. 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.” This centurion certainly knew what it meant to have authority. He could tell soldiers to jump, and they would ask, “How high?” But how much greater was Jesus’ authority, as God’s promised Messiah, God’s own Son! All Jesus had to so was “say the word” and the centurion knew that his servant would be healed.
A confident faith which trusts the Word of the Lord is never disappointed (vv 9,10), “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.’ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.” How fabulous was this man’s faith? It even amazed Jesus! It was so great that Jesus declares that he hasn’t found anyone in all of Israel with faith equal to that of this Gentile. The centurion came to Jesus with a request for somebody else other than himself. He came in great humility. But he came with confidence, fully trusting that Jesus could answer his prayer. And he wasn’t disappointed. Not only was this man’s servant still alive when the messengers returned home, but we’re told that he was “well.” When the centurion confidently put his trust in Jesus’ word, the Lord delivered!
How important is faith, to be able to confidently trust in God’s Word? It’s our only answer for the future. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring. Crystal balls won’t tell us. Reading our palms doesn’t reveal anything except that we’re getting older. And horoscopes are usually found on the funny pages for a reason. The future is supposed to remain a mystery. God wants us to leave it in his hands, to take him at his word. And what does his Word promise us? “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Ro 8:28). “You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Ps 32:7). It’s faith that trusts God when he tells us (Ps 50:15), “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you” and “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Why can we have such assurance? Because Jesus promised to never leave us (Mt 28:20) “And surely I am with you always.” Faith gives us confidence to trust the Word of our Lord.
So often today people won’t believe something unless they have proof. They have to see for themselves that big fish you caught before they’ll believe your story. But with God proof isn’t necessary. That’s what faith is all about. Paul puts it this way (2 Co 5:7), “We live by faith, not by sight.” That means that we take God at his Word, even if our human reason tells us otherwise. You might say that we have to learn to trust God the same way an airplane pilot trusts the instruments of the airplane. It would be foolish and dangerous for a pilot to simply trust his own instincts and ignore what the instruments were telling him. In the midst of a storm a pilot might feel that his plane is taking a dive, but if his instruments tell him he’s flying level, he better believe them. A pilot needs to know that his feelings may betray him. He has to instead trust in his instruments for a safe, successful flight.
If you want a safe, successful flight through life, don’t be too quick to trust your feelings. They can betray you. We can’t just do what we “feel” is right. We need to trust the instruments, God’s instruments. His Word tells us (Pr 3:5), “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” The sure Word of our God will never fail us. It always leads us to do what is right, to trust in him, to let him guide our decisions and our actions. Human reason and human emotions often leave us lost in the storms of life. The Word of the Lord will always see us through safely to the other side, to our eternal home in heaven.
We don’t need proof of God’s faithfulness to his promises, but he gives it to us anyway. Why should we trust his Word? Just look at his track record! He promised a Savior, and he delivered! He promised to send us his Spirit, and at our baptism he delivered! He promised to keep us in the faith and to guide us with his Word, and we’re still here today, assembled in his house to sing his praises! Why doubt him now? For a fabulous faith, confidently put your trust in his Word!
Today we’ve heard of a great miracle, but I’m not talking about Jesus healing the centurion’s servant. That in and of itself was indeed an awesome display of our Savior’s divine power, but the even greater miracle that day was the faith of the centurion. Dear Christian friends, your faith is the greatest gift God has given to you. It’s a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever take it for granted! Instead treasure it as your greatest possession by strengthening it with Bible study and regular attendance at the Lord’s house and at the Lord’s Supper! Model your faith after that of the centurion, the faith which Jesus called “great”! Then, like the centurion, you too will have a truly fabulous faith!
Amen