Luke 7 1-10
Luke 7: 1-10
Third Sunday after Pentecost
“A Great Faith”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The text for today’s meditation is taken from the Gospel of Luke, the 7th chapter starting at the 1 vs., and reads as follows: NKJ Luke 7:1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue." 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 "Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 "For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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." 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!" 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Intro.: Are you satisfied with the faith that you have? Do you trust in God’s promises for you, as much as you’d like? Would you like Jesus to say about you -- this person has a great faith?
Luke’s account of the healing of the Centurions slave brings us into the land of Galilee and to the dusty roads of Capernaum, a coastal town, located on the Northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. It was a large fishing town. It had its own synagogue and tax office; and it was base for a detachment of Roman soldiers. Most importantly, Jesus called Capernaum his home. It was here that Jesus called Matthew the Tax Collector to be a disciple. It was here that Jesus did much of his teaching and performed many miracles and healings. It is the city of Capernaum’s unbelief, of which Jesus said that it will be more tolerable for the wicked city of Sodom on the day of judgment. Here we have the setting for a highly unusual situation. First, we have the Jewish Elders of the synagogue approaching Jesus on behalf of a Gentile Centurion. Uncharacteristic of the Elders, this was an honest approach to Jesus on behalf of a man that represented the Roman occupation. Secondly, we have a Centurion who is seeking help for his sick slave, not a close relative or one of his enlisted men. Lastly, we have this pagan Gentile Centurion who humbly confesses his faith in Jesus; and to which Jesus responds by exclaiming that he has not seen a greater example of faith anywhere, not even in God’s chosen people of Israel. ///
There are keys in the story of the Centurion that can assist us in building a faith like his, a truly great faith. First, he heard. Second, he believed. And third, he acted.
I. He Heard.
A) The Centurion heard with his ears and with his heart, the message of forgiveness, healing, and life that Jesus offered. Confronted by what he heard, he was convicted of his own need and unworthiness./// Now a Centurion’s job, was to maintain discipline among his men, about a hundred of them; oversee executions, specifically crucifixions; and to keep his eyes and ears open. He had to know what was going on. He had to know if plans were being made for a rebellion against the Roman occupation. He had to be aware of the attitudes of the people and in particular the people that controlled those attitudes: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Elders. As a result of his awareness and contact with these people, he heard God’s promises as contained in the Old Testament. Through His word, God created in him a love for the Jewish people, and a love for God’s word. What did he do as a result? He built a synagogue; a place where God’s word is preached and heard./// Then he heard about Jesus. A man that taught in the very synagogue he had built. A man that taught with authority and power and a man who exercised his power in miracles of healing and the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins. So the Centurion heard; what is remarkable about that? How is that the foundation for a great faith? The Centurion made it his business to hear God’s word. He put himself in the position of listening. The foundation of a great faith is to put ourselves in a position of hearing God’s word. Certainly we are doing that right now. But, is this enough?/// To build our faith we must make it our business to hear God’s word as much and as often as possible. Sunday worship and Bible study are a good start. Imagine what daily individual or family devotions could do to build our faith. Take it one step at a time, as often as you can, put yourself in a position to hear what God is saying.
Does hearing with your ears alone make a great faith? No! The Centurion heard with his heart. That sounds strange doesn’t it? What does it mean when we say “to hear with your heart”? It means that we hear more than the words that are spoken, we understand what they mean and they have meaning for us. They motivate us to action. An illustration of this can be found in Jesus’ parable of the Two Sons (Matt 21). A man had two sons and he told the first one to go into the vineyard to work. The son said; I will not go. Later he regretted what he said, and went into the vineyard to work. The man asked his second son to work in the vineyard. The son said that he would go, but he did not. The first son heard his father's word and he heard it with his heart. It resulted in an action; he did as his father had asked.//// It is hard to hear with our hearts. I’ve come to church and listened to whole sermons but I didn’t hear a word. I’ve done devotions and daily meal prayers in what amounted to be no more than lip service to God. Perhaps you have had the same problem. Is there help for us in this predicament?/// Yes! God is able to do what we are unable to do. God says to us in the words of the prophet Jeremiah… “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart./// God is our hope and he gives us hearts to hear him speak.
B) As a result of what the Centurion heard, he was convicted of his own need and unworthiness. He said “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy.” Though he was a powerful and respected man, he had no power over disease and death. Only God has power over these. If there was to be any help for his slave, it would be coming from God. But, who was he to ask?/// Faced with the Law of Moses he was crushed by his own uncleanliness (which means that he did not obey the Ceremonial Laws that required a certain lifestyle); and he was crushed by his own in ability to keep the Ten Commandments. He laid himself low by proclaiming his unworthiness.//// Jesus doesn’t even mention it. As unworthy as he was, he was forgiven, and his sins were of no account, as if they never were. It is like that for us too./// When we confess our unworthiness, on account of Jesus, God reckons our sins as if they never existed. Our sins go unmentioned, just like the sins of the Centurion.
II. He Believed.
A) The Centurion believed in Jesus and his authority. As a man under authority and in authority over other men, he understood Jesus’ power and where it came from, God himself. Authority means having the power and right to command. The Centurion, a commander of one-hundred men had no authority to help his sick slave. He submitted himself to the one who has this authority, Jesus, the Chief Commanding Officer of the armies of God. To show that he understood Jesus’ authority, he tells him that he need not be present physically, all Jesus needed to do was say the word and his servant would be healed./// How profound this is for us./// Jesus is not with us physically; yet we, just like the Centurion, trust in his authority. We know that even though we cannot see him he has control over our lives. We trust that his will will be done in our lives as it was for the Centurion.
B) The Centurion believed in Jesus word. “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Authority gives words power. The Centurion knew that to have Jesus’ word was to have the command itself. When the Centurion commanded men to come and go, he didn’t have to march around with them to make sure that they did what he commanded. He spoke the words and they happened./// To have Jesus’ word, was to have his command and power in his life. The Centurion saw Jesus’ word as valuable, an incalculable treasure, the power to heal and save himself and his slave. We have this same word. It is the Word of God that has the ability to create faith./// Do you consider it a treasure? Are you spending this treasure by believing and trusting in His Word, or is it hidden away, and gaining no interest from you? The reward is great. It is a great faith.
III. He Acted.
A) The Centurion acted on his own behalf and according to his faith. Seeing the miracles that Jesus had done, and hearing the message of the saving Gospel that was available to all people, the Centurion acted./// He said Jesus, help me. In this simple prayer, he reached out and grasped the promises of God, that were laid before him. In his simple prayer he grabbed onto the power of the Gospel in his life./// God provides many gifts like: faith and healing. He provides the peace that surpasses all understanding./// God has made us rich with his gifts./// It would be a terrible thing for us to live our lives as if we were poor -- clothed in rags and eating garbage, dying in the streets…with our pockets full of treasure that we refused to spend./// Your pockets are full; your Heavenly Father has provided for you. He gives good things to you and I even if we don’t ask. But he wants us to act in faith, and approach him in prayer, for the things that we need and the desires of our hearts. Through these actions God creates in us a great faith.
B) The Centurion acted on behalf of his slave. He didn’t grab onto the promises of God for himself and say “this is great, everybody should do this.” He went before our Lord and said, please Lord; heal my slave if it be your will. Faith impels us to act on the behalf of other people. We cannot resist this impulse without negatively impacting our own faith./// Does a man hide a light under a bushel basket? No! Underneath a basket, it doesn’t even benefit the man. Rather he sets it on a lamp-stand where it can benefit everyone in the house. The Centurion had a slave that was sick and on the verge of death. His slave was unable to act for himself. He was a man in total depravity. A slave to the Centurion, loved, but a slave nonetheless, he was also a slave to sin that infected his body, and pronounced on him the diagnosis of death.////// Who are the slaves in your lives? Who are the people that desperately need you to act on their behalf? Who are the people in your lives that do not know that Jesus chose to be a slave, to serve you, and to die a slaves' death so that you wouldn’t have to. You were slaves once too. Paying the price for your lives, with his own, Jesus purchased you away from our old master, death. In his resurrection from the dead you also are resurrected from slavery to freedom. Jesus has freed you to hear, believe and act./// Who are the people in your life that need to know God loves them. Perhaps it is your mother, father, brother or sister. Maybe it is your next door neighbor, friend or acquaintance at work. You know somebody that does not know our Lord, or if they do, their faith is in such shambles that it appears no faith exists./// What can you do?/// What can we do?/// What did the Centurion do?/// He acted on behalf of a slave. He humbly approached our Lord and with a simple prayer and asked him to heal him. Our gracious Lord did as he asked, and healed his slave./// It is good to pray for healing; it is good to pray for help; it is good to pray with thanks. But it is great to pray for the salvation of another person. It is a simple prayer. It is the prayer of a great faith.
Conclusion: So, do you want to have a great faith like the Centurions? Let me tell you a secret. You already possess it. It has been given to you by your Heavenly Father through our Savior Jesus Christ. This faith is here in Tashayla and Ashley who were baptized this morning. We see this faith in the class of 1948, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary since confirmation. And we see it in ourselves--Today, we have heard the Word of God. Today, we have believed in his only Son Jesus and his power to save us. Today, we have acted on behalf of ourselves and the slaves in our lives by praying earnestly for God’s will to be done. May today only be a start on a path that leads to our Savior and may he say of us -- You have a great faith.
AMEN.
May the peace of God keep your hearts and minds, through faith in Christ Jesus, to life everlasting.
