The Centurion's Faith (Amazed By Faith)

Introduction

As we continue in our “Christos” series we are taking a look at the time in Jesus’ life and ministry when many people were Marveling over all that He was saying and doing. They were Amazed as He healed the sick, caused the lame to walk and cast out demons with just the power of a Word. The crowds continued to grow and grow even as the news of this Amazing rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, spread through out the region. It seemed the whole world was Amazed at what they heard of Jesus.

And of course as we read the stories of the Amazing things that He did, we can relate to their amazement, can’t we? That is exactly the reason that Jesus did such incredible things and it was and is a very natural response to marvel at such things…but let me ask you this. When Jesus was here in the flesh like you and me, what do you think “amazed” Him? What did Jesus marvel over?

The Gospels record only two times when it says that Jesus was amazed, and both of them were aimed at one thing: Jesus was amazed over what He saw of people’s faith. It was both presence and the strength of this faith that amazed Jesus.

Tension

The word “faith” is kind of a religious word isn’t it? In fact many people even use it as a synonym for “religion”. Where a question of “What religion teaches that” becomes “Which faith is that from”. And of course as Christ followers, our faith is not just about religious labels but its the lifeblood of our Christian life, it is truly how we relate to God. It’s no wonder then, that Jesus marveled or was amazed at the faith of some individuals.

But what really is “faith” for a Christian? A good Bible dictionary definition of the Greek word πίστις (pisitis) that we read to be “faith” would be “Reliance upon and trust in God, a central emphasis of Christianity.” - (Lexam Bible Dictionary)

Or If we were looking for how the Bible describes “faith” we would do well to go to Hebrews chapter 11. This passage is often called the “faith chapter” referring to the word more than 20 times. The opening verse of Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a great definition of faith, it says:

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

We wouldn’t often put “faith” in line with something so confident like “assurance” but the Bible does. Biblical “faith” is being confident in the source of our hope, despite what we may be seeing or not seeing happen around us.

This is a good word for us today because with so many changes taking place in our world, Christians need more than ever to be examples of what it looks like to live by our Faith in our God over the Fear of what we see happening around us.

For many of us, this has brought out into the light this question: How much confidence do we really have that God is indeed working out all things for His intended purposes. Seasons like this will tell us such things.

Because sometimes our faith is unhealthy because we have not exercised it. We have not really had to rely on it. So it has been so easy to SAY we have placed our confidence in God, but now that things are on the line we wonder if our “faith” will hold up. And yet it is under that kind of weight, that our faith is truly grown.

But sometimes you find incredible faith somewhere that you least expect it... and other times you find a lack of faith where you expected it would be. This is what caused Jesus to be so amazed. He found faith in the most unexpected place and then He found a lack of it where it seems it should be.

As we look at these two accounts this morning, the important thing is that we ask ourselves this question: What does Jesus see when He looks at our faith? Does He marvel at our confidence in Him, or is He amazed at how little faith he finds, despite every reason He has given us to trust in Him?

Do help us dive into that question, lets open up our Bibles to Luke chapter 7, page 863 in the Bibles in the chairs, I’ll pray and we will look to learn something of what amazes Jesus about these people’s faith.

Truth

Luke 7:1 ESV

1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

A bit of a transition from last weeks message on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has now left the open wilderness of the mountains and has gone into the city of Capernaum. This city became something of a home base for Jesus and His ministry.

It was a significant city in the upper Northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee and it was something of a crossroads for trade and commerce . In addition, it also had a large Jewish population, large enough to merit it’s own synagogue - which will come into play later, but for now Luke tells us where Jesus can be found and who it was who found Him there...

Luke 7:2–3 ESV

2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

Our first theme for the week is that...

1. Our faith drives us to seek His help (Luke 7:1–5)

This Roman Centurion “heard about Jesus”. How did this happen?

Well as I said everyone in Galilee was talking about Jesus at his point in his ministry, but those in Capernaum were particularly aware of His ministry because this was not Jesus’ first time in their city.

If we were to turn back a few chapters to Luke 4 we find Jesus teaching there on the Sabbath day in the Synagogue when a man who had “the spirit of an unclean demon” rose up against him and cried out in a loud voice...

Luke 4:35–37 ESV

35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

And since Rome made it their business to know everyone else’s business - they too knew of this itinerant Jewish teacher called “Jesus of Nazareth”.

To rightly understand the significance of this Centurion’s request to see Jesus, we have something of a working knowledge of what a Centurion was in this time period. The Centurions were more than just the overseer of a troupe of 100 soldiers. They were the backbone of the Roman Military force. They held great honor, respect and influence in the Roman world and they were fiercely loyal to Roman culture, traditions and values.

In addition to their responsibilities to lead their own men, the Centurion was given local policing power over whatever corner of the vast Roman Empire they were sent to. So they were not just training men who were waiting for the next war, they were involved in local civic governance, in particular they were charged with keeping the “Pax Romana”, the Roman Peace.

You remember that “Pax Romana” meant that “You will remain peaceful or we will lead our military in to crush you so mercilessly that you wish that you had.” That is the posture, the attitude, the temperament of Rome toward Jewish affairs. They were not excited about anyone who got crowds excited, they would typically move in quickly to shut large gatherings down. They were the original “cancel culture”. (too political?)

Anyway, there was something decidedly unique about this particular Centurion. He heard about this Jewish Rabbi who healed people and instead of running out to shut Him down, he sent someone out to seek His help. His desire to save the life of his beloved servant was stronger than his loyalty to the Roman culture that told him that he needed to “intimidate these Jews into compliance”.

And it appears that this particular Centurion had taken steps like this before...,

Luke 7:4–5 ESV

4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

It was not unheard of for a Roman Centurion to attempt some diplomacy with the local leaders, but the language here seems stronger than just a “quid pro quo” kind of relationship. Either way, these Jewish leaders were basically lobbying Jesus to come and do for this Centurion what He asked.

What is interesting is that even though the local Jewish leadership saw the Centurion as “worthy” of Jesus’ help, compared to Jesus...the Centurion did not seem to agree.

Our second theme for the week is that...

2. Our faith can be the basis of Christ response to us. (Luke 7:6–9)

Let’s see how this works out for this Centurion...

Luke 7:6–7 ESV

6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “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.

This faith of this Centurion showed him that it was Jesus, not him, who was truly “worthy”.

Did you hear how this Roman Centurion referred to Jesus as “Lord”. Under Roman law, it was a punishable offense to call any man “Lord” except Caesar himself…but this Roman Centurion sent his friends to do just that. Clearly, this Centurion knows that the man who was about to head into his house was more than a Jewish Rabbi with a popular healing ministry.

And hear the rest of his explanation…I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but say the word....

Luke 7:8–9 ESV

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.” 9 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.”

This is where we see Jesus “marvel” or if you are reading from the NIV he was “amazed” over the unexpected level of faith that He found in this Roman Centurion. And what was this Centurion trying to say here?

First of all, it’s important to know that each Centurion was responsible to train, equip, discipline and lead his men into battle. They were the only leaders with direct contact with the soldiers, so they had to handle themselves in ways that commanded, even demanded the respect of their men. They were the drill sergeants, the field trainers, the unquestionable commanders and the first one to run into any battle. These men were respected as much as they were feared and they worked hard to become so.

This is the culture that this Centurion lived in. He received his commands and he obeyed. He gave his command and his men obeyed. This was their way of life, without it the military would collapse in chaos and never be able to defend itself. Every military man understands this implicitly,

So what we are hearing here is the Centurion describing Jesus’ role in language that he can understand. What the Centurion was in the Military world, Jesus was in the Spiritual world. That Jesus, like a Centurion, is both in authority and under authority. Listen again to how he describes this it in verse 8:

Luke 7:8 ESV

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.”

He is set “under” authority and he has soldiers under him. This Centurion is realizing what we heard from Nicodemus several weeks back - No one does the things that Jesus was doing unless God is with him. The Centurion’s faith is not set in Jesus healing record, it is a faith that says that Jesus has been sent by God, and with that authority all Jesus needs do is to say the word and the servant can be saved.

Jesus recognizes his faith and responds in light of it. This is great example of how Our faith can be the basis for Christs response to us, but it is not the only example. Many times during Jesus’ public ministry we hear Him declare something like, “You faith has made you well”, or “Your faith has saved you” depending on your translation. A quick listing of them would include:

The sinful woman in Luke 7 (Luke 7:50)

The healing of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:19)

The healing of a blind beggar (Luke 18:42)

The bleeding woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mat 9:22)

Canaanite Woman who spoke of being a crumb (Mat 15)

and while we don’t read it here in Luke, when Matthew tells this story he records Jesus telling the Centurion: “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” (Mat 8:13) believed being the verb form of the same Greek word for the noun “faith” . (pistis)

What we see here is that there is something in the presence of our faith that plays a part in how God chooses to work in our lives. Christians are not called “believers” for no reason, if we no longer believe, if we have no faith but are only walking by sight, if we abandon faith for formula’s then we are not longer being “believers”. We are just managing natural systems that are void of the things that belong to the supernatural. Things like faith.

Remember I told you that the Bible records only 2 times when Jesus was amazed or marveled and both times He was amazed over the faith of individuals. This Centurion is one, but the other time where we see this is in Mark 6 when Jesus went to his hometown in Nazareth. Similar to what happened in Capernaum that first time, Jesus began to teach in the local synagogue on the Sabbath day and the people were amazed at His words…but not in a good way.

Mark 6:2 ESV

2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?

These questions are understandable, but then things take a turn for the worse...

Mark 6:3 ESV

3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Did you know that Jesus had so many Brothers and Sisters? Or that the Bible gives us their names? Interesting?!

But this was Jesus’ hometown crowd. It was His home Church. And these friends and family members who had spent so much time with Jesus watching Him grow up could not move past the natural to see the supernatural in Him. They had no faith to see in Jesus anything but a carpenter. The son of a carpenter was only a carpenter in their eyes…and they missed the Son of God.

Mark 6:4–6 ESV

4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

The Centurion saw Jesus as “Worthy” of honor. He had a faith that amazed Jesus because it was such an unlikely place to find something supernatural blossoming. But at his home Church, Jesus marveled over the lack of faith, the unbelief of his hometown, a place where we would think they would be the most supportive of Him…but they had no faith. The word “unbelief” there is again the negative verb form of the same Greek word for “faith”.

1. Our faith drives us to seek Christ’s help

2. Our faith can be the basis of Christ’s response to us

3. Our faith gives Christ complete control of our life situations (Luke 7:9–10).

Back Luke 7, to finish the story of the Centurion we read…in verse 9...

Luke 7:9–10 ESV

9 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.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus publically recognized the faith of this Roman Centurion, even contrasting it to what he has found elsewhere among the Children of God. And then in light of this, Jesus chose to heal the Centurion’s servant.

Gospel Application

So I want to acknowledge that there is a danger is speaking about faith in this way. Not because we are saying anything wrong, but because people have started with these truths and then walked them them out in wrong directions.

In particular, the wrong teaching that all you have to do is really believe that God is going to do something for you and then He will. That is not faith, that is foolishness. And an even uglier version of that is when someone tells a hurting person that the only reason they have not been healed, delivered or rescued from something they have prayed for over and over is that they don’t really have faith that God will heal them. Again, that is not God honoring faith, that is foolishness.

So let me be clear about this, God does seem to consider the presence of faith in His choices to move on our behalf. That is a part of this story and the many others that I mentioned as well as we can find it elsewhere in Scripture including if we were to keep reading in the book of James from the dedication earlier, where it says:

James 1:6–8 ESV

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

So our having faith is a working component in how God chooses to answer our requests, but it is not a faith that says God mus t do whatever we ask of Him, but He can do whatever we ask of Him and He will do only those things that align with His good and perfect will for our lives.

The strength of Faith is not in faith itself, it is in the object of our faith. Our faith is our confidence in God that there is nothing that he cannot do and will not do to bring about His perfect purposes in our lives. That is the kind of faith that amazes Jesus. One that recognizes His “Lordship” and opperates in full confidence that He will bring about the good things that He intends for us. This is the kind of faith that Jesus saw in the Roman Centurion, and it is the kind of faith that was lacking in his hometown.

Landing

So what does Jesus see when He looks at your faith? What amazes Him about it? Is He amazed at how confident you are in Him, or is he amazed in your lack of faith - when He has given you so many great reasons to do so.

Let’s stop and pray into this together...