Message

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THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION

Luke 7:1-10

Key Verse:7:9 “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him and turned to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

  Today’s passage is about the faith of a centurion which amazed Jesus. In the Bible Jesus was amazed on two occasions; first, he was amazed by the lack of faith of his town’s people (Mk 6:6), and second, he was amazed by the great faith of a few Gentiles. (Mt 15:28, Lk 7:9). We have nothing to amaze Jesus except our lack of faith or our great faith. By which one will you amaze Jesus? Through today’s passage we learn how the faith of the centurion amazed Jesus, what the characteristic of his faith is, and who Jesus really is. Amen.

  Look at verse 1. “When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.” In the previous chapter Jesus taught the crowd the sermon on the Mountain. Jesus taught them to love their enemies and to do good to those who hate them. (6:27) Jesus also taught them not to judge others but forgive and be merciful to each other. (6:36,37) Jesus’ sermon on the mountain was the bright light that shined in their dark hearts and became the living water for their dried souls. At the end of his sermon Jesus asked his disciples to become wise builders who build their houses on the rock by practicing what they had been taught. (49)

  Now, Jesus finished his teachings and entered Capernaum, where he had performed most of his miracles. Look at verses 2,3. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.” On entering Capernaum, Jesus encountered a very rare situation: a Roman centurion who cared about his slave whom he valued highly. A centurion is an army commander in charge of 100 soldiers. Generally soldiers are rough, tough and merciless. Soldiers are trained not to be merciful toward their opponents. However, this centurion is merciful and caring. He deeply cared for his dying servant. At that time, slaves were treated as goods or properties. They had no human rights. Slaves were traded by merchants. Generally masters treated slaves harshly and mercilessly. If their slaves were ill, they traded or discarded their slaves. However, this centurion was different. He valued his servant highly. We don’t know exactly why the centurion valued him highly. Probably the slave was loyal, lovely, honest, and faithful like Joseph in the Old Testament.

Above all, the Centurion had the kind of love that overcame all barriers like social position, nationality, religion, age, culture and so on. The centurion basically loved people and respected them as human beings regardless of their human situations. He was a man of integrity. He was a man of compassion. He had the image of a good shepherd more than that of a soldier. (Jn 10:11)

It is often said that Christian should be human beings rather than religious people. It means, based on my interpretation, that we should have basic humanity and integrity by loving people and respecting them regardless of their human situations. The social consensus about opponents is ‘hate your enemies and remove them ASAP’. But the Bible teaches us, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” (Pr 25:21, Ro 12:20) The movie, Schindler’s List, moves many peoples’ heart because of a German business man’s compassion and his effort to save the Jewish people from the horrible holocaust.  Love and compassion which overcome race, ideology, religion, culture, gender and age always move our hearts to tears. Sometimes our love is limited and our respect is conditioned by our own traditions, social position, skin-color and so on. We must overcome it to love anyone with Christ’s affection and respect them as creatures made in God’s image. May God grow each of us a man and woman of integrity so that we may welcome all kinds of people regardless of their human conditions and situations and love them with genuine love of Christ. Amen.

This centurion understood the custom of the Jewish religion. He knew that the Jews would not associate with the Gentiles. The Gentiles were treated as unclean animals by the strict Jewish people. So, he sent some of the Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal his servant. Look at verses 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.” It is amazing that the elders of the Jew spoke well of the centurion and pleaded with Jesus to answer his request. Generally a Roman centurion was an opponent of the elders of the Jew. However, this Roman centurion was not only a friend of the elders but also a contributor to Jewish society. At that time, the world was the Roman world and Israel was one of her colonies. We wonder how the centurion loved the people of Israel and built their synagogue. Probably he read the Old Testament and studied the history of the Jews. He understood the spiritual importance of the Old Testament and acknowledged the people of the Jew as a covenant people. In any case, the centurion was welcomed and respected by the Jewish society. He was regarded as a worthy person to receive Jesus’ favor.

Wherever we go and which country we may stay in, we have to learn the God of each country and to contribute to the country in any possible way. If we only expect to gain benefits from the country, we cannot be shepherds for their people. During early Korean church history, American missionaries struggled hard to understand the culture and the people of Korea to win over them with the gospel of Christ. They ate Korean food, wore Korean clothes, and even gave themselves Korean names. Some of the Koreans were hostile to them. Still, they loved Koreans and built schools, hospitals, churches, and taught the gospel to them. In the course of evangelizing Korea, many oversea missionaries shed their precious blood for Korean people. I believe that some of us here came to America with God’s special calling. We love people in this country, respect their culture and tradition, and study their language to share the good news of Christ Jesus with them. This is the reason why we study hard and pray earnestly for America to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.

Jesus was moved by the elders’ plea and their reputation about the centurion. So Jesus went with them. (6) When Jesus was not far from the house, 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. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (7,8) These verses teach us that the centurion was not only a man of integrity but also a man of humility. He confessed that he did not deserve to have Jesus come under his roof. He said that he was not even worthy to come to Jesus. Christians are those who acknowledge who Jesus Christ is and who they really are. Jesus is Lord, and we are sinners who need to be saved. Jesus is the Creator, and we are his humble creatures. The centurion called Jesus “Lord”. He knew who Jesus really is. He also knew himself. When we know who Jesus really is and acknowledge who we are, we become humble.  Before Saul came to know Jesus, he thought that he was a great man like King Saul, the first king of Israel.  But after meeting the Risen Jesus, he came to know his true identity. So he changed his name from ‘Saul” to “Paul”, which means small.

We wonder how the centurion knew about Jesus and how he had such faith. As a centurion, he received reports about the situations and occasions of a town, including Jesus’ miracles. The centurion heard how Jesus healed the sick and taught the word of God. He heard how Jesus opened the eyes of blind and cleansed leprosy. He heard how Jesus made the lame walk and raised the dead to life. He heard how Jesus calmed the storm with his word and drove out demons with his command.

The centurion deeply understood the power of authority. He continued. “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.” (8) Soldiers are moved in order and by order. Whatever the commander-in-chief orders, they move. The centurion truly understood a ‘chain of command.’ He accepted Jesus as the spiritual commander-in-chief. So he was ready to obey whatever Jesus commands. He was willing to do whatever Jesus asks him to do. He was a man under Jesus’ authority. His faith came from his deep appreciation of spiritual order between Jesus and himself.

In fact, Christians are people under Jesus’ authority. Christians are those who confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is our King, and we are his loyal subjects. Jesus is our commander-in-chief and we are his good soldiers. Then, how do we obey his words? How much we allow Jesus’ authority in our lives? How much we put our plans, ideas, and desires under his authority? Some may allow only 15 % for Jesus in their lives. Others may do more or less. Blessed are those are under Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

Look at verse 9. “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Jesus was amazed by the centurion’s faith. He even admired his faith all the more because the centurion was a Gentile. What was the characteristic of the centurion’s faith? What about his faith made Jesus amazed? Look at verse 7b. “But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The centurion’s faith in the power of Jesus’ word was special. The centurion was not a disciple of Jesus. He was a gentle soldier. But, he called Jesus ‘Lord’ and trusted in him. He believed whatever Jesus said would come true. The centurion had absolute faith in the power of Jesus’ word. So he said, “But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” This faith amazed Jesus.

People say that we live in the era of reason and experience. People make judgments and value things based on reason and experiences. The philosophy based on reason and experience trivialized absolute faith in God’s word. Skepticism and pragmatism defiled simple faith in the power of God’s word. We sometimes calculate and speculate, by doing so we limit the power of God’s word. We need to restore our ‘just say the word’ faith in doing the work of God. Last week we learned that we should go back to the Bible. It means that we become Bible reading people as well as Bible believing people. We must believe the Bible as God’s word. God’s word has absolute power and authority. God’s word has power to create, power to change, power to save, power to heal, and power to restore. God is the Word. In the beginning God created the world with his word.(Ge 1:1, Heb 11:3) In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn 1:1-3) This Word is Jesus Christ. Therefore the word of Jesus has God’s mighty power. The centurion believed it. Such great faith amazed Jesus.

From generation to generation numerous missionaries and Bible teachers went out with absolute faith in the power of God’s word. They believed whatever God says will come to be and whatever Jesus says will come true. The Cambridge Seven went to China with such great faith. David Livingstone went to Africa with such great faith. The American missionary Samuel Moffett came to Korea in 1893 with such great faith. A half century ago, our UBF fathers were ready to go anywhere, anytime and with anyone as missionaries because they had such great faith, faith that amazed Jesus.

We need such great faith when we teach the Bible one to one. Simple but absolute faith in God’s word can change sinners into kingdom of priests and holy nations. Simple but absolute faith in Jesus’ word can heal the sick and change the world.

Look at verse 10. “Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.” The centurion in today’s passage believed the healing power of Jesus. When we study the bible and teach the word, we must believe that Jesus can heal the sick with his divine power. Reason or experience does not work. Only simple and absolute faith works. May God grant us such great faith that amazes Jesus. Amen.

In conclusion the centurion in today’s passage was not only a man of integrity but also a man of humility. He was also a man under Jesus’ authority. His faith came from genuine love and respect for human beings and compassion. His faith came from hearing the message, which is the word of Christ. (Ro 10:17) Above all, his faith came from the knowledge of Jesus Christ and of himself. Amen.

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Attachment

• THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION-proofread.doc

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