Encountering Christ: The Healing Of The Centurion's Servant

Title: “Encountering Christ: A Centurion’s Servant is Healed” Script: Lk. 7:1-10/Mt. 8:5-13

Type: Series Where: GNBC 2-12-23

Intro: This morning we heard Jim Schlott one of our elders, recounting his encounter with Christ. Everyone who is a Christian has had to have had an encounter with Christ. For the past couple of years, my good friend, Paul Landoukpo, and I garden together in the community garden at the end of Taylor Street. Every year dozens of people grow gardens in that area. Amazing crops. Every year, however, that field has to be tilled and replanted. Otherwise, with a few notable exceptions, nothing but weeds would grow, even those few plants would be choked out by weeds in no time. Our lives are like those fields that naturally, primarily contain weeds. We cannot produce lettuce, cucumbers, potatoes or beets. We produce weeds that choke out good fruit. We can mow the weeds, but that effort alone will never produce acceptable fruit. If we really want that fruit we will have to go deeper. We must plow up the whole field and start again with new plants. (Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 59.) Friends, only Christ can do that, and it takes faith in His ability to do that! In today’s encounter we will see a man who demonstrated an amazing level of faith in Christ.

Prop: Today we’ll learn 3 important spiritual truths as we examine another of Christ’s encounters.

BG: 1. The encounter we examine today takes place during 2nd preaching tour in the later portion of the Galilean ministry of Jesus.

2. I will be in Luke’s account (7:1-10), but Matthew also records in 8:5-13.

3. The main character in the account will be a Roman soldier, in fact, an officer who places complete and unreserved trust in Christ to meet a pressing need.

Prop: Let’s examine Lk.7 to realize 3 Important Spiritual Truths as Christ encounters a Centurion.

I. A Pernicious Problem Precipitates this Encounter with Christ. vv.1-5

A. A Sick Servant cause this Centurion to Seek Christ.

1. The Centurion was Motivated by Compassion to Seek Christ’s Cure.

a. v.2 – NASB says “slave” – doulos – bond servant- Notice the phrase: “who was highly regarded by him…” The Centurion loved his servant. There was a bond of relationship here between Centurion and slave. In Mt’s account the word used in v. 6 to describe the servant is “pais” a Greek word that uniquely speaks to the youthfulness of this servant. The servant was in some form of permanent relationship with the Centurion. (“The Chosen” intimates is his son by a woman not his wife.) Possibly was. From Mt. account we realize more details, the boy is lying paralyzed and in great pain. Possibly was an accident or fall. Whatever, the prognosis was not good. In fact, he was facing imminent death.

b. I want you to think about the Centurion’s motivation to seek Christ’s cure. He was motivated by love! A hardened, battle scared warrior! The backbone of the Roman Empire. One of the only individuals in society who had the right to flog a Roman citizen without impunity. A trained killer with a hardened conscience. Yet, he loved someone enough to seek Christ! Friends, we see people all around us today scared and hardened by sin and sin’s effects. We miss a very valuable opportunity, however, when we assume they neither cannot, nor do not have the ability to be appealed to on the basis of love or have the capacity to love. Love motivated this man to seek Christ.

2. How Does this Centurion Go About Seeking Christ.

a. The Centurion seeks Christ in humility with no appeal to his power or position. Never once does this man appeal to his rank, power, or authority to compel Christ to heal his servant. He is the master, his nation is occupying and enforcing the laws of Judea. In a demonstration of absolute humility and probably with an adherence to concern for Jewish law, the Centurion neither goes to nor demands that Jesus comes, but humbly asks for the intercession of others.

b. The Jews attempt to appeal to Christ on the centurion’s behalf appealing to his position and deeds. Illust: Sadly, in my lifetime I have seen a lot of people sick, diseased, and even die, but there is something that appears unusually cruel when such an affliction is visited on the young. The Jewish elders don’t lose sight of that point. And, so they go to Jesus to demand that he go and heal this boy, yet it’s not for the sake of the injured boy, rather, it is to appease the Centurion who is “worthy” of Christ’s action because v. 5 “he loves the nation and built our synagogue”. What are they saying to Jesus? Hop to it Jesus! If ever a man needed to be served it is this man. Why? Because he has done so very much for us. In other words, HE’S WORTH IT! (Have you ever thought how duplicitous these Jews were? Denying Jesus’ claims to be Son of God and Messiah, yet now, when a wealthy and powerful Centurion has a problem: “Perform a miracle Jesus!” What absolute hypocrites!