Great Faith & Great Humility in Action - Luke 7:1-10
Gladstone Baptist Church - 26/6/05 am
The Wizard of Oz is a classic story of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas who somehow finds herself swept into a magical land by a tornado. She embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who, it is reported, can help her return home. But Dorothy finds out that the truth in the clip I want to show you this morning ...
Show Clip from Movie
The moral of the Wizard of Oz is that everything you may need, you’ve already got. Although it is nice to have powerful friends such as the wizard, in the end of the day, Dorothy had everything she needed to get home. She just had to look deep enough and long enough. There is nothing she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it.
Does this philosophy sound familiar? We are told that as humans, we can do anything we want. We’ve got the power, but this morning I want to talk about a powerful man (from a human perspective) who realised that he didn’t have everything he needed and the result was a display of Great Faith and Great Humility in action.
Read Luke 7:1-10 - When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
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. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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.”
9 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.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Pray.
After the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus returns to Capernaum. He’d been there previously in 4:31ff and had carried out several healings which had totally amazed everyone including presumably the Jews. Now he returns to this city located on the Northern side of the Sea of Galilee. It must have been quite a sizable town because it was called a “city” (ƒàƒßƒÜƒÙƒãƒw in Greek which was a large town with walls. It was the location of a Roman Garrison, thus the reason why the Centurian was posted there. It also became the centre of Jesus’ ministry in the region of Galilee since his home town of Nazareth had rejected him (4:28).
The main character of this account is a Centurion soldier. He is held up by Jesus for his Great Faith. There are only 2 instances where Jesus commented that a person had great faith. This is one and the other is of the Canaanite Woman in Matt 15:28. It is interesting that they are both Gentiles - but more about that later.
Through this record, we can find 3 essential characteristics of having a great faith which I want to look at today.
1) Great Faith is not SELF-CENTRED
The Centurion in our account here was an IMPORTANT MAN. The principle unit of the Roman army was a legion. It consisted of a force of about 6000 men. These were divided up into 60 groups each of a hundred who were under the control of a single man - a Centurion. This is where the name comes from - initially a centurion was an officer in charge of 100 men. Obviously depending on the situation, this number could vary a little bit, but it is likely that our Centurion had about a hundred men under his command at Capernaum and that he was the ranking officer in charge of the town. This made him one important man.
Rome controlled much of the known world at this stage and so they controlled all the affairs of their empire. Even where they allowed local rulers like the Jewish King Agrippa to have some power, the Romans still were top dogs and were the ones who called the shots. If the local rulers stepped out of line, they would be replaced. So this Centurion was essentially the man in charge of Capernaum and the surrounding districts. This made him an important man
Not only does his position tell us something about his power, but it also tells us something about his character. The Romans didn’t just pick anyone to be centurions. They picked the best men. Polybius, lived 200 years before Jesus, but wrote about how the Romans selected their centurions. He wrote that a centurions must be “men who can command, (men) steady in action and reliable; they ought not to be over anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed they must be ready to hold their ground and die at their posts.” This centurion was a man who was respected, who was courageous, who was a leader and who was resourceful. He was an important man. He was a man who surely had everything necessary to find his way back to Kansas by himself if he ever found himself stranded in Oz.
You could well imagine that most centurions were proud and somewhat conceited. And this was probably justified as a result of their power, authority and status, however, the centurion at Capernaum was different.
Yes he was a powerful man, but he wasn’t full of himself. He was not focussed primarily was CONCERNED ABOUT OTHERS. We read in vs 2 that the centurion was concerned about one of his servants. Actually this should be translated as slave, because the word used here is ƒÔƒßƒåƒÜƒßƒã or bond slave. These was on the lowest rung of the servant hierarchy, yet we read that he was “highly valued” by the centurion. This was very odd, because slaves in Roman times were by law regarded as simply living tools to be used. Things you could use, abuse and discard when broken. A slave had no rights, and his Roman master could mistreat and even murder him without any humanitarian outcry. One ancient Roman author advised that a farmer should annually examine his tools and throw out those which were old and useless. Then he encouraged, "Do the same with your slaves." That was advice that our Centurion wasn’t interested in following. Despite his social status and his positional power, he was concerned for the lowliest of his slaves. When his slave was sick, the centurion sought to care for him and help him.
But he wasn’t only concerned for those of his own household. He was also concerned about those in his adopted country. Remember that this was a Roman centurion. As such, he was probably of Roman descent, but not necessarily so. We know that he was a Gentile though because Jesus implies this in vs 9. Roman soldiers posted to out lying parts of the empire weren’t always thrilled to be there and typically didn’t give a lot of respect to these conquered nations or their people. Pilate was an example. He ruled with cruelty and insensitivity. He was harsh, even brutal at times and made few friends among the Jews. But why should he - he was the Roman ruler and the one to be obeyed. Any rebellion would be quashed quickly. But our Centurion was different. Even the Jewish leaders testified (vs 4) that he loved the nation of Israel and by extension - he loved the people.
He even honoured and respected their God to the extent that he funded the building of a synagogue. This is the ruins of the Synagogue at Capernaum - not the one that this centurion built, but a later one, probably built 300 years after Jesus.
Despite his wealth and desire for peace, there is no way that a Centurion would build a synagogue simply because he wanted to suck up to the Jews. He was genuinely concerned for them individually and as a nation and he also was focussed on serving God. This leads to our second mark of Great Faith. First mark of Great Faith - it is not self centred. Second mark of Great Faith - it is God-centred.
2) Great Faith HUMBLY FOCUSES ON GOD
The Centurion must have had a faith in God to have committed to building the synagogue. Although he was a Gentile and had been raised as a pagan, he had heard about God and had been deeply impacted by it. Luke says that the centurion had also heard about Jesus (vs 2) - we don’t even know that he ever had seen Jesus, but he had heard about him. Maybe he had heard of his miraculous healings from previous visits - we don’t know. But in his desperate need, the Centurion reached out for help from Jesus.
Dorothy was told by Glenda that “You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.” This is the philosophy that is espoused throughout our world today. You have the power and resources to make things happen. You don’t need religion or God as a crutch.
But The Centurion knew differently. He NEEDED HELP FROM GOD
„X He was a wealthy man - he could afford to give a new Synagogue to his city; but his money couldn’t buy a solution to all of life’s needs.
„X He was an influential man - he was top - dog in the city and whole region; but his influence couldn’t change the inevitable outcome of this situation.
„X He was a courageous man - he had proved himself in war; but his courage melted at a situation which was out of his control.
And instead of believing the lie that he had always had the power to go back to Kansas, he reached out to one who he know had the power. Jesus was God in the flesh and with him came God’s power. Faith allows God to do for us and with us what we could never do alone.
The Centurion couldn’t, but he knew one who could and so he sends some Jewish elders to Jesus to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. It is an amazing testament to the Centurion’s power that he could command the Jewish elders to do something and they obeyed. But after all, the Jews respected and were in debt to this man. He was their friend. He treated them with respect and even built their place of worship for them. Though not a Jew, he was on their side.
It is also amazing that the Jews were happy to go to Jesus. Jesus had already begun to offend Jewish leaders in other places, but here it seems, that the Jewish leaders were still amazed at Jesus and were happy to request help from him.
Vs 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”
The argument of the elders to Jesus was that this was A “DESERVING MAN”. He loved the nation and built the synagogue. This man deserves to have you help him because ... How often do you and I think like this. “God - I have served you all year long in children’s church and it’s nearly killed me. And I am coming to you now, to ask you just this one little thing ...” “God - I give my money (well some of my money) to the church (well most of the time), and I come to church (most weekends) ... but you know I love you and so I am asking that you ...” “God if only you will answer my prayer I will live for you the rest of my life and ...”
How often do we pray this way. No we may not verbalise these exact words - we wouldn’t dare, but in our minds we are doing the arithmetic - I’ve been pretty good this week at my quiet times and prayer times, so I must have a enough brownie points up to ask for the biggie. Let’s face it, we do it all the time. We are trying to bargain with God because we believe we are something we aren’t. We can’t offer anything to God that he hasn’t already got. Therefore any help that God would give us is based on grace. It is undeserved and given simply because God wants to give rather than what we have earned.
While we are often self-centred on our goodness, just like the Jewish elders were, the Centurion provides a stark contrast for us. Despite his power, his authority and his wealth, he comes HUMBLY BEFORE GOD’S SON, acknowledging that his hope rests in his grace alone.
You see, I don’t think the Centurion asked or even wanted the Jews to go bargaining to Jesus. In his mind, there was nothing he could do to earn Jesus’ help. This is shown by the next delegation he sends to Jesus. Vs 6. 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. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
As an aside, It is interesting that the centurion has all of a sudden changed his mind. He wanted Jesus to come, but now he doesn’t. Why? Maybe it was because he recognised the compromising position he was putting Jesus in. Strict Jews would not associate with Gentiles because of the risk of becoming unclean. Jesus as a Rabbi and a Jew was being asked to put himself in a potentially compromising position and the Centurion out of respect for Jesus may have had second thoughts. Maybe he had got word of the bargaining of the Jewish elders and was embarrassed. We don’t know why he changed, his mind, but what we do know is that from his second request, we see that the Centurion despite his position and power was extremely humble.
The Centurion was not consumed by his own importance, or why he deserves help. No he says - I don’t even deserve you to come under my roof. This is an amazing attitude for a roman centurion to have. Remember he was all but ruler of the Capernaum region. Normally the movers and shakers from society would be clamouring for an invite to or audience in his house, such was his importance, but the Centurion steps of his pedestal and puts God on it instead. His focus was on the authority and honor due to God and his servant Jesus - He was God focused. I don’t think we have anyone here in this building this morning that even comes close to having a position as powerful or elevated as this centurion. But we so often focus on ourselves rather than God. On why we deserve God’s help rather than on God’s grace in agreeing to help. The Centurion’s faith put God in his rightful place - as Lord of everything.
How are you going in the humility stakes. Do you expect God to help you, to use you, to bless you because you deserve it? Great faith humbly focuses on God, not on you.
The Third thing about Great faith displayed in the Centurion was ...
3) Great Faith TRUSTS IN GOD’S AUTHORITY
The centurion knew what AUTHORITY was all about and he placed his trust in God’s authority. As a centurion, this man was under the authority of those above him. Above him were Chiliarchs (like Colonels) and Hegemons (like our Generals) and the Centurion was used to bowing to their authority and obeying their commands. But in a similar way, he was also in charge of men and they obeyed him because of the authority he had which was entrusted to him by those above him. He was charged with protecting and maintaining order in Capernaum. His authority came from his superiors the Chiliarchs and Hegemons who received their authority from the mighty Caesar. Those he was in charge of shared this same authority.
In a similar way, the Centurion understood that Jesus had authority also. It was given to him from God. And this authority enabled him to expect that his commands would be carried out without question.
The Centurion’s message to Jesus was this ... “Don’t trouble yourself in coming ... simply say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
That is faith. Not faith in his own abilities - but in the authority and power of God. The power of a COMMAND from the God who spoke and the universe came into being.
Luke records that Jesus marvelled at this man’s faith. Here was a Gentile who had faith in God that outstripped even the Jews. Oh, the Jews had faith, but the centurion had great faith. It was great faith that wasn’t self-centred. It was great faith that humbly focussed on God. It was great faith that trusted in God’s authority.
You know an interesting thing - Luke doesn’t record that Jesus said anything like a command to cause that healing. He didn’t say “be healed.” He didn’t say to the Centurion’s friends - “Go home because I’ve healed the slave.” Luke doesn’t record any such words from Jesus, but do you know what? - the friends went home and the slave was well. I wonder whether Jesus exceeded everyone’s expectations by healing without even speaking a word? I wonder?
How is your faith? Is it great faith? Are you more concerned for others than yourself? Are you humbly focused on God for that which you can’t possibly do yourself? Are you trusting in God’s authority?
We need great faith more than anything in this world. Because Great faith is saving faith. We can’t get to Heaven by what is within us - that’s the lie that Glenda and Dorothy would have us believe, but it’s just not true. We can’t get to heaven by earning brownie points. No, our salvation is a GIFT given to us by grace. It is achieved through God’s power and so our focus must be clearly on Jesus instead on our goodness. We don’t deserve it, but we still humbly ask for it just like the Centurion.
In humility and thanks we need to receive the gift by FAITH. We can’t see the gift, but we trust that God has the authority to save us, just like the centurion trusted that Jesus could help him. And when we trust, we don’t have to worry further about our salvation, we can have peace knowing that we are relying on God’s power not our own. You see - Faith is not believing that God can, it is knowing that He will. God can save us - we know that. But Great Faith says - God will save us.
Having great faith like that enables us to stop WORRYING about ourselves which then frees us to look out for the interests of those around us. There are plenty of people who need saving in this world. Great faith enables us to stop worrying about our own status before God and start worrying about the status of others.
Don’t be like Dorothy and think that you can do it on your own. We need God and we need great faith like the centurion. Have you got great faith today? What about great faith about your salvation? We all can have great faith, just like the Centurion at Capernaum.
Great faith is humbly focused on Jesus.
Great faith trusts in God’s authority.
Great faith is not self-centred.
