TITLE: JESUS WENT WITH THEM
SCRIPTURE: ST. LUKE 7:1-10
Have you ever been in a grocery store and had the privilege of watching a child who does not understand who is in charge? The mother would say, “PUT THAT CANDY BACK,” and the child would say, “NO,” and then rip the package open. The mother would say, “that’s it don’t you get another one and I mean it.” The child would grab something else. The mother would say, “Put it back.” The child would start screaming, and the mother would say, “Be quiet and put that thing in the basket.”
• Now even though the mother was an authority figure, the child did not place himself under her authority except when it suited his purposes
• How many of you think you know exactly what that child needed
• Keep that thought in mind as we travel through this text this morning
In our text we find Jesus had walked down from the brow of the low mountain outside of Capernaum, his adopted home. He had just delivered what would become the most famous sermon in history. When Jesus entered the town, he was met by a small delegation of Jewish elders.
• They had an urgent request
• There was a servant so sick he was expected to die shortly
• This delegation had been asked by the Master of the House to go find Jesus on his behalf and see if Jesus might be willing to heal his servant
Jesus had grown up in the city of Nazareth. But the people of Nazareth had attempted to kill him just as his ministry was getting started. In order to fulfill the Scriptures, he moved out of Nazareth and lived in Capernaum. While Jesus was up on the mountainside, there were a lot of worried looks and concern in a certain family’s home. The owner of the home sent this delegation to find Jesus with a request. The question must be asked – WHO WAS THIS MAN MAKING THE REQUEST?
• A Rabbi – No
• A Jewish Leader – No
• A Disciple – No
• He was a Roman Soldier
• He was a Centurion
A centurion was a commanding officer of a 100 men in the Roman army.
• The Roman army was an outside occupying army
• The Roman government had invaded and conquered the land of the Jews
The centurion would have been in charge of the Roman Soldiers who had been left behind to maintain the peace and to see to it that Roman commands were carried out. They were a kind of military police force with complete authority.
• As a result, many of the Jewish people hated the Romans
• But this Roman Centurion was a man who looked beyond the prejudice and the hatred of the Jews directed at him
• And somehow, we don’t know how it happened, he fell in love with their God
Let’s take a look at this again. There was this Roman centurion whose servant was so sick that he was expected to die shortly. The centurion had asked these Jewish Elders to go to Jesus on his behalf to see if Jesus might be willing to heal his servant. Now this was very unusual.
• Jewish leaders were not in the habit of being fond of Roman soldiers
• Feeling the obvious oddness of the request, one of the elders quickly added, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue"
• This was also unusual
• Roman soldiers were not in the habit of being fond of Jews
This text is really fascinating to me. Servants came to Jesus on behalf of he who was in charge of them. This man was a Gentile, meaning he was not a member of the Jewish people, and the Jews would ordinarily have considered him well beyond the pale. Jews did not associate with Gentiles; they considered Gentiles unclean; they would not normally help a Gentile in any way. What's more, this Gentile was a member of the occupying Roman Army!
Here this centurion’s servant is lying at the point of death.
• He has the power of Rome behind him - but that’s not much good right now
• He has quite a bit of wealth - but that’s not going to make much of a difference either
• He has a faith in God
• He’s heard about the ministry and the power of Jesus Christ
• If only he could get a message to Jesus
Some Jewish elders come to Jesus with the request of the Roman Centurion. Look at the text - At this point Jesus has heard the request and - JESUS HAS NOT SAID A WORD. He has only heard the request. I can imagine Jesus must have had a particular look on his face after hearing the plight presented by the Jewish counsel on behalf of a Roman Centurion. Now remember what Jesus was saying and teaching at this point as it relates to the Gentiles.
• Jesus was very clear - first the Word must be given to the Jews
• ST. MATTHEW 10:5 “…GO NOT INTO THE WAY OF THE GENTILES, AND INTO ANY CITY OF THE SMARITANS ENTER YE NOT”
• ST. MATTHEW 15:24 “..I AM NOT SENT BUT UNTO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL”
• Spoke to the Gentile Mother asking help for her daughter -- ST. MATTHEW 15:26 “…IT IS NOT MEET TO TAKE THE CHILDREN’S BREAD, AND TO CAST IT TO DOGS”
So here is a Jewish delegation making a request for the Oppressor, a Roman Centurion who had servants, that is to say Jews working for him. So the delegation must have picked up on the body language of Jesus and they present a PART-B to the request. They now let Jesus know -- THIS CENTURION DESERVES OR IS WORTHY for you to come and heal his servant.
• First of all, the man loves our nation
• And even more important he built our synagogue and paid for it out of his own pockets
• They are reminding Jesus, they did not even have a Jewish Synagogue
• This man came up with all the money by himself and built the building where we worship
• Matter of fact Jesus, you know you’ve even preached in the synagogue yourself
In other words, the centurion had paid for their synagogue to be built. He was a great benefactor, generous with his money, sympathetic to Jewish religion. He also seems to be a kind man, doesn't he? We get the feeling in the narrative that he was genuinely concerned for his sick servant, not as a piece of valuable property—as a servant would have been—but out of human compassion.
• This was a very good man
• Generous with what he had
• No doubt religious
• Respectful of our God
• Even if he wasn't a fully signed up Proselyte
• Even if he had not walked down the isle yet to give his hand to the Deacons
• Even though he has not told the Church Secretary he wants to join the Church
• Even though he has not had Right Hand of Fellowship
• Even though he has not participated in the New Comers Training Class
Well….let’s consider this thought. Surely he deserved a favor from Jesus. What do you think? It is tempting to think along these lines, isn't it?
• Some of us believe we are good people
• We are regulars at church
• Goodness knows, we've put plenty in the collection plate over the years
• There are no obvious sins in our lives, well not like some people, anyway
• We show up at church meetings
• We try hard to be kind
• Surely God owes us something for all this!
If only I can GET ENOUGH STARS for good behavior –
• Then He will help me
• Then he will answer my prayers
• Then he will work the miracle in my life that I'm longing for
• These Jewish elders certainly approached Jesus on this basis
• This man deserves to have you do this
Jesus discerned the Father's hand in this and so he set off with them to the centurion's home. He had also just preached a couple hours earlier on the importance of loving one's enemies. This was something to encourage. Look at the first part of VS. 6 -- “SO JESUS WENT WITH THEM.” Jesus had been healing multitudes of people. He was a very busy person. Yet He, the Lord of the Universe, was willing to fit into his schedule a dying servant who may not even have been Jewish nor do we even know if he believed in God. How many of you can say, “I was not in any way worthy, but one day, for some reason, God took an interest in me, and came into my life.” Tell your neighbor you must be pretty important to God.
AND JESUS GOES WITH THEM. Here is another point I also find fascinating. Throughout all of this JESUS HAS STILL NOT UTTERED A WORD. Can I tell you my Brothers and Sisters -- WORDS ARE IMPORTANT.
• Too often we throw Words around Carelessly
• Too often we speak Words when we should Keep Silent
• Too often we speak Words and don’t even know what we are saying
This is why I have a problem doing weddings. Weddings in the Church have turned into TOO MUCH FOOLISHNESS. All that extra stuff should take place at the reception not during the Wedding Ceremony. The Words spoken during the Wedding Ceremony should be Important and fully understood.
• Wedding is Ordained by God
• Promises are made
• Cherish
• Honor One Another
• Sickness and Health
• Sickness is not reserved for Old Age – I can truly attest to that
• These Words are not to be taken Lightly
• They are to be taken Reverently
Here is Jesus encountering this entourage and He speaks not a Word! SO JESUS WENT WITH THEM. Here the TEXT TAKES ANOTHER INTERESTING TURN. As they neared the house another group sent by this Roman Centurion intercepted them.
• There was a brief huddled conference with the Elders
• There were hushed earnest voices
• The Elders seemed confused and concerned
• Some observers thought the servant must have died
Then a REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INTERCEPTING GROUP stepped over to Jesus and said respectfully -- "Teacher, I have a message for you from my Roman friend. He says, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 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.'"
• Do you know it is possible to talk ourselves out of a miracle from God just by jumping to conclusions
• Things are not always what they appear to be
• What we think may be really bad news coming our way, can really be an opportunity to see our faith in the Lord grow
Now we get a good glimpse of this centurion. He sent TWO DELEGATIONS to Jesus not to impress Jesus with the idea that He was somebody important and owed a favor. He recognized who Jesus truly was, and thought of himself as being unworthy to even stand in Jesus’ presence. This man was an official of the Roman Empire, and a spokesperson on behalf of the Emperor Ceasar.
• Rome was the greatest power of its day
People of high standing and local political leaders seeking political influence would have been begging to get inside the centurion’s home
• His house was the seat of power, yet he tells Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, that is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you”
This man’s faith in Jesus is rooted in his UNDERSTANDING OF AUTHORITY.
• He recognizes that everything in all of the world is under the authority of Christ including sickness and disease
• He recognizes also that even with his position of limited authority, the word he speaks carries a lot of weight
• If he says come, somebody comes
• If he says go, somebody goes
• If he says do this or do that, it gets done
He may have been alarmed to hear that Jesus was on his way. He knew that Jesus, as a Jew, would be considered unclean if he entered the centurion's house, or even met with the centurion. Far from considering himself worthy of Jesus' help, this man considered himself Unworthy.
• Which of us deserves a favor from God?
• Every one of us is utterly unworthy of receiving anything from God, except the fires of hell
• When we think about it - Why should Jesus do anything for us?
SO, WE HAVE TWO THOUGHTS HERE.
• Jewish Elders tell Jesus this man Is Worthy
• Roman Centurions friends tell Jesus that - He Is Not Worthy
• Which one is it?
• Either he is Worthy or He is Not
WHAT’S THE ANSWER? Should we try to find a middle way, some balance between feeling worthy of a favor from God, and feeling unworthy of his help? Well, no, that would just be silly; there is no middle ground. The answer is to take our eyes off ourselves and our own worth or lack of it, and fix our eyes instead on Jesus. This is the point: if you come to God with a need and you are asking yourself "do I deserve for him to help me?" - or you don't come to God with your needs because you don't feel you deserve His help, then you are not looking in the right direction. If you are concerned about your own worth, then you are looking at yourself—either way, you are putting your faith in yourself and your own performance. What we need to do is what the centurion does next, and put our faith in Jesus.
The centurion knew he was not worthy of Jesus, yet he still dared to put his faith in him to heal his precious servant. So this second delegation had it correct. This Centurion says to Jesus, “SAY THE WORD AND MY SERVANT WILL BE HEALED.” He recognized -
• Jesus, you have authority over Sickness
• Jesus, you have authority over Life and Death
• Just give the order and creation itself will Obey
• I read in your Word how you stepped out on nothing and simply Spoke a Word
• Spoke – Let there be Light and there was light
• Spoke – Let there be a Firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters and it was done
• Spoke – Let the earth bring forth grass and it was done
• Spoke – Hung the Stars and the Moon
• Then you Spoke – Let us Make Man in our Own Image After our Own Likeness and took of the dust of the earth and it was done
• Surely you can just speak a Word and my servant will be healed
• Surely you can Heal by the Remote Control of Your Divine Power
Isn't that what this centurion is ascribing to Jesus? "Just speak, just say the word, Lord, and this sickness will be healed".
• No Medicine necessary
• No Incantations
• No Affordable Health Care Act required
• No Repeal and Replace debates
• No Out of Network Fees
• No hindrance because of Pre-Conditions
• No Contact
• Not even a Prayer
• Just a Word from the Masters Lips
Don't you think, in Jesus, this Gentile Centurion has recognized God himself among them?
• Isn't that why Jesus was amazed at his faith?
• None of the Jews had recognized it yet
• But this man had realized -God himself was among them
The REACTION OF JESUS IS PRICELESS. The centurion was one the most unlikely persons to AMAZE Jesus.
• He was a Gentile
• Doubtless he had a pagan upbringing
• He was a Roman, stationed in Palestine to subject the Jews to the Emperor's rule
• He was a man of war
• He achieved the rank of Centurion by distinguishing himself above others in the brutal Roman martial arts
• Not exactly the résumé you'd expect for becoming one of the Bible's great heroes of faith
JESUS IS ASTONISHED AT THIS MAN’S FAITH. And know he finally responds –
• First Baptist - I Know
• Mt. Zion Baptist – I Know
• Macedonia Baptist – I Know
• New Zion Baptist – I Know
• Mt. Carmel Baptist – I Know
• Mt. Pleasant Baptist – I Know
• Sunrise Baptist – I Know
• Corinth Baptist – I Know
• But I have not yet seen faith like this
--So what in the world had happened to this man?
--We don't know
--But there he is in Capernaum
--A miracle of God's marvelous grace
--And he's a first fruit and a foreshadow of what Jesus had come to bring about
--He was a living illustration of ST. MATTHEW 8:11
--He was a living Foreshadow of what Jesus promised
-- “THAT MANY SHALL COME FROM THE EAST AND WEST, AND SHALL SIT DOWN WITH ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND JACOB, IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”
--All because JESUS WENT WITH THEM
--I don’t know about you but I need Jesus to go with Me
--I can’t make this journey on my own - I need Jesus to go with Me
--I don’t know which way to turn – I need Jesus to go with Me
--Anybody need Jesus to go with you This Morning?
--Anybody know you can’t make this journey on your own?
--Jesus Went With Them
--And Jesus Also Goes with Us
