Letting Go Of Prejudices To Become God’s Witness
Luke 7:1-11 Matthew 8:5-13 9/23/22
Have you ever judged another person and missed out on the opportunity to have had your life enriched. I can remember in my years in high school, I pretty much stuck with the same group of friends, most of whom were athletes in the sports I played. I pretty much ignored my other classmates. That is, until the last six weeks of my senior year, in which seniors were thrown together in a series of activities. I was forced to deal with people I had ignored for years.
I discovered some of them were incredible people who would have been great friends the previous t 4 years. But in a few weeks we would graduate and all go in different directions. I regretted my own prejudices, my arrogance, and my warped thinking. I made the error of thinking that I was just a little bit better than some people and that false belief robbed me of people God wanted to bless me within my life.
We are all going through life knowingly or unknowingly battling the temptation to think we are slightly better than others. We are better than them because of the place we’re from, the things we have, the way we look, the things we believe, and even the God we serve. When this hidden temptation comes fully to the surface of our hearts, we refuse to have contact with those people, and once a little hatred is thrown in, we hope for the destruction of those people and willingly participate in their downfall.
This is so far from Jesus, who told us, “A new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Have you ever thought about who Jesus is talking about? Can you think of some “one another” you do not want to love because they don’t share your views, your opinions, or your way of seeing an issue? Can you find a teaching of Jesus that allows you to avoid this command to love “one another”? Would the world be a better place if everyone got the same pass as you give yourself to neglect this command of Jesus?
Jesus had an incredible ability to love and to be concerned about people from all walks of life. He never seemed to be concerned with his reputation or of what others might think or say about him. Anyone who follows Jesus, is going to have a shaky reputation in the eyes of some people.
Let’s look into how Jesus dealt with some different “one another” in chapter 7 of Luke. This story is also found in the 8th chapter of Matthew in a more abbreviated format. Each gospel provides some additional details. In Luke, Jesus was coming back to Capernaum after having preached the sermon of the mount.
One commentary stated it was probably about a seven mile walk from where the sermon was preached back to the city of Capernaum. So Jesus and his disciples are probably tired from the journey. Although Jesus was from Nazareth, Jesus chose to make Capernaum his home base. It was the largest city on the north side of the Sea of Galilee, and it was the headquarters for a small contingent of some Roman soldiers.
The hostility between the Romans and the Jews was intense. In addition to the Romans being the conquering enemy, the Romans were Gentiles. In Jewish prayers, they often thanked God they were not born Gentiles. The Jews would not even enter the house of a Gentile, because it would make them unclean. Slavery was a large part of the Roman Empire, so there were slaves in Capernaum. There were a lot of reasons for people to think they were better than or superior to others.
Look at Luke 7:2 (NIV2011) 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The first “one another” to appear in this story is from the bottom of society. He’s a slave, he’s very sick. Matthew in his gospel tells us the man was also paralyzed and suffering terribly.
We don’t know his name, but we do know something of his character or work ethic. Slaves were considered little more than property that could be disposed of, but this slave had lived his life in such away that he was highly valued. When others looked at him, they may have seen “just a slave.” Why bother Jesus over “just a slave.” But this slave owner saw more than “just a slave.” He saw someone of incredible value. He saw someone that he did not want to lose. He saw someone that moved his heart to compassion to do whatever he could to save his life.
How was the centurion able to ignore what society said should be the relationship between a master and a slave? You know when Jesus first encountered us, we were all slaves to sin. But Jesus didn’t see us as “just slaves”. Because of what Jesus was going to do for us, He saw the potential for us to become sons and daughters of God. He saw us as worth saving. If Jesus saw us all in the same boat, in need of a Savior, how dare we exalt ourselves above each other.
The next “one another” to appear in the passage is the Roman centurion himself. Centurions were often in charge of discipline. Those who refuse to obey Roman law would encounter the wrath of the centurions. This man had been hated by the Jewish people in the area. For some, the only good centurion was a dead one. A centurion most of the time would be leading a group of 60 to 80 soldiers.
Many sons of Roman Senators or powerful figures would begin their career in the military as a centurion soldier. The rank would be the equivalent of a captain in our army today. No doubt this centurion in the passage had most likely come from a somewhat privileged background. Although centurions were paid better than soldiers, this centurion seemed to have had quite a bit of wealth at some point.
Yet this passage builds on his compassion for his slave. Not only had this centurion broken the socio-economic barrier with his slave, he had also began to overcome religious and political barriers. As a Roman, he was expected to worship the Roman gods, and to carry out the political policies of Rome.
Yet this man had taken an interest in the Jewish faith. He wanted to know more about their God. He was hearing these stories about Jesus. The more he heard about Jesus’s power to heal and to forgive, the more he thought it must be true. He firmly believed in his heart, that Jesus was the only hope for him and his servant. But how was he, a Gentile, going to be able to get Jesus’ attention?
Luke 7:3 (NIV2011)
3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.
He decided to go and plead with some elders of the Jews in the city to ask them if they would go and ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. Here is a Roman centurion humbling himself to ask a favor of a group of people who he knows dislikes him and his political views.
He thinks that because they are Jews, they will have far more influence with Jesus than he could ever have. But he was wrong. We will see that a little later. With Jesus, it’s not who we know or where we’re from that really matters. It’s more of what is in our hearts.
The next “one another” group to arrive in the story are some of the elders of the Jews. These elders must decide how they will respond to the centurion’s request. No doubt there was some disagreement about whether to help a Roman in any situation, much less to trouble themselves over a Roman slave. They after all, were at the top of humanity’s pecking order having been chosen by God. The less they had to deal with these Gentiles, the better.
The only problem was that this Gentile centurion, did not fit the mold they had for all Gentiles. This centurion seemed to have a genuine love for God. Not only that, but this centurion also seemed to have a love for God’s people. Even though he knew many of the Jews hated him because of his Roman affiliation, that didn’t stop him from attempting to show love to them. If you knew people didn’t like you because of your affiliations, would it stop you from showing love to them.
Jesus might be calling you to be like this Gentile Roman Centurion who is willing to humble himself to break down barriers. He was willing to smash the stereotype by his love and his actions. No doubt it costs him to challenge the divisions in his society. No doubt some Romans did not appreciate him humbling himself before the Jews. After all, it was the Roman’s job to tell the Jews what to do and their job to do it.
We find in verse 4 enough of the elders agreed to go together to meet Jesus. Luke 7:4-5 (NIV2011) 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.”
This group of “one another” came to Jesus because someone else ask them to do it, and they felt obligated to go to Jesus. They felt they owed the centurion a favor, and that Jesus himself owed the man a favor. They told Jesus, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”
I wonder why the Jewish elders do not identify the man by name or indicate the fact that he is a Roman centurion. Did they think Jesus would carry the same prejudice and biases that they had? How often do we want Jesus to see a situation through our eyes, rather than have Jesus force us to look at the situation through his eyes.
It's great that the centurion paid for the synagogue building campaign all by himself. It’s great for the many things that we do for the Lord. But none of the things we do, ever put us in the place where we can say, “But God you owe me.” For one thing, how does one pay God for the gift of life. The Scriptures ask us in Romans 11:35 “Who has given to God, that God should repay them.” For another thing, we still do not yet know what God has in mind to give those who love Him. God’s reward will always be greater than what we surrendered.
Jesus agreed to go along with them to the centurion’s home, but I don’t think Jesus has in mind the same thing they have in mind. It’s possible for us to bring Jesus along, not realizing that Jesus has a different agenda than we have. Jesus always has His own purposes in mind.
We find in verse 6, Luke 7:6 (NIV2011) 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.
The next group of “one another” to show up are friends of the centurion. They arrive because the centurion realized that he had made a big mistake. He had thought, if the right name people showed up, Jesus would be more likely to respond. He now realizes that Jesus doesn’t operate based on religious favors, political connections, or celebrity names. This group of friends are just ordinary people. The centurion realizes that Jesus will receive a message from ordinary people just as easily as he will from the rich and powerful.
After sending the powerful to ask Jesus to come, he sends the nobodies to ask Jesus not to come. Now when some of the disciples heard this, they probably breathed a sigh of relief. They would not have to risk going into the house of a Gentile. You see they wanted to follow Jesus, but they still were not free to let Jesus be Lord in all areas of their lives. They still had some “one another” they did not want to deal with yet.
The centurion isn’t thinking about the Jew Gentile House Rule. The centurion first recognizes that Jesus is Lord. Jesus does not have to change his schedule to come to his house to meet a need. The centurion secondly recognizes that nothing he has done, can put Jesus in his debt. Not only does he feel unworthy to have Jesus at his house, he feels unworthy to even come to Jesus.
Do you remember the story of Peter the day the Lord filled the boats with fish. When Peter saw the boats filled with fish, he fell at Jesus’ knees and “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man.” The more the centurion understands who Jesus is, the more he recognizes he’s a sinner in need of a Savior. Lord I’m not even worthy to come to you.
The centurion has a moment of insight once he understands that Jesus is Lord. He sees Jesus does not have to be limited by space or distance because the power is in Jesus’ word. As one who has been entrusted with the authority by His Heavenly father, Jesus can accomplish whatever the Father desires.
In verse 8 we find the centurion saying, 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.”Luke 7:7-8 (NIV2011)
This man could be at peace because he really believed that Jesus was in charge of this situation. We lose our peace and become anxiety filled every time we stop believing that Jesus is Lord. We become fearful that this is going to happen or that is going to happen if God does not intervene to stop it. We have a difficult time accepting that God’s means to an end are far different than our means to that same end.
Everybody at the time was eager to see Jesus do a miracle. But here is a person that says, “Lord I don’t need to see you do anything. I know that if you just speak it, you have the authority to make it happen”.
Look at Jesus’ response, Luke 7:9 (NIV2011) 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.”
Jesus was amazed at a Gentile Roman Centurion who was willing to break down barriers in order to get to know Jesus.
The crowd Jesus makes this bold declaration to are 1) some of Jesus’ Jewish disciples following him 2) the group of Jewish elders who were sent to him, and 3) the group of the centurions friends who are probably Gentiles. Can you imagine how shocked they were to hear Jesus say, “I have not found such great faith even in Israel?”
Jesus is exalting the faith of a God fearing Gentile above the faith of the Jewish people he’s been ministering to for the past few years. He exalts the faith of the centurion even above that of his own disciples. I wonder how this made them feel. Do you think they rejoiced that God was at work in such an amazing way in the life of a Gentile? Do you think they were envious or perhaps jealous? Do you think they may have asked God to give to them the kind of faith the centurion had?
After Jesus made this statement, I wonder how many people lost interest in the centurion and his slave. How many people had the following thoughts. “ If Jesus was not going over to do a miracle, they might as well go home.” “There was nothing more to see”. “Ha, if Jesus could do things by just speaking, why on earth would he travel from place to place.”
The story ends with the same slave it began with Luke 7:10 (NIV2011)
10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Most of the crowd probably never knew what happened concerning the slave. They certainly were not going to go to a Gentile’s house to find out. It’s easier to stick to our prejudices and biases than it is to risk finding out the truth. They were very near the house but didn’t go the final distance to see the condition of the servant. The only group that returned to the house were the last group of friends that the centurion had sent. I wonder what kind of party they had when they got home and saw that slave up and walking around. They all knew what a difference Jesus had made.
God is at work in places you might not expect to find God. From a Jewish perspective, there were many reasons God should not have chosen a Gentile, Roman, Soldier. He was the wrong race, the wrong religion, belonged to the wrong political party, and had different values. Yet God chose to love him and to bring him to a saving knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ. God is not obligated to love only those we love. We are obligated to love like Christ with an indiscriminatory love for people.
God calls us to never think more highly of ourselves than we ought and never to think we are better than other people for whom Christ died.
