Faith That Marvels
Luk 7:1-10
Read: Luke 7:1-10
Practically all Bibles today are divided up by chapter and verse, but many are also by divided by chapter or sectional topics. For example, Matthew chapter 5 might have a heading at the beginning of the chapter that says “Sermon on the Mount” to let people know at a glance what this chapter or section of verses is about. Luke chapter 6, beginning at verse 17 might have a heading that says, “Sermon on the Plain.” Many Bibles are divided up like this and any heading you might see could contain just a couple of verses or whole chapters.
One of my Bibles that I use a lot, at the beginning of our story today in chapter 7 of Luke, has the heading “Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant.” But you what? I think that maybe “A Centurion’s Faith” might be more appropriate. Yes, Jesus did heal the servant, but I think that it’s the Centurion’s faith that carries the story, because his faith caused the Lord to “marvel” and to “turn around.” In other words, He was stopped in His tracks. Now, the Greek word for marvel means to wonder, or have admiration for, and this Greek word is found in only two places in Marks gospel. Here, where Jesus marvels at the Centurion’s faith, and then again when Jesus marveled at the unbelief He experienced in His hometown of Nazareth.
If you think about it though, you might think that it’s a marvel that Jesus would marvel at anything at all. I mean, the Bible tells us that He holds the preeminence over all things, that He’s the firstborn of all creation, and that He is the One by whom all things that exist were brought into existence. So, Jesus has quite literally “seen it all.” What could He possibly encounter in this world and this life that would make a big impression on Him? You wouldn’t think that there would be anything left that would cause Him to marvel, would you?
But it appears that there was one thing that would catch His attention, and that was the exceptional manner in which someone had faith in Him. As a matter of fact, in the Scriptures, only twice do we read where He commended someone for having “great faith,” and that was the Syrophoenician (or Canaanite) woman who came pleading with Him in a very insistent way to heal her daughter, and then in our story today of the Centurion who wanted Him to heal his servant. A woman and a man, both of them Gentiles, which might give explanation why He would say, Luk 7:9 …not even in Israel have I found such great faith.
It’s interesting, isn’t it? You would expect to find great faith everywhere in Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. The Jews were God’s people. They had the promises of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. They have had intimate dealings with the Lord throughout their history. So, one might expect to find exceptional faith all over the place. But what do you find instead? You find that He rebukes His people for their “little” faith.
Several times in the NT we find where He’s scolding the religious leaders about their lack of faith. There were even several times when He scolded His own disciples for the same thing. Peter stepped out of the boat, walked on water and then began to sink. Jesus reached out and saved him, saying to him Mat 14:31 …"You of little faith, why did you doubt?" To the disciples in the boat who feared for their lives in a raging storm, He asked Mat 8:26 …"Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" After He told His disciples to watch out for the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, the disciples wondered among themselves if He was talking about them not having brought any bread, when He told them Mat 16:8 …"You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? There are other places I could mention, but I don’t have the time.
This Centurion in our story today is a model for us of Christian service. He is a man with authority over 100 soldiers, but he became a servant to his own servant when he called upon Jesus to heal him. He reached out to someone in need, who was lowly and despised by Roman society, and he became the channel through which Christ’s healing power flowed to the dying slave.
Friends, this is a pretty remarkable incident. The Roman army wasn’t known for its piety, yet this Centurion had great faith. Knowing what we know about Roman occupation and their rule over foreign lands, it’s surprising that in the Bible whenever a Centurion is spoken of, they are presented to us in a favorable light. So, that ought to tell you that it doesn't matter what your job is, there is nothing, except yourself, that can keep you from living a godly life in the midst of an evil and unbelieving world. He did it back then, and we can do it today.
In our story today, I see characteristics that every Christian should seek to develop in their own life if they wish to develop a faith that marvels and grow in godliness, beginning with developing an…
1. Exalted View of Jesus
This Centurion had an exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed that Jesus had authority over what anyone else would call hopeless. His message to the Lord was Luk 7:7 …just say the word, and my servant will be healed. Being a man in authority he was able to recognize authority in someone else. Now his own authority was earned and given to him by his Roman superiors, but Jesus’ authority is an intrinsic part of His Sonship. He said Mat 28:18 …"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
The Centurion understood authority, and he knew that when he gave an order to a subordinate, it would get done. He knew what it meant to speak and have his words obeyed. But he also knew that his servant was in desperate need. He was sick, and the Greek literally means that he was having it bad—the servant had it bad is the way the physician Luke put it. And friend, there are 3 things you never want to hear your physician to say…
1. Oops!
2. Hmm. I’ve never seen this before.
3. Oh, this is bad!
Luke said the third one. This servant had it bad, and it was so bad that he was very near death. His boss, the Centurion, needed to go to the One who had authority over everything, and he recognized Jesus to be that One. He knew that Jesus didn’t need to do anything other than say the word, and it would be done. He didn’t need to come and lay hands on his servant, because the Lord of all creation, who spoke the universe and everything in it into existence, could also speak and his servant would be healed.
This miracle is a picture of spiritual truth. The Lord’s power to heal this dying servant is a picture of His power to save those who are perishing in their sin. The power of salvation lies in the hands of the Savior, not the sinner. And friends, if, as the Bible teaches, salvation is of the Lord, then we can pray in faith, “Lord, speak the word and impart new life in the sinner,” and we’ll know that He can do it. The faithful and godly believe in an exalted Lord who is mighty to save those who cannot save themselves.
Because of his exalted view of Christ, the Lord responded with, Luk 7:9 …"I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith." That word “found” implies that the Lord has been looking for faith, and friend, He is still looking. You know, we tend to think that God will use a person who is gifted in some area, but the truth is that the Lord looks for those who simply trust Him. Giftedness is fine, but faith is what He’s looking for because all those who have faith and trust in Him, He will equip for His service whether they are gifted or not. He will give them what they need to accomplish His purpose.
Friends, God is looking for men and women like this Centurion, people who believe in a big God and know that Jesus Christ is Lord and that they can come to Him at anytime in simple faith and say, “Lord, just speak the word and it will be done.”
Now before I go on, I want to point out that the differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of this story, has an answer. Matthew says that the Centurion came to Jesus personally, while Luke says that he never saw Jesus, but sent emissaries. You need to understand that what a man does through his emissaries, he does himself. The emissaries represent the one who sent them, and when they speak, he is speaking. The story itself has an example of this. The Jews said that “he built our synagogue.” They don’t mean that he did it himself, but that he hired others to build it. He built it, but others did the work.
So, getting back to our theme, to develop faith that marvels and grow in godliness, we must have an exalted view of Jesus, that He is Lord, but we also must have a…
2. Humble View of Self
Luk 7:6 …"Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof;
The delegation of elders that came to Jesus on behalf of the Centurian told Jesus that he was worthy. Stuck in their works based religion, the Jews measured a person’s worthiness based upon what they have done. This Roman Centurion loved the Jewish people and demonstrated his love by building them a synagogue. So, they said that he is worthy, but he says that he isn’t worthy. He isn’t worthy for Christ to come under his roof, and he’s not worthy for Jesus to change His direction of travel and come to his house instead. And isn’t this the way it often is? What the world views as worthy, the person will view himself as unworthy.
Can’t you just hear what these elders probably said to the Lord? “Now Jesus, we know he’s a Gentile and a Roman soldier, but won’t you overlook that this one time? He’s really a great guy and he loves our people so much that he built us a synagogue. We’re pretty sure that if any Gentile would be worthy, this guy would be that one!”
You know, I wonder how often our own prayers to God sound just like that? “Oh Lord, I know I’m not perfect. I’ve sinned a few times. I’ve made some mistakes, but I'm only human. I've really tried to be good. I go to church. I tithe. I read my daily devotional. I don’t ask for much, so, could you possibly just give me this one thing?”
Friends, when we approach God like that, we’re treating Him like Santa Claus. It might surprise you know that He doesn’t have a naughty and nice list, but He does have the Lamb’s book of life, and anyone who’s name isn’t recorded in that book, will not see life. But when we come to Christ in prayer, we come knowing that Jas 5:16 …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
We don’t deserve anything from God, and we cannot bribe Him. Everything He gives to you He gives out of His generosity and grace. You may be just like this Centurion and have every good reason to boast. You might be a man or woman of faith. You may be good and love the Jewish people. You might even give generously to Jewish charities, but the boasting heart is a proud heart and the Bible tell us that 1Pe 5:5 …GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
True humility comes from seeing our own insufficiency and Christ’s all-sufficiency. The servant was about to die. He was helpless to save himself, and the Centurion could only look on as he slowly degenerated. The Centurion knew that he was insufficient, but he also heard of Christ’s all-sufficiency. Luk 7:7 …just say the word, and my servant will be healed. His humility was motivated by compassion and fueled with an exalted view of Christ, and a low view of himself, so, he humbly sought for help from the only one who could help.
3. Compassionate View of Others
Luk 7:2 …a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.
Where the Scripture says “highly regarded” the Greek word means “precious.” Peter uses that same word when he writes about Christ being the 1Pe 2:4 …living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, The servant was precious to the Centurion, and this sets him far above the typical Roman soldier who could be brutally heartless. To most Romans, a slave, which is what this “servant” was, was no more than an animal.
Aristotle said that there could be no friendship and no justice toward inanimate things, not even toward a horse, an ox, or a slave. He said that a slave “is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave.” The Roman lawyer, Gaius, wrote that it was universally accepted that the master possessed the power of life and death over his slave. And another Roman writer named Varro maintained that the only difference between a slave, a beast, and a cart was that the slave could talk.
The Centurion’s compassion for his slave, though maybe not completely unique, was unusual for a man in his station in life and position as a Roman soldier. But his compassion wasn’t only toward his slave, but also toward the Jewish nation, which was also highly unusual. Luk 7:5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.
As a Roman commander, he was sent to occupy their land and to keep them in line; yet the Jewish elders he sent in his place could honestly say that he loved them. This, my friend, says a lot and especially when you consider the deep hatred the Jews had toward Romans. This Centurion could be looked at as a prototype of the many believing Gentiles that was to come. He had faith that was exceptional and outstanding because it so clearly had love as its great motivation.
He acted out of love for his slave, out of love the people of Israel, and I believe he may have even been acting out of love for the God of Israel as well. And genuine love for God will also be genuine love for His Son, Jesus. He had heard the news about Him, and he believed. Rom 10:17 …faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. That kind of love this Centurian had will always catch the Lord’s attention, and a faith that has that kind of love as its motivation will be a marvel to Him.
Has your faith ever marveled Jesus? Or was it the lack of faith that marveled Him? I ask this because God is looking for servants like this Centurion. Servants who have…
An exalted view of Christ, that He is the sovereign Lord with all-authority, and so they trust Him for the impossible.
A lowly view of themselves. Who know that they are insufficient and unworthy, but Christ is worthy and all-sufficient.
A compassionate view of others. Knowing that station, standing, or status mean nothing in the eyes of God, and it should mean nothing to us as well.
Hudson Taylor, a pioneer missionary to China used to say, “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them.”
May that same powerful God do great things through us as we trust Him in our weakness.
Invitation
