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If you have a Bible with you, open them to Luke chapter 7.
We're continuing in our journey through the gospel of Luke.
And this morning we're going to look at this situation here with Jesus meeting this Roman centurion
where he begins to demonstrate a lot of things he has just taught in this sermon which we've just finished going through.
So let me read for us from Luke 7, beginning of verse 1.
We're going to read down through verse 10.
After he had finished all his sayings and the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death who was highly valued by him.
And when the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews asking him to come and heal his servant.
And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly saying,
He is worthy to have you do this for him for he loves our nation and he is one who built us our synagogue.
And Jesus went with them.
But when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends saying to him,
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.
And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him.
And turning to the crowd that followed him said,
I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.
And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
You know, one of the things I love about really the whole of the Bible,
but especially when we come to the Gospels, is stories.
I mean, I love stories.
I think we all love stories.
And one of the things about Luke, and it's a little different than especially, say, Matthew,
Luke, we find very few extended sections that are just him explaining the kingdom.
Where he's teaching us truths.
Far more often than not, you have these stories that paint a picture of these principles that
Jesus is communicating about the reality of this new kingdom that he brings in.
And this is one of those examples.
He's just finished, probably in the Gospel of Luke, the longest section of teaching that we have.
But now, immediately, Luke is going to give us a pair of stories.
And we're going to look at one this week and another one next week
that illustrates all that he has just said about the kingdom.
This week, we have the healing of this servant of a Gentile who expresses faith.
But then next week, we're going to see how he returns a dead son alive to his widowed mother.
And both of these are going to reflect something different about the kingdom.
And in some ways, they are both scandalous.
Because they fly directly in the face of common thought.
And so today, we're going to look at the kingdom, and we're going to look at kingdom faith.
What does kingdom faith look like?
You know, and you have to say, when you say that you have faith, when you say your friends have faith,
what do you look for in yourself or in someone else that says, yeah, they really do have faith?
And if it's true faith, you know, what distinguishes that?
So as Jesus just taught in this previous sermon, that you'll know a tree by its fruits.
And so he says, a good tree is going to produce good fruits.
A bad tree produces bad fruit.
You know that tree by the fruit it produces.
What does the kingdom, what does faith, this kingdom faith, produce in us
that demonstrates that fruit of the kingdom?
And so Luke is going to show us in this section.
Again, it's a scandalous section in a couple of ways.
But he's going to show us and demonstrate for us what this kingdom faith is.
And if you really do want to impress Jesus, this is how to do it.
So, really we just see two things.
The first is kingdom faith.
It's always in a downward movement.
We're going to see it in both of these.
But it first moves downward in humility.
Here's the story.
What's going on here?
Jesus has just finished teaching.
And now he is moving towards Capernaum with this huge posse with him.
In some ways, Luke at this point doesn't even give it much thought.
Though we're going to see it come into play in the next story.
Jesus has just finished teaching about all this new system of values.
And now he's going to demonstrate in a very clear, very major way what he was trying to explain.
And so as he's approaching the city, he is met by this group of Jewish elders.
These are leaders in this community.
And they've been sent to him on behalf of a Roman centurion.
See, that in itself would make us scratch our heads.
Because what do these Jews, what are they having to do, what do they have to do with this Roman centurion?
These Romans were the occupying army.
They were the force in Palestine then, in Israel, that the Jews hated.
They hated them almost as much as they did Samaritans.
But they hated the Romans because typically Roman centurions were not nice people.
They could be, in many occasions, brutal.
They were captors.
They were occupiers.
And the Jews were captives.
And so many times that's the way they treated them.
So what's going on here?
The Jews have come to Jesus, these Jewish leaders,
and they're kind of pleading this guy's case.
They're making a case with Jesus that this guy deserves Jesus' help.
That's a little weird.
What are they doing?
Well, is this Roman actually that nice a guy?
Maybe.
I mean, we see here, the way Luke describes him, he's got a tender heart, especially towards this servant of his.
And he's obviously done some good things for the Jewish community.
So maybe there's something very tender about him and that he has indeed won the affections of his captives.
There might be something else going on here.
The way that society operated and worked in these kind of situations was on a quid pro quo basis.
Jesus, if I do good for you, that means you owe me.
And so what the Romans would do sometimes with their captives is, you know, the centurion spent money, you know, built their synagogue and so forth.
But what he could be doing here with that is buying peace.
I'll build your synagogue.
You don't give me any trouble.
And so the Jews, in a sense, you know, maybe what he's doing here with these Jewish elders is calling in his debts.
So, yeah, maybe he did love this servant of his and this servant was obviously very valuable.
And so he needed help.
And now he has heard that there's this guy named Jesus out here who could bring life and healing back to my servant.
So, the elders come and are trying to build a case for this centurion's worthiness.
That word worthy is the key here.
It's one of these key ideas because, you know, the Jews operate on this basis as well.
What you do, how you behave, your standing in society, all of that makes you worthy.
And the basic meaning of that word worthy is kind of substantive or heavy.
You have weight to your life or you are valuable.
You are somebody.
And that is, you find worth on the basis of how you live, the good things you do, and so forth.
And so that's the system.
That's simply the way the world works here.
And it's the way the Jews are working.
Yes, this guy was a foreigner.
Yes, in normal circumstances, they wouldn't have anything to do with him.
But in this case, they are coming and trying to build a case.
Now, the amazing thing here is Jesus goes.
He never says a word about it.
He just goes with him.
And now what this does, it sets up a whole new crisis.
Because a centurion hears that he's coming.
And there's something else about society.
This Jewish teacher cannot come into the house of a Gentile.
And so, the centurion in some ways panics.
And he sends a whole different group of people to Jesus.
These are not Jewish elders that he's using to get something.
Now he's got friends.
And now they're saying something whole different.
Something totally different about this Roman.
He's not worthy.
He's a Roman.
He says, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof.
Enter into my house.
And the word that their centurion uses.
It's like, I'm insufficient.
I am a nobody.
In regard to you, comparison to you, I am not enough for you to care.
And so, from a distance, he sends these friends to Jesus.
Because basically, the Gentile says, I have no right to expect you to help me.
But, you know, if you just say the word, which we'll look at in just a minute.
But there is in this world this system of worth and value.
And unfortunately, in that system, it's all based on what you do.
Who you are.
And this is what Jesus came to bring it into.
Unfortunately, that same kind of system is what we have here.
What makes you think that you are worthy to expect Jesus to come to you and to give you help?
You know, help is given to those who are worthy of it.
You know, we operate this way.
If someone were to come to you and ask for financial help, they need money from you.
What are you looking for in them that would make them worthy of your help?
What if they were standing there puffing on a cigarette in front of you?
What if they had the smell of alcohol on their breath?
What if they were dressed very clearly as if they belonged to another religion?
What would disqualify them from you giving them help?
Would they be worthy?
What makes us worthy?
To ask and to expect something.
But, you know, that is as big a question as that is.
How do you approach God yourself?
You need Him to work for you?
You need something?
You've got something going on in your life?
And it's very, very dear to you.
What gives you the right to go before God and expect Him to answer your prayer and to meet you in that need?
Have you done enough?
Are you good enough?
You know, a few years ago, well, let me just say this first.
A lot of us know intellectually that there's nothing we can do.
But that's not the way we function.
Some years ago, when not long I had actually become a Christian,
I joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ.
I was going to become a missionary.
And I had, I was at new staff training,
and they were trying to decide where I should fit,
what ministry I should go into.
And I had just auditioned for the music ministry.
Not very well, I might say.
But I auditioned.
And that's where I really wanted to be placed.
I didn't want to go just work on a college campus somewhere.
I wanted to work with these music groups that they had.
And so, you know, in that anxious time of waiting,
and this was something I really, really wanted.
And so I decided, you know, maybe I ought to pray about this.
But I was like, oh, my God.
And so I remember, I went up one evening.
They had a, at the camp, the staff training grounds where I was,
they had a chapel.
And so I decided, let me, I'm just, I'm going to go up there
in the quiet and the private, and I'm going to pray.
But as I went up there and started praying, I realized something.
That's the first time I had really prayed in a long time.
I hadn't really, as far as my time and efforts go,
I hadn't paid God much attention at all.
Yeah, I was in training to be a missionary.
And I wasn't in his word.
I wasn't praying.
And there were just other things in my life that were inconsistent
with all of this.
And it hit me that God, and I just started kind of rattling all this off.
And I said, I really don't have much right to ask you for this.
And it was kind of like, you know, this is a very un-Presbyterian thing.
It was almost like God actually responded.
To that prayer.
And as clear as it could be in my mind, this thought came.
And it says, okay, what difference would it have made
if you had done all those things?
Would you be more worthy?
Well, no.
See, I was very, very determined to make myself acceptable.
I was determined that I was going to make myself good enough
where I could be approved because I'd behaved well enough
so that God would, that I would feel confident
that God would actually come and take my desires to heart
and meet me and answer my prayer.
I was trying to be worthy.
Well, what's keeping you from asking God
for something that's very, very dear to your heart?
And I don't know what that might be.
It might be something that you really want.
It might be him taking away something you really don't want.
But that request, what is it?
And see, a lot of times we hesitate
to come before God because,
yeah, I'm not good with devotional times.
Oh, yeah, I've been going the wrong places on my computer.
Oh, yeah, I mean, I have just yelled at my kids
for the seventh time and it's barely lunch.
Why would I think that God would listen to me?
Why would I think he would have anything to do with my desires?
See, in the old system,
worthiness is on what we do.
But there's a new system.
And Jesus went to the Gentiles' home
without a word, without hesitation,
because there's a new system.
That those who are the least worthy
can be made worthy,
but not because of their lineage,
not because of their religion,
not because of their behavior,
but because of what he was about to do.
The Holy One of Israel
was about to embrace unworthiness.
The Holy One of Israel
was about to enter in the sewer
of human depravity
and take it away.
And he was going to embrace it
so that us who are lost in it
and stuck in it
we who cannot be good enough
ever
can be made
worthy.
And how worthy has he made us?
that same Holy One
of Israel
has now declared
that through his work,
through his death,
through his intervention,
has made me
not only acceptable enough
that he would enter
into my dwelling,
he's chosen to take up residence there.
the Holy One
has cleansed me
so fully,
so completely,
and has made me
so ultimately
beautiful
that he
says,
I'll come.
No problem.
I'm on my way.
There's nothing
to keep us
from inviting him
and expecting him
to hear us
and to
bless us.
Nothing.
Faith
embraces
the humility
of unworthiness
because
we have a Savior
that we trust
and makes us worthy.
Secondly,
faith
moving downward
now in submission.
You know,
when the centurion,
and this is the part
that sometimes
we might scratch our heads
about this,
and this is okay,
as soon as,
you know,
with the second group of people
he sends them to Jesus,
and the reason
he tells Jesus,
no,
don't come,
he gets into this
discussion of authority
and it's kind of
this hierarchy
of authority.
And what's this
all about?
And he says,
Jesus,
look,
just say the word
because I understand
authority.
I mean,
I'm a centurion.
I got guys under me.
I tell one,
do this,
and he does it,
and go here,
and he goes,
and so all you've
got to do
is say the word.
And see,
obviously,
the centurion
has heard the stories
about Jesus
and what he's doing
and how he's not only
teaching with authority,
he's been working
with authority,
something that
the Jewish elders
in a lot of ways
were blind to,
but he's caught on.
This guy's got authority,
and he can speak,
and all he's got to do
is speak,
and it's done.
And so he's,
this centurion
is submitting himself
to the authority
of Jesus.
And Jesus hears this.
Jesus was impressed.
The text says
he marveled.
And he says,
in all Israel,
and here's the scandal
of the story,
in all Israel,
I have not seen
such faith,
and that faith
came from a
scum
Roman centurion.
because he understood
the dynamics
of a new kingdom.
This is huge.
This whole idea
of authority
is huge
for me.
For the centurion,
he was dealing
with this physical illness
of this beloved servant,
and all he knew
that all Jesus
had to do
was to speak
into this,
and this servant
would be healed.
you know,
for us,
the issue
might be
a little less material.
You know,
what has Jesus
already said to me
about me
that I simply
do not believe
or that I openly
reject
and that I cannot,
I will not
accept?
what has he said?
What has he already
declared?
Well,
who's the one
in your life?
And I have
asked the question,
you know,
who's the one
in my life
that actually
has the authority
to speak
into my heart
and I will submit
and believe
and accept
what they say?
Is it a parent?
Maybe a spouse?
Do we live
with parents
who are speaking
into our lives
and what they're saying
actually is not
very good
but yet we believe
and we live
under this burden
of what they're
declaring about us?
are we living
in slavery
to certain people
because we need
their words
to speak
into us
that we actually
have value?
Who is it
in your life
that can speak
and you're going
to believe
and accept
and embrace?
Who has the authority?
You know,
because of these voices
sometimes we can
either feel
very defeated,
very worthless,
very small,
enslaved.
You know,
some of the loudest
voices that we believe
unfortunately
are our own.
we don't need
somebody else.
Some of those voices
simply say,
I'll look in the mirror
and it says,
I'm a failure,
I am a zero.
I am insignificant.
I mean nothing
to no one.
Now,
what I'm talking
about here
in getting into
is not
psychological
gymnastics.
Psychology
today
will tell you,
you know,
you might think
this is just
well,
positive speak.
We need to have
positive messages.
We need to speak
to ourselves
and listen to
the positive messages
that people give us
and ignore
the negative ones
and so that we can
have a better image
of ourselves
and you know,
I'm not talking
about that
because what
psychology does
unfortunately
is just saying
giving us
positive messages
and they're
ignoring the truth
and what is the
truth?
truth.
One of my
spiritual mentors
had this saying
and he says,
you know,
when people
criticize you,
rejoice
because it's not
anything as bad
as the reality.
reality.
What modern
psychology today
does is ignore
the reality.
I am unworthy.
I am broken.
I'm a mess.
And this is
the paradox
or the crazy
thing about
Christianity
because what
Christianity says,
what the gospel
says about it,
the gospel is
by far the most
absolutely negative
message we could
hear,
but at the same
time the most
glorious.
Because the gospel
says you are far
worse than you
ever believed.
But you're far
more beloved
than you ever
dreamed.
And so the voice
of Jesus
says what
to us?
it says,
yep,
you got a
problem.
You got a
big one.
You have no
clue.
You're a broken
mess
and there's not
one single thing
you can do
to take care
of it.
He doesn't
stop there.
what does
he also
say?
You're
forgiven.
You're
accepted.
You're
approved.
You are
righteous.
You are
beloved.
You are
beloved.
Now
how are you
going to
listen to?
does
Jesus
have
the
authority
to speak
truth
into your
heart?
Because
this is
the truth.
This is
what he
comes to
do.
faith
always
begins
moving
downward.
Always.
It is
grasping
the truth
of my
unworthiness.
But
faith
also
submits
to the
declaration
that comes
from the
cross
that it
is
finished.
That we
who believe
him are
in
Christ.
And
there is
now no
barrier
to keep
us
away.
To keep
us from
expecting
anything
other
than
God's
ultimate
good.
That is
kingdom
faith.
Is that
what you
have?
Is that
yours?
Are you
still living
a life
trying to
improve
so you'll
get a
hearing?
Are you
still living
a life
that's
trying to
earn it
on your
own?
Are you
still
or have
you just
maybe
given up
and you
quit asking
God for
anything
because you
can't get
there?
Let's see a
new system
has come
inaugurated
by the
king
himself
that it's
not up to
you.
You come
to him
and he
takes care
of all
of it.
In
Christ
through
going down
and accepting
your unworthiness
submitting
ourselves to
his declaration
of us
we can
fully
expect
this good
king
to hear
our cries
and to
meet us
in our
needs
because he
has declared
us worthy.
Let's pray.
Father
what you
have done
to make
us your
own
what you
have done
to make
us suitable
for you
to dwell
a place
where you
can dwell
what you
have done
to make
us
your very
sons and
daughters
oh
father
would you
speak
truth
into our
hearts
expose
our
natural
brokenness
expose
that
unworthiness
that we
did earn
but then
show us
the ultimate
gift
of the
cross
where all
was done
show us
that we
might more
fully
and readily
run to
you
with our
hearts
with our
needs
we pray
in Jesus
name
amen
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