Well, over the summer months, we were working our way through one of Jesus' sermons in Luke chapter 6.
And I want to just encourage you to imagine for a second that you had been there in that massive crowd.
And that you had heard Jesus speak and say these things.
Love your enemies.
And do not judge.
And those who hear my words and put them into practice are like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And those who don't are like a fool who built it on the sand without any foundation.
And it will collapse when the flood comes.
Imagine hearing those words and then heading into the nearest town for the night with these words on your mind.
And nobody's ever spoken to you like this.
Nobody's ever said these kinds of things before.
And maybe the question rolling around in your mind is, how can I be sure?
Why should we believe you?
I mean, this man Jesus claims that based on how we respond to his words, we live or die.
How can I be sure?
Why should we believe you?
Well, I believe that this next part of the story is Luke giving us his answer to this question.
We're in Luke chapter 7.
Let me just read the first three verses for us here.
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum.
There, a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.
The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.
Luke starts by setting the scene.
Capernaum was a little fishing village on the shores of Galilee.
And this place has, in some sense, been like a home base for Jesus.
In Matthew's gospel, it actually says in one spot that Jesus went and lived in Capernaum around this time.
This is where Simon Peter lived.
This is where Jesus went into the synagogue and cast the evil spirit out of the man who was in there back in chapter 4.
This is where later that same evening, a whole crowd of people with all kinds of sicknesses and illnesses came to Jesus.
And Jesus healed them all.
Well, here in Capernaum, the same town, Luke tells us there was a centurion.
Now, the kind of centurion that most of us are probably familiar with is the Roman centurion.
You can just kind of almost see the shield and the head thing, the helmet in your mind.
But this particular centurion was probably not a Roman centurion.
A centurion was actually a military rank, roughly equivalent to captain.
And it referred to a commander of about a hundred men.
And this whole region of Galilee, where Capernaum is, was under the rule of King Herod at this time.
He was a client king of the Roman Empire.
And under that sort of setup, he had his own Roman-style army and officers, which he inherited from his father.
And according to the practice of his father, Herod the Great, Herod's armed forces and soldiers were predominantly Gentiles and foreigners.
He was very distrusting of the Jews.
And so he hired his brute force and his enforcers.
Many were mercenaries.
Well, this centurion, Luke tells us, had a servant.
And Luke tells us about the special relationship between this servant and this centurion.
He says his master valued him highly.
Which probably does not refer to monetary value at all, but to having a high regard for him.
There's a close relationship with him, a dear relationship to him.
I was trying to think of some kind of modern day example of this, but the only thing I could think of, and I don't even watch this that much,
but Alfred the Butler of Bruce Wayne in the Batman stories.
You know, a guy who's clearly subordinate in a servant role and yet dependable and trustworthy and indispensable.
A good man who's loved by his master.
But here's the problem.
This servant of the centurion was sick and about to die.
It doesn't tell us what the illness was, but it was obviously severe enough that he was about to die.
And seeing this, the centurion takes action.
We read about it in verse 3.
We notice that the centurion's action is deliberate and intentional, yet indirect.
First, it's deliberate and intentional.
It's the centurion himself who hears about Jesus.
Remember, Jesus has been operating in the region quite a bit, doing miracles, healing all kinds of sicknesses and diseases.
He's been teaching on the shores.
The centurion has heard of Jesus, and he intentionally seeks out Jesus for help.
He sends these elders of the Jews.
It's deliberate.
It's intentional.
And yet the way that he goes about this is indirect.
Rather than going himself to find Jesus there in the town, Luke says he sent some elders of the Jews to Jesus, asking him to come and heal his servant.
And at this point we might wonder, why does he do it that way?
Why not just go?
Why not just go find him?
Is he worried about the Gentile versus Jew dynamic?
He being a Gentile and Jesus being a Jew?
Maybe if I send some prominent men of his own people, he'll be more likely to consider?
Or is he worried about the soldier versus holy rabbi dynamic?
You know, I'm a soldier, a man of violence.
I've done things that are questionable while Jesus is a holy man.
What was going on in that centurion's mind?
That he sent these elders of the Jews rather than going himself to Jesus?
Well, the good news is we find out in a minute.
With the setting out of the way, Luke tells us now about the first encounter with Jesus.
These elders come with a message from the centurion.
And they're there to fetch Jesus.
We read about it in verse 4.
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him.
This man deserves to have you do this.
Because he loves our nation.
And he has built our synagogue.
We actually learn quite a lot from these few words of the elders.
Think about the normal relationship between Jews and Gentiles.
Normally, Jews look down upon Gentiles and saw them as unclean.
Even more so, a Gentile soldier.
And even more so, one who is in the service of Herod.
The Jews were not particularly fond of Herod.
And yet surprisingly, these elders of the Jews there in Capernaum seem to regard this particular centurion, this Gentile, very highly.
This man deserves to have you come and heal his servant, they say.
Why?
Because he loves our nation.
Even more than that, he built our synagogue.
So this is not your typical hardened Gentile mercenary captain.
It appears from the elders that this centurion is quite the man.
He's been a great friend to the Jewish people where he lives.
Not only that, but he's even built the local synagogue.
Can you imagine them?
Working together, side by side.
They say he loves the nation.
He might not have been a full convert to Judaism.
But it seems from this at least, that he was a kind and God-fearing man.
And everybody in town knew it.
But this man deserves to have you come and heal his servant, they say.
If anyone is worthy of a miracle here, it's him.
And so, verse 6, Jesus went with them.
But then, before Jesus arrives at the centurion's house, he receives a second message from the centurion.
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.
That's why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.
Okay, this is unexpected.
If you've never heard this story before or read this before,
you know, we kind of just assumed at this point that Jesus is going to go right to the house,
lay hands on the man, say, be healed, and he's going to be healed, and off we go.
So, the first message was, come and heal my servant.
And now Jesus is almost at the house, and the centurion sends his friends out to tell him,
don't trouble yourself.
Don't come into the house.
And the reason is astonishing.
For I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
That's why I didn't even consider myself worthy to come to you.
Wow.
Now we know why the centurion was so indirect before.
Why he sent the elders of the Jews.
It wasn't because of some Jew versus Gentile dynamic,
or because he thought the elders of the Jews would be more likely to convince Jesus to come and do this.
This was the reason.
I didn't come to you myself,
because I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.
Do you see the irony in all this?
What were the elders of the Jews saying about the centurion?
This man deserves to have you do this.
He's worthy.
And what's the centurion saying about himself?
I don't even deserve to be in your presence, Jesus.
I am unworthy.
Amazing.
This centurion, this commander of a hundred men,
a man of influence and power and strength,
and yet he has such humility,
reverence and humility before Jesus.
First it was come and heal.
Now it's don't come into the house.
But say the word,
and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority,
with soldiers under me.
I tell this one,
go.
And he goes.
And this one,
come.
And he comes.
I say to my servant,
do this.
And he does it.
Amazing.
Don't come all the way to my house.
I'm not worthy to be in your presence, Jesus.
Just say the word.
And my servant will be healed.
This is astonishing.
What does he believe about Jesus?
Well, he obviously has complete confidence that Jesus can heal his servant,
even though he's on the brink of death.
But it's even more than that.
He doesn't think of Jesus' power to heal
as being anything like a doctor's.
With a doctor,
you first need him to come,
examine the servant,
assess his condition,
diagnose his illness,
figure out what's wrong,
and then the doctor will tell you
whether there's anything that he can do.
And I suspect many would have thought the same about Jesus.
You know,
I've heard he can heal all sorts of things,
but what about my condition?
Or what about the condition of my loved one?
Probably some things are beyond even Jesus' power to heal,
some probably thought.
But not this centurion.
He didn't think of Jesus' power to heal
as being anything like that.
In his mind,
whether Jesus could heal a person or not
had nothing to do
with the seriousness of the condition.
Rather,
it was in his mind
a matter of authority.
Whether he can truly heal anyone
has to do
with who he is
and what kind of authority he has
over sickness,
over the body,
over life.
And amazingly,
the centurion,
just from hearing about the things
Jesus has been doing
in his region,
came to believe
something amazing
about who Jesus really was.
He believed it so much
that when he came to be in need
of this miracle
for his servant,
he looked to Jesus,
he asked him to come,
but then said,
don't come all the way,
just say the word.
Lord,
and my servant will be healed.
I don't know about you,
but my eyes would have been wide
in this moment
had I been there listening to this.
Like,
hold on a second.
Does he really believe
that right here and now
Jesus can just say the word
and the guy lying in bed
over there in the house
will be healed?
Doesn't Jesus want to come
and see how bad it is?
Nope.
Not necessary,
says the centurion.
And the explanation
of the centurion
is wonderful.
His understanding
of all this
is filtered through
his own experience
as a captain,
as a commander.
He's understanding
Jesus' relationship
to the sickness
through his own experience,
his relationship
to his men
and to his servants.
And it comes down
to this for him.
He says,
it's a simple matter
of authority.
Because I have
authority over my men,
I tell them what to do
and they do it.
That's the way it is
with you,
Jesus,
and the sickness
in people's lives,
in their bodies.
You have authority
over the sickness itself.
You tell it what to do
and it does it.
And therefore,
it really doesn't matter
whether you're in the house
or out there
or where you are,
Jesus.
Just say the word
and my servant
will be healed.
Look at the response
of Jesus to this
second message.
Verse 9,
when Jesus heard this,
he was amazed at him
or he marveled at him
and turning to the crowd
following him,
he said,
I tell you,
I have not found
such great faith
even in Israel.
I love this.
Jesus is just so deeply impressed,
so moved
by the centurion's faith.
He turns and announces it
to the whole crowd
just how wonderful this is.
All of them knew
where Jesus was going
by now.
They probably heard
the elders pleading earnestly,
come heal this man's servant.
Probably lots of them
were thinking,
oh,
this is going to be great.
Jesus is going to heal
our dear centurion's
servant.
And the next thing we know,
the parade's over.
No,
we're not going
into the house anymore.
Nope,
the centurion said,
don't trouble yourself.
He said,
just say the word
and my servant
will be healed.
I tell you,
I have not found
such great faith
even in Israel.
Some of the Jews
have had faith
in Jesus,
but not like this man's.
This man understands
and believes things
about me
and about my father
that no one else does
even in Israel.
At least not yet.
I got thinking about this.
You know,
it's quite the thing
for Jesus to say.
I haven't seen faith
like this
even in Israel,
even among the Jews.
Think about this.
Who has Luke
introduced us to
so far in the story?
The priest,
Zachariah,
who served
in the temple
of the Lord.
And what was his response
when an angel
appeared to him
and said,
you're going to have a son?
He didn't believe it.
This Gentile captain
in Herod's army
had greater faith
than Zachariah the priest.
What about Mary?
The mother of Jesus.
Surely she's an example
of someone in Israel
who had great faith.
After all,
she didn't doubt
what the angel said to her.
She just asked about
how it would come to pass.
But then this centurion
didn't even think it necessary
to see or discuss the how.
you have the authority
of God to heal.
And so say the word.
Wherever you are,
it will be done.
What about John the Baptist?
We've heard a lot about him.
He was a prophet of God.
Surely he has greater faith
than this Gentile centurion.
Well, in a few weeks' time,
just glance down the page
to verse 20.
We're going to see
that even John the Baptist
wrestled with doubt
when he saw
how things were going
with Jesus.
I don't think Jesus
is exaggerating here
when he says,
I tell you,
I have not found
such great faith
even in Israel.
this humble Gentile centurion
has a better understanding
of who I am
than anyone
I have come across so far
here in Israel,
than any of my own people,
the Jews,
than all of the elders,
than the Pharisees,
than the priests,
even the chief priests.
How did it come to be
that this centurion
has greater faith in Jesus
than everyone else
in Israel?
Well, there's a behind-the-scenes
spiritual answer
to this question,
and I don't want to
go on without
acknowledging that.
As Jesus said
on one occasion,
John 6, verse 44,
no one can come to me
unless the Father
who sent me
draws him
or draws them.
So there is
that sort of
work of God,
that unseen
drawing of God,
the opening of eyes,
the giving of faith.
That's the behind-the-scenes
spiritual answer
to how this centurion
came to have
the faith
that is so great
in Jesus,
greater than anyone
in Israel.
But in terms of
the visible
and the tangible things,
how did it come to be
that this centurion
has greater faith
than anyone
in Israel?
Think about this.
He had not had
more private
one-on-one time
with Jesus
than anyone.
More conversations.
He hadn't even met
Jesus face-to-face.
We might have thought
that the twelve disciples
should have
the greatest faith
simply because
of the amount of time
that they spent
with him
and the sheer volume
of miracles
they witnessed
and the teachings
that they heard
from him.
But no,
that's not it.
This centurion
had greater faith
than Peter,
than James,
than John.
How could that be?
What had the centurion
heard and seen
about Jesus?
even though it was
much less than many,
yet he knew
and believed
much more about Jesus
than anyone
in Israel.
How could it be?
I gave the spiritual
God drawing him
and revealing it to him
part of the answer,
but I want to
think of this
from the very human
perspective
of the centurion
himself.
What had he heard
about Jesus?
Up until this point
in the story,
not too much.
He had maybe heard
some of the teaching
of John the baptizer
that someone special
was about to come,
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sins of the world.
He had maybe heard
Jesus' simple declaration
which we read about
in the Gospel of Mark.
The kingdom of God
has come near.
Repent
and believe the good news.
He had maybe heard
by now of how
Jesus was claiming
the fulfillment
of the great prophecies
of old
from the Jewish scriptures
just like he did
in Nazareth
there in the synagogue
and probably elsewhere.
He'd maybe heard
some of these
early teachings of Jesus
which we just looked at
in this sermon of Jesus
in Luke chapter 6.
But other than that,
he had likely heard
of how Jesus
had been healing people
and casting demons
out of people.
All kinds of people.
But it would seem
that this centurion
paid more attention
and deeper attention
to these things
than others did.
Think back over
some of these things
Jesus did
when he healed people,
when he drove out demons.
How did Jesus heal
and drive out demons
in chapters 4 and 5?
He ordered
the evil spirit
to come out
of the man
in the synagogue
and it came out.
Likewise,
Jesus rebuked
the fever
of Simon's mother-in-law
and it left her.
He said to the man
with leprosy
in chapter 5,
Be clean!
And immediately
the leprosy
left him.
He said to the
paralyzed man
on the mat
who was lowered
through the roof,
Your sins are forgiven
and I want you
to know
that the Son of Man
has authority
on earth
to forgive sins.
So I'll heal
this man,
I tell you.
Get up,
take your mat
and go home.
And he stood up.
He was healed
and he did
as Jesus said.
All along
what the centurion
has come to believe
about Jesus
has been there.
visible
in how
Jesus has been doing
all these miracles.
You can imagine
the centurion
just standing back
and thinking
over all these things.
Just like I tell
my men to go
and they go
or to come
and they come.
This man,
Jesus,
tells sicknesses
to go
and they go.
He tells demons
to come out
and they come out.
all of these things
that Jesus did
were great signs
and what I'm getting
at is this.
The centurion
simply followed
the signs
to their destinations.
Many, it seems,
saw the miracles
of Jesus
and went,
oh,
wow,
that's amazing.
Could he be
the Messiah?
I don't know.
But let's see
some more.
It's like they were
caught up in this
sensational show.
But many were not
stopping to really
think about what
Jesus' ability
to do all
these miracles
in this way
was really saying
about who he was.
but the centurion
wasn't missing it.
Some of the
twelve disciples,
I mean,
they came to
these conclusions
quite early on
that Jesus
was the Messiah
and yet
we see throughout
the story
their notions
about
the Messiah
and how the story
would go
kept getting overturned
and yet
here's this
Gentile centurion,
an outsider
to the prophets
and the scriptures
and the faith
of the Jews
and he's been
watching Jesus
and thinking about
what Jesus is doing
and how he does it
and he's come to
the conclusion
that Jesus has
the very authority
and power of God
to heal,
to save,
to restore life.
and it's not
some sort of
you know
pagan magic
or ritual
where you just
got to say
the right stuff
or use the right
ingredients,
the right herbs
like a witch doctor.
No,
this Jesus
has the very
authority
and power
of God.
Look at what
he's doing.
Just like
the creator
God,
he declares
and people
are healed.
They're restored
completely.
If he says
the word
because of
who he is,
therefore
my servant
can be healed
too.
That's a
greater conception
of the Messiah
than probably
anybody in Israel
had
at this time.
They were looking
for that
great human king
sent by God
and backed
by God,
yes,
but still very much
an ordinary man
come to rule
over a typical
earthly kingdom
but greater,
to free us
from the Roman rule
and the rule
of Herod
and take us
back to the glory
days of Israel.
But this centurion
was already
seeing something
far greater
in Jesus.
Not just a
great king
from a worldly
point of view.
No,
this man,
he actually
has
and wields
the very
authority
of God.
And if he
has that,
he can do
as God
can do
for my servant.
Just say the word.
Behind the miracles
of Jesus,
there is
a meaning.
There is a
significance
to them.
We all too
easily get caught
up in the
sensationalism
of the miracles.
and then once
we get really
familiar with
them,
we lose that.
We get bored
of them
because we
want the ooh,
we want the ah
feeling that we
had when we
first heard about
them.
But in doing
this,
we miss the
significance
of them.
The miracles
are signs,
like a sign
on the highway
that points
to a destination.
It points
to a reality
about Jesus,
something true
about him.
And these
realities are
so great
and glorious
that we
can never
get over
them.
They never
get old.
And this
centurion had
laid hold of
one of these
realities by
faith,
the reality
that Jesus
really does
have the
authority
of God.
How does
it end?
Verse 10,
Then the men
who had been
sent returned
to the house
and found
the servant
well.
so Jesus
does heal
him from
a distance
by the
authority he
has.
He doesn't
go to the
house.
The elders
do.
Think about
this whole
day from
the perspective
of the elders.
Starting off,
meeting with
the centurion,
seeing the
servant about
to die,
going to
Jesus,
please come.
And they
finally get
back to the
house without
Jesus and the
servant is
well.
that word
means
completely
fine.
No
sickness,
no illness,
nothing wrong
with him.
Do you
know who
Jesus really
is?
That he is
the very
son of
God,
the one
who has
the authority
of God.
after Jesus
rose from
the dead,
he said
this to
his
followers.
Matthew
28,
verse 18,
then Jesus
came to
them and
said,
all authority
in heaven
and on
earth has
been given
to me.
Many of
us who are
Christians for
a long time
know these
words,
but we
are eager
to get to
the part
that we
do.
Let's
pause and
just reflect
on these
words.
All
authority in
heaven and
on earth
has been
given to
me,
said Jesus.
Not just
the authority
to heal,
to restore
life,
to cast
out demons,
to calm
storms,
but all
authority in
heaven and
on earth.
He is
Lord of
all.
He is
one with
God.
He is
God
overall,
king
overall.
And not
just the
stuff down
here on
earth,
but also
the stuff
way up
there that
we see
through the
telescope.
He's
over that
too.
That stuff
listens to
him too.
and one
day he
will bring
this world
into its
proper place
before him
and he
will rule
down here
visibly and
tangibly as
the king of
all kings,
displaying the
full measure
of his
power and
of his
authority.
Do you
know who
Jesus really
is?
have you
followed the
signs to
the realities,
to the
destinations?
Great faith
in God is
not reserved
only for the
Jews,
nor is it
only for the
prominent,
the elders,
the priests,
the pastors,
the preachers.
you can
have great
faith in
God too.
Look to
Jesus.
Follow the
signs that
he has
given.
There's so
many ways
that we can
be encouraged
by this.
None of
us has a
sick servant
at home,
but what's
the trouble
or struggle
or problem
in your
life right
now?
About which
you could
come,
call out to
Jesus and
ask him
to come
and help.
Are you
seeking his
help?
Do you
believe that
he can do
something about
this?
Have you
asked him?
Or maybe
it's worry,
anxiety,
panic about
all sorts of
things,
and yet
do we need
to worry
or fret
about things
when the
one who
has all
authority
in heaven
and on
earth is
willing to
come and
visit us
and intervene
with grace
in our
lives.
There's so
many ways
that we
can be
encouraged
by this,
and I
hope you'll
think about
these things
this week.
But this
Sunday as we
come to the
table,
we're just
going to
focus very
quickly on
one particular
authority of
Jesus,
which is
especially
precious.
And it's
that authority
to forgive
us of
our sins.
I had a
good conversation
with a
brother just
recently in
which we
shared about
some of the
sins that we
had in our
past.
They are
many.
we need
a remedy.
We need
someone who
can cleanse
us of those
things and
forgive us of
those things.
Praise God,
he has sent
his son Jesus
into our
world with
authority to
forgive our
sins.
The table
that we're
about to
partake of
reminds us
of how
this works.
He had
the authority
to forgive
us,
but it was
contingent upon
his willingness
to take
what we
deserve,
our punishment
on himself.
This is what
happened at the
cross when
Jesus died.
He allowed
his body to
be broken
and his
blood to be
shed.
That's
pictured in
the bread
that we're
about to
eat,
which is
broken and
given out,
and the
cup that
we're about
to drink.
His body
was broken
and his
blood was
shed to
atone for
our sins.
the cross
and what
Jesus did
there for
us undergirds
his authority
to forgive
us of our
sins.
Sometimes we
get so used
to hearing
about this,
it becomes so
familiar,
but we
forget this
was absolutely
necessary so
that we
could be
forgiven.
we needed
a new
arrangement,
a new
deal with
God,
a new
relationship.
He had
to suffer.
He had
to die
as he did
to get
us off
the hook
with God,
to take
away that
punishment
that we
deserve.
And so
that's what
we want
to remember,
that's what
we want
to celebrate
again this
morning as
we eat
and drink
of the
bread and
the cup
that Jesus
came and
he did
that for
us.
We're
going to
take a
few minutes
now of
quiet to
reflect,
to pray,
talk to
God in
these
moments,
and then
we'll have
some of
the men
come up
and pass
out the
elements.
If you
have faith
that Jesus
really is
the one
in charge
of all,
that he
has done
this to
save you,
then I
invite you
to please
join with
us and
eat and
drink with
us in
these
moments.
And if
not,
please just
let the
bread
and the
cup pass
you by.
We wait
until everybody
has been
served,
and then
we'll give
thanks together
and we'll
partake
all together.
Amen.