SUCH GREAT FAITH

Luke 7:1-10

Key Verse 7:9

"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.'"

In this passage we would like to learn the secret of the centurion's great faith. His faith was so great that we wonder how come he came to be a man of such great faith, considering the disadvantages he started with. For example, he was a Gentile. Also, it did not seem like he studied God's word diligently. He surely did not graduate from any of the rabbinic schools of the day (read: "divinity schools"). He was not a disciple of Jesus. He was not a "God-fearer" (i.e., a Gentile who had, for all intents and purposes, turned to Judaism, but who had not actually undergone the final rite of circumcision). Yet he nevertheless amazed Jesus with his faith. What was his secret? How was it that he had such great faith - faith that even caused Jesus to be surprised? Was it because he was born with such great faith? Was his faith an innate quality within himself? Or is it possible to learn from him and likewise pick up as great a faith as he had? With these questions in mind, we would like to think about the secret of his great faith in six ways:

First, faith and compassion (1-2)

When we think about this passage with the Roman centurion, we notice one thing: Before Luke even talks about the centurion's faith, he first talks about his compassionate heart for one poor soul. Look at vs. 1-2. "When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die." Upon recognizing his servant's imminent death, the centurion sent people to ask for Jesus' help. His actions show us that he was a man with a compassionate heart. The word "compassion" has to do with feeling the pain of others as one's own pain. Thus the centurion felt as if he himself was sick and about to die when he had compassion for his poor servant who was about to die. Because of this compassionate heart, he must have done his best to relieve his servant's pain. And when the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent people to ask for Jesus' help. 

This then tells us that a compassionate heart opens up a great opportunity for faith to work. Figuratively speaking, this is like rain coming down from above and watering the soil, thereby causing the sown seed to mature into fresh and healthy green plants. In our metaphor, compassion is the soil - compassion offers faith the proper environment to start growing in just as the soil offers seed the proper environment to start growing in.

From this, I surmise that God looks for a man with a compassionate heart to help grow in faith. In Abraham's case, the Lord God saw him having compassion on Lot who was fatherless. Because of this, the Lord God found Abraham worthy of receiving God's faith-training. 

We know that Mother Barry is a woman of great faith. In the first place, without faith in the Lord, it is impossible for any woman as beautiful as she is, to decide to go to war-stricken Korea as a missionary at the age of 24. And certainly without faith in the Lord, no one would be able to give up their dream of marriage. Indeed, she is a woman of great faith. But let us never forget one thing: Before she was a woman of great faith, she was a woman of great compassion. She had a compassionate heart. She grew up in a rich family. But when she heard the news that many Koreans were suffering from poverty and disease, she had compassion for them. This is why she decided to go to Korea as a missionary. 

Certainly a compassionate heart creates an environment for faith to thrive in.

Second, faith and hearing (3a)

Like seed sown in a field, so too is faith sown in a man's heart, later maturing into a plant. But what circumstances cause faith to sprout? What gives rise to faith? Look at v. 3. "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant." If we read between the lines, we learn that when the centurion heard of Jesus, faith arose in his heart, and he asked some Jewish elders to talk to Jesus for him. Similarly, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:13,14 "For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Here Paul asks, "how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" Paul is telling us here that it is by "hearing" Jesus that one can believe in the Lord. [Not all who hear of Jesus believe in Jesus. But no one who has never truly heard Jesus will ever be able to believe in him.]

In this respect, then, the centurion was fortunate. He was stationed at and in charge of Capernaum. When his superiors in Rome asked him to go to Capernaum and work there, he could have thought to himself, "Gee, why am I being sent to such a remote place as Capernaum? I would much rather prefer to work as an Imperial Guard at the Imperial Palace in Rome. Why Capernaum? Well, what can I do? I have to go." Thus he might have reluctantly come to Capernaum. But it turned out to be a blessing of blessings. Why? Because the Lord Jesus was using this city as his spiritual headquarters to spread the good news of great joy to the whole world. In fact, the four gospels suggest to us that it was there in Capernaum that Jesus performed the most number of miracles. In those days, the Roman centurion worked as a sort of police chief in the area. As a police chief, he might have had all the resources to secure information on what was going on in the region. So he was well aware of Jesus and all the good works Jesus was doing. For example, he heard how Jesus changed water into wine. He heard how Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. He learned how Jesus caused the 38 year old invalid to get up, take up his mat, and walk. And he heard how a man with leprosy was healed. By hearing of Jesus and his good works in this way, the centurion might have picked up faith in the Lord, faith enough to ask Jesus for help when his servant was sick. 

In our own generation Jesus is not with us physically. But we still have the four gospels, which are preached around the world. By studying these words of God, we can hear of Jesus and his good work. Then we can pick up great faith, as great as that of the centurion. By the same token, by teaching these gospels we can help people have great faith, as great as that of the Roman centurion. As we have faith in the Lord and tackle one problem after another, and experience his work of faith either through the healing of our physical or spiritual diseases or finding our prayers answered purely by his miraculous work, we can pick up solid faith in Jesus, faith as solid as that of the Roman centurion.

Third, faith and love (3b-5)

In our day to day lives, however, there are a lot of stumbling blocks in getting help from our Lord Jesus through faith. This was the same with the centurion. As previously mentioned, he was a Gentile. Also, he was a Roman soldier. In Jesus' day, the Jews considered the Gentiles unclean, like pigs. For example, Gentiles were prohibited from entering beyond a certain point in the Temple - they had to remain in the Court of the Gentiles. And the Jews did not associate with the Gentiles. Legally, if you were a Jew and came into contact with a Gentile, you could potentially become ceremonially unclean. And in order to become clean again, you would need to make offerings, which was also kind of costly, or other times you would have to immerse in a ritual bath, etc. In this way the centurion was handicapped in getting Jesus’ help.

How then did he secure Jesus’ help? How did he overcome these obstacles? Let us read vs. 3-5. "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, 'This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.'" This passage says that because this man was a man of love, with a love for a colonized people and their nation, and for their culture and religion, Judaism, he was able to overcome all these obstacles. 

Please think about the kind of love he had for the local people and their nation. Was it merely lip service? No. He showed a real love, for unlike superficial love, real love does not just feel feelings, but takes action, such as by giving something. And love is giving. He did not give merely a cup of water, or a free lunch, but he built a synagogue for the people of Israel. 

Thanks to this love, there was no friction between him and the local people. Moreover, because of this love, he did not have to plead before Jesus all by himself. Instead, the local Jewish leaders showed up before Jesus and begged Jesus for help. Jesus was moved by their plea, and thus started moving toward the centurion's house. 

From this we learn that had he not practiced this great love, his faith would have fallen short of reaching Jesus' throne of mercy. But thanks to his love, his faith came to have wings; his faith flew to the presence of Jesus' throne of grace on the wings of love. 

Figuratively speaking, we can say that love works like a computer's Random Access Memory (RAM). I have two desktops at my house. One is mine and another is Rebekah's. My desktop has a lot of RAM, but Rebekah's has a lot less. So mine works really fast but hers is real slow. That is too bad for Rebekah. But she is quite satisfied with it, so I do not bother to upgrade her computer. Anyway, the point remains the same: With faith alone we can climb up to the throne of God's grace, but with faith backed up by sacrificial love, as sacrificial as the love of the centurion, instead of sweating to climb, we fly to the throne of God's grace. Surely love propels faith even further. It moves faith to work powerfully. Please think about the connection between vs. 5 and 6, for v. 5 reads, "Because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." But v. 6a reads, "So Jesus went with them.” Jesus is the God of love. He loves to work for those who have the kind of love he has for his people. This observation then reminds us of what Paul says to the Corinthians, "For Christ's love compels us" (2Co 5:13). From this we heartily conclude that a man of great love makes a man of great faith. 

Fourth, faith and attitude (6-7a)  

The fourth point for us to consider in growing up as a man of great faith is attitude. It has been said, "In the school of success attitude is everything." That is, a man with great faith is always a man with a great attitude. What do we mean by this? Look at vs. 6-7. "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. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.'" This passage shows us that this man had a great attitude before Jesus - a great attitude toward himself and a great attitude toward Jesus. In other words, he regarded himself as nothing before Jesus. He regarded Jesus as far higher than even the Roman Emperor, and could not possibly bear the honor of having Jesus under his roof. 

His example reminds us of Abraham. When he was offering a prayer for Lot and his family in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham said, "I am nothing but dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27). Wow! By this time, Abraham had achieved a lot of things. For example, he had won a smashing victory against several kings in his own "gulf war." Nevertheless, before the Lord God Almighty, Abraham considered himself as nothing but dust and ashes. 

The centurion maintained the same attitude as Abraham. Why then is this kind of attitude so important? It is important in two respects: First, as one regards himself as nothing before the Lord, one fully opens up the possibility that the Lord work fully in him without being hindered by his ego. One of the greatest stumbling blocks in order for God to accomplish mighty works in us is our ego. God is a gentle person. He never forces his way into our lives. And he cannot and will not work in a place where he is not wanted. It is this ego, our selfish pride, that hinders Jesus from doing his mighty work. But a humble person, a man with a humble attitude like the Roman centurion, spreads out a carpet for Jesus to come into his life. And nothing welcomes Jesus with a more welcoming spirit than this humble attitude. Each time we come to the Lord then, let us humble ourselves, and ask the Lord's favor with a humble attitude. 

Fifth, faith and discipline (7b-8)

Thus far we have talked about warm and fuzzy things like compassion, love, and humility. But this time let us think about something more concrete and tethered to reality, that is, faith and discipline. Say "Discipline!" 

It has been said, "A disciple is not born but made." We can say the same thing about a man of great faith. Thus, we have this to say, "A man of faith is not born but made." We can say the same thing about the centurion. Jesus spoke well of his great faith. But was he born with such a great faith? Did he have such a great faith from birth? I do not think so. 

Why not? Look at vs. 7-8. "That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. 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 that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

This passage shows how this man came to have such a simple faith. How? Through strict discipline as a soldier. Please note that he was a man under authority. At the same time he had men under his authority. So he was a man in the middle, or a middle man. In a hierarchical system called the military, he learned how to take orders from those who were above and how to issue orders to those who were under his command. With this discipline, there were no "but's," or "if's." There is only "yes" (and perhaps "How high?" as in, when you say, "Jump!" I ask, "How high?"). The net effect of this discipline was to see the word spoken by a man in a higher position carried out to the letter. In other words, the words of his superior were as good as the results themselves. Nothing mattered: the distance, costs, human objections, and all other obstacles did not matter. Once the commander said something it was as good as done. This is what he learned to achieve. With this in mind, please read vs. 7-8 again. 

In this way, we can see that this man's simple faith was the product of discipline as a soldier. Thanks to this discipline, I gather that, each time he heard of Jesus performing one miracle or another, the centurion might have tried to figure out how Jesus was able to work so powerfully. And then in view of the way the military worked, it dawned on him that, in the spiritual realm, the Lord Jesus, who is the king of the universe, gets things done by simply issuing orders, so that upon hearing the orders, all the angels would work powerfully like a single person, and ensure that the results were exactly as Jesus desired. This was the conclusion he drew. And based on this conclusion, without even a hint of doubt, he said, "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed." 

From this we learn one important truth: The need for spiritual discipline. In studying Mark's gospel we see Jesus putting his disciples through strict training programs like the "storm training." And speaking of "storm training," he put them through it not once but twice, each time raising the level of difficulties from a lower level to a higher level! And on both occasions like a drill sergeant Jesus rebuked them saying, "Where is your faith?" and "Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid!" The same was true of the "feeding training." One time Jesus asked them to feed the multitudes, which numbered about 5,000, simply by faith in the Lord. Then he saw that the disciples did not pick up the faith yet. So he trained them to do the same thing. 

We can talk about these training programs on many servants of faith like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on and on. But this time, instead of talking about these, we will stop by reading what the Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:6,7, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." So each time hardships come let us remember that the Lord God is testing us and therefore training us to grow in faith. 

Sixth, faith and work (9-10)

What then is the result of faith? Look at vs. 9-10. "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.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well." This passage says that this man received two great rewards: First he received Jesus' commendation, and second he received his servant back in sound health. But when we think about it, the former is a greater and more lasting reward than the latter. (After all, his servant might eventually get sick again, or surely he would someday die.) Thus, let us learn and adopt the centurion's faith, the faith by which we can catch all the blessings in the sea of God's blessings. For this reason we say that faith has the power to work, and work mightily, especially in regards to our salvation and the salvation of the ones we pray for. 

One word: Such great faith.

 

 

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