THE CENTURION’S GREAT FAITH
Luke 7:5-9 NKJV
5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
This is Luke’s account of the Roman centurion who had a sick servant and was appealing to Jesus to come and heal him. There are factors that we can see in this account that point to reasons why this man had a faith that Jesus found exceptional. He had a heart where faith was able to flourish.
He had a heart for God. To be a foreign soldier and a part of the occupying force, there was nothing in this centurion’s culture that would encourage adopting the God of the defeated nation. And yet this warrior made some kind of a connection with the living God of Israel.
The centurion had a heart for people. Verse two said that the servant who was sick was dear to this man. He cared that his servant was sick, which indicates that he valued even a person who occupied a lesser role. And the Jewish leaders who went to Jesus told of this centurion loving the people of Israel. Again, this is unique. The Romans were a brutal culture, and the centurion ruled over 100 men. The rank of centurion was typically earned by distinguished behavior and valor. So this was not a soft, touchy-feely kind of guy. And yet he cared about people.
The centurion was a giver. He built a synagogue for the people. Yet another indication of his heart for God and love for the people. He put money into his caring. It’s one thing to say you care, but actions are the greatest validation of words.
He had a high level of humility. Again, considering his profession, this was an outstanding display of heart. Although he was in a position of power, the centurion did not use his power to influence Jesus in any way. And when it was clear that Jesus was coming to heal his servant, the centurion saved Jesus the trouble of coming to his home. The centurion did not consider himself worthy. The centurion did not even consider himself worthy to ask Jesus personally. He had to have grasped a basic understanding of the covenant that belonged to the Jews but not to him. He understood he had no covenant with God and was not on the same spiritual footing as the Jewish leaders. This is why the centurion sent people to ask on his behalf.
And because he understood authority, the centurion did not need Jesus personally present in order to heal his servant. This soldier knew how authority worked because he was in and under authority himself. He recognized spiritual authority in Jesus and knew that all that was necessary for authority to be exercised was a spoken word. His statement of “say the word and my servant will be healed” was powerful. And Jesus was amazed. And the centurion’s servant was healed.
APPLICATION
Faith is not a formula. Faith is of the heart and the condition of our heart matters. A heart for God and a heart for people is important to our faith. A heart to give followed by congruent action is a heart that pleases God since He loves a cheerful giver. A heart of humility is highly important. We know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. And a heart that understands authority is vital to our faith.
This centurion is one of the great spiritual examples of the Bible.
PRAYER
Lord, show me how to develop a heart where faith grows strong. I would love to have You blessed with my heart and faith.