Luke 7:1-10 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
I know it’s early, but I want you to take a moment this morning to think of one thing that you find to be truly amazing. It can be a person, a place, an event, even an idea. You can think of as many as you want, but I want everyone to come up with at least one.
I don’t have time to listen to all of your responses today, but I can make some educated guesses. Some of you probably thought of amazing places like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. Some of you probably thought of amazing people, perhaps Ronald Reagan or Benjamin Franklin. Perhaps some of you remembered amazing events like the day when the first men walked on the moon.
Since this is a Sunday, and since we are in church, I would not be surprised if many of you recalled amazing events recorded in the Bible like when the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush, when the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea, when the walls of Jericho came crashing down.
And then there are the miracles of Jesus. He changed water into wine. He stilled storms. He healed the sick. He drove out demons. He even raised the dead. When the people saw what he did and heard what he said, they were simply amazed. And so are we.
But what about Jesus?
How would Jesus respond to this question? What would it take to amaze the One who
routinely amazed others? We don’t have
to wonder because our text gives us the answer.
Luke tells us that Jesus was amazed by the faith of a Roman
soldier. In fact, Jesus declared that he
had not encountered such a great faith in all of
Since faith is so important, since faith is what separates the Christian from the unbeliever, since the Bible says that we are saved “through faith,” it is always good for God’s people to review what faith is and what faith does. And using the interaction between Jesus and the Roman centurion as our guide, we will discover God’s four-part answer to this important question…
WHAT MAKES FAITH TRULY AMAZING?
II.
Faith acts
III. Faith expects
IV. Faith accepts
Before we get into this account, we need to understand what faith is. Faith is NOT a decision a person makes. Faith is NOT a leap a person takes. Faith is a gift from God. We didn’t ask for it. We don’t deserve it. The Lord doesn’t force faith down our throats either.
Faith is a miracle, a miracle the Holy Spirit produces in sinful hearts through God’s Word. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is simple trust, not in what I believe to be true, but in the One who is the Way and Truth and the Life.
Even though we don’t deserve any credit for our faith, even though a discussion about the faith of an individual can deflect attention away from the object of our faith, Jesus singled out the faith of the Roman centurion. And because he did, we will too.
This account has a happy ending, but it didn’t begin that
way. In fact, it was a crisis that
brought these two men together. As Jesus
entered
In those days it wasn’t rare for people to own servants or slaves. What was rare was the concern this Gentile showed for his servant. He wasn’t worried about losing an investment. He was deeply concerned about his servant’s life.
With nowhere else to turn, with nothing to lose, the
centurion looked to Jesus for help. Even
though he knew Jesus by reputation only, he “sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his
servant” (3).
Imagine what the other soldiers might have said to him when they heard about this: “He’s just a servant. You can go out and get another one tomorrow. And why do you want to grovel at the feet of some Jewish healer anyway, like there is anything he can do?” But the centurion didn’t care what anyone else thought. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to ask.
Jesus invites us: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The Lord encourages us: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). Our God challenges us: “With me all things are possible. All you have to do is ask.”
The centurion asked Jesus for a miracle, but he didn’t stop there. He didn’t say: “Okay, God, whenever you’re ready. I’ll be waiting right here.” In addition to asking, the centurion’s faith was also active.
When the Jewish leaders found Jesus, they pleaded with him: “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue” (4,5). Even though the centurion wasn’t Jewish, he was a friend of the Jews. In fact, he loved the people. He even went so far as to finance the construction of their local house of worship. That was enough to convince them that this man feared God. That was also the reason they believed Jesus should honor his request.
The Bible is filled with examples of people who put their faith into action. In faith Noah built an ark. In faith Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son. In faith Joseph resisted temptation. In faith David slew Goliath.
James tells us that “faith
without deeds is dead” (
God gives us the faith to believe in him. God gives us the faith to live for him. And when we ask him for anything, it is the same God-given faith that leads us to expect results.
As Jesus approached the house, the centurion sent some
friends out to stop Jesus. Some suggest
that he didn’t want Jesus to come any closer because he would make himself
unclean by entering the house of a Gentile.
The centurion gives us another reason: “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” (6,7).
If you had to pick one word to describe the centurion’s faith, “humble” would be an excellent choice. He didn’t want to bother Jesus. He felt unworthy to stand in the presence of Jesus. That is why he communicated through messengers. That is why he didn’t want Jesus to come into his home.
As humble as the centurion was, we should never confuse his humility with weakness. He said to Jesus: “Say the word, and my servant will be healed” (7b). The centurion didn’t need Jesus to stand over his servant. The centurion wasn’t looking for a sign from heaven. All he needed, the only thing he needed, was Jesus’ word. Faith trusts God’s Word, and faith expects results.
There is a story about a farming town on the
One Sunday morning the townspeople decided to hold a special prayer service that afternoon to pray for rain. When the service started, the small church was packed. The people prayed for hours. And after it was all over, as the members walked out the church doors and looked up into the cloudless blue sky, only one little old lady opened up her umbrella.
Do you have much in common with that little old lady? When you ask God in prayer, do you raise your umbrella because you expect to be showered with more blessings than you can imagine? Or do you sell God short? Have past disappointments led you to lower your expectations of what the Lord can do?
The Roman centurion had high expectations, some might say unrealistic expectations. He wanted a miracle, but he didn’t demand it. Throughout this story, this man exhibited the fourth and final characteristic of an amazing faith. Faith accepts what God gives.
When the friends of the centurion returned to his house, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The servant, the same servant who had been on the brink of death, was alive and well. Jesus had performed a miracle. Perhaps witnessing this miraculous healing led some people to believe in him.
But not the centurion. He didn’t put his faith in Jesus after Jesus granted his request. He trusted in Jesus from the beginning. He asked God to do the impossible. He put his faith into action. He trusted in Jesus’ word. And he was willing to accept God’s will.
This is actually not the only time when Jesus was amazed by
something. Mark tells us that Jesus was
amazed in his hometown of
This leads to a deeply personal question. If Jesus came back today, do you think he would be amazed? And if so, why? Would he be amazed by the steady stream of prayers that we send up to God? Or would he be amazed because our prayers are few and far between?
Would Jesus be amazed by our lives of faith-filled deeds? Or would he be amazed because our words and actions make it difficult to distinguish us from anyone else?
Would Jesus be amazed by hearts that believe the will of God is always best? Or would he be confronted with hearts that think they know better?
What is truly amazing, what is much more amazing than the faith of a man, is the grace of God. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. He doesn’t send us where we deserve to go. Instead, the Lord says: “I love you. I sent my Son to die for you. And because Jesus did for you what you could never do for yourself, I forgive you.”
Not only did God give us his one and only Son. He also gives us the faith to believe in Him. In Holy Baptism the Holy Spirit ignites faith. In his Word, the Lord fortifies faith. In Holy Communion, Jesus gives us his body and blood to forgive our sins and strengthen our faith.
You might be tempted to think that nothing can amaze God. After all, he is God. He is omnipotent. He can do anything. He is omniscient. He knows everything. But when God looks at you through the filter of his Son, when the Holy Spirit has done his work in you, when Jesus observes that your sinful heart is now a heart of faith, perhaps he pauses for just a moment and, with a look of satisfaction on his face, he thinks to himself: Now that is truly amazing. Amen.