The Second Sunday after Pentecost
May 29, 2016
Luke 7:1-10
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. 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.” 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. 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.” 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. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
What makes something praiseworthy? How you answer that question will depend a great deal on the context, won’t it. I’ll use myself as an example. A week ago last Friday we went to the American Graffiti car show in the shopping center on McDowell just north of Washington. There were hundreds of really nice cars, but only a few that I would consider to be praiseworthy. What made them praiseworthy? For me, I looked at the paint, the interior and the engine. Based on those three factors I determined whether or not a car was praiseworthy. If I’m looking at a house on the Internet I look for something that sets that house apart from the hundreds of other houses on the net. When I see something that sets that particular house apart from the rest, I consider it praiseworthy. When my children were young and playing on a sports team, if I was not able to attend their game (which I now regret happened way too often!) I not only asked them if they won the game, but I also asked them how they played. If they played their best I considered that to be praiseworthy— even if they did not win the game.
What makes something praiseworthy? That is the question which will guide how we study the portion of Scripture we have before us this morning. With that question in mind let’s study this text under the theme: A Praiseworthy Faith!
I’d like to begin by focusing your attention on what I consider to be the key verse in this text, verse nine. Luke writes, “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.’” While the Son of God walked here on this earth there were only two times when He praised someone’s faith. This Roman centurion is obviously one. The other one is— the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus begging Him to heal her daughter who was “suffering terribly from demon-possession” (See Matthew 15:21-28). Did you notice something interesting about the only two individuals whose faith the Lord considered to be praiseworthy? Both of them were Gentiles! Both of them are excellent examples of what we heard wise King Solomon pray in our Old Testament lesson for today when he dedicated the Temple in the Jerusalem to the glory of the Living God. (See 1 Kings 8:22, 23, 41-43). Both this Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman serve as a sharp contrast to many of God’s Chosen People— including the people of Jesus’ hometown, including the apostle Peter himself. When the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus as the Promised Messiah, Mark tells us, “And he was amazed at their lack of faith” (See Mark 6:1-6). And after Peter had climbed out of the boat and started walking on the water he soon took his eyes off of Jesus and started to sink. Jesus then reached out, took Peter by the hand and said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (See Matthew 14:22-31) I personally think it is “amazing” that the only two people whose faith Jesus praised while He was here on this earth were Gentiles!
Looking specifically at this Roman centurion what made his faith praiseworthy? Let’s answer that question by looking at his faith from two different perspectives. The first perspective is found in the words of the Jewish Elders who came to Jesus begging Him to heal this centurion’s servant. Listen once again to what they said, “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.’”
Do you realize how astounding this scene is?! These Jewish Elders willingly went to Jesus, the Rabbi from Nazareth, and “pleaded earnestly” with Him to go to the house of someone who was not only a Gentile, but someone who was an officer in the occupying army of the Roman Empire and heal his servant! There had to be something very special about this Roman centurion for these Jewish Elders to do this— and there was! They praised this centurion’s faith— a faith that was visible, a faith that was active in his life!
“He loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” Somehow this Roman officer had come into contact with the power of God’s holy Word and had been brought to faith in the LORD, the great “I AM,” the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Once that gift of saving faith had been created in his heart it grew so strong that he couldn’t help but let his faith openly express itself in his life. Even though he was an officer in the Roman army he wasn’t shy about his love for the Jewish nation, the nation Rome had conquered. Even though he was an officer in the Roman army he used his own resources to build a synagogue in Capernaum so that his brothers and sisters in the faith could have a place to worship the LORD and study His holy Word. Even though he was an officer in the Roman army, when his servant— a servant whom he “valued highly”— was “sick and about to die” he knew there was only one thing to do! He sent some of his Jewish friend to the Rabbi named Jesus to ask, to beg, for His help. That’s a praiseworthy faith!
What made this centurion’s faith praiseworthy? Luke enables us to answer that question from Jesus’ perspective as well. Look at verses 6-8 of our text. Luke writes, “He (Jesus) 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 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.’” And what was Jesus’ response? This is where that key verse comes in! Luke tells us, “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.”
Just as the people of Bethlehem were “amazed at what the shepherds said to them” on the night that Jesus was born (See Luke 2:17, 18), so also Jesus was “amazed,” He “marveled” at the humility and the trust and the depth of understanding of this centurion’s faith! Not only did this centurion understand that as a mortal sinful human being he was not “worthy” to have Jesus step one foot inside his house, not only did this centurion understand that Jesus possessed a power that was so limitless that all He had to do was “say the word and my servant will be healed,” but unlike anyone in Israel— including Jesus’ own disciples— this Roman centurion understood the astonishing “authority” that rightfully belonged to Jesus. This centurion knew that as the Son of God Most High Jesus’ “authority” coupled together with Jesus’ power could easily heal his servant who “was sick and about to die.” That’s a praiseworthy faith!
As you and I look at the account of the Roman centurion, as we see and hear how his faith was praised by both men and God this gives us a very good opportunity to press the “Pause” button on our life and ask ourselves, Do I have a praiseworthy faith? In an effort to answer that question accurately let’s take the reasons that the centurion’s faith was considered to be praiseworthy and apply them to our own faith.
The Jewish Elders considered the centurion’s faith to be praiseworthy because it was so visible and so active in his life. “This man deserves to have you do this,” they said to Jesus, “because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” How open and how visible is your faith in your life, my friends? When other people listen (and they most certainly do listen) to how you talk about your church and how you talk about your fellow members, do they hear words of love or do they hear words of criticism? When it comes to supporting the Kingdom work that is being done here in our congregation or all across the world by our Synod, are your family and your friends able to see and to hear how near and dear that Kingdom work is to your heart? While I pray that we would all be able to always answer questions like that with a resounding “Yes!” in reality we would probably do well to follow in the footsteps of the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 7:24).
When our dear Lord and Savior looked at the centurion’s faith, when He heard the humility and the trust and the depth of understanding contained in this man’s words, Luke tells us, “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.’” When Jesus looks at your faith, when Jesus listens to you as you express your faith to others in the words and actions of your life (which He most certainly does) is He able to hear humility and trust and understanding? Is He “amazed” because “such great faith” as this now lives in your heart as well?
When we are honest with ourselves, my friends, most of us would probably have to admit that our faith might not yet be as praiseworthy as the faith of this Roman centurion. So what do we do? Permit me to suggest four things. First, we never become content with where our faith is now. We never think or say to ourselves that we already have “enough” faith so our time and our energy and our resources can be focused elsewhere in our life— like our family and friends or our job or our favorite pastime. Second, we consciously prioritize “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) by putting worship and Bible study at the top of our daily and weekly “To Do” list. God’s holy Word and God’s holy Sacrament are the spiritual “food” that God has given to us to strengthen and nourish our faith. Using the precious Means of Grace on a regular basis will lead to a praiseworthy faith. Neglecting them will not. Third, just as we exercise the physical muscles of our body in order to help keep them strong, so also we need to exercise our faith by putting it into action in our lives. The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that the good Lord has already “prepared in advance” “good works” for us to do. (See Ephesians 2:10) We need to keep our eyes and our hearts open so that we don’t allow these opportunities to exercise our faith simply slip on by. And finally, we need to daily spend time at the foot of the cross asking the Lord who loves us this much (Pointing to the cross) to both forgive us for the times that we have taken His precious gift of faith for granted as well as to help us grow— grow in our humility, grow in our trust, grow in our understand of the Lord’s holy Word and His holy cross.
A praiseworthy faith! That’s the kind of faith that lived in the heart of this Roman centurion. That’s the kind of faith that lived in the heart of the Canaanite woman. May God grant that this is the kind of faith that will live in our hearts as well!
To God be the glory!
Amen