presume to come to you (7.6-7a).

Jesus Marvels at the Faith of a Roman Soldier (Lk 7.1-10) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella 12-26-2010 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue. 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with 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 turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. Introduction We have a fascinating account before us in Luke 7.1-10. It is the kind of text that requires that we be narrator conscious. To move in this direction, consider how we might come up with a title that captures the writer s objective. Perhaps, on first reading, we might think that the main idea here is the healing of a sick man. However, the man is nameless and though he is sick and dying, there is no detail about the nature of his ailment (as Matthew tells us for example that he was paralyzed). His place in the story is truly subordinate; comments about him are like persistent echoes, but in the background. Next, we might think that the subject is the centurion because Jesus commends his faith. However, he too is nameless. Moreover, he appears in the story line in a very marginal way. We are told that he heard about Jesus and sent representatives to Him on behalf of his servant, so, we have record here of only an indirect interaction between him and our Lord. Where, then, does the narrator direct our attention if not to the healing or to the man of faith seeking Jesus for the healing of his servant? I am sure that you already have the answer: the focus is on the marveling of Jesus at the faith of the man seeking healing for his sick servant. Therefore, the title for this message is Jesus Marvels at the Faith of a Roman Soldier. So, three things present themselves for our meditation today: 1) how can we understand the fact that Jesus marveled at this man s faith? 2) What explains this fact, what caused Jesus to marvel at the man s faith? 3) How does the narrator shape this account about the marveling of Jesus? 1A. How can we understand the fact that Jesus marveled? We must stand in amazement at the fact that Jesus stood in amazement regarding the faith of the centurion. We are told that He marveled and spoke to those who followed him, When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith (Lk 7.9). The centurion had sent convoys to Jesus on behalf of his seriously sick servant (7.2). His appeal to the Lord involved a deep sense of unworthiness before the greatness of Christ. Thus in a message presented to Jesus by his best ambassadors, he said, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7Therefore I did not presume to come to you (7.6-7a). After hearing the message from the centurion, we read that Jesus marveled and we might marvel as well, not at the centurion s faith, but at the sense of surprise, that Jesus expresses. I am not minimizing the great faith of this Roman soldier; we will consider that momentarily. I am merely drawing attention to the unexpected and unusual fact that Jesus marveled. There is something potentially problematic about this response of Jesus. We may wonder how He could

2 be surprised. Typically, we wonder with surprise when we suddenly discover something not previously known. Did Jesus not know about this man and His faith? It sounds like He had been looking for just this kind of faith in Israel and He did not find it (7.9). Then, suddenly, these messengers from a Roman soldier cross His path and reveal something to Jesus that He did not know and the discovery was full of delight for Jesus. How can this be? Does it seem unfitting to speak of Jesus being surprised, overcoming ignorance, and experiencing delight? However, when we consider who Jesus is, then we have to say, This is not unexpected and unusual after all. Mysterious, yes, it is mysterious, but unexpected, no. Although our Lord is the one who said, Before Abraham was, I am (Jn 8.58), although He is Immanuel (God with us, Mat 1.23), and although all things were made by Him as God and with God in the beginning (Jn 1.1-3), it is a mysterious and marvelous fact that He was manifested in the flesh (1 Tim 3.16). Recall the words of the angel Mary: And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Lk 1.30-31). As a man with all the qualities of human nature, Jesus grew up, grew in wisdom and knowledge, and He often stood in wonder at the created world and the unfolding of the Father s purposes. Thus, this text gives us a glimpse into the sense of wonder that was part of the true humanness of Jesus, Immanuel, and God with us. His growth as a human being included a process in which He learned, sometimes, through suffering, but definitely with delight. Therefore, we sing, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and I wonder... That He marveled is testimony to the incarnation, to God becoming flesh and tabernacling among in the person of our Lord Jesus. We have good reason to marvel at the fact that Jesus marveled. 2A. What caused Jesus to marvel at this man s faith? We get our answer from two things: the centurion s analogy, and a comparison of Gentile and Jew. 1) The centurion s analogy What made this man s faith so amazing is the comparison he makes between his authority as a military commander and the commanding authority of Jesus: But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with 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 (7.7b-8). There is analogy here but it immediately breaks down, or better, it immediately breaks out into a strong affirmation of the sovereignty of Christ over space, time, and terrible suffering. The man is saying that Jesus does not have to come to his home to heal the servant. As he believes it to be the case, Jesus can transcend the normal spatial and temporal boundaries of human existence. He can overcome the worst suffering of whatever kind sight unseen. All He needs to do is exercise His will in a command, Just say the word and healing will occur. The appeal of the centurion at this point is similar to the leper s request when he said, If you will, you can make me clean (Mat 8.2). There is no autonomy here. Instead, in both accounts, dependent faith points to Jesus as sovereign Lord. Thus, one of the things that strikes Jesus with wonder about the man s faith is how he attributes commanding authority of a superlative kind to Jesus by analogy with his position as an authority figure. 2) The Gentile and Jew comparison Another remarkable thing about this man s great faith is the fact that it is the faith of a Roman, and that it is greater than the faith of any in Israel. The wording I tell you, not even in Israel

3 have I found such faith (7.9) indicates two things at once. It indicates not only that those who believed had less remarkable faith, but it also hints at the fact that most in Israel have such unremarkable faith as to have no faith at all. The cause, then, of our Lord s wonder is His discovery outside of Israel what He did not find in Israel: the unmistakably clear acknowledgment of His sovereign Lordship over human health and well-being: say the word, and let my servant be healed. 3A. How does the narrator shape this account about the marveling of Jesus? Our answer arises from the following things: comparison, difficulty, resolution, perspective, and closing. 1) Comparison From marveling, Jesus turned to healing, but in Luke, no explicit action is recorded. Jesus is truly God with us, but there is no display of power. Thus, the way the narrator presents this miracle shapes our impression of Jesus. Luke does not record the healing of a leper that occurred before the centurion account; nor does he record the healing of Peter s mother that Matthew has immediately after the centurion account. On one hand, Luke s report is much shorter than Matthew s. On the other hand, Luke gives information that we do not have in Matthew. He states that the centurion sent two groups of people to Jesus, Jews and friends: 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant...6 And...the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself... (7.3, 6). 2) Difficulty Matthew says nothing of these groups but reports that the centurion came to Jesus about his suffering servant: When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed (Mat 8. 5-8). Luke says nothing about this personal meeting with Jesus. He reports that the centurion s representatives brought the messages and that it was the friends that spoke the words about not coming under his unworthy roof. Did the centurion go to Jesus (as Matthew has it) or did he send Jews and friends (as Luke has it)? Back to back, we have these words: Matthew: When [Jesus] entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him... Luke: [Jesus] entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders... the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you... What happened? How can we resolve the apparent discrepancies? 3) Resolution The resolution is in the following combination of facts. First, upon the arrival of Jesus in Capernaum, the centurion with a sick servant sent some elders of the Jews to Jesus for help. They did so grounding the request in the centurion s worthiness in their eyes, and Jesus started out with them in route to the man s house (Lk 6a). Second, as Jesus got closer to the house, the centurion sent friends with his message of unworthiness to even have Jesus come under his roof (Lk 7.6b-8). Third, according to Matthew, the centurion then went out to Jesus and gave Him the same message of his unworthiness; this time in person. Thus, on hearing these things, both Luke and Matthew report that Jesus marveled at the man and commented on his faith (Lk 7.9). Fourth, Luke then reports that when the Jews and friends (the centurion s place is suppressed) returned to the house, they found the servant well (7.10). 4) Perspective

4 Even though Luke suppresses the centurion s place in the narrative, he lets us see the soldier s protocol: he sends officials of the Jews, then friends, before he goes himself. He truly did not presume to come to Jesus; he was not presumptuous. This deepens our perspective on the man s awareness of his place in a chain of command and how he conducted himself in it. It also deepens our perspective on the man s faith in Jesus as the Lord with commanding authority. Thus, he must (because of such faith) approach Jesus without presumption, with signs of great respect, and present himself with a firm (and repeated) confession of his unworthiness. 5) Closing The closing of the narrative is quite subdued and almost matter of fact : And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well (7.10). There is no display of power as one would think if this is supposed to be a proof of our Lord s deity. Jesus does not cry in the streets; He does miracles in a quiet and sometimes hidden way. Still, what Jesus did here is well attested. The Jews, friends, and the centurion came to Jesus in waves of respect, diplomacy and protocol; when they returned home they found the man well. Luke identifies these Jews and friends as eyewitnesses, along with the centurion as Matthew reports. They are eyewitnesses of the things that Jesus began to do and teach; according to Luke 1.1-4, they are part of the record that shows the certainty of the gospel message that we have in the book of Luke. Now we have answered three questions. How do we explain the marveling of Jesus? In His full humanity, He discovered new things, He learned, He grew in wisdom and knowledge. We get a glimpse of that here. What caused Him to marvel at the faith of the centurion? Ministering in Israel, Jesus had not found such a remarkably clear acknowledgement of His authority and sovereignty, as He uncovered to His delightful surprise from this Gentile. How does the narrator shape this account of Jesus marveling? He so shapes it to emphasize the place of eyewitnesses not mentioned in the other Gospels. Conclusion What do we learn from Luke s perspective on the marveling of Jesus at the faith of a Roman soldier who sought and received healing of his sick servant? I state the question this way because even though the healing is hidden in the account, it did occur and Luke s presentation of it has a powerful after effect, ending as it does with the return to the house where they found the servant well. By the narrator s guidance, we return home also. We go in thought from Jesus marveling at the centurion s faith to the centurion s home. Journeying with the friends, we too see a man in full health, a man who only moments before was sick unto death. 1) Consider the powerful after effect What is the powerful after effect? How does it surface? It surfaces in the enacted parable of gospel restoration. The powerful after effect is this. The marveling of Jesus shows us that a man, the Son of Man, is the sovereign God. It shows us that the one who learned with delight filled surprise, began His redemptive work with commanding and effectual authority. This amazing marveling man, reached across space, transcended time, and conquered dying and death. This is the gospel in the Gospel of Luke, namely, that the Preacher of love of the previous context (Lk 6.20-47) who is fully human is sovereign Lord. He is not bound by space or time. Remember, Jesus did not come to save souls; no, He came to save persons in their wholeness of soul and body. When He saves sinners, He saves them body and soul. You are more than your material body and nothing less than it. You will not be saved until the redemption of the body is

5 realized on resurrection day. Required for our complete salvation is a mediator between God and man, a mediator that is God and man; we have that mediator in the man Jesus our God and high priest forever. 2) Consider the remarkable faith There is an example here of how you ought to approach the Lord Jesus. It is how you will approach Him if you have faith like this Roman soldier. The faith that Jesus finds so remarkable is the kind that acknowledges His true Lordship and His ability to heal the sin sick by simply giving His word to let the healing occur. You express your trust in Jesus as sovereign in the saving of sinners when you speak like this: if He says go, those under His authority go; if He says come, they come; if He says do this, they do it. Thus, if He commands rotten trees to bring forth the good fruit of repentant faith, then at His commanding word, they repent. True faith in Christ means acknowledging His absolute Lordship. That is how the light to the Gentiles is received: by the commitment of yourself to Him as your loving Lord, as your teaching-preacher; thus, you commit yourself to His teaching to be a learner indeed, at His feet, under His authority over you, over all that you do, possess and hope to be. This is how you begin to live under His doing and teaching and it is how you continue. Because He accomplishes what He commands with effectual power, you have strong encouragement for your journey through life. From the record of this marveling and this healing you have a spring for your step in knowing that eventually you will be found well and at home with the Lord. May we fall down before the majesty of our God and marvel at the marvelous saving work that Jesus began in old Israel and that He continues in the new Israel made up of both Jews and Gentiles who acknowledge His Lordship, to Him be glory now and forevermore, amen.