Hello interweb 😊 I want to share with you all the account of a man with such great faith that even Jesus himself recognized him for it. Turn your bibles to the book of Luke chapter 7 and let’s jump right into it.
The person we’re talking about today is actually a nameless person in the bible; his name does not show up anywhere. He is identified however, by his profession as a centurion. Now a centurion was an officer in charge of commanding and leading 100 men in the army of Rome. Centurions were known for being experienced soldiers; it would take them 15-20 years of service and a lot of bloodshed before they could receive their rank and title.
This certain centurion in Luke 7 had a servant that was near and dear to his heart and one day his servant got so sick that he was teetering on the brink of death (7:2). When the centurion heard of who Jesus was he sent Jewish elders out into the wilderness to find him to bade him so that his servant could be healed (7:3).
When the elders came to Jesus, he heard the elders and went with them so he could heal the centurion’s servant. They made their way to the centurion’s house and when they were almost there, the centurion sent more people to bade Jesus (7:6). This time, the centurion sent his friends to Jesus to speak on his behalf. This is what he had to say to Jesus:
Luke 7: 6-8 (NIV)
“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.”
This man was incredibly humble, knowing full well that he was not worthy to approach the Son of God and man. He held Jesus in reverence because of who He was, and compared to himself, Jesus was on a completely different level. Jesus’ message was to show love to those that persecute you, not to judge others, and to be merciful. The centurion, on the other hand, spent a decent portion of his life in war, participating in mass killings and giving orders for others to do the same. Quite opposite ends of the spectrum eh? That is because the centurion (and everyone else for that matter) is a sinner, leading an imperfect life, making mistakes day in and day out. Jesus on the other hand, never sinned, lived a perfect life and walked blamelessly before the Father. What is amazing is that even though the centurion had never met nor seen Jesus before, he understood that Jesus was greater than himself. Centurion’s were very powerful military men and for a centurion to consider himself lowly enough to not even be worthy to be in the presence of Jesus was insightful. This led the centurion to ask Jesus to just say the word and his servant would be healed. This action in itself solidifies that the centurion had great understanding because he realized who Jesus was and also his mighty power. In recognition of who he was, he fully comprehended what he would be capable of. This shows his faith was true and it was clearly demonstrated through his humble request.
Jesus’ reaction was my favorite part of this chapter! Lets take a look at his response:
Luke 7:9 (KJV)
‘When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Can you imagine Jesus marveling at someone in amazement? What an honor to be recognized by Jesus! In the next verse (7:10) the bible says that when the elders and friends of the centurion got back to the house, the servant had been healed. Hallelujah God rewards great faith!
I think we should all be striving to have faith like the centurion; faith great enough to be recognized by Jesus. So what made the centurion’s faith so different than everyone else’s in Israel? I’ve broken it into three main tips so that we can achieve the same faith:
1. Hold God in reference because of who He is. Never forget that that He is holy and perfect; in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
2. Understand and know that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). He is so much more capable than we are in every aspect. He created everything for pete’s sake; nothing is too great a task for Him.
3. Have belief without seeing. Being able to trust and believe that God in fact will help you is key to having great faith. This is what God calls us all to do to be saved by Him (Romans 10:9).
Just because we may lack faith sometimes, that does not change who God is and what He is capable of. Work on your faith and let your understanding of who He is erase every doubt.
Remember what Jesus said:
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’
Trust In the Lord today and He will strengthen your faith. Have an awesome day everyone!
Lifted Vision Ministry 