And we are reading in the gospel according to St. Luke in chapter 7, beginning in verse 1. These first 10 verses of St. Luke chapter 7, concerning the Centurion and his servant who was near death. Now when he concluded all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered the chaperneum and a certain Centurion servant who was dear to him was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders to the Jews to him, pleading with him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly saying that the one for whom he should do this was worthy. For he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue in Jesus' width 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. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority having soldiers under me. And I say to one, go and he goes into another, come and he comes. And if my servant do this and he does it, 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. And those who were sent returning to the house found a servant well who had been sick.
Let us pray.
Grant, oh God, the right perspective that we might be in the company having studied and heard by word,
who are noted for true biblical faith. So may the Spirit of God who granted us the gift of saving faith. Grant us now the gift of enlightened faith. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I am taken as I have mentioned before and you may well know with the positive view Scripture takes of Roman soldiers, of imperial Rome. Centurions, I have often thought and never done it yet. I have a series of sermons just on those occasions where centurions confess truth and find commendation from our Lord and His apostles. This is one of those occasions. And we have here in this account of the centurion whose servant was near death,
the encounter itself which should be noted. This encounter between the centurion and the Savior, it was not an immediate encounter. He did not see the Lord Jesus nor speak to the Lord Jesus face to face. It was immediately through Jewish elders' authorities in the synagogue. But in the encounter we are able to discern the spirit of the centurion. It is obvious but don't miss it. He cared deeply about a servant. Not all people with imperial authority, with ownership authority, care about underlings, he ordered people. He commanded people that his heart is deeply touched by a servant who is near death.
People were expendable then. I commend to you the spirit in this encounter of the centurion. But more than that in compassion for a loyal servant and friend, is his spirit incending message, messengers to speak in behalf of that servant.
You have that spirit expressed in verse 6 and following. Some had run quickly ahead of Jesus at his party and said, Do you realize he's taking a detour and coming to your house?
And the record says, doesn't it? The centurion sends yet other messengers to intercept them, to stop them. It is as though the centurion is saying, and this is his spirit.
Lord, I didn't mean to trouble you.
I had no thought that you would interrupt your schedule on all of your important duties.
I just thought you could speak the word wherever you are, and he would be healed. Lord, I sent the elders of the synagogue because I did not think I ought to come to you.
And I am certain, Lord, that I'm not worthy for you to come into my residence.
I just wanted you to speak a word and heal my beloved servant.
What a wonderful spirit. On the part of the centurion. But in this encounter is the spirit, not only of this Roman soldier,
but of the elders of the synagogue.
What is their spirit? What does this reveal here in this passage? Verse 3, The Jews pleading with him to come and heal this servant.
And the Lord Jesus should do that. Because he's the largest contributor to the building program. That's what it says.
Yes, it does. You laugh as though I'm making it up. He built us the synagogue. Now, Lord, do this. That we religious leaders in that synagogue may ingratiate ourselves to Him.
What a contrast in spirit. Between this pagan, this Roman soldier, and the elders of the synagogue, in this encounter which is mediated for this centurion with the Lord Jesus by the elders, we observe their spirits.
Our spirits are often observable. In what we tell, what we say,
what were the expectations in this encounter?
What did this centurion expect?
Well, we learn a little about that because he speaks in verses 7 and following about the parallel of his own position and resultant authority. And he makes that, I say, parallel to the position and resultant authority. He sees in Jesus of Nazareth. This centurion over 100 men and the imperial army that control the Mediterranean world. I have a authority because of my position to command and they do it.
And Lord Jesus, I have listened to your authority. I who have been a proselyt on the edge of the synagogue, drawn out of imperial paganism possibly by the monotheism of Judaism, I have listened to you in your claim in the exercise of your authority. And as my authority comes from my position, I expect and know that there can be healing and hope because of your position. And resultant authority, your position as Messiah. The one read about in the synagogue where I attend, where I am the largest contributor for the new building, I have picked up. I have listened to the reading of the Old Testament Scriptures, that there is a messianic figure to come who will exercise authority and I expect that you are He and are able to do all that Messiah by His position, His office, if you please, can do wonderful expectation. From right reasoning, seeing His own position and authority, He matches in parallel the position and authority of Jesus and expects miracle. Hope, salvation, did not the elders in the synagogue observe the same things? What were their expectations?
Well, their expectations were as I have alluded in a scheming sort of way, that they would use Jesus to pay back for the beneficence of this centurion. They saw the same authority. They probably knew far better than this centurion that they could pledge and prophecy concerning Messiah, the centurion's expectation, less informed their expectation with years of instruction and learning. It is the centurion whose expectation is right. And the religious leaders, with all of their information, with all of their privileges, they are the people of the covenants, they are the people of the law, the heritage, in Israel. Their expectation is that Messiah would be manipulated and used for their purposes.
Pay back this benefactor. Do it, Lord, because He's the biggest contributor in the Church.
My hallot affects American churches.
Expectations. Centurion's expectation in this encounter, far different from the expectations of the religious authorities in that encounter. Same facts. Same information. It is the centurion whose stands in the right place.
But our Lord Jesus, out of this encounter, allowing us in the record through St. Luke, to see the expectations, makes what I call an evaluation. Incidentally, this is one of the two places only in the scripture where it says that Jesus marveled. I remind you that repeatedly as you read the gospel records, you will find, in fact, that crowds marveled at His teaching, at His miracles, at His healing. Same word. But only twice is it recorded that He marveled at anyone, this is one of those places. And He marveled not at the President of the synagogue, or the clerk of the Presbytery, the moderator of the General Assembly. He marveled at the imperial Roman soldier.
He evaluates it by saying, as he turns and looks at the crowd, and speaks that which is the second half of verse 9, I say to you, I have not found such great faith not even in Israel.
And if you may prolong that a bit, where I also have found it, where it's reasonable to expect that I would have found it, because of all of your privileges of covenants, prophets, promises, as St. Paul enumerates them in his epistle to the Roman Christians,
the elders had information that was accurate, but the Messiah they were looking for would be manageable, and fit their expectations. And so this Jesus, that they played along with for several years, and finally helped to crucify, they are unmoved by Him, unconvinced. Well, that's not an absolute statement you understand. There were a few elders in Israel, Nicodemus, St. Joseph of Arimathea, possibly Camelial, but by way of comparison with privileges and numbers, elders in the synagogues, centurions in Caesar's army, quite the centurions that believe,
and the elders are unconvinced and unmoved and reject Him, became to his own destiny, and his own received Him not. But to as many like centurions, who did receive Him, the privilege of becoming Son's children of God,
how does he evaluate his centurion? Why, he says of him, I haven't seen such authentic faith, not even in Israel. A dimarval at Rome, hated by the leaders of Israel, they worked in scheme and tandem with Roman authorities, and so far as it suited them, but underlying all of that surface cooperation was, in fact, a longing desire for a militaristic Messiah who would throw off the Yoke of Rome,
which here stands the Lord Jesus, commending an outsider. I would have expected this in the church,
but I find it from a man who wasn't brought up in the church,
and had no affiliation with it, oh yes, a proselyt on the periphery of it,
the Lord's evaluation is, religious leaders do not exercise or display authentic faith, till they had every reason to, but this intruder tolerated very likely in the closed mindset of a synagogue,
this intruder accepted because of his beneficence, his evaluated as having authentic faith, and Jesus is doing something that you and I must do. And that is, he is commending the person who can look at things from the outside,
you know of all of conscious creation,
man is the only one who can stand mentally outside of his own existence and look at it, conscious creation, pansies aren't conscious, cats are, but they haven't the ability for self-reflection, in all of conscious creation only man is able in the image of God to stand outside of his existence and look at it,
and the centurion is for us here as an outsider even,
commended for authentic faith able from outside to look more objectively and clearly and conclude this is the Christ
whereas those with all the answers religiously,
brought up under rabbinical teaching,
living under the system they had developed their own well-being and comfort,
do not do something you and I must do.
Challenge our own assumptions from time to time.
Sadly, we challenge what is revealed and are never called to do that, but we are called to challenge assumptions, perhaps we've lived with all of our adult lives, but keep us from having the Lord Jesus central and in control,
I need to do that and so do you. Use my God given ability to stand outside of my own existence if you please and look at assumptions
that issue into activities and attitudes that comprise daily living are they right? Do they make the Lord Jesus central?
Assumptions I think back on the years when we were approaching having junior high young people in our home, the general assumption where we were living then is the same general assumption as here and across the length and breadth of the United States. Junior high is not an age it's a disease
and we just assume the worst and we consciously stood outside of our parenthood and challenged that assumption and believed that the covenant of grace
isn't affected necessarily by the assumptions all around us, the centurion had the advantage of being an outsider, not so enmeshed in the system and schemes.
Lord, I just thought you'd speak a word. I know who you are. You're the Messiah and Savior. And you have all of clarity. Oh Lord Jesus, sorry for the trouble. I really didn't want you to come to my house. I could not have left the likes of you into my place.
A wonderful confession from a Roman pagan and in the same encounter with differing expectations and under an evaluation none of us should want religious leaders who've been disseminary and have our system all down pat and manageable.
Lord Jesus, are you asking us to step outside of ourselves for a moment
and challenge assumptions, assumptions that have made you peripheral and manageable in our thinking, the centurion, biological and necessary inference found himself in the kingdom of heaven and some of those elders in that synagogue, likely, stayed in the kingdom of darkness, stand outside yourself. The assumptions you have just taken for granted for long time and others with you, challenge them, put them before the search light and scrutiny of Scripture to be confirmed or changed.
The Lord, looking at Trinity, would say, I expected great faith there
and I found it at a spray.
Our Father and our God, we thank You for the challenges of Scripture
that we come up against in our thinking, in our living,
be pleased so to use thy word to bring forth fruit that will challenge assumptions we have made consciously or unconsciously from our own inward beings or from those around us, challenges that may keep us dutifully religious,
not right with the Messiah.
In this passage and in this sense, oh God,
put us with a centurion for Jesus' sake. Amen.