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.
So we come to the next of miracles where Jesus heals the servant of a centurion in Capernaum. Recorded below is the account of this found in Luke 7:1-10:
1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9 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. 10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
The same miracle can also be found in Matthew 8:5-13. I urge you to read it. It is very different from what you read in Luke. There are no go-betweens in Matthew’s account, and Jesus says much more. I hope that the differences don’t bother you. For some, this is a point of contention and casts doubt upon the authenticity of the scriptures. I hope that is not the case for you. Surely, we can understand that different witnesses will have different accounts, yet still agree.
So great faith…
What an amazing thing to be done with this centurion? Jesus takes him and turns him about to the Jewish elders and all that were looking upon this, and presents him to them in this manner. He tells the Jews that in all Israel he could not find a faith greater than what he found in this centurion. I can’t imagine what the Jewish onlookers must have thought. Were they astonished? Were they insulted? Were they reproved? He wasn’t even a Jew. He was a Roman, and a Roman centurion at that; the conqueror of their land and their people. And Jesus marvelled at him. Just amazing. But you never know where you might find so great faith. What does great faith look like? Jesus saw it in this centurion.
Faith Cares for Others
This centurion had a servant and the bible says he was dear unto him. He was sick and dying. And news of Jesus healing power had spread abroad. And when he heard of Jesus, he besought him to heal the servant whom he loved and cared for. We must understand that this servant was not a hired hand, a butler, or his maid. He was a slave. He had no rights of his own. He belonged to that centurion as any slave belongs to his master. I know when we ponder the master/slave relationship, we rarely fathom one of love and care and some can hardly believe it possible. But so it was with this centurion. He cared for his dying servant. And so it is with Christ and his church, for we also are bond-slaves. But that is another message for another day.
He was a centurion. He commanded a centuria; a hundred men. That’s a lot of men; a lot of trouble; a lot of work; a lot of responsibility. He was highly paid. He had rank. He had influence. But his concern was the well-being of his sickly servant. So great faith… (James 2:17) Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Faith is not just about what we say we believe. Faith is about when we do what we believe. (1 Corinthians 13:2) And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. Like that centurion, we ought to shew our faith by our works. As Baptists, we’re so adamant that works do not earn salvation, but we work because we’re saved. But do we? Paul said (Galatians 2:20) I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. He said he lives by it. Do we live by it? A faith to live by is a faith to love by. Do we love by it? Yes. Faith cares for others.
Faith Loves God’s People
The Jewish elders testified to Jesus about this centurion. This was the testimony of the Jews. They let their sentiments be known to Jesus. They said For he loveth our nation. They pleaded with Jesus that the centurion was indeed worthy because he loved the Jewish nation. He loved the people of God. So great faith… Faith holds a special place in the heart for the people of God. (1 John 3:14) We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. Loving the brethren is the mark of faith. You cannot love Christ, and not love his church. Impossible.
There are people that don’t like church; that don’t like to be around God’s people. They don’t want to belong to a local church. Yet, they say they’re saved. They profess that they have faith in Christ. But they think that they can do it on their own. They don’t need the church. They don’t need to assemble with the called-out assembly. (2 Corinthians 13:5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Love for God’s people is the litmus test of the faith. (1 John 3:14) He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
It’s a serious thing. So great faith? The master that loved the slave. The conqueror that loved the conquered. He sent the Jewish elders to talk to Jesus because he esteemed them higher than himself. He said he wasn’t worthy, but he esteemed the Jewish elders worthy. He held the people of God in such high regard. Paul said (Ephesians 3:8) Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints… He said (1 Corinthians 15:9) For I am the least of the apostles… Faith loves God’s people.
Faith Gives to the House of God
Those elder Jews told Jesus about how this centurion built a synagague for the Jews. I suppose this was in Caperneum, possibly. He didn’t just help build it. The bible says he built it. He gave of his money, his wealth, his substance to the house of God. This is what so great faith looks like. Say what you will. I’m sure I’ll lose some of people on this one; but I got bible and the words of Jesus. So great faith! Simple truth before us. People who have real faith in God (or should I say great faith) will give to their local church. They’ll give of their tithes. They’ll give love offerings. They’ll give to missions. They’ll give give give give!
It is that simple. Yet, there’s such disdain out there for giving like this. They’ll say that tithing is Old Testament. They’ll try to wiggle their way out Malachi’s question: (Malachi 3:8) Will a man rob God? They’ll tell you to ignore Jesus’ admonition on tithing that (Matthew 23:23) These ought ye to have done… They’ll put down the preacher for encouraging others to give to support the church, it’s pastor, it’s missionaries, and it’s ministries. They say they’re against institutionalized religion. When the truth is, they just don’t want to give to the house of God.
But the centurion, Jesus marvelled at him. He gave because of his regard for it; his regard for why it was there, what happened in there, whose name was on it, and who it belonged to. His heart was in the house of God. (Luke 12:34) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Do we love the house of God? Do we have a high regard for God’s house? (Genesis 28:17) How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Faith gives to the house of God.
…no, not in Israel
These are the words of Jesus himself. This is quite a statement to wrap one’s mind around. This reminds me of the verse (Psalm 14:2) The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. And we know that the answer this inquiry is, of course, no. The next verse: (Psalm 14:3) They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. But then we have this centurion in whom Jesus found faith greater than in all Israel. Even of Jesus’ disciples, he said (Matthew 8:26) O ye of little faith?
He cared for others. He loved the people of God. He gave to the house of God. These three things Jesus saw in the centurion. And that last thing that stood out to me about this centurion was his regard for himself. He said For I also am a man set under authority… He did not say he was a man of authority. He said he was set under authority. I can’t help but marvel too at this fella. God help us to have a faith like this man.