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Have an Amazing Faith!
A sermon based on Luke 7:1-10
Sunday, June 6, 2010 -- Pentecost 3C
Capernaum is amazing! Capernaum was my favorite place to visit on my Holy Land tour. The "village of comfort" was where Peter, James, John, Andrew and Matthew all called home proior to becoming disciples. It was the town that Jesus made his headquarters for a large part of his public ministry and called home. And yet, what amazed me was that in spite of the prominence of this city in the Bible and the fact that Jesus adopted it as his own (cf. Matthew 9:1 and Mark 2:1), when I visited almost 2,000 years after Jesus did, it still looked remarkably the same. Of course the buildings were in ruins and a modern church had been constructed over Peter's house (which seems to have been used as a gathering place of believers ever since our Savior gathered there). But unlike much of the rest of the Holy Land, it wasn't covered in gift shops. Vendors didn't line the streets, selling vials of water from the Sea of Galilee or T-shirts that read, "I walked where Jesus walked." In fact, even with the lone gift shop that stood near the entrance to the city, it was easy to imagine the active little fishing village with Roman soldiers policing the busy streets on the trade route as it must have been so long ago. It really was my favorite place. I found it truly amazing.
And yet, far more amazing that the ruins of that ancient city, are the events that took place there. Can you imagine visitng Peter's sick mother-in-law in bed, wondering if she would survive this one, then see her wave to you that very afternoon after Jesus made the fever leave her? Can you imagine fishing with a man from whom Jesus had exercised a demon, now perfectly sane and piloting the boat? Can you imagine living there and hearing all your neighbors talk about crippled man that was lowered through the roof of a house and healed by a Rabbi from Nazarth?! Can you imagine listening to Jairus, the synagogue leader, telling you about his little girl that Jesus brought back from the dead?! What amazing things happened in Capernaum!
Now thinking of all the amazing things that Jesus did in Capernaum, can you think of anything that could possibly amaze him? After all, what could be done to impress the one who has literally seen it all before? How can you astonish the God who created the cosmos? Can anything amaze Jesus? Actually, yes. That feat was carried out in Capernaum, and by a Roman centurion! Not even by a Jew! You want to know his secret? Do you want to know how you too can amaze Jesus? Then listen to our text for this morning, recorded for us in Luke 7:1-10, and see this centurion's amazing faith that left Jesus himself stunned...
And yet, far more amazing that the ruins of that ancient city, are the events that took place there. Can you imagine visitng Peter's sick mother-in-law in bed, wondering if she would survive this one, then see her wave to you that very afternoon after Jesus made the fever leave her? Can you imagine fishing with a man from whom Jesus had exercised a demon, now perfectly sane and piloting the boat? Can you imagine living there and hearing all your neighbors talk about crippled man that was lowered through the roof of a house and healed by a Rabbi from Nazarth?! Can you imagine listening to Jairus, the synagogue leader, telling you about his little girl that Jesus brought back from the dead?! What amazing things happened in Capernaum!
Now thinking of all the amazing things that Jesus did in Capernaum, can you think of anything that could possibly amaze him? After all, what could be done to impress the one who has literally seen it all before? How can you astonish the God who created the cosmos? Can anything amaze Jesus? Actually, yes. That feat was carried out in Capernaum, and by a Roman centurion! Not even by a Jew! You want to know his secret? Do you want to know how you too can amaze Jesus? Then listen to our text for this morning, recorded for us in Luke 7:1-10, and see this centurion's amazing faith that left Jesus himself stunned...
1 When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 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. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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." 9 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." 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
I. Have a Humble Faith
How do you wow Jesus? The Jewish elders thought they knew. They thought you could impress Jesus by showing him your power. Did you have the authority to command 100 men and have them ask "How high?" when you say "Jump!"? They thought you could amaze Jesus by showing him your wealth. Did you have enough money to single-handedly build a church of your own? They thought you could astonish Jesus by showing him your dedication. Did you love the nation of Israel, even though you were a foreigner and not an Israelite yourself? Did you love the nation enough to spend your wealth single-handedly buiding a church of your own?
If you had these things, these elders thought, well, then you could impress Jesus. Then you could be worthy of the help of this great Rabbi and miracle worker. "This man deserves to have you do this," they said "because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." But none of these impressed Jesus very much. No, it was the humble faith of the centurion. When everyone else said, "Wow! What a great guy! Look at all he's done! If anyone's worthy of Jesus attention and love, it's this man!" he said, "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." Not puffed up by pride, but full of humility he recognized his unworthiness before Jesus. And Jesus was amazed at this man's humble faith!
How about you? Do you want to impress Jesus? Then it's not to be done by showing him all the great things you've done. Look, Jesus, I may not have the power to command 100 men, but I have the power to control my own schedule. And though I could be anywhere else right now, doing a 100 other things, I'm here in your house, worshiping you. No, I may not be that wealthy, certainly not wealthy enough to pay for an entire church building project on my own, but doesn't that make the few dollars that I give an even more generous gift as I give of my little to you? And dedication? Well, look at all I've done for you, Jesus. Not only do I give up my time and my dollars for you, but look at all the work I've given you! I've volunteered so many hours at church for you, I've risked friendships talking about you, I've gone out of my way to serve you! Jesus, aren't you impressed yet?
And he answers, "No. Not really... Not at all." As he told his disciples in Luke 17(:9-10), he says to us: "Would [the master] thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" No. Jesus is not impressed by all that great things we do when we're supposed to be doing all these things perfectly all the time!
So how do you impress Jesus? By admitting that you're not very impressive. Humble yourself before God. Confess to him that you are not worthy of his love because of your perfect church attendance record. Confess that you are not worthy of his blessings because of all the offerings you've brought from those blessings. Confess that you are not worthy of his kindness because of all the kind acts you've shown to others. Confess that you are completely and entirely unworthy of Jesus because you are, by your very nature, sinful and unclean and you have given the evidence of your sinfulness time and time again by your sinful thoughts, words, and actions. Humbly cry to God, "Lord... for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof... I [do] not... consider myself worthy to come to you."
And he answers, "No. Not really... Not at all." As he told his disciples in Luke 17(:9-10), he says to us: "Would [the master] thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" No. Jesus is not impressed by all that great things we do when we're supposed to be doing all these things perfectly all the time!
So how do you impress Jesus? By admitting that you're not very impressive. Humble yourself before God. Confess to him that you are not worthy of his love because of your perfect church attendance record. Confess that you are not worthy of his blessings because of all the offerings you've brought from those blessings. Confess that you are not worthy of his kindness because of all the kind acts you've shown to others. Confess that you are completely and entirely unworthy of Jesus because you are, by your very nature, sinful and unclean and you have given the evidence of your sinfulness time and time again by your sinful thoughts, words, and actions. Humbly cry to God, "Lord... for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof... I [do] not... consider myself worthy to come to you."
Humble yourself before God, and you'll amaze Jesus too!
II. Have a Confident Faith
Now this centurion didn't just amaze Jesus by his humble faith. Plenty of sad and depressed people have considered themselves unworthy of Jesus and his love, many of whom have died despairing under the weight of their own unworthiness. But this centurion's faith didn't end with his own unworthiness. It was not just a humble faith, but a confident faith that trusted that Jesus had the power and authority to help. He trusted that Jesus could help in this situation where no one else could.
"Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For 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 confessed that not only was he unworthy to have Jesus come under his roof, but also that it was entirely unnecessary for Jesus to do so! He recognized that Jesus power and authority extended beyond what he could see, that Jesus could heal sickness and disease remotely! He didn't even need to visit the patient to diagnose the problem. And he had full confidence that Jesus could do it! He didn't say, "Say the word, and my servant [might] be healed." or "Say the word, and my servant..." has a chance! But expressed his confident faith: "Say the word, and my servant will be healed." What an amazing faith!
And verse 3 tells us how this centurion could have such an amazing faith: "The centurion heard of Jesus..." Of course, we don't know exactly how much this man heard about Jesus, but the Word worked! "Faith comes by hearing the message..." (Romans 10:17) He heard and he believed! He felt unworthy, and was indeed unworthy. But his unworthiness didn't stop him from making his bold request. He trusted in Jesus power and care and Jesus was amazed at his confident faith!
And you too, dear friends, have heard the message. You have seen who Jesus is even more clearly than this centurion had that day. You know he is more than just a miracle worker! He is your Savior! He, who is the only one truly worthy of God's praise, gave up his heavenly Kingdom to live in a little fishing village like Capernaum. Why? So that he might live a perfect life in your place! He came that he might take your unworthiness on himself, that he might pay for it all on the cross, that he might endure hell itself to take away your sin! That's how much you are worth to Jesus!
So don't let your unworthiness stop you from having a confident faith! In fact, your faith can be fully confident for the very reason that your salvation doesn't depend on you or your worthiness, but entirely on Jesus and what he's done. And if he loves you enough to endure hell for you, then you can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." You can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in John 14:13: "I will do whatever you ask in my name." You can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in Romans 8:28 and "in all things... [work] for the good of those who love him." You too can have such a confident faith that boldly trusts God's promises and clings to his Word. And you too can amaze Jesus!
III. Have A Selfless Faith
And finally, the third aspect of this centurion's faith that is so amazing, is how selfless it was. Notice what he did--and did not--ask for: "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant." Now, in verse three, the word translated "servant" means "slave" or "servant." But, in verse seven, the word translated "servant" is really "son." That's significant because it shows the centurion's selfless heart.
You see, he wasn't asking Jesus to heal the servant because the death of this man would mean financial loss when he would have to go to market to get another slave. He didn't ask Jesus to heal the man because he was such a faithful worker and it would be a huge inconvenience to have to find a replacement that could be trusted and would work as hard. He didn't ask for Jesus help for himself, but for another. He valued this man highly not just for the work he did, but for who he was. The centurion had a selfless faith that put the needs of others first, before his own, and that left Jesus amazed!
So too, we know how much Jesus cares for us. We place all our confidence in him and know that we have nothing to worry about. That confidence frees us to stop worrying about ourselves so much! It frees us from worrying about ourselves at all! Now we too can live to serve others. We can pray to God on behalf of others. We don't need to pray to God, "Give me this and give me that," but can pray, "Thank you, God, for giving me all that I need and so much more! Now help me to use the gifts that you give me to serve others. Help me to share with them the truths of their own unworthiness and of your amazing grace that they too can put their complete confidence in you. Help me to provide for their physical needs that it might open a door to enable me to meet their spiritual needs. Help me to give generously from the blessings you pour out on me to carry out that work." We too can have a selfless faith. And we too can amaze Jesus!
What amazing things happened in Capernaum! Jesus healed a man of his disease! And he did it remotely! A centurion amazed Jesus himself with his humble faith, with his confident faith, with his selfless faith. Now, let's go do some amazing things! And let's wow Jesus with our amazing faith that recognizes our unworthiness before him, that puts our complete trust in him, that puts others and their needs ahead of our own. In Jesus' name, dear friends, let's amaze him! Amen.
"Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For 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 confessed that not only was he unworthy to have Jesus come under his roof, but also that it was entirely unnecessary for Jesus to do so! He recognized that Jesus power and authority extended beyond what he could see, that Jesus could heal sickness and disease remotely! He didn't even need to visit the patient to diagnose the problem. And he had full confidence that Jesus could do it! He didn't say, "Say the word, and my servant [might] be healed." or "Say the word, and my servant..." has a chance! But expressed his confident faith: "Say the word, and my servant will be healed." What an amazing faith!
And verse 3 tells us how this centurion could have such an amazing faith: "The centurion heard of Jesus..." Of course, we don't know exactly how much this man heard about Jesus, but the Word worked! "Faith comes by hearing the message..." (Romans 10:17) He heard and he believed! He felt unworthy, and was indeed unworthy. But his unworthiness didn't stop him from making his bold request. He trusted in Jesus power and care and Jesus was amazed at his confident faith!
And you too, dear friends, have heard the message. You have seen who Jesus is even more clearly than this centurion had that day. You know he is more than just a miracle worker! He is your Savior! He, who is the only one truly worthy of God's praise, gave up his heavenly Kingdom to live in a little fishing village like Capernaum. Why? So that he might live a perfect life in your place! He came that he might take your unworthiness on himself, that he might pay for it all on the cross, that he might endure hell itself to take away your sin! That's how much you are worth to Jesus!
So don't let your unworthiness stop you from having a confident faith! In fact, your faith can be fully confident for the very reason that your salvation doesn't depend on you or your worthiness, but entirely on Jesus and what he's done. And if he loves you enough to endure hell for you, then you can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." You can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in John 14:13: "I will do whatever you ask in my name." You can be absolutely certain that he will keep the promise he made in Romans 8:28 and "in all things... [work] for the good of those who love him." You too can have such a confident faith that boldly trusts God's promises and clings to his Word. And you too can amaze Jesus!
III. Have A Selfless Faith
And finally, the third aspect of this centurion's faith that is so amazing, is how selfless it was. Notice what he did--and did not--ask for: "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant." Now, in verse three, the word translated "servant" means "slave" or "servant." But, in verse seven, the word translated "servant" is really "son." That's significant because it shows the centurion's selfless heart.
You see, he wasn't asking Jesus to heal the servant because the death of this man would mean financial loss when he would have to go to market to get another slave. He didn't ask Jesus to heal the man because he was such a faithful worker and it would be a huge inconvenience to have to find a replacement that could be trusted and would work as hard. He didn't ask for Jesus help for himself, but for another. He valued this man highly not just for the work he did, but for who he was. The centurion had a selfless faith that put the needs of others first, before his own, and that left Jesus amazed!
So too, we know how much Jesus cares for us. We place all our confidence in him and know that we have nothing to worry about. That confidence frees us to stop worrying about ourselves so much! It frees us from worrying about ourselves at all! Now we too can live to serve others. We can pray to God on behalf of others. We don't need to pray to God, "Give me this and give me that," but can pray, "Thank you, God, for giving me all that I need and so much more! Now help me to use the gifts that you give me to serve others. Help me to share with them the truths of their own unworthiness and of your amazing grace that they too can put their complete confidence in you. Help me to provide for their physical needs that it might open a door to enable me to meet their spiritual needs. Help me to give generously from the blessings you pour out on me to carry out that work." We too can have a selfless faith. And we too can amaze Jesus!
What amazing things happened in Capernaum! Jesus healed a man of his disease! And he did it remotely! A centurion amazed Jesus himself with his humble faith, with his confident faith, with his selfless faith. Now, let's go do some amazing things! And let's wow Jesus with our amazing faith that recognizes our unworthiness before him, that puts our complete trust in him, that puts others and their needs ahead of our own. In Jesus' name, dear friends, let's amaze him! Amen.
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