To say that Jesus was impressed would be putting it
mildly. He said so—out loud.
“I
say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith."
Luke 7:9
Don’t you wonder what made Him say that?
The Backdrop:
Luke 7:1-10. Those ten
verses are packed. This quick link will take you straight to it.
Highly Irregular
This centurion is not your typical Roman. He is out of character for a
Roman. First of all, he is
respected by the Jews, who, incidentally, think he is worthy of Jesus granting
this favor. Yet the man himself doesn’t
think so. Next, he loves the Jews
and built them their synagogue.
I wonder if he worshipped Jehovah.
This centurion regards his slave highly--maybe because the
centurion respected God. He also
has a good enough relationship with the Jewish elders that they are willing to
go to Jesus to ask Him to save his slave’s life. So let me get this straight . . . the Jewish elders get involved
with Jesus for the sake of a Roman centurion’s dying slave. This is really quite bizarre.
Here is a man who is willing to go against his own culture
and tradition to identify himself with God. He is willing to humble himself and acknowledge his own
unworthiness. He knows Jesus is
his servant’s only hope, and that he himself isn’t worthy of asking Jesus for His
help. In spite of his
unworthiness, he sends a delegation to ask for Jesus’ help.
What was so great?
Was his great faith simply that he believed Jesus could heal
his servant? Plenty of others
believed Jesus could heal. So
there must be more to it.
In purely human terms, Jesus was actually subordinate to the
centurion. Yet the centurion makes
it plain that he believed that Jesus was far above himself (that he, the
centurion, was unworthy). So was
part of his great faith that he recognized that Jesus was no mere man? The Jewish elders did not believe
this. Nor did they share the
centurion’s belief that he was unworthy of this favor. Note that Jesus says that “not even in
Israel” has He found such great faith.
And was part of his great faith also that he believed that
Jesus was so full of grace that He would heal
his servant even though he was
unworthy of even coming to ask Jesus for help, unworthy of even being in Jesus’
presence (under his roof)? Think
about that. He’s totally convinced
that he is unworthy of the favor, yet he is determined to ask Him to grant it. Why? Even though he believed that Jesus had the power and
authority to heal, he knew he was unworthy to ask for the healing. So
why would he still ask?
He must have been equally convinced of not only the power
and authority of Jesus, but also the goodness, the generosity, and the mercy of
Jesus toward the undeserving.
Jesus is not only able to heal; He is willing.
Absolutely Amazing
Grace
Jesus is God; He has authority to heal. God is good; He is willing to heal, in
spite of the fact that we don’t deserve it.
This centurion recognized both his own condition and Jesus’
position, and he trusted in Jesus’ wonderful mercy and grace.
Have you been afraid to ask for help? Have you hesitated because you have
felt you didn’t deserve His help?
You are absolutely right that you are unworthy. So am I. Every one of us is unworthy. But we should still ask. Why? Because
the question of His help is not contingent on our worthiness. His help is available on the basis of
His character.
"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh;
is anything too difficult for Me?
. . . I will rejoice over them to do good. . ."
Jeremiah 32:27, 41
Friend, there is no problem you face that is too difficult for Him. His grace invites you to ask.
