When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. - Matthew 8: 5-13 (ESV)
As we return to the Gospel of Matthew we see Jesus encounter a man whose faith amazes Him. The punch line of course was that this Roman Centurion was a Gentile. The story is often used to highlight the dire importance of faith in the person and power of Christ and there is no question this story illustrates that for us quite well. There are however some finer points to flush out today as we look at the faith of the Roman Centurion. Perhaps points we had not considered. Hopefully points that will speak to our hearts from the Lord.
The first point is the concern for the well being of his servant. Remember beloved that the Romans were not particularly well known for their warm and fuzzy sides. While this servant may have represented the Centurion's entire family because of the Roman restriction on marriage during the years of military service, he is still only a servant. It is true that servants carried some inherent monetary value but this plea from the Centurion seems very heartfelt. His servant was paralyzed and suffering terribly. This speaks to the Lord's desire from each of us for mercy:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6: 8 (ESV)
Notice here that the Lord does not just expect us to act merciful. He requires us to love mercy. Unfortunately what we see increasing in these last days is the love of most growing colder, even in the church. Every day there seems to be another story of church outrage towards the very people we ought to love mercy towards. Like the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant we too seemingly forget how much God has forgiven us. The ironic thing however is that the people in the world we like to disparage actually owe us nothing. Their debt is the same one we once held. Their debt is to God. Yet in some pseudo-righteousness transference, we act offended for the Lord. Instead of allowing the Bible's double edged sword to do its work, we wield it like a billy-club smacking any sinner we feel has crossed some sin line we cannot tolerate. Beloved, the people we seem to hold in the most contempt for their sin are just as paralyzed by it as this Centurion's servant. They may not realize it but they are suffering just as badly. Don't ever forget the eternal suffering that awaits them as well. What has happened to loving mercy? How do we allow ourselves to become morally offended when our righteousness is but filthy rags without the blood of Christ?
Secondly, this was not for show. Jesus offers to come and heal the servant personally and the response from the Centurion is staggering not only in his faith but in his motivation. Today in the church there is a showy "look at me" spirit that dominates. We see it in the abuses of the spiritual gifts. We see it in the performance art that passes for worship. We see it in the ridiculous ruses pastors use to try and draw people to their church. This year alone one church held a rodeo inside their sanctuary where their pastor rode a bull before delivering the sermon! In another they turned a portion of the sanctuary into a motocross field and invited a motorcycle daredevil to come and perform various jumps prior to the sermon. Talk about having no faith in the Gospel! Yet this centurion knew he did not need to see anything. He just needed Jesus. Think about the simplicity of this. Beloved, the lost do not need a show. They do not need professional musicians, lighting and smoke machines. They do not need hipster pastors with 20 tattoos, a leather jacket and a faux hawk haircut. They do not need false signs and lying wonders like glory clouds, gold dust and fake angel feathers. They do not need to be promised riches. They do not need to be told they are little gods. They don't need the show. They just need Jesus.
Thirdly, we need to understand authority better as believers. As a centurion in the Roman army this man would have had 100 soldiers under his command. So when he speaks about authority we know we can believe him. He breaks down the simplicity of authority so well. Beloved, if we are truly born again then we are under the authority of Jesus Christ. I say if because there is a large number of people who think they have been saved but are not. They have been told they are saved but they are not. I said the "Sinner's Prayer" in 1998 but I was not saved until 2002. What was the difference? Saying the prayer did not put me under His authority. I stayed as my own authority. Jesus expresses this succinctly:
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? - Luke 6: 46 (ESV)
If He is truly our Lord, then He is truly our authority. If He is truly our authority, then we will do what He says. We will follow His Word. Not because we think it earns us anything at all. Just because He is the authority. So much of the modern church only discusses authority to try and name and claim what they want. That we ought to be walking in the authority of Jesus and declare and decree what we want. Nonsense. The true understanding of the authority of Jesus is that we ought to be bowed low before Him, as this centurion shows us.
Lastly, we ought to never lose sight of what hangs in the balance when it comes to Jesus. The world has done a masterful job of turning the doctrine of hell into a caricature. So much so that the purpose driven, seeker friendly church has started to adopt a hell-less gospel in order to have it feel better for the unbelievers. Rarely do we hear anymore about sin, repentance, and the price for unrepentant sinners. The problem is that without these things you do not have a gospel that can save anyone. Without hell, there is no consequence for sin. Without that there is no need for a Savior. Jesus becomes a life coach here to bring you nice things in this temporal existence. Mega-church pastor Andy Stanley recently preached that "Even if you do not believe Jesus is the Son of God, you will have a better life if you follow His teachings." That is stunning in its disconnect. What good does it do for a man to gain this entire world yet lose his soul? To have a better life that is but a glimmer and then be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Lord have the mercy on us we forget to show the lost. Let us only seek You and not some show that possesses none of Your power and authority. Let us understand Your authority from the place the does what you say because You are our Lord. Let us never forget the ultimate price that awaits all of us apart from You. In Jesus name. Amen.
Rev. Anthony.
