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The
Centurion’s Great Faith Introduction: A. Background (v. 1) 1 Now when He concluded
all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered 1.
The Sermon on the Plain (Mount) has ended (Luke 6:20-49), but
there is a close connection between chapter 6 and 7. 2.
The threefold connection: a)
geographical (1)the distance between the
location of the sermon and b)
chronological (1)probably “Now when He concluded
all His sayings in the hearing of the people,” means “shortly afterward”. c)
topical (1)Luke’s gospel is filled
with topical connections of a theme (2)The Sermon’s major themes
are “grace and faith” (3)In the final paragraph of
chapter 6 Jesus teaches the parable of the two builders to drive home His
lesson that faith in Him should be unshakable, like the house founded on a
rock. (4)So the disciples would
understand the words He had just taught them, Jesus now translates the lesson
into action and brings a prize example of “Great Faith” through the work of
grace in the life of this Roman Centurion. B. The Centurion (v. 2) 2 And a certain centurion's
servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 1.
A Centurion was an officer in the Roman army, in command of
one hundred soldiers. a)
In the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Roman centurions are
presented as quality men of character. (1)In (2)In (3)In (4)In b)
These passages illustrate the generally favorable impression
made by the centurions who appear in the New Testament. c)
They were usually career soldiers, and they formed the real
backbone of the Roman military force. 2.
The Jewish elders had little love for the Romans in general
and Roman soldiers in particular, and yet the elders went to Jesus and
commended this officer to Him. a)
He loved the Jewish people in b)
He loved his servant and did not want him to die. c)
This centurion was not a cold military officer. d)
Something had happened in his life - God had begun to work in
His life. e)
Faith had begun to grow and it changed His heart and everyone
saw it. I.
A Person of Great Faith A. The Way the World Sees Him 3 So when
he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to
come and heal his servant. 4 And when
they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom
He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he
loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” 6 Then
Jesus went with them. 1.
The elders saw the Centurion’s faith the way the world sees
great faith today. 2.
The world sees only it’s own need
and because the centurion met their needs, they said he was worthy of Jesus’
attention. a)
This is a humanistic approach that shows their focus on self
and their pride and arrogance before God. b)
The world believes the best way to come to God is to move His
heart by showing Him what you have done for yourself! 3.
So they tell Jesus of all the centurion’s qualification in
terms of what he has done for them: a)
he is worthy for Jesus to grant his request. b)
he loves the Jewish nation. c)
he had built a synagogue for them. 4.
The world and worldly Christians are completely wrong in the
way they look at a person of Great Faith! a)
These Jewish elders were a lot like some Christians today, they believed that big donors should get “special
treatment” by religious leaders. b)
Maybe they had another fund-raiser planned and were hoping to
hit this man up for another donation. 5.
Jesus went with the Jewish elders, toward the house of the
centurion, but for very different reasons than they had suggested. a)
Jesus acted out of compassion and a heart filled with mercy
and a desire for God’s glory. b)
They acted out of self-interest, for very selfish reasons -
that’s the world’s way! B. The Way He Sees Himself (6b-7a) 1.
A person of great faith feels great humility and unworthiness
in approaching Jesus! a)
He saw himself as unworthy for Jesus to come to him. 6b 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. b)
He saw himself as unworthy of to come to Jesus. 7 “Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to
You. 2.
Spurgeon’s notes: C. The Way Jesus Sees Him (vv. 7b-10) 9 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 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the
servant well who had been sick. 1.
What Jesus saw in this man was “Great Faith”. a)
This was a faith that loved and the centurion acted on his
loving faith: b)
He loved c)
He loved his servant and so he acted on it and sent the
Jewish elders to Jesus. d)
He loved Jesus and so he acted on it and told Him not to come
under his roof because he was unworthy to have the Lord in his house. 2.
Jesus saw the centurion’s great humility a)
Jesus was impressed not only with this man’s great love, but
also his great humility. b)
Imagine a Roman officer telling a poor Jewish rabbi that he
was unworthy to have Him enter his house! c)
The Romans were not known for displaying humility, especially
before their Jewish subjects. 3.
Jesus saw that the Centurion had a faith that understood
authority: 7b
But say the word, and my
servant will be healed. 8 “For I also am a man placed under authority, having
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.” a)
The important word in b)
The Centurion saw a parallel between the way he commanded his
soldiers and the way Jesus commanded diseases. c)
Both the centurion and Jesus were under authority, and
because they were under authority, they had the right to exercise authority. d)
All they had to do
was say the word and things happened. e)
That is great faith! 4.
Jesus was so pleased with the Centurion’s faith that he
“marveled”! a)
And no wonder Jesus marveled! Faith is one thing we can do
that pleases God! b)
Without faith it is impossible to please Him! (1) (2) c)
This Roman Centurion also “obtained a good testimony” from
the Lord Jesus Himself because of his great faith! d)
Truly as God says in Hebrew 10:38, “Now the just shall live
by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no
pleasure in him.” e)
God receives great pleasure from a person who lives by great
faith! 5.
If this Roman, with very little spiritual instruction, had
that kind of faith in God’s Word, how much greater our faith ought to be! a)
We have an entire Bible to read and study, as well as nearly
2,000 years of church history to encourage us, b)
and yet we are guilty of “no faith” (Mark 4:40) or
“little faith” (Matt. 14:31). c)
Like the disciples in II. Becoming a Person of Great Faith A. What is Faith?
(Hebrews 11:1) ( ( 1.
One writer said (Steve Zeisler): Faith is a willingness to bet your life on
the promises and character of God. a)
Faith to this Roman Centurion is not confidence that he had
done the best he could so that God would be generous to him! b)
Faith is abandoning trust in your works and your worth, and
relying totally on the person of Jesus Christ and the authority of His word. 2.
Faith is assurance - being sure of - what you hope for in
your life according to the promise of God’s Word. 3.
Faith is the conviction - the certainty of - what you hope for is waiting ahead
for you even though you can’t see it right now. B. Characteristics of Great Faith 1.
Great faith focuses on God. a)
The centurion did not trust in his (great) authority, but in
Christ's. (1)The centurion believed
that Christ was Lord of nature, that He had authority to command sickness to
depart. (2)His faith is focused on
Jesus and Who He is. b)
Too often, we focus our attention on our faith, rather than
on God, who is the object of our faith. (1)The centurion was not
guilty of such self-consciousness. (2)In fact, he did not
mention his faith at all. (3)It was Jesus who pointed
out the great faith of this man. (4)The centurion had fixed
his attention of Jesus, on His compassion, His mercy, His power. (5)The centurion was
preoccupied with the person of our Lord, not his possession of faith. c)
Some Christians lose the focus of their faith by
concentrating on the promises of God, rather than the person of God. (1)Promises are only as good
as the person. (2)Promises alone are
worthless. (3)A healthy faith is a
faith in the person, which then enables us to believe the promises. (4)The centurion's faith was
focused on Jesus. 2.
Great faith honors and pleases God. a)
If anything is clear in the story of the centurion, it is
that the faith of this man both pleased and honored God. b)
God delights your faith. c)
God is honored by faith when He is the object of that faith. d)
You trust in God He is worthy of your trust. e)
What greater compliment to the character of
God than to have men demonstrate that they have confidence in Him. 3.
Great faith is assured of and asks for great things from a
great God. a)
The centurion not only asked our Lord for a miraculous
healing--the boy was about to die--but also for a healing that was out of the
ordinary. (1)The centurion asked Jesus
to heal his servant “long distance.” (2)His God was so great that
He need not be present to heal, and thus he asked for Jesus merely to speak
the word. (3)Faith in a great God is
evidenced by requests that are out of the ordinary. b)
Too often my prayers and those of others I hear are just
requests for the humanly possible. (1)It is not that God cares
little about colds, sniffles, the flu, minor aches and pains, but lets face
it folks, a little aspirin, bed rest, and time usually solves these problems.
(2)The things which should
require faith are those things which are not humanly possible. c)
Our prayers need to be a reflection of the greatness of our
God. 4.
Great faith is humble and depends on the grace and mercy of
God. a)
The centurion's petition was a request for grace. b)
He totally rejected any worthiness on his own part, even
though others thought he was worthy). c)
The faith of the centurion was not only faith in the power of
our Lord, but in His character, specifically His mercy. d)
He knew that Jesus was not only able to heal from afar, but
willing, because of His compassion for those who are suffering. 5.
Great faith does not require sight or visible evidence. a)
So far as we know, the centurion never saw Jesus. b)
Faith is trusting in the person of God, based upon the
testimony of those who have seen him. (1)v. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent
elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. (2)(Romans 10:17) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God. (3)Who then did this
Centurion hear from about Jesus? (4) (5)This was exactly what the
Centurion asked for his own servant! c)
When we tell others about what Jesus has done in our lives,
by faith, it helps their faith to grow! 6.
Great faith is not selfish. a)
Notice the unselfish nature of the centurion's faith. b)
He trusted God and asked our Lord for the healing of his
servant, not the blessing of his bank account, and so on. c)
Some people teach a faith that always seem
to dwell on self. (1)Have faith and God will
heal you. (2)Have faith and God will
make you rich and famous. (3)Have faith and God will
bless you. (4)The faith of the
centurion is focused on God and others. (5)Faith is a gift, and like
the other the gifts, it is to be used to meet the needs of others. (6)Of course we receive a
blessing from it, but the focus of faith is on the glory of God in
ministering to others! 7.
Great faith grows. a)
Our Lord praises the faith of the centurion, but it would be
wrong to think that his faith was somehow instant faith. b)
I believe that the faith of the centurion was a faith that
was nurtured, that grew over time. c)
His faith was evidenced in the way he dealt with the Jews,
and especially in his giving the building of their synagogue. d)
I believe that faith must be exercised, if it is to grow. e)
Great faith is the conviction based on what you have seen God
do in past experiences with Him. It is a conviction that God’s new and fresh
surprises will surely be yours because He has done so in the past and He
always has the best yet to come in your life! f)
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility
from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your
souls. |
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