Sermon

June 13, 2004
2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 7:1-10
Pastor Joel Zank

Lord, Give Us Such a Faith as This!

(Luke 7:1-10) 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." 9When 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.

In the name of him who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, dear fellow redeemed,

It would take something pretty spectacular to amaze the Son of God, wouldn't you agree? After all, amazement comes on the heels of the unexpected. To be amazed means to be surprised or to be filled with a sudden sense of wonder. Since Jesus is our all-knowing God, we wouldn't expect that anything could amaze him. But remember, Jesus is also fully human, and as such he chose to live his life on earth experiencing nearly all of the emotions and feelings that are so familiar to us, including that of amazement. So what is it, then, that might possibly amaze the God-man, Jesus? St. Luke tells us in verse 9 of our text: "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at [the centurion], and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

Jesus was amazed at the great faith he found in such an unlikely place-in the heart of a foreigner - a Roman soldier who by birth was not a part of God's Israel. And yet God had been pleased to give this man a faith that was characterized both by great humility and by great confidence. Since the Bible teaches that we sinners are saved from sin's punishment through faith alone, we will want the Lord to do for us what he did for this Roman soldier. The Holy Spirit has already been at work in our hearts. He brought us to faith in Jesus when we were baptized; because this is true, it is by the Spirit's power that we can and want to pray that the Lord keep increasing the faith he's given us until he brings us safely to himself in heaven. So let's take a closer look at the amazing faith of a Roman centurion all the while praying, Lord, Give Us Such a Faith as This: 1) a humble faith; and 2) a confident faith.

From the first verse of our text we learn that Jesus is spending time in the northern most part of Israel where he is teaching the people about their need for him and the sin-sacrifice he will soon make for them. His travels bring him to Capernaum, a town he has visited so often that it might well be considered his home. Since the road passing through this city is a major trade route between Damascus and Jerusalem, a group of Roman soldiers have been stationed here to keep the peace. This is how we come to meet their commander, the centurion spoken of by St. Luke. He is a man with a awful problem. His dear servant is sick and about to die; and in spite of all his authority and influence the centurion can do nothing to help his loyal friend. But he has heard of someone who can.

St. Luke reports, "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant" (Luke 7:3). Roman citizens enjoyed great rights and privileges throughout Caesar's empire. But we quickly learn that the centurion is not summoning Jesus the way a privileged member of society might send for a peasant. Quite the opposite. Though he is an officer in the most powerful army on earth, this soldier displays nothing but humility-humility that showed itself first of all in a deep love for the Jewish people.

The Jewish leaders who served as spokesmen for the centurion "...pleaded earnestly with Jesus, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue" (Luke 7:4-5). With these high words of praise, the Jewish elders describe for Jesus and us a man who, in true humility, put the interests of others before his own, so much so that he used his own money to build a church for the Jews of Capernaum. Why would he do such a thing? It seems quite likely that his gift was nothing less that an expression of gratitude to the Jewish people for sharing with him the saving promises of their God. More likely than not, this man had come to believe in the promise God made to send a Savior from sin. The promise had been made to God's people, Israel. But as we were reminded in our Old Testament reading for today, the promise was never intended for the Jews alone. God had always planned to save all people from sin - the Israelite and the foreigner alike. In humble thanks to God for his saving love, this centurion built a synagogue so that many others could learn of and believe in the coming Savior.

The Jews who benefited from the centurion's great generosity pointed to his kindness as the reason why Jesus should grant his request and heal the dying servant. But the soldier himself couldn't have disagreed more as his friends soon explained. Moved by all that the Jews had said, 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" (Luke 7:6-7).

In great, but humble faith the centurion recognized Jesus as God in the flesh, the very Savior he and his fellow believers had been waiting for. But that's not all he recognized. At the same time he saw his own sinfulness and how unworthy it made him to stand in Christ's presence to say nothing of how undeserving he was of the Savior's help.

Lord, give us such a faith as this - such a humble faith. We need it don't we? We need the centurion's faith to protect us from the vain conceit and selfish ambition that drives each and everyone of us by nature. Our sinful pride and selfishness are enemies of the faith God has given us in Christ, enemies that threaten to completely destroy this precious gift. How often we go to Jesus, not in a spirit of humility with our humble requests, but in a spirit of arrogance with a list of demands. We go expecting that God, like everyone else, owes us something. If you think I'm wrong, just remember how cheated you felt the last time God didn't give you what you wanted. Do you remember thinking how unfair it was of God to ignore your request? You took the time to talk to him and he didn't even bother to listen to you. How dare he! Doesn't he value the time you give him in worship and all the love you try to show him?

You've had such thoughts. So have I. Oh they don't sound quite so blasphemous in the moment of anger or disappointment as they do here in the middle of a sermon, but that is what they always are, blasphemous and damning. Even when they last for only a second, such thoughts and feelings reveal our natural contempt for God and our sinful love of self. If we foster these thoughts, if we permit them to flourish, our faith will soon become hollow and we will become the living damned. You see, faith in self, faith in our own worthiness is no faith at all. We can't earn God's love or favor. Left to ourselves we earn only his anger and deserve only the punishment of hell. So please, Lord, give us a humble faith like the centurion's, a faith that always sees our sins for the damning offenses they are, a faith that turns to you alone for relief from our sins and the troubles they cause us, a faith that trusts only you to provide the help we don't deserve at the moment we need it most. Lord, give us such a faith as this!

But aren't we asking for the impossible? Can such faith really exist? If we can't earn and don't deserve God's help, then how can we be sure we'll have it? How? Because someone else has earned God's help for us - that someone is Jesus our Savior. Look again at the centurion's faith. In humility the centurion did not want Jesus to trouble himself for the likes of an unworthy sinner. And yet at the same time, the centurion's faith was happy to accept the fact that Jesus would trouble himself and grant needed help, not because the centurion or his servant deserved this, but because Jesus is the power and love of God in human flesh and blood. The Savior's promise to love sinners, and his divine power to keep his promise are all that are needed to inspire a confident faith in weak and doubting hearts like ours. The centurion expresses just such a faith when he says to Jesus, "...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" (Luke 7:7-8). Do you follow the soldier's logic? If he a lowly captain can speak a word that has others jumping to attention, than how much more so Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords. With his power there isn't anything he can't do! In his love, there isn't anything he won't do!

Friends, think of what this means! Jesus says to you, "Your sins are forgiven," and by the power of his word they are! His is not an empty promise or mere wishful thinking. Jesus' promise is backed up by his own divine authority. Our sins are forgiven because Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of man humbled himself to the point of claiming our many sins as his very own; in deepest humility he carried our sins to the cross and suffered beneath their awful weight in the dungeons of hell itself until our vain conceit and selfish ambition and all our sins were punished and paid for once and for all. And, then, in the power that is his as almighty God, he broke the bonds of hell; three days later he snapped the chains of death and now lives to keep every promise he has ever made to us.

Jesus says the word and you are forgiven; but that's not all he says. He speaks so many words to you. He says "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). He says, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). He says, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). He says, "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19). The Roman centurion had a faith that held to all these promises and more with complete confidence, with absolute certainty. Lord, give us such a faith as this - a confident faith.

This is our prayer, a prayer that Jesus is willing and happy to answer. And how do we come to have such a faith? The Scriptures tell us - "...faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). The humble and confident faith we seek is worked by God himself through the gospel's power in Word and sacrament. As often as we turn to Christ's promises, faith is given to us, faith that embraces all that Christ is and all that he has done to save us. More than that, this gift of God transforms us into Christ's likeness so that as we live out our days on earth, studying the Scriptures, we actually become more and more like our humble and confident Savior. And so with the hymn writer we pray in all humility and with the greatest confidence: "Lord, give us such a faith as this, And then, whate'er may come, We'll taste even now the hallowed bliss of our eternal home" for Jesus' sake. Amen.

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