Amazing Faith

April 3, 2016 Background Scripture: Luke 7:1 – 10 Lesson Passage: Luke 7:1 – 10 When was the last time something truly amazed you? Why were you so completely shocked by it? Did you attempt to make sense out of it or convince yourself that maybe you shouldn’t be so surprised after all? Or better yet, when was the last time God amazed you? What was so amazing about it? When something or someone amazes us, we feel compelled to talk to others about it. But what happens when we amaze God? I believe that puts a smile on God’s face. Just imagine what it must feel like to know that you have put a smile on God’s face. Today’s lesson revolves around an unnamed centurion. Jesus found him to be amazing because of his faith. Although the centurion was not a Jew, he was well thought of by the Jewish elders because he was very benevolent towards them. That’s amazing in and of itself in that society. There are several indicators in the biblical narrative to suggest that the centurion was a person of high moral character. First, there is the centurion’s concern for his servant’s health. Although he perhaps had other servants, he showed compassion and concern for this individual’s well being. Second, there is the centurion’s view of himself against the person of Jesus. Although the centurion was held in high esteem in that society, he recognized that Jesus was superior to him. He didn’t feel worthy of being in Jesus’ presence to request healing for his servant. Therefore, he sent the Jewish elders to Jesus (who was probably seen as a Jewish prophet) to request the healing of his servant. The Jewish elders consented because they considered the centurion worthy to receive such a blessing from Jesus. They spoke of the love the centurion had shown towards the Jewish nation by building them a synagogue. When the centurion learned that Jesus was coming to his house to heal his servant, he felt that his house was not worthy of Jesus’ presence. By virtue of his position as a centurion, he understood the use of authority because he was in authority over one hundred Roman soldiers. The centurion applied his understanding of authority to what he perceived to be Jesus’ authority over his own words. The centurion expected Jesus’ words to obey him as much as he expected the Roman soldiers to obey his orders. In fact, the centurion’s faith rested firmly in the belief that Jesus’ word would obey him and accomplish whatever he commanded it to do. Note that this attitude was coming from a man who had not committed to leave his occupation and follow Jesus as the twelve disciples had. We really don’t know if he had even witnessed any of Jesus’ miracles firsthand. But we see in the narrative that he exhibited an amazing faith in Jesus’ ability to accomplish the impossible just by speaking. There is no wonder that Jesus, in his humanity, would marvel or be amazed at such a one as this centurion. Jesus turned to his followers and declared that he had not seen such great faith in Israel. What Christian wouldn’t want to be known as a person of great faith? The centurion demonstrated how to achieve such a distinction—and perhaps amaze Jesus. Robert C. Hudson March 21, 2016