“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, ‘I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.’”
Luke 7:9
This is the second time this centurion has captured my attention. When I encountered him during my meditations in Matthew chapter eight I wrote a devotional called “A Centurion Came to Him, Entreating Him.” What originally captured my attention was Jesus’s estimation of this man’s faith – I wanted to squeeze out as many insights into what this great faith was like, so that my own faith might grow too. This time I encountered him in Luke chapter seven. Here I’ve been impressed with the kind of life that nurtured such great faith. If a soul is like soil, which, if it’s good, bears fruit according to the seed sown in it, then I want to examine the composition of this centurion’s soil. It must been some good soil for Jesus to marvel its fruit!
I see some clues as to the kind of man this must have been. His character and humility are evident. First, he was the kind of man that highly regarded his servant. I would imagine that the typical Roman centurion was not cut from the most compassionate cloth. He ordered solders all the time, maybe sometimes he even ordered them to their deaths. Yet this slave was dear to him. He liked him, and hated to see him sick, he wanted to help.
When he heard about Jesus he sent the Jewish elders to ask for Jesus’s help. Now this is remarkable to me – the Jewish elders were inclined to help him! Here was a Roman centurion, part of an occupying force, a gentile no less, who had gained the respect and commendation of Jewish elders. The elders praised the centurion’s love for the nation of Israel and they pointed out how he built their synagogue for them. There aren’t any more details offered about his relationship to the local Jews, but there must have been a lot of engagement on his part to win over such respect, from those who would otherwise be adversarial. He was a man of authority, yet he must have had great humility. He seemed to understand and respect Jewish traditions, so much so that he did not want Jesus to come in to his home. He acknowledges that Israel is God’s chosen people and that, though he was a man-in-charge, he was nevertheless a gentile, and so he gladly submitted to Jewish customs and law. He even built a gathering house for the people, even though he was not one of them.
It seems to me that the centurion exercised authority in a God fearing and humble way. His great faith is displayed in how he recognized Jesus’s total authority and His ability to simply speak a word, in order to heal his servant. He is confident in Jesus’s effective authority because he himself has effective authority over those who are under his charge. I get the feeling that his servants and his troops honored this centurion and submitted to his authority, not just because of his position, but because of his kind, humble and generous character. His first statement regarding authority is that he himself was a man under authority. He viewed his submission to his superiors in the Roman army as his first responsibility with respect to authority. After that he considered his own authority which had been granted to him, and how to put it to proper use.
This was a righteous man. He is commended by the Lord himself and pointed out as having faith greater than any he had found in Israel. This event, as recorded in Matthew and Luke, points out a pinnacle expression of faith, but I don’t think it was a spontaneous or momentary expression. This man’s life was a soil bed of righteousness, honor, humility, kindness, and good works. And when the moment of faith arose, through an opportunity to call on Jesus for help, faith bore fruit and manifest itself in a way that brought great glory and honor to the Lord.
Jesus, make my life good soil. Water and tend my garden so that faith might be nurtured and grow strong like this centurion’s did. Help me to give attention to those daily activities and opportunities to emulate his behavior. Make me tender hearted, compassionate, loving, kind, humble, respectful, submissive, confident, and God fearing. Let these qualities fertilize the ground and soften it. Let faith grow and in your mercy and by your grace let it be evident in my life that Jesus has all authority and that I have confidence in Him. To the praise of your glory, O Lord, Amen.
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