The Powerful Word of Jesus

Well, over the summer months, we were working our way through one of Jesus' sermons in Luke chapter 6.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

And I want to just encourage you to imagine for a second that you had been there in that massive crowd.

And that you had heard Jesus speak and say these things.

Love your enemies.

And do not judge.

And those who hear my words and put them into practice are like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And those who don't are like a fool who built it on the sand without any foundation.

And it will collapse when the flood comes.

Imagine hearing those words and then heading into the nearest town for the night with these words on your mind.

And nobody's ever spoken to you like this.

Nobody's ever said these kinds of things before.

And maybe the question rolling around in your mind is, how can I be sure?

Why should we believe you?

I mean, this man Jesus claims that based on how we respond to his words, we live or die.

How can I be sure?

Why should we believe you?

Well, I believe that this next part of the story is Luke giving us his answer to this question.

We're in Luke chapter 7.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

Let me just read the first three verses for us here.

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum.

There, a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.

The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.

Luke starts by setting the scene.

Capernaum was a little fishing village on the shores of Galilee.

And this place has, in some sense, been like a home base for Jesus.

In Matthew's gospel, it actually says in one spot that Jesus went and lived in Capernaum around this time.

This is where Simon Peter lived.

This is where Jesus went into the synagogue and cast the evil spirit out of the man who was in there back in chapter 4.

This is where later that same evening, a whole crowd of people with all kinds of sicknesses and illnesses came to Jesus.

And Jesus healed them all.

Well, here in Capernaum, the same town, Luke tells us there was a centurion.

Now, the kind of centurion that most of us are probably familiar with is the Roman centurion.

You can just kind of almost see the shield and the head thing, the helmet in your mind.

But this particular centurion was probably not a Roman centurion.

A centurion was actually a military rank, roughly equivalent to captain.

And it referred to a commander of about a hundred men.

And this whole region of Galilee, where Capernaum is, was under the rule of King Herod at this time.

He was a client king of the Roman Empire.

And under that sort of setup, he had his own Roman-style army and officers, which he inherited from his father.

And according to the practice of his father, Herod the Great, Herod's armed forces and soldiers were predominantly Gentiles and foreigners.

He was very distrusting of the Jews.

And so he hired his brute force and his enforcers.

Many were mercenaries.

Well, this centurion, Luke tells us, had a servant.

And Luke tells us about the special relationship between this servant and this centurion.

He says his master valued him highly.

Which probably does not refer to monetary value at all, but to having a high regard for him.

There's a close relationship with him, a dear relationship to him.

I was trying to think of some kind of modern day example of this, but the only thing I could think of, and I don't even watch this that much,

but Alfred the Butler of Bruce Wayne in the Batman stories.

You know, a guy who's clearly subordinate in a servant role and yet dependable and trustworthy and indispensable.

A good man who's loved by his master.

But here's the problem.

This servant of the centurion was sick and about to die.

It doesn't tell us what the illness was, but it was obviously severe enough that he was about to die.

And seeing this, the centurion takes action.

We read about it in verse 3.

We notice that the centurion's action is deliberate and intentional, yet indirect.

First, it's deliberate and intentional.

It's the centurion himself who hears about Jesus.

Remember, Jesus has been operating in the region quite a bit, doing miracles, healing all kinds of sicknesses and diseases.

He's been teaching on the shores.

The centurion has heard of Jesus, and he intentionally seeks out Jesus for help.

He sends these elders of the Jews.

It's deliberate.

It's intentional.

And yet the way that he goes about this is indirect.

Rather than going himself to find Jesus there in the town, Luke says he sent some elders of the Jews to Jesus, asking him to come and heal his servant.

And at this point we might wonder, why does he do it that way?

Why not just go?

Why not just go find him?

Is he worried about the Gentile versus Jew dynamic?

He being a Gentile and Jesus being a Jew?

Maybe if I send some prominent men of his own people, he'll be more likely to consider?

Or is he worried about the soldier versus holy rabbi dynamic?

You know, I'm a soldier, a man of violence.

I've done things that are questionable while Jesus is a holy man.

What was going on in that centurion's mind?

That he sent these elders of the Jews rather than going himself to Jesus?

Well, the good news is we find out in a minute.

With the setting out of the way, Luke tells us now about the first encounter with Jesus.

These elders come with a message from the centurion.

And they're there to fetch Jesus.

We read about it in verse 4.

When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him.

This man deserves to have you do this.

Because he loves our nation.

And he has built our synagogue.

We actually learn quite a lot from these few words of the elders.

Think about the normal relationship between Jews and Gentiles.

Normally, Jews look down upon Gentiles and saw them as unclean.

Even more so, a Gentile soldier.

And even more so, one who is in the service of Herod.

The Jews were not particularly fond of Herod.

And yet surprisingly, these elders of the Jews there in Capernaum seem to regard this particular centurion, this Gentile, very highly.

This man deserves to have you come and heal his servant, they say.

Why?

Because he loves our nation.

Even more than that, he built our synagogue.

So this is not your typical hardened Gentile mercenary captain.

It appears from the elders that this centurion is quite the man.

He's been a great friend to the Jewish people where he lives.

Not only that, but he's even built the local synagogue.

Can you imagine them?

Working together, side by side.

They say he loves the nation.

He might not have been a full convert to Judaism.

But it seems from this at least, that he was a kind and God-fearing man.

And everybody in town knew it.

But this man deserves to have you come and heal his servant, they say.

If anyone is worthy of a miracle here, it's him.

And so, verse 6, Jesus went with them.

But then, before Jesus arrives at the centurion's house, he receives a second message from the centurion.

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.

That's why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.

Okay, this is unexpected.

If you've never heard this story before or read this before,

you know, we kind of just assumed at this point that Jesus is going to go right to the house,

lay hands on the man, say, be healed, and he's going to be healed, and off we go.

So, the first message was, come and heal my servant.

And now Jesus is almost at the house, and the centurion sends his friends out to tell him,

don't trouble yourself.

Don't come into the house.

Don't come into the house.

Don't come into the house.

Don't come into the house.

And the reason is astonishing.

For I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.

That's why I didn't even consider myself worthy to come to you.

Wow.

Now we know why the centurion was so indirect before.

Why he sent the elders of the Jews.

It wasn't because of some Jew versus Gentile dynamic,

or because he thought the elders of the Jews would be more likely to convince Jesus to come and do this.

This was the reason.

I didn't come to you myself,

because I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.

Do you see the irony in all this?

What were the elders of the Jews saying about the centurion?

This man deserves to have you do this.

He's worthy.

And what's the centurion saying about himself?

I don't even deserve to be in your presence, Jesus.

I am unworthy.

Amazing.

This centurion, this commander of a hundred men,

a man of influence and power and strength,

and yet he has such humility,

reverence and humility before Jesus.

First it was come and heal.

Now it's don't come into the house.

But say the word,

and my servant will be healed.

For I myself am a man under authority,

with soldiers under me.

I tell this one,

go.

And he goes.

And this one,

come.

And he comes.

I say to my servant,

do this.

And he does it.

Amazing.

Don't come all the way to my house.

I'm not worthy to be in your presence, Jesus.

Just say the word.

And my servant will be healed.

This is astonishing.

What does he believe about Jesus?

Well, he obviously has complete confidence that Jesus can heal his servant,

even though he's on the brink of death.

But it's even more than that.

He doesn't think of Jesus' power to heal

as being anything like a doctor's.

With a doctor,

you first need him to come,

examine the servant,

assess his condition,

diagnose his illness,

figure out what's wrong,

and then the doctor will tell you

whether there's anything that he can do.

And I suspect many would have thought the same about Jesus.

You know,

I've heard he can heal all sorts of things,

but what about my condition?

Or what about the condition of my loved one?

Probably some things are beyond even Jesus' power to heal,

some probably thought.

But not this centurion.

He didn't think of Jesus' power to heal

as being anything like that.

In his mind,

whether Jesus could heal a person or not

had nothing to do

with the seriousness of the condition.

Rather,

it was in his mind

a matter of authority.

Whether he can truly heal anyone

has to do

with who he is

and what kind of authority he has

over sickness,

over the body,

over life.

And amazingly,

the centurion,

just from hearing about the things

Jesus has been doing

in his region,

came to believe

something amazing

about who Jesus really was.

He believed it so much

that when he came to be in need

of this miracle

for his servant,

he looked to Jesus,

he asked him to come,

but then said,

don't come all the way,

just say the word.

Lord,

and my servant will be healed.

I don't know about you,

but my eyes would have been wide

in this moment

had I been there listening to this.

Like,

hold on a second.

Does he really believe

that right here and now

Jesus can just say the word

and the guy lying in bed

over there in the house

will be healed?

Doesn't Jesus want to come

and see how bad it is?

Nope.

Not necessary,

says the centurion.

And the explanation

of the centurion

is wonderful.

His understanding

of all this

is filtered through

his own experience

as a captain,

as a commander.

He's understanding

Jesus' relationship

to the sickness

through his own experience,

his relationship

to his men

and to his servants.

And it comes down

to this for him.

He says,

it's a simple matter

of authority.

Because I have

authority over my men,

I tell them what to do

and they do it.

That's the way it is

with you,

Jesus,

and the sickness

in people's lives,

in their bodies.

You have authority

over the sickness itself.

You tell it what to do

and it does it.

And therefore,

it really doesn't matter

whether you're in the house

or out there

or where you are,

Jesus.

Just say the word

and my servant

will be healed.

Look at the response

of Jesus to this

second message.

Verse 9,

when Jesus heard this,

he was amazed at him

or he marveled at him

and turning to the crowd

following him,

he said,

I tell you,

I have not found

such great faith

even in Israel.

I love this.

Jesus is just so deeply impressed,

so moved

by the centurion's faith.

He turns and announces it

to the whole crowd

just how wonderful this is.

All of them knew

where Jesus was going

by now.

They probably heard

the elders pleading earnestly,

come heal this man's servant.

Probably lots of them

were thinking,

oh,

this is going to be great.

Jesus is going to heal

our dear centurion's

servant.

And the next thing we know,

the parade's over.

No,

we're not going

into the house anymore.

Nope,

the centurion said,

don't trouble yourself.

He said,

just say the word

and my servant

will be healed.

I tell you,

I have not found

such great faith

even in Israel.

Some of the Jews

have had faith

in Jesus,

but not like this man's.

This man understands

and believes things

about me

and about my father

that no one else does

even in Israel.

At least not yet.

I got thinking about this.

You know,

it's quite the thing

for Jesus to say.

I haven't seen faith

like this

even in Israel,

even among the Jews.

Think about this.

Who has Luke

introduced us to

so far in the story?

The priest,

Zachariah,

who served

in the temple

of the Lord.

And what was his response

when an angel

appeared to him

and said,

you're going to have a son?

He didn't believe it.

This Gentile captain

in Herod's army

had greater faith

than Zachariah the priest.

What about Mary?

The mother of Jesus.

Surely she's an example

of someone in Israel

who had great faith.

After all,

she didn't doubt

what the angel said to her.

She just asked about

how it would come to pass.

But then this centurion

didn't even think it necessary

to see or discuss the how.

you have the authority

of God to heal.

And so say the word.

Wherever you are,

it will be done.

What about John the Baptist?

We've heard a lot about him.

He was a prophet of God.

Surely he has greater faith

than this Gentile centurion.

Well, in a few weeks' time,

just glance down the page

to verse 20.

We're going to see

that even John the Baptist

wrestled with doubt

when he saw

how things were going

with Jesus.

I don't think Jesus

is exaggerating here

when he says,

I tell you,

I have not found

such great faith

even in Israel.

this humble Gentile centurion

has a better understanding

of who I am

than anyone

I have come across so far

here in Israel,

than any of my own people,

the Jews,

than all of the elders,

than the Pharisees,

than the priests,

even the chief priests.

How did it come to be

that this centurion

has greater faith in Jesus

than everyone else

in Israel?

Well, there's a behind-the-scenes

spiritual answer

to this question,

and I don't want to

go on without

acknowledging that.

As Jesus said

on one occasion,

John 6, verse 44,

John 6:44

no one can come to me

unless the Father

who sent me

draws him

or draws them.

So there is

that sort of

work of God,

that unseen

drawing of God,

the opening of eyes,

the giving of faith.

That's the behind-the-scenes

spiritual answer

to how this centurion

came to have

the faith

that is so great

in Jesus,

greater than anyone

in Israel.

But in terms of

the visible

and the tangible things,

how did it come to be

that this centurion

has greater faith

than anyone

in Israel?

Think about this.

He had not had

more private

one-on-one time

with Jesus

than anyone.

More conversations.

He hadn't even met

Jesus face-to-face.

We might have thought

that the twelve disciples

should have

the greatest faith

simply because

of the amount of time

that they spent

with him

and the sheer volume

of miracles

they witnessed

and the teachings

that they heard

from him.

But no,

that's not it.

This centurion

had greater faith

than Peter,

than James,

than John.

How could that be?

What had the centurion

heard and seen

about Jesus?

even though it was

much less than many,

yet he knew

and believed

much more about Jesus

than anyone

in Israel.

How could it be?

I gave the spiritual

God drawing him

and revealing it to him

part of the answer,

but I want to

think of this

from the very human

perspective

of the centurion

himself.

What had he heard

about Jesus?

Up until this point

in the story,

not too much.

He had maybe heard

some of the teaching

of John the baptizer

that someone special

was about to come,

the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sins of the world.

He had maybe heard

Jesus' simple declaration

which we read about

in the Gospel of Mark.

The kingdom of God

has come near.

Repent

and believe the good news.

He had maybe heard

by now of how

Jesus was claiming

the fulfillment

of the great prophecies

of old

from the Jewish scriptures

just like he did

in Nazareth

there in the synagogue

and probably elsewhere.

He'd maybe heard

some of these

early teachings of Jesus

which we just looked at

in this sermon of Jesus

in Luke chapter 6.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

But other than that,

he had likely heard

of how Jesus

had been healing people

and casting demons

out of people.

All kinds of people.

But it would seem

that this centurion

paid more attention

and deeper attention

to these things

than others did.

Think back over

some of these things

Jesus did

when he healed people,

when he drove out demons.

How did Jesus heal

and drive out demons

in chapters 4 and 5?

He ordered

the evil spirit

to come out

of the man

in the synagogue

and it came out.

Likewise,

Jesus rebuked

the fever

of Simon's mother-in-law

and it left her.

He said to the man

with leprosy

in chapter 5,

Be clean!

And immediately

the leprosy

left him.

He said to the

paralyzed man

on the mat

who was lowered

through the roof,

Your sins are forgiven

and I want you

to know

that the Son of Man

has authority

on earth

to forgive sins.

So I'll heal

this man,

I tell you.

Get up,

take your mat

and go home.

And he stood up.

He was healed

and he did

as Jesus said.

All along

what the centurion

has come to believe

about Jesus

has been there.

visible

in how

Jesus has been doing

all these miracles.

You can imagine

the centurion

just standing back

and thinking

over all these things.

Just like I tell

my men to go

and they go

or to come

and they come.

This man,

Jesus,

tells sicknesses

to go

and they go.

He tells demons

to come out

and they come out.

all of these things

that Jesus did

were great signs

and what I'm getting

at is this.

The centurion

simply followed

the signs

to their destinations.

Many, it seems,

saw the miracles

of Jesus

and went,

oh,

wow,

that's amazing.

Could he be

the Messiah?

I don't know.

But let's see

some more.

It's like they were

caught up in this

sensational show.

But many were not

stopping to really

think about what

Jesus' ability

to do all

these miracles

in this way

was really saying

about who he was.

but the centurion

wasn't missing it.

Some of the

twelve disciples,

I mean,

they came to

these conclusions

quite early on

that Jesus

was the Messiah

and yet

we see throughout

the story

their notions

about

the Messiah

and how the story

would go

kept getting overturned

and yet

here's this

Gentile centurion,

an outsider

to the prophets

and the scriptures

and the faith

of the Jews

and he's been

watching Jesus

and thinking about

what Jesus is doing

and how he does it

and he's come to

the conclusion

that Jesus has

the very authority

and power of God

to heal,

to save,

to restore life.

and it's not

some sort of

you know

pagan magic

or ritual

where you just

got to say

the right stuff

or use the right

ingredients,

the right herbs

like a witch doctor.

No,

this Jesus

has the very

authority

and power

of God.

Look at what

he's doing.

Just like

the creator

God,

he declares

and people

are healed.

They're restored

completely.

If he says

the word

because of

who he is,

therefore

my servant

can be healed

too.

That's a

greater conception

of the Messiah

than probably

anybody in Israel

had

at this time.

They were looking

for that

great human king

sent by God

and backed

by God,

yes,

but still very much

an ordinary man

come to rule

over a typical

earthly kingdom

but greater,

to free us

from the Roman rule

and the rule

of Herod

and take us

back to the glory

days of Israel.

But this centurion

was already

seeing something

far greater

in Jesus.

Not just a

great king

from a worldly

point of view.

No,

this man,

he actually

has

and wields

the very

authority

of God.

And if he

has that,

he can do

as God

can do

for my servant.

Just say the word.

Behind the miracles

of Jesus,

there is

a meaning.

There is a

significance

to them.

We all too

easily get caught

up in the

sensationalism

of the miracles.

and then once

we get really

familiar with

them,

we lose that.

We get bored

of them

because we

want the ooh,

we want the ah

feeling that we

had when we

first heard about

them.

But in doing

this,

we miss the

significance

of them.

The miracles

are signs,

like a sign

on the highway

that points

to a destination.

It points

to a reality

about Jesus,

something true

about him.

And these

realities are

so great

and glorious

that we

can never

get over

them.

They never

get old.

And this

centurion had

laid hold of

one of these

realities by

faith,

the reality

that Jesus

really does

have the

authority

of God.

How does

it end?

Verse 10,

Then the men

who had been

sent returned

to the house

and found

the servant

well.

so Jesus

does heal

him from

a distance

by the

authority he

has.

He doesn't

go to the

house.

The elders

do.

Think about

this whole

day from

the perspective

of the elders.

Starting off,

meeting with

the centurion,

seeing the

servant about

to die,

going to

Jesus,

please come.

And they

finally get

back to the

house without

Jesus and the

servant is

well.

that word

means

completely

fine.

No

sickness,

no illness,

nothing wrong

with him.

Do you

know who

Jesus really

is?

That he is

the very

son of

God,

the one

who has

the authority

of God.

after Jesus

rose from

the dead,

he said

this to

his

followers.

Matthew

Matthew 28:18

28,

verse 18,

then Jesus

came to

them and

said,

all authority

in heaven

and on

earth has

been given

to me.

Many of

us who are

Christians for

a long time

know these

words,

but we

are eager

to get to

the part

that we

do.

Let's

pause and

just reflect

on these

words.

All

authority in

heaven and

on earth

has been

given to

me,

said Jesus.

Not just

the authority

to heal,

to restore

life,

to cast

out demons,

to calm

storms,

but all

authority in

heaven and

on earth.

He is

Lord of

all.

He is

one with

God.

He is

God

overall,

king

overall.

And not

just the

stuff down

here on

earth,

but also

the stuff

way up

there that

we see

through the

telescope.

He's

over that

too.

That stuff

listens to

him too.

and one

day he

will bring

this world

into its

proper place

before him

and he

will rule

down here

visibly and

tangibly as

the king of

all kings,

displaying the

full measure

of his

power and

of his

authority.

Do you

know who

Jesus really

is?

have you

followed the

signs to

the realities,

to the

destinations?

Great faith

in God is

not reserved

only for the

Jews,

nor is it

only for the

prominent,

the elders,

the priests,

the pastors,

the preachers.

you can

have great

faith in

God too.

Look to

Jesus.

Follow the

signs that

he has

given.

There's so

many ways

that we can

be encouraged

by this.

None of

us has a

sick servant

at home,

but what's

the trouble

or struggle

or problem

in your

life right

now?

About which

you could

come,

call out to

Jesus and

ask him

to come

and help.

Are you

seeking his

help?

Do you

believe that

he can do

something about

this?

Have you

asked him?

Or maybe

it's worry,

anxiety,

panic about

all sorts of

things,

and yet

do we need

to worry

or fret

about things

when the

one who

has all

authority

in heaven

and on

earth is

willing to

come and

visit us

and intervene

with grace

in our

lives.

There's so

many ways

that we

can be

encouraged

by this,

and I

hope you'll

think about

these things

this week.

But this

Sunday as we

come to the

table,

we're just

going to

focus very

quickly on

one particular

authority of

Jesus,

which is

especially

precious.

And it's

that authority

to forgive

us of

our sins.

I had a

good conversation

with a

brother just

recently in

which we

shared about

some of the

sins that we

had in our

past.

They are

many.

we need

a remedy.

We need

someone who

can cleanse

us of those

things and

forgive us of

those things.

Praise God,

he has sent

his son Jesus

into our

world with

authority to

forgive our

sins.

The table

that we're

about to

partake of

reminds us

of how

this works.

He had

the authority

to forgive

us,

but it was

contingent upon

his willingness

to take

what we

deserve,

our punishment

on himself.

This is what

happened at the

cross when

Jesus died.

He allowed

his body to

be broken

and his

blood to be

shed.

That's

pictured in

the bread

that we're

about to

eat,

which is

broken and

given out,

and the

cup that

we're about

to drink.

His body

was broken

and his

blood was

shed to

atone for

our sins.

the cross

and what

Jesus did

there for

us undergirds

his authority

to forgive

us of our

sins.

Sometimes we

get so used

to hearing

about this,

it becomes so

familiar,

but we

forget this

was absolutely

necessary so

that we

could be

forgiven.

we needed

a new

arrangement,

a new

deal with

God,

a new

relationship.

He had

to suffer.

He had

to die

as he did

to get

us off

the hook

with God,

to take

away that

punishment

that we

deserve.

And so

that's what

we want

to remember,

that's what

we want

to celebrate

again this

morning as

we eat

and drink

of the

bread and

the cup

that Jesus

came and

he did

that for

us.

We're

going to

take a

few minutes

now of

quiet to

reflect,

to pray,

talk to

God in

these

moments,

and then

we'll have

some of

the men

come up

and pass

out the

elements.

If you

have faith

that Jesus

really is

the one

in charge

of all,

that he

has done

this to

save you,

then I

invite you

to please

join with

us and

eat and

drink with

us in

these

moments.

And if

not,

please just

let the

bread

and the

cup pass

you by.

We wait

until everybody

has been

served,

and then

we'll give

thanks together

and we'll

partake

all together.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.