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Chapter 37 A Certain Centurion ÒNow when he had ended all
his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a
certain centurionÕs servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to
die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews,
beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to
Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he
should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the
centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself:
for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore
neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my
servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having
under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another,
Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at
him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say
unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that
were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been
sick.Ó (Luke 7:1-10) Here, the Holy
Spirit gives us the account of a certain centurion, his remarkable character,
his great faith, and the healing of his sick servant, by the mere will of the
Lord Jesus Christ. This Roman soldier said to the Lord Jesus, ÒI am not
worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roofÉNeither thought I myself
worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.Ó No
Discrepancy If you read
MatthewÕs abbreviated account of this same great miracle, you will see that
Matthew described the event as a conversation, which took place between the
centurion and the Lord Jesus personally. Here, in LukeÕs narrative the Holy
Spirit tells us plainly that the conversation was between the centurionÕs
friends and the Master, not between the centurion and the Master. There is no
discrepancy, or contradiction between Matthew and Luke. Perhaps, Matthew
simply makes the words of the centurionÕs representatives to be the centurionÕs
own words, which is altogether appropriate (since a representativeÕs words
are really the words of the one he represents); or it may be that the
centurion first sent messengers to the Master and, afterwards, came to the
Lord Jesus himself. Whatever the case may be, both Matthew and Luke wrote
their narratives as honest eye witnesses, exactly as God the Holy Spirit
directed them. The
CenturionÕs Servant ÒNow when
he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into
CapernaumÓ (v. 1). — When Luke
tells us the Lord had ended his sayings, he is referring to the sermon he had
just finished preaching (Luke 6:20-49). In that sermon our MasterÕs message
had four main points. He taught us three great truths we will be wise to
learn and remember.
When our Lord
had finished preaching this sermon, he entered into Capernaum. He had spoken
with authority. Now, he comes to Capernaum to display the efficacy of his
grace. Capernaum was
exalted, elevated, and blessed above all other places (Matthew 11:23), by
virtue of the fact that the Lord Jesus performed more of his miraculous works
in Capernaum than anywhere else. He had already healed the noblemanÕs son
there (John 4). In all probability, the centurion had heard about that great
work. Perhaps he had witnessed it. ÒAnd a
certain centurionÕs servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to
dieÓ (v. 2). — Here is a centurion,
a Roman soldier, who had the command of a hundred men under his authority. He
was a Gentile. He was a soldier. And he was a believer. As John Bunyan put
it, ÒA Roman soldier was the first fruit of the Gentile world.Ó Here, the
Holy Spirit tells us three things about this centurionÕs servant. 1. This
servant was dear (held in great honor and precious) to his master. –
Blessed is the servant who has such a master! Words can never speak so
powerfully as the experience of this centurionÕs servant does of the great
advantage and blessed privilege of living in the home of one who believes
God, walks with Christ, and seeks your soulÕs everlasting good. 2. This
manÕs servant was sick, very sick. What multitudes there are in the same
condition spiritually as this man was in physically. There is a plague, a
death plague in the heart of man. There is a spiritual palsy in the soul
(Isaiah 1:5-6; 1 Kings 8:38). 3. The
centurionÕs servant was Òready to die,Ó
at the very point of death. An immortal soul at the point of death, what a sobering
sight! Each time we see one who is sick, or visit one who is dying we ought
to be reminded of our own frailty, and ask God to give us the wisdom and
grace to set our hearts upon Christ and eternity (Psalm 90:12-16; Colossians
3:1-3). He Heard
of Jesus ÒAnd when
he heard of Jesus...Ó (v. 3) — We
are not told how, but somehow this centurion Òheard of Jesus!Ó Perhaps he had been present to hear the sermon
recorded in chapter 6. Maybe he had heard the report of the gospel from
someone else. How he heard is unimportant. What is important is this. –
ÒHe heard of Jesus!Ó God sent his
Word to him. God the Holy Spirit had given him hearing ears, seeing eyes and
a believing heart. We have no way of knowing how much knowledge the man had.
That is altogether insignificant. The thing that is significant is who he
knew. He knew the Lord Jesus Christ, and he knew the one true and living God
in him (John 17:3). In other
words, he was born of God. The only way any sinner can ever have eternal life
is by knowing God (John 17:3). The only way we can know God is in Christ
(Matthew 11:27). And the only way any sinner can know Christ and believe on
him unto life everlasting is by the preaching of the gospel (Romans 1:16;
10:17). The
Centurion ÒAnd when he heard of Jesus,
he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come
and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him
instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he
loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogueÓ (vv. 3-5). This centurion
was a man of remarkable character. He was a gracious, kind, generous man. His
faith was that true faith which only God can give. It was Òfaith that
worketh by love.Ó He was a man of
blameless reputation. He was a man of such magnanimous goodness in the eyes
of men that the Jews did not hesitate to declare (though it betrayed their
own ignorance) that he was worthy for the Son of God to give him what he
asked. He loved his
servant. Many came to the Lord Jesus seeking mercy for others. One came for a
son, another for a daughter, and once four for a friend; but we are told of
none but this centurion who came to the Son of God seeking mercy for a
servant. Not only did he love his servant, he loved his neighbors, too.
– ÒHe loveth our nation.Ó And
this centurion was devoted to the worship and service of God.
He built a synagogue, a house of worship at Capernaum. When these Jewish
leaders said, ÒHe hath built for us a synagogue,Ó they were saying, -- This man has, at his own expense, by himself,
built a church building and given us a place to worship the Lord our God! This
manÕs faith was more than creeds, confessions, and rituals. He did not merely
say he believed God. He lived as one who believed God. His love was not lip
love, but deed love. Kindness is
something all people recognize and appreciate. Kindness adorns and commends
the doctrine of God our Savior. Kindness reflects the character of Christ.
Kindness is one way to spread a little happiness in this world. Even these
wretched Jewish elders (who would soon plot the murder of the Son of God)
were moved by this manÕs kindness. Had his servant died of his sickness, he
would have enjoyed the privilege of dying in the home and under the tender
care of a kind friend. — ÒBe ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for ChristÕs sake hath forgiven you. Be ye
therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweetsmelling savourÓ
(Ephesians 4:32-5:1). ÒThen Jesus went with them.
And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to
him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that
thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy
to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healedÓ (vv. 6-7). This centurion
was a truly humble man. Humbled by grace, he sent messengers to the Lord
Jesus, saying, ÒI am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof!Ó All who are born of God, all true believers know
their unworthiness before God and confess it. Others may look at the child of
God and applaud him for his deeds; but he sees himself in another light. Here is a
remarkable expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. – ÒSay in a
word, and my servant shall be healed!Ó He
acknowledged what very few understood in his day and few understand in any
day: — That Jesus of Nazareth is himself God almighty in human flesh.
None but God himself can heal by the mere word of his power (Psalms 33:6, 9;
148:5). But there was much more to his faith than the bare acknowledgment of
ChristÕs eternal deity. ÒFor I also
am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one,
Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do
this, and he doeth itÓ (v. 8). — This
centurion asked for no sign or wonder. He simply believed God. He here
declares his implicit confidence in Christ as God and confesses his faith in
him as that One in whose hands all things are but clay, the mighty King of
the universe, whose command rules in heaven, earth and hell, the Monarch of
all things, before whom all things (including sickness and health, life and
death) are but obedient servants. He confidently bowed to the Lord Jesus,
confessing his omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence as God. He believed
that Man who stood on the sands of Capernaum to be the sovereign Lord of
heaven and earth! Jesus
Marvelled ÒWhen Jesus
heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto
the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in IsraelÓ (v. 9). —
Only twice do we see the Lord Jesus marveling at something. In Mark 6:6 we
are told that our Savior marveled at the unbelief of his kinsmen. Here, he
marvels at the faith of a Roman centurion. What can be more marvelous than
the fact that the Son of God marveled? In Mark 6:6
the word ÒmarvelledÓ implies
astonishing sorrow. Here, the same word implies great admiration. Let us
learn to place admiration where our Lord did, not upon the gaieties of the
world sought by men, but upon the grace of God in men. Our Lord Jesus was
never impressed by a personÕs possessions, position or power, land, learning
or living, fortune, fame or family. But he admired faith. What grace this
shows in him! — He gives faith, and then admires the man who exercises
what he has given! ÒAnd they
that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been
sickÓ (v. 10). — A greater miracle
of healing than this is nowhere recorded in Holy Scripture. Without even
seeing this centurionÕs servant, without so much as the touch of his hand or
the look of his eye, our Lord restored the full vigor of health to a dying
man! He willed it, and the disease departed! May God give
us grace, like this centurion, to believe him, to love others, to do them
good, to seek the grace and mercy of God in Christ for their souls. May the
Lord give us grace, like this centurion, to walk humbly before him, knowing
and acknowledging to him our utter unworthiness of the very least of his
favors. Don Fortner Listen to sermons
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