“Not even in Israel have I found such faith.” Those words of Jesus must have cut deeply into the sensitivities of those who heard him, for Jesus was pointing to a Gentile as an unexcelled example of faith.

To be sure, the Roman centurion was a rather exceptional Gentile – he was warmly disposed to the Jewish people, was quite interested in their religion and had gone so far as to build a synagogue in one of the communities – but he was still a Gentile, a pagan, a non-Israelite and outsider, not to mention the fact he was a member of the army of occupation.

So, how could this outsider exemplify a true faith? If Jesus was to find a model of faith, wouldn’t it be expected that the model would come from within Judaism? It would be as if your local clergyman were to pronounce from the pulpit that the best example of true faith he had found was not within the church or religious community, but in an un-churched person he had encountered quite outside the walls of the church. Wouldn’t that sting a bit?

What was there about this soldier that impressed Jesus so much? Was it the good things the elders said about him? “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue” (7:4,5). This they told Jesus in order to persuade him that this man, although a Gentile, was nevertheless worthy of Jesus’ attention.

One cannot help but wonder about the motives of the synagogue elders. Was it compassion for the soldier and his slave that moved them to come to Jesus, or did they want to ingratiate themselves to a powerful, but sympathetic enemy? He was an enemy soldier, a Gentile or pagan, and the sick man was “only” a slave, but … he had been a powerful friend and they did not want to lose his favor.

Jesus, however, seemed not to be motivated by their reasoning and, on the basis of what we know about him, we must assume it was compassion for the sick man that persuaded Jesus to go to heal the slave. It was not because the Roman was a powerful friend of the synagogue, but because Jesus cared about the Roman and his slave.

 

It was on the way to the Roman soldier’s house, however, that Jesus began to form his own assessment of the centurion’s character. Before Jesus and the party arrived at the house, they were met by a second group of emissaries from the centurion with a message: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you” (7:6,7).

Whereas the emissaries had said, ‘He is worthy to have you do this,” the centurion said, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.”

Actually, it was the centurion, not the emissaries, who was correct: He was not worthy. In fact, being worthy really had nothing to do with Jesus’ willingness to heal the slave. This was always true; Jesus didn’t heal people because they were worthy of healing.

In the case of the centurion and the slave, it was not just a matter of being Gentiles, enemies and spiritually unclean (the centurion knew enough about Judaism to know that, as a good Jew, Jesus would be regarded as “defiled” by entering his house, let alone touching his “unclean” pagan slave).

No, they lacked sufficient merit to be “worthy” of the gift of healing because all men, not just Gentiles, were unworthy of the gift. It was the compassion of Jesus and the grace of God that bestowed the gift of healing upon those who sought it.

So, the unequaled faith of the centurion was the result not of his worthiness as a benefactor of the synagogue, but of his humble confession, “I am not worthy.” It was something to hold up before the elders of Israel who, quite unlike the centurion, felt themselves qualified by virtue of the fact that they were faithful sons of Abraham. No wonder Jesus was moved to say, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

There was also one other factor that led Jesus to admire the man’s faith: He trusted completely in Jesus’ authority to heal. Unlike the elders, the Roman was not interested in arguments as to whether Jesus was or was not the Messiah, or whether Jesus was acting in strict accordance to the religious law. He knew only one thing about Jesus and it was enough: This man possessed the power to make people whole. The centurion and his humble, expectant faith are still a sterling example for any person who would turn to God for help.

 

How have your own ideas and estimations concerning your own “worthiness” entered into the way you have prayed and sought God’s help? How does Jesus’ response to the centurion affect your approach to seeking help through prayer? What does this passage suggest to you about the meaning of faith? Does this affect or change any of your ideas?

In this passage and also in the one that follows, 7:11-17, we find Jesus represented as a man of great authority over both illness and death. Luke is making a strong claim for Christ’s power and Lordship. In what areas of human experience do you acknowledge Christ’s authority?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.