Luke 7:9 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.
Our Need, God’s Grace
Have you ever tried to impress someone who just would not be impressed? When you were a kid, you would tell your friends what you got for your birthday, and they would tell you they got something even better. Or, now you might tell someone you went somewhere marvelous on vacation, and they tell you about their month in Hawaii or are in some way not impressed with what you have done.
What does it take to impress people? How much money would it take to impress Bill Gates? How brilliant must you be to impress someone with a huge intellect? How charming would you have to be to impress some world-famous personality? How everything would you have to be to impress God Almighty? That is impossible. You cannot be rich enough, strong enough, brilliant enough, or virtuous enough to impress God Almighty. Yet, Luke 7 tells us the story of a man who was impressive, at least to the Jewish elders, even though he was a Gentile.
This Gentile was a centurion, a man of authority, a man of means, and a man who had a servant that was very ill and for whom he was concerned. When the elders of the Jews came to Jesus, they told Jesus that this man was worthy of Jesus’ help to heal his servant. They said, “For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.”
When Jesus met this centurion, his own story was a little bit different. He said, “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.”
Now this was a good man. He had done good deeds for people who, apparently, could not enrich him. He was concerned for a man who was not even his family, but his servant. The centurion was a man of virtue, yet he said, “I am not worthy.” The incredible thing is that Jesus healed his servant, and before He did that, Jesus marveled. Jesus said to those who followed Him, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Then, verse 10 says, “And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.”
What did it take to impress the elders of the Jews? Well, he was a decent man, but he himself said that he was not worthy. Yet, Jesus, God the Son, marveled at him. What did it take to impress Jesus Christ in this way? The answer is that this man came with humility, faith, and submission. He teaches us a very important lesson: the more we acknowledge our need, the more we receive God’s grace.
So many times, instead of acknowledging our need, we try to force our way and ignore our weakness. This man did not do that. He was not standing on his strength; he was appealing from his weakness. He had humility. He said, “I am not worthy.” He had faith. He said, “Jesus, You just say the word.” He also had submission. He said, “For I also am a man set under authority. I have soldiers that are under me, yet I am a man under authority.” He understood the concept of authority.
Because he was submissive, he had authority. Because he had faith, he had healing. Because he had humility, he had the grace that was available from Jesus Christ to his sick servant. Whatever your problem today, remember humility, faith, and submission. The more we recognize our need, the more we receive the grace of God.