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
You notice what you value. When you meet someone, if you notice their shoes, hair, car, accent, or whether they have a breath mint or not, these are all reflections of things you value. Maybe you are talking about a coworker and say, “She is a great person, but she is not organized.” That may be true, but the reason you add the caveat that she is not organized is because you are and you value that. Someone may say, “She is brilliant and smart.” That is something we notice because that is what we value.
We should ask ourselves, “Do I value what God values?” In Luke 7 we are reminded of the fact that sometimes we don’t value the same things that God values; we don’t attribute worth to the same things that God does. Verse 2 says, “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.” A centurion was a commander of up to a hundred men in the Roman army. It was a position of great authority and power.
Verse 3 says, “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.” This man was connected. He not only knew the Jewish men of the community, but the elders of the Jews. Quite frankly, while the elders could have been men of reputation among their own, to the Roman army they would not have been very authoritative at all, but the centurion was connected both with Jew and Gentile.
Verse 4 says, “And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this.” This centurion was worthy of the Lord’s attention. Why? Verse 5 says, “For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.” Notice why they beseeched Jesus on behalf of this man. He was connected, had authority, and very admirably he was humble. He was a man of great authority and connection, yet he had regard for Jesus. We know he certainly should have, but the Romans did not have regard to Jewish carpenters or Jewish prophets or a Messiah. This centurion was humble. He was also compassionate. He was concerned not for a child or grandchild, but a servant. He was generous. He had built a synagogue for these people. His friends, the elders of the Jews who came to Jesus, said that he was worthy. That was their estimation.
The real questions are, “What did God value? Why is this story recorded? What did God notice?” Verse 6 says, “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 shouldst enter under my roof.” His friends said he was worthy, but the centurion himself said he was not worthy. In verses 7-8 he clarifies, “Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority.” Verse 9 says, “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.”
The reason this story is recorded in the Bible is not because this man had authority or was connected, humble, compassionate, generous, or worthy. If the elders had put the Bible together, this man’s story would have been in the Bible for those reasons. But what did God notice? Jesus marveled and made note of his great faith. He had not seen that great faith even among His own people. How incredible that a man of such ability should make God incarnate marvel at his faith.
How many times did Jesus marvel? What would it take to make God incarnate marvel? It is pretty consistent that Jesus marveled because of someone’s faith or lack of faith. Notice that, first, these values are not mutually exclusive. I can be connected, have authority, be humble, compassionate, and generous and also be a man of faith. I don’t have to be one or the other.
Second, these values are not equal. To think that faith in Jesus and authority or humility or compassion or generosity or power are equal is not true. They are not. Is Jesus compassionate, authoritative, humble, and generous? He is God; He is all these things and much more. He doesn’t need my generosity; He is the epitome of it. He left the glories of heaven to die on the cross for me. Does Jesus have these things? Yes! Does Jesus need these things from me? No, but the Lord responds to my faith. That means I need less fervor about accomplishing things for God and more submission to God to allow Him to accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish through me. I am not more ambitious than God. I do not see more than God. I do not have a better heart than God. God can do through me everything that I need and everything that I lack.
To what does the Lord respond? Authority, humility, compassion, and generosity are all important, but none of those things make me worthy before God. I am not worthy, but God regards faith. When I trust in the Lord Jesus as Savior, Christ’s righteousness is attributed to my account. Once I am saved, the same is true about life in general. God is pleased by faith. People see works. God sees whom I trust. It is not that I should not accomplish things and have ambition for Jesus, but I should know it is not my ambition that is going to please God but God’s ambition that is allowed to work through me because I am submissive to Him.
The same is true of you as well. The Lord responds to your faith. Today, give your energy and time to putting your faith and submission in Jesus who is everything we ought be.