Centurion's Faith

Centurion's Faith

 

(Matthew 8:5-13) And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west. , and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

As Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him. The centurion heard rumors about Jesus and knew about him. He came to Jesus and said, “Lord, please heal my servant, for he is sick and suffering.” At this time, he heard Jesus say, “I will come and heal him,” and the centurion said, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” This is truly great faith. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. At the same time, Jesus said to his followers, “Truly I tell you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” What does Jesus see in the Gentile centurion that makes him say, “I have not seen such faith even in Israel?”

The centurion’s faith is “that Jesus is the Son of God with the power of God.” He believes that “if Jesus speaks, it will come true.” But how could “a faith not found even in Israel” come from a Gentile centurion?

In the Gospel of Matthew, the centurion himself is said to have come, but in Luke 7:1-10, the centurion says that he did not even dare to approach Jesus. So, he sent Jewish elders instead. The Jewish elders say, “The centurion is a Gentile, but he loves his people and built a Jewish synagogue, so he should grant this man’s request.” Then Jesus asked to go to the man's house and was on his way. When the centurion heard that Jesus was coming to his house, he sent another man.

“The reason why the centurion did not come directly and sent someone else,” he said, “is because I did not dare to come before the Lord, so he sent the elders, and all you have to do is say the word.” So, Jesus said, “I have never found faith like this in Israel.” When the men sent by the centurion returned home, they found that the servant had already recovered.

The Gospel of Matthew shows that Jesus and the centurion met face to face, but in the Gospel of Luke, they do not even meet face to face. The Gospel of Matthew focuses on the Jews, but the Gospel of Luke focuses on the Gentile centurion. Without any mention of the centurion's good deeds, the scene of "meeting Jesus, pleading with him, and being healed" is even more shocking to Jews. The centurion is a foreigner. Jesus did not see this kind of faith in Israel, and was surprised to see this kind of faith in Gentiles.

Jesus said that through the centurion's faith, Gentiles would enter heaven before Israel. Today, many church people say, “The centurion was a humble, servant-loving man and completely dependent on God, which resulted in this amazing faith.” However, because Jesus said, “I have come to call sinners,” the Jews accepted it as something that had nothing to do with them. However, all people in this world are sinners because they have left God.

The word “gentile” means that, except for Israel, the rest are not foreigners, but that all sinners are foreigners to the kingdom of God. In the Bible, when it comes to Gentiles, on the surface it refers to all nations other than Israel on this earth, but on the other hand, in the Kingdom of God, all those who have left God are Gentiles.

“The way for those who have left God to be saved” is to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Believing that he is the Son of God means that “people accept him as the Messiah, and that Jesus brings sinners to salvation.” Regarding the "difference between the beliefs of the Jews and the Gentiles," the Jews believed that "Jesus had the power to free them from Rome," but the centurion said, "He is the one who solves the problem of sin through healing." "I believed that. So faith saves him and his servant. Since the problem of sin is solved, “believers and Jesus” become one through faith in Christ.

The centurion's faith is "like the faith of Abraham, who believed despite all hope." Today, it is the same belief as, "If a believer dies in union with the cross of Jesus, he or she believes in union with Christ and is resurrected."

Through the centurion’s faith, Jesus said, “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Abraham is the father of faith. This means that if everyone believes in God just as Abraham believed in God, they will enter the kingdom of God like Abraham. Even though Abraham was 100 years old and found out that Sarah's womb had died, he believed God's promise to give him a child. “Completely letting go of one’s thoughts” is the source of faith. God tested Abraham's faith by saying, “Sacrifice Isaac.” Isaac is a type of Jesus Christ. Abraham believed that Isaac would be resurrected after his death.

『The centurion will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven』 means, “Those who have the same faith as the centurion will also be like that.” Only those who enter into Jesus Christ will become like that. The Bible says that those who follow the law like Israel will not be saved. Believers must find Christ in the law and meet Christ.