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| Image courtesy of www.LumoProject.com |
Introduction
Nicky
Gumbel tells the story of a young member of his church, years ago, who had a
job working in the library of a major national newspaper. This newspaper kept
files of old cuttings about every well-known person. The files were kept in
rows of long shelves and were separated into ‘living people’ and ‘dead people’.
One
day, he was looking through the files of dead people and came across a large
file marked ‘Jesus Christ’. He glanced over his shoulder to check that no one
was looking and quickly moved the file from the ‘dead people’ section to the
‘living people’ section!
We’re
starting a series of talks today about encountering Jesus. That is what everyone
needs to do. And you can, because he is alive. I hope that’s why you’re part of
All Saints’ by the way. I hope you don’t come here for a weekly top up of
religion. If you do, I hope you’re profoundly disappointed.
I
didn’t go into church leadership to give people a bit more religion in their
lives. If anything, the opposite. I don’t really like religion. I find it annoying.
It’s boring. But I would walk through fire to enable people to encounter Jesus.
When
people go all religious their lives change; they become dull, unattractive and
weird. When people meet with Jesus, their lives change too; they become interesting,
attractive and fun. Lost people get found. Broken people get mended. Crabby
people become nice to be with. Hating people become loving. Dysfunctional
people get sorted out. Messed-up people get straightened out – when they
encounter Jesus.
I
have seen it again and again, I love it, and I want to see more of it; and that’s
what the church is for.
So
we’re going to be looking at people who met Jesus in the gospels and how that
encounter changed their lives. He will change yours too if he hasn’t already
and if you’ll let him.
Did He or Didn’t He?
Luke
7 introduces two main characters who, strangely enough, aren’t even named. One
is a high-ranking Roman soldier, and the other is his personal assistant, a
domestic servant. Not only are they unnamed, both of are off the stage
altogether; we don’t even meet them at all, we just hear about them through intermediaries.
This
is a bit confusing. Because in the parallel account in Matthew 8, Jesus clearly
does meet the centurion. And he has a
very similar conversation with him personally as he does with this delegation we
come across in Luke 7. So did Jesus actually meet this centurion or not?
Matthew seems to say yes, while Luke appears to say no.
When
we do a bit of reconstruction we see that what probably happened is this;
1)
The centurion hears that Jesus is in the vicinity and, not wanting to bother
him unnecessarily, sends envoys with a hand-written message. Off they go and
meet with Jesus.
2)
They walk with Jesus along the way, tell him about the centurion, put in a few
good words for him, and inform about his sick servant.
3)
As they get nearer, some others pass on his message which essentially says “You
don’t need to come to the house, you’ve got the authority to just say the word
and that’ll do it. I give orders too. I get that.” Jesus is amazed by this
expression of faith, sends the delegation back to the centurion’s house and continues
his route. This is what Luke reports.
3)
Moments later, the centurion sees Jesus with his entourage walking that way,
perhaps thinking his message hasn’t got through, he comes out and repeats what
he had said earlier, this time in person;. “Look, you don’t need to come to my
house, I’m unworthy of it; you just need to say the word.”
4)
As Jesus speaks with the centurion, the messengers arrive back at the house and
see for themselves that the servant is already completely well. This is what Matthew
reports.
This
makes sense because Matthew was not part of that crowd walking into town. He
didn’t start to follow Jesus until after this event (in chapter 9). He was a tax
collector in that same town and he would have known the centurion well because a
key job for the military in a town with a tax-office like Capernaum was to
provide security around the tax booth.
So
Matthew would likely have heard about the personal encounter between Jesus and
the centurion, from the centurion himself, but not the earlier discussion on
the way, so therefore that is what he reported.
This
is why Luke writes about the earlier conversation and Matthew only includes the
personal encounter shortly afterwards. Just in case that kind of thing keeps
you awake at night, I thought I should just explain.
Setting the Scene
Anyway,
let’s set the scene. Jesus has just been rejected and thrown out of his home
town of Nazareth and he has made the small fishing town of Capernaum,
population probably a few hundred people, his new base.
He
has begun to preach, heal, cast out demons and work miracles in the
neighbouring countryside. And his popularity is growing exponentially.
He
has just had an action-packed day as usual and he is on his way back home when
he is approached about some man in town who is dangerously ill, and about to
die.
We
don’t know his name, how old he is, where he’s from or what’s wrong with him.
All we know is that the doctor has done everything he can. He’s on his death
bed, nobody can cure him. The breathing is getting weaker and spaced further
apart. The colour has already gone from his face. It’s just a matter of time. If
you’ve ever seen someone dying you know what this looks like.
Luke
knows exactly what this is. He’s a medical doctor, he’s seen people he can do
nothing for, and he’s pronounced people dead before.
All
we know about this sick man is that he is a personal assistant for a man of
military rank stationed in that town, a commander of about 100 men, roughly
equivalent to a sergeant-major.
We
don’t know his name either but we do know a bit more about him than we know
about his assistant.
Centurions
were selected for their bravery; they led from the front, inspiring their troops
by example, so they often suffered heavy casualties in battle.
The
Roman military manual Vegetius De Re Militari says this: “The
centurion in the infantry is chosen for his size, strength and dexterity in
throwing his missile weapons and for his skill in the use of his sword and
shield; in short for his expertise in all the exercises. He is to be vigilant,
temperate, active and readier to execute the orders he receives than he is to
talk.”
This
guy in our story ticked all those boxes. But he was very unusual in other ways.
Firstly,
centurions in Jesus’ day were feared by their subordinates. But this centurion
is different. His attitude to his personal assistant is different. He’s not
just some kind of tool that is thrown away when it no longer works.
The
centurion has real affection for his loyal servant. This is not just some
nobody who carries out orders. He may have known him some time. This is a
friend. It’s hard to escape the impression that this centurion is a great guy
to work for. He cares personally and deeply about his staff.
Secondly,
this centurion is different because he has a very unusual attitude towards the
Jews and their faith.
The
Roman army was famous for its utter contempt of all things Jewish. The locals hated
them for their oppression and their open ridicule of Jews. Romans had little
patience for this fanatical and obsessive religion as they saw it and they didn’t
take kindly to being perceived as impure, unclean gentiles, forbidden to even Jewish
homes without contaminating them.
Think
of a gum-chewing, beer-drinking, hard-swearing, cocky American marine in a
particularly fundamentalist corner of rural Afghanistan and you get a feel for the
kind of dynamic that must have existed between Romans and Jews in those days.
But
this centurion helped build their synagogue out of his own funds. The locals
were poor so he gave a substantial gift out of his own pocket to enable the
building to be built.
Some
years ago, I went to Israel and spent about a week around Galilee and seeing
the ruins of Capernaum’s synagogue. Most of the brickwork you see is limestone
and dates to the 4th century. But beneath the white stones are
darker ones, cut from basalt; Roman architecture with Hebrew symbols worked into
the stone; these are the very bricks donated by this centurion.
We
are opening our gift fund for REACh today. I don’t know exactly how the Lord is
going to provide £400,000 for this work we have agreed under God to undertake. I
just know that he will.
I
know that much of it will come from members here whose hearts have been
touched. God has spoken to Kathie and me about how much we should give and we
do so with glad and grateful hearts. Who knows how much of it might come from
unlikely sources, like this centurion.
The Encounter
Anyway,
notice this; the Jewish elders say in v4 that the centurion is worthy of Jesus
healing his servant. “He deserves this” they say. Why does he deserve this?
“Because” (v5) “he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”
In
other words, they go to Jesus and say, “Look what this great man has done; he’s
paid for our church with his own money, he’s an upright, moral, good citizen,
and he’s always nice to us even though he’s a Roman – so you owe this man a
favour.”
This
is how it always goes with religious people. The reasoning is as follows: when
we do good works, we build up credit in the Bank of God so when we’re a bit
short, God gives us what is rightfully ours.
That’s
all wrong. It’s not the gospel. It’s not Christianity. It’s not what Jesus came
to bring. It’s religion. It doesn’t work.
Thank
God he doesn’t give me what I
deserve! God doesn’t actually owe us anything; everything we have is pure
grace. The elders should have gone to Jesus and said “Jesus, Master, would you
graciously heal this man’s servant… please?” But no, they come to Jesus and
say, “This man deserves to have you do this. After all he’s done, you owe him a
favour.”
Nevertheless,
Jesus, out of his overflowing compassion and unparalleled goodness, goes
anyway. Maybe he has a hunch that, even though the elders say he is worthy, the
centurion himself will know that he isn’t. And in v6 and v7 the hunch is proved
right.
Not
far from the house, messengers arrive with a note saying exactly that; “I do
not deserve to have you come under my roof” he says. “Forget the money I spent
on the synagogue and all that. I don’t consider myself worthy at all.” In other words, he thinks why would
I presume to waste Jesus’ time? Jesus is important. He’s busy. I’m just a
military officer. True, I’ve got a lot of money and a prestigious rank, 100
guys taking orders, staff running round me… but compared to Jesus I am nobody.”
And
then the note says something else amazing. Verse 8. “I’m a leader. I give
orders all day long. When I say to my guys “jump”, they jump. But I’m no big
deal. Jesus, you only need to give the command that healing will occur and it is
as good as done. You give sickness its marching orders “at the double, quick
march” and off it goes.”
Twice
in the Gospels it says that Jesus marvelled. He marvelled in Nazareth, at his
own people, in his home town, people brought up in church, familiar with it
all, he marvelled because of their unbelief.
But
he marvels here at the amazing faith of a total outsider. He points out to the synagogue
elders, to their embarrassment and shame, he says, “This guy has more faith
than you!” What an encounter.
Let’s
come in to land… Four things, quickly to end.
Firstly,
the centurion let nothing stand in the way of his encounter with Jesus. He
could have let any number of things stand in the way; his pride (I don’t want
to look needy), his doubts (it won’t work for me), his money (well, I’ve got a
nice home and a good pension, I’ll be all right), the language barrier (he
wouldn’t understand me anyway), his rank (do you know who I am), his race (let’s
not get too cosy with the riff raff) – but he put it all to one side. He let nothing stand in the way. What is keeping
you from encountering Jesus?
Secondly,
this centurion will have been in battle. I see a strong man with rough hands
and scars on his face. He’s a warrior. Young men put their lives on the line
for him. And he looks at Jesus and says, “You’re a real leader. You’re greater than I am.” Some contemporary worship
songwriters need to get with the programme and so do we; Jesus is not your
mate, and he is not your girlfriend; he is your commanding officer, awesome in
power, invincible in battle and mighty to save.
Thirdly, all authority comes from
being under authority.
The centurion knew that his entitlement to give orders was conditional on him being
under orders from Caesar.
That’s how he understood that Jesus’ authority came from being under the authority of his Father. I
know some Christian leaders with a great testimony but who are nowhere in
ministry because they are accountable to no one. I’ve had to learn this the
hard way, but listen; God will increase your authority in ministry in
proportion to your willingness to come under the authority of Christ and the
leadership he has ordained for you. Do you need to come under authority today in
order to grow in spiritual authority yourself?
And
finally, some of you here today, are like the centurion’s servant. You’re out
for the count. You’re low on hope. You’re sick. You need a miracle. Jesus is
here. Will you have, like this centurion, the humility and faith to encounter
him today?
Let’s
stand to pray…
Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 30 April 2017
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