The Centurion Great Faith
Unworthy
Jesus was impressed with the Centurion’s humility
We, too, should feel unworthy
Why? Because we find ourselves not loving Jesus more than our loved ones
We find ourselves not taking up our cross when our Lord calls us into battle
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:37-39
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" Luke 17:10
When we know the authority of Jesus, we will always feel unworthy
Like the Centurion, it is important for us to have spiritual leaders and friends
To walk with us and go before us in prayer
Because you and I will never be worthy of Jesus coming to our house or need
But thanks be to God we can be unworthy like the Centurion solider
And the man with leprosy and find God is willing
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Matthew 8:2-3
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured
The Centurion Great Faith
Unworthy
The story of the Centurion was written
by Matthew and Luke.
They both tell us the Centurion
was not making a personal request.
But a request for a friend.
A centurion's servant,
whom his master valued highly,
was sick and about to die.
Luke 7:2 Matthew 8:6
Luke tells us in Luke 7:3…
“The centurion had heard of Jesus.”
Jesus had one message that He shared everywhere…
It was the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew’s Gospel makes that point very clear.
Matthew focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew was speaking to those of us
who are looking forward to Heaven.
Matthew talks a lot about…
“The Kingdom coming”
“Entering the Kingdom of Heaven”
Matthew 5:20, 7:21, 18:3, 19:23,24, 21:31
And “The Kingdom of Heaven is like”
Matthew uses the word “Kingdom”
54 times in the NIV.
Matthew 8 is no exception
to this Kingdom message.
Matthew 8 starts at the end of Jesus’ teaching
about the Kingdom of Heaven
in the Sermon on the Mount.
Classroom instruction is over.
Now in Chapter 8…
Jesus demonstrates the Kingdom.
The story before the Centurion
is a story about a man with leprosy.
Jesus brings the Kingdom to a man with leprosy…
Because Jesus was willing.
Verse 3
The Centurion hearing of Jesus
must have given him
the understanding that Jesus was Lord
of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The two times the Centurion sends
messengers to Jesus…
They address Jesus as Lord.
Matthew 8:6…
"Lord," he said,
"my servant lies at home paralyzed
and in terrible suffering."
Luke 7:6-7…
"Lord, don't trouble yourself,
for I do not deserve to have you
come under my roof.
The Centurion understood authority
because he was a solider.
Therefore, addressed Jesus with respect and honor
for His position in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The second thing the Centurion
must have heard about Jesus was…
He was compassionate.
He may have heard that the man Jesus
was willing to heal of leprosy
in the earlier verses.
The Centurion heard about the Kingdom of Heaven,
recognized Jesus as Lord of this Kingdom
and heard Jesus was willing to heal the sick
demonstrating the power of the Kingdom.
The Centurion sent some Jewish elders…
The centurion heard of Jesus
and sent some elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and heal his servant.
Luke 7:3
Even though the Centurion
loved the Jewish people
and helped them…
He was an outsider.
So he sent the Jewish elders
to seek Jesus’ compassion.
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him,
"This man deserves to have you do this,
because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue."
Luke 7:4-6
This plea causes Jesus to agree to go.
So Jesus went with them.
Luke 7:6
The Centurion was feeling
the unworthiness of Jesus
coming to his house.
It wasn’t because he had a messy house
or lived in the slums.
He probably had a very nice house.
His military training caused him to see Jesus
with respect in a way that is different
than those of us who have never served in the military.
So, when the Centurion understanding
Jesus was coming to his house…
Found himself with a heavy feeling of unworthiness.
So, the Centurion sent friends…
He was not far from the house
when the centurion sent friends to say to him:
"Lord, don't trouble yourself,
for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.
But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority,
with soldiers under me.
I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and that one, 'Come,' and he comes.
I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Luke 7:6-8
Three things we see from the Centurion’s approach to
The LORD of the Kingdom of Heaven…
1. The Centurion had love and compassion for his servant.
2. The Centurion called for the elders to speak for Him.
3. The Centurion sent friends on His behalf
to ask Jesus to just say the word.
When we have a loved one in need…
It is helpful to have spiritual leaders
who know our good works,
to go to Jesus on our behalf.
James 5:14-16…
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
When in need, the elders can help us address
anything in our lives that could hinder our need being meet.
It is good to have friends who can stand with you in prayer.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:19-20
Agreement in prayer helps us in our confidence
when we feel unworthy.
Note the following verse tell us we are to forgive 70 times 7,
reminding us to have a heart that pleases God.
We should always have the highest respect and honor
for our Lord and that means…
We will always feel unworthy of the Lord
coming to meet our need.
The Centurion, a military leader, understood authority.
He recognized his unworthiness of Jesus,
Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Centurion was a good man.
Despite how much he loved his servants
and all his love for the nation of God’s people
and building their synagogue…
He knew he served in a very low rank.
Jesus was impressed with his humility.
We, too, should feel unworthy.
Why?
Because we find ourselves not
loving Jesus more than our loved ones.
We find ourselves not taking up our cross
when our Lord calls us into battle.
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:37-39
So you also,
when you have done everything
you were told to do,
should say,
'We are unworthy servants;
we have only done our duty.'"
Luke 17:10
When we know the authority of Jesus,
we will always feel unworthy.
It is important for us to have spiritual leaders
and friends…
To walk with us and go before us in prayer
because you and I will never be worthy
of Jesus coming to our house or need.
But thanks be to God we can be unworthy
like the Centurion solider
and the man with leprosy…
And find God is willing.
Matthew 8:2-3…
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
"I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Immediately he was cured.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 8:5-13 NIV
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Luke 7:1-10 NIV
When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
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