This morning we were talking about faith, what it is, what it does, and how it works. And tonight I'd like for us to look into the Gospels, specifically the Gospel of Matthew, and to see faith at work. As we think about the greatest faith in Israel, let's suppose that Jesus were to come to our church this evening, and were to sit down and have a personal conversation with each of us, and then after that were to announce in the presence of all of us which of us had the greatest faith.
I don't know whether you would be comfortable with that or not. Frankly, I wouldn't be. And yet here is an occasion when there was a crowd around and Jesus announced in the midst of all of them who it was that had the greatest faith. Matthew chapter 8, I begin in verse 5 with the reading of the Scripture. And when he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him and treating him and saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain.
And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my slave, do this, and he does it.
Now when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who were following, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and west and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness. In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way, let it be done to you as you have believed. And the servant was healed that very hour. Jesus is the searcher of all hearts. He knows the thoughts and the intents of our hearts. It says in the Old Testament, the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. That was certainly true and illustrated here in the case of the centurion.
A centurion you may recall was a man who was over 100 Roman soldiers, a century of soldiers. It was a rather powerful position. And there in the city of Capernaum there was a century that was garrisoned. This man, this centurion, was a friend of the Jews. In fact it says that he was a lover of the nation of Israel, according to Luke's account of this event. It also says there that he was responsible for the building of a synagogue in the city of Capernaum.
Some of you have been to Israel and you know that in Capernaum there is today, or in the site where Capernaum used to be, at the north end of the Sea of Galilee, there is still today the ruins of a synagogue. Probably not this same synagogue, but one that was built in about the second century. And yet archaeologists believe that it was built upon the foundation of the one that was built by this centurion in those days.
He was a man who had great respect for the Jews and was in fact himself what is called a God-fearer, which is a technical New Testament term meaning that although he was a Gentile, he had come to believe in the God of the Jews. And so he was a man who was quite sympathetic to the Jewish people and to their faith and who was receptive to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Jesus announces to them all that his is the greatest faith, in fact he had found no one with such faith in all of Israel, there must have been some embarrassed Jews in the midst. For here was a Gentile being singled out as having greater faith than them all. From this account I would learn this basic lesson, that faith receives the Lord's commendation when it rests upon his person and his power.
You're going to see that that's where the faith of the centurion was resting, upon the person and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we think through this account, think with me first regarding the search of the centurion's faith. Jesus searched his faith, he examined it, and I'd like for you and for me to sort of look over Jesus' shoulder as it were as his faith is searched. In the first place notice that the whole occasion arose around a pressing need. He had a servant who was sick.
A boy is actually the word. It may have been a child or someone older than a mere child, but the word would give permission to say it was a child. He may have been the child of some older servants who belonged to him. He may have been a personal valet of the centurion. We're not told that exactly, but the implication is that here was a young boy and that he was terribly tortured, is the literal language, by some kind of a paralysis that he was experiencing.
And Luke tells us that his situation was so desperate that he was about to die. He was on the verge of death. It seems as though that for days the centurion had watched his beloved servant agonizing with this affliction that had come upon him. And now out of a sense of a pressing need and an urgency, he comes to Jesus. We notice not only was it a pressing need, but it was a personal request.
Although Luke gives us a more full account than Matthew does of this whole thing, Luke tells us that in the first place this centurion sent a group of Jewish elders to Jesus to ask that he would heal the servant. His reasoning for that was that he felt himself unworthy, that he should even go to Jesus and ask him personally, not to mention that Jesus should come into his house. And so he sent some elders of the Jews and they said to Jesus, come, for he is worthy. That was their opinion.
Here's a man who is worthy of your blessing. He is worthy of your healing his servant because he is a lover of our nation. He has built this synagogue. Won't you come? Then Jesus received some friends from the centurion who were also sent, a second delegation. And basically through the friends, the centurion's request was, speak the word and my servant will be healed. You don't even have to come.
It seems as though, however, in putting the accounts together that Jesus did desire to come to the man's house. Even before he got to the house, the centurion himself came out now, again feeling so unworthy that Jesus would come into his house. Not wanting to put Jesus on the spot is perhaps defiling himself as a Jew, as a Jewish rabbi coming into a Gentile house. Therefore he went out of his house and met Jesus on the way as he was coming.
It was a very personal request on the part of this centurion. And I noticed that it was a request with a proper spirit, for he was a man who felt himself unworthy. He was a man who was humble, although he had a very powerful position in that whole region as a centurion. He was a man who could have been very evil and demanding individual as some of the centurions were.
Although you know it's interesting that in the New Testament two centurions are mentioned and both of them are spoken of in a favorable light. The other one being Cornelius. Here is a man who with a humble spirit, not demanding, not being presumptuous upon Jesus, not trying to use his position to influence Jesus, but who simply made the request humbly that Jesus would heal his servant. So Jesus perceives all of this. You and I looking over Jesus' shoulders that we see that as well about him.
Here is a man with a pressing need who comes with a personal request and a proper spirit and comes in faith. And he states his faith. That's the second thing I notice as we work our way through the narrative, the statement of the centurion's faith. That statement is in verses 8 and 9 where he recounts the basis for his request of Jesus. He says in verse 9, I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me. Now there was the basis of the man's conclusion regarding Jesus.
He himself understood of course the Roman military system. They viewed all might and all authority as belonging to Caesar. The emperor in Rome was the dictator of the Roman Empire. He then delegated authority to those who were under him. And they in turn delegated authority to those who were under them. And so on down the line until you would come to this centurion who was stationed in Capernaum in Palestine. And then underneath this centurion were soldiers as well.
And so he saw himself in a line of authority. He was under authority himself and he had those who were responsible to him. He was in authority too. And that seems to be the basis of how he perceived Jesus. He perceived that Jesus likewise had authority that was given to him from God. He seems to perceive that Jesus was under God's authority. So that when Jesus spoke his words, his words were vested with all of God's power and all of God's authority.
His word was effective because as he, Jesus, spoke it was God's word. And it was empowered by delegated authority because that's the way he was. You see when he spoke to his soldiers, he was speaking with delegated authority all the way back to Caesar. His word had the word of the emperor behind it. And so he perceived that Jesus likewise in the spiritual realm is a man who has authority, the authority of God.
And that all he had to do was speak the word and it would be done because he spoke and as he spoke it was God himself who was speaking. And notice how Jesus responded to the statement of the centurion's faith. He marveled at it. He was amazed at it in verse 10. Only twice in the New Testament do we see Jesus being astonished or marveling or amazed. Here's one occasion when he was amazed at the faith of the centurion who was a Gentile.
The other time he was astonished was at the unbelief of the Jews. Here's a very positive astonishment. In his humanity, our Lord reacts to this man's insight and his understanding and his trust and he was refreshed by it because he had not found in all of Israel this kind of faith. Among all of the Jews as he searched, there was none who had faith that came close to this Gentile. He understood Jesus' person and his authority, his power. And our Lord commended his faith because of that.
And of course the outcome of his faith was, well of course the servant was healed, that's one thing, but there's something else involved. In verse 11, Jesus says, I say to you, that's a way of saying, here is something you need to listen to. Many shall come from the east and the west and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness. What is this table? Maybe we ought to start there.
Our Lord was drawing upon a picture from the Old Testament, a messianic supper or feast that was associated in their teaching with the kingdom of the Messiah. Isaiah uses it this way. I think it's in Isaiah chapter 25 verses 6 through 9, if I can read my writing correctly here. Isaiah speaks about the, in fact let's turn there and look at it because it's a rather interesting picture that Isaiah draws. Isaiah chapter 26, excuse me, 25 verse 6.
And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain, a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow and refined aged wine. And on this mountain he will swallow up the covering which is over all the peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all the nations. He will swallow up death for all time. And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces and he will remove the reproach of his people from the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
What are these words talking about? Talking about the kingdom and time to come when even the Gentiles will be a part of the reign of the Messiah. But you know what's interesting, the Jews forgot that truth as time passed and the centuries went on. And they began to see the kingdom as being theirs alone. And the Gentiles would be cast out and they would say in their teaching in that day, the Gentiles belong in the outer darkness. They're not a part of the kingdom. They're in the outer darkness.
They're outside, they're dogs. And there was a great deal of bigotry and prejudice toward Gentiles, religious prejudice. Now Jesus here turns the cart on the whole situation. Drawing upon that picture of the feast and the kingdom when Messiah would come, he says many will come from the east and the west, which is a way of saying the four points of the compass, in other words from every direction, not just east and west, but from everywhere.
Many will come and will sit down and enjoy the kingdom with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Who are the many? Well, he's talking about Gentiles like this centurion who had placed faith in him and his person and his power. He is included in this band of the many who will come and enjoy the kingdom. And then he says in verse 12, but the sons of the kingdom, who are they? Well, those are the Jews who by their natural birth and their heritage felt that they were the heirs of the kingdom of God.
And so Jesus uses the very term they used of themselves, the sons of the kingdom, he says, shall be cast out into the outer darkness. And so he says that they are the ones who are going to miss the kingdom. Why? Well, because of their unbelief, because of their failure to recognize who he is and his power. And he goes on to say, in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And so Jesus is not simply presenting a theological concept that is that the Jews would fail because of unbelief and the Gentiles would be accepted because of belief. It's more than that. He's talking about an actual judgment. He says a place, in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is a sentence Jesus uses, a similar sentence to what Jesus uses in other places to describe hell.
A place of fire and torment, of weeping, talking about the sorrow and the grief in that place. And gnashing of teeth, the despair, the hopelessness, the grinding of one's teeth because of the situation that one is in. Jesus warns here that unbelief, such as that which he was finding among the Jews, would lead to that place.
What a warning this is to all of us and to any one of us who might be in unbelief tonight, who has not placed his or her faith in the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and in his saving work at Calvary. For when one fails to place faith in Jesus Christ, he will join these, the sons of the kingdom that Jesus speaks about here, who because of unbelief were cast out into the place of suffering called Gehenna or hell.
One day when Jesus establishes his kingdom, there is going to be a man who was a centurion in life who will sit down at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob because of his faith. There is going to be a lot of us there too, I trust, because of our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. It is our faith placed in the person and the power of Jesus Christ which finds the commendation of God. Faith like this centurion had.
Every one of us, every one of us, every person listening to me will either one day sit down in that kingdom or be cast out of that kingdom and not share in it. There's only two destinies and one or the other is your destiny and mine. And the thing that makes the difference is our faith and who it's placed in. It is faith placed in Jesus Christ that saves the soul. And that's the kind of faith a centurion had. And we notice finally the satisfaction of his faith. His faith was honored.
Jesus was pleased to heal that servant. Jesus states to him in verse 13, go your way, let it be done to you as you have believed. Jesus is not saying here let it be done to you in proportion to your faith. That is the teaching of some people these days. See what he's saying is let it be done to you because of your faith. Your request for healing is granted because of your discernment and trust in who I am and what I can do. It is faith that honors and pleases the Lord.
This morning as we looked at Hebrews 11, 6 we looked at that verse that you've memorized this last week, right? Or a verse that you've memorized in the past, without faith it is impossible to please him. You know that's quite a statement, isn't it? It doesn't say that it's difficult. It says it's impossible to please him without faith. For he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Just a closing word about the significance of the centurion's faith. I think there is a significance in the first place to you and to me as individuals. Tonight some of us have pressing needs too. In this case it was a young lad who was near the point of death with some sort of paralysis. Perhaps it was a type of polio which he had which was about to end his life, a pressing urgent need.
If you find yourself tonight with some kind of an urgent need in your life, I want you to know that there is one that you can look to in faith and know that he will minister to you in your time of need. He will do that. You may trust him for your needs. It is simple faith in his person and in his power that will bring your blessing. Now it may not bring immediate relief to that need as it did in this particular case. Remember what we said this morning?
Faith results in things being achieved and things happening according to God's scheme of things, a grander scheme than you and I can see. You may come to him with your pressing need, whatever that may be, and find in Jesus that answer that you need.
We can also apply this of course to us as a church family as we think of pressing needs that we have as a church in ministry, in outreach, in finances, whatever area you may talk about, we have a Lord who is able to meet our needs and has proven himself time and time again. And as he allows us to pass through trials, it is so that our faith may come to a clearer, more discerning understanding of his power and of his person, that we might know him, know him better.
Let us thank God tonight that we have a Lord who because of who he is and what he can do can reach down into our lives and intervene. We don't come to him presumptuously. We don't come to God demanding. I heard a well-meaning young preacher one time speak from the book of Isaiah where in the King James Version at least it seems to say there that we can order the hands of God, that by our prayers we can tell God what to do.
I sent a shiver up my spine as I heard him really preach a verse out of context and tell people to do something that I don't believe God ever intends for us to do. It is not ours to order God what to do, but it is ours to come to him as did the centurion with humility and a sense of our own unworthiness and to put our need before him, to lay it out and then to see how it would work. Oh, isn't that what Hezekiah did? When there was that pressing need, the enemy was surrounding the city.
He didn't know what to do. There was no answer humanly speaking. He went into the temple of the Lord and laid out his request before God. The God of heaven intervened on his behalf. You and I can know that same experience of God working in our lives as we place our faith in Him, not only for salvation, but for the daily needs that we have. The faith that receives His commendation is a faith that perceives His person and His power. It is faith that rests upon Him.
I'd like to sing about that at this point in the service. Would you turn in your hymnal please to number 325, one of my favorite hymns, Jesus, I am resting in the joy of what thou art.