Faith of Men                         Matthew 8:5-13

In today’s reading we meet a Roman Centurian who approaches Jesus and asks him to heal his paralyzed servant. Today’s passage has some similar themes as last week. And as with many encounters Jesus has, he uses the physical to explain the spiritual.

Verses 5 and 6, “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Centurian came to him asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.’” These two characters introduced right at the beginning of this passage, the Centurion and the servant, tell us a lot spiritually.

The Centurion is a Roman soldier, if anything, he’s polytheistic, he doesn’t believe in nor follow the Jewish God, and yet he has faith. This event takes place right after Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Could this soldier have been in the audience listening to Jesus talk? Could he have been listening to the town’s citizenry talking about Jesus and his healings? The show “The Chosen” makes it seem like the centurion was friends, or at least friendly with some of Jesus’ disciples. This scripture doesn’t give us any indication of how he came to believe in Jesus, all we know is he did.

The centurion’s first word to Jesus is “Lord.” Again, scripture is using an unnamed character to teach us about our spiritual reality. This unnamed Gentile shows us Jesus came for everyone no matter where you’re born, no matter your nationality, no matter what your beliefs were before you came to faith. All anyone has to do to gain Jesus is come to believe in him and accept him as Lord. Ephesians 3:6, “This mystery is through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, member together of one body, and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus.”

And like what we saw last week, this man didn’t say anything particularly faithful. He actually didn’t ask Jesus for anything. All he did was approach Jesus and state his problem not knowing what Jesus would do, but simply believing Jesus would do something.

When I was doing my internship, the church I was working with had open times during the week where anyone could come and ask questions about our faith, and about Jesus coming in our lives. I heard things like “I’ve been this way for so long, I’ve never really believed before, I don’t know if praying to Jesus will do anything.” The centurion, like the paralyzed man’s friends last week, shows us, don’t worry, what happened before doesn’t matter. Come to Christ with your questions, with your fear, with your insecurities, and have faith. You may not know what Jesus will do but believe Jesus will do something to aid and comfort you.

And like the paralyzed man last week, the paralyzed servant here shows us our condition without Christ. We are unable to walk freely among men without greed, apathy, or selfishness. We are confined and bound by our sin, absent of the redeeming work of Christ and the grace of God the Father.

Verse 7, “Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’” Jesus’ response to the centurion is the same response he has for each of us, “You are here, do you want me in your life? Do you want me to heal you?”

I’ve counseled people and said to them, “You’ve told me about your life, about your pain and trouble. Do you want Jesus to forgive your sins?” This is really the only question we have to answer, and the answer determines whether or not we have salvation.

And to be clear, the question has no preconditions: change your lifestyle, then decide if you want Jesus to forgive your sins; stop your addiction, then choose Jesus; do you want Jesus in your life, then stop all your sinful behavior. The servant is lying paralyzed, and as we know, Jesus heals him; a historical truth to show us Jesus heals while we’re in the midst of our life. Jesus forgives us while we’re still bound by our sin. Romans5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Verse 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.”

Once more, a historical event demonstrates spiritual truth. Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” This Roman officer knows he is not worthy of Jesus nor his help. He also knows Jesus is the only one who can help. The centurion approaches Jesus with humility, unable to make the slightest command. The soldier comes to Jesus with absolutely no power to alter his circumstances. And he comes to Jesus with a belief in the love and compassion of Jesus and his ability to heal.

Men are not worthy of Jesus; we keep doing things that go against God. And because of this, we are unable to affect any change in our eternal existence. But Jesus went to the cross for exactly this reason. For everyone on earth, know Jesus’ love and compassion are beyond our ability to understand. Know that whatever you have done, whatever you have believed, Jesus is there for you. Make no demands. Don’t try to make deals with him. Just approach Jesus, admit your condition, and simply ask him to heal you.

This centurion didn’t lay fancy gifts at Jesus’ feet. He didn’t forego his Roman heritage. He didn’t do anything except approach Jesus as he is, still wearing his uniform,      and ask for help.

To all mankind, you don’t have to recover from your addiction. You don’t have to change your lifestyle. You don’t have to make amends. You have to approach Jesus just as you are and ask for his help. As Jesus healed the servant, he will change your life.

We also see in verse 8 how the centurion knew Jesus could heal his servant even from a distance. This is important. This shows faith does not require anyone or anything other than itself. You don’t become Christian by walking down the center aisle of a grand cathedral. You don’t become Christian by having a religious leader chant special prayers over you. You become a Christian by belief, simple belief in God’s son, Christ Jesus. You become a Christian by asking Jesus to be with you.

The healing of the servant from a distance also shows that it doesn’t matter where you are, a grand estate, a hospital bed, a homeless shelter, a jail cell; ask Jesus to heal you and he will.

Verse 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.” This statement is significant because Jesus uses this encounter with the Roman to teach his followers, and to assure humanity that the kingdom of heaven is open to anyone no matter who they are or where they’re from, as long as they believe.

Here, with his Jewish followers around him, and this Roman Gentile before him, Jesus shows the world his message is universal. He shows God welcomes everyone into his family. And this encounter is the justification for Paul’s mission as described in Romans 5:16, “He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

This centurion’s faith is a model for our own. It serves to encourage us to approach Jesus with humility, and confidence in his love and compassion and his power to heal us. This encounter reminds us that faith and salvation are not reserved for those who live a certain way or in a specific place. It reminds us that God’s grace and forgiveness are not reserved for those who live a particular lifestyle or attend a specific church.

Jesus, the centurion, and his servant, demonstrate for the world, God’s love and mercy are for everyone. Jesus’ message of forgiveness is universal.

This scene serves to remind us that whether one is in prison or in a mansion, whether one is on assistance or earning six figures, God’s grace is for them.

And this encounter between Jesus and the centurion challenges us. It tests all followers of Christ; are we willing to see the worth of both the mighty and the lowly? Are we willing to offer our grace, our compassion, our hand, to anyone no matter their life or condition?

Amen