The power of faith

 

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:4-6

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.” 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.” Luke 7:6-9

Did you know that there are just two occasions in the Gospels where Jesus is said to be “amazed” or to “marvel”? You didn’t? Well, neither did I until the other day as I happened to be reading a commentary.

You might say, So what?

Well, it’s fascinating to notice what it is in particular that caused him to be amazed…

In Mark 6:4-6 he is preaching to his own townspeople, that is to fellow-Jews – only to find that “they took offence at him” (verse 3). And so Mark tells us that “he was amazed at their lack of faith”. His amazement took the form of dismay and disappointment.

And then in Luke 7:1-10 he has an encounter with a soldier, a centurion serving in the Roman army. This man is desperately concerned for a sick servant, and not only is he humble enough to plead with Jesus for healing but he also has a simple, almost childlike faith that Jesus can do it. Whereupon Luke tells us that Jesus “was amazed at him… ‘I tell you… I have not found such great faith even in Israel’”. This is amazement in the form of delight.

Very different. But in both cases it’s all about faith. In one, he is amazed not to find it where he thinks he should, among his fellow-Jews; in the other he is amazed to find it where he obviously doesn’t expect it, among the gentiles, in a pagan soldier.

The centurion is worth focussing on. In fact, in the Gospels and Acts centurions in general are worth focussing on. The other famous example is Cornelius, whose story we read in Acts 10. Yes, another Roman soldier, but “he and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need, and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2).

If you were a Jew in Capernaum that day described in Luke 7 and saw the centurion walking down the street in his uniform and hob-nailed sandals, with his sword strapped on, your reaction would probably be one of hatred and fear. He was one of the occupying force, noted for their brutality and cruelty.

But if you were a local resident you may have seen him differently, for it seems he had been based in Capernaum for some time and was noted for his friendliness towards the people he had to control. It was said of him (verse 5) that “he loves our nation” and had even “built our synagogue” (how surprising is that!). It seems he was a rich man, even to the extent of financing a major building operation for the Jewish population.

The more you read Luke’s account of this incident, the more impressive this man appears. He is compassionate, loving the servant who is sick and dying. He is humble, prepared to approach the wandering preacher Jesus and to plead with him. Above all, he had the kind of faith which took Jesus’ breath away.

A simple point emerges: we never know what is going on in the heart of another person. Appearances can be very deceptive.

There’s no reason to think that things are any different today. There may be somebody in your circle – a neighbour, perhaps, or a work colleague – whom you have never remotely suspected of being a Christian. Indeed, they may not be a “Christian” at all, in the sense of having a declared faith in Jesus. But who knows what goes on in the depths of their soul? Who knows if indeed they pray with greater faith and humility than… you or me?

We tend to divide people into two clear-cut categories, the “saved” and the “unsaved”. And Jesus indeed gives some encouragement for this in several of his parables (for example the sheep and the goats). But let’s never forget that God alone knows which category each person fits into.

The Gospels never encourage us to speculate on another person’s status before God. And the New Testament as a whole suggests that we should be very careful before making up our minds about someone else’s eternal destiny. No: our job is simply to love and care and to present Christ as best we can.

Of the unnamed centurion the astounded Jesus declared “I have not found such great faith even in Israel”. In other words, “In the very place where I ought to be able to expect faith, I don’t find it. But in the very place where I don’t expect faith, there it is, leaving me shaking my head in amazement”.

Could it be that there is some person in your life, as yet unconverted, of whom Jesus might say “I see more faith in him/her than in those people turning up regularly at that church down the road?”

Remember, the New Testament tells us that we are “justified by faith”, something the centurion had in spades, not that we are justified by believing in justification by faith. Get the difference?

Lord God, you alone know the heart of every man and woman on this earth. Please help me not to jump to conclusions, but to leave judgment to you - and not be surprised if you spring some surprises! Amen.