“When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 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.” 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. 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.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.”
Luke 7:1-10 NIV
I found this story both intriguing and enlightening, adding another layer to my understanding of faith and prayer.
Let’s take this report apart, layer by layer.
First, the man who asked Jesus for help was a pagan, a Roman soldier who happened to be serving his emperor in Israel. He probably had, with a background of idolatry…many gods from Greek and Roman mythology, little or no knowledge of Jewish monotheistic religion.
Why did this man ask a Jewish rabbi to do a miracle? How did he know that this was possible?
Perhaps, in his round of duties, this centurion had encountered Jesus somewhere, either in person or by hearsay. He was obviously impressed by Jesus’ authority. What Jesus said happened, even unusual things like demons fleeing and sick people, and even people who had physical defects like blindness and paralysis, being cured and restored.
This pagan Roman had enough sense to weigh up the evidence and conclude that Jesus had a connection with divine power which was much more than human. Unlike the religious leaders, he had no prejudice to blind him to a realistic conclusion.
When his servant became deathly sick, the centurion’s thoughts turned to Jesus. Perhaps he might also be in line for a miracle. As luck would have it, so he might have thought, Jesus happened to be in town. Bring a pagan, he showed his respect for a Jewish rabbi by sending some Jewish leaders to Jesus with a humble request for help. The Jews assured Jesus that he was worthy of help because of his benevolence towards the Jews.
As Jesus approached his house, the centurion came out to meet Him. Again, he showed his respect by making room for Jewish scruples…not to enter a Gentile home for fear of being defiled. He expressed both his feeling of unworthiness and his confidence in Jesus’ words by his understanding of how authority worked.
This is where the issue of authority and faith meet.
The centurion knew what authority meant because he carried authority in the Roman system in keeping with his rank in the army. He was the link between the authority to which he submitted and the soldiers under him. His authority did not extend beyond those who answered to him, but his word was law for them because of the chain of command.
This man recognised that Jesus both had authority in His domain and understood His chain of command in the spiritual realm. He also knew that authority was conveyed through words. Just as he spoke the instructions he received to those under him, so he recognised that Jesus spoke the words He received from His authority to the sick and oppressed, and stuff happened.
Here is the real source of faith. To have faith in Jesus, to recognise, accept, and trust in His authority to do what He has said, is the essence of faith. Hence, the burning question for the religious leaders was always…”Who gave you authority to do what you are doing.? What is the source of your authority?” They could not deny that Jesus had authority but they refused to believe that His authority came from God.
Faith, then, is absolute confidence in the power of Jesus to do what He said He would do because He had authority to do so. This takes the effort and guesswork out of faith. Faith, then, isn’t something that we must work up but simple confidence in Jesus’ words because of His authority.
This brings me to faith and prayer. If faith is confidence in the authority of Jesus’ word, it stands to reason that His word is the all-important factor in prayer. He will always do what He promised. This means that our prayers are powerful as they line up with what He has promised.
“But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:18-20 NIV
Real faith, then, is not a hit-and-miss hope that He will act when I pray. Faith is firmly anchored in Jesus’ authority to do what He has promised.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Matthew 28:18 NIV
To be continued…