Luke 7:1-10 [Pentecost 2—CWS C]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
June 23, 2019
In the name of Jesus our Savior, dear friends,
Now that we have NBA basketball and NHL hockey out of the way, baseball gets the pro sports spotlight more or less to itself this summer. That makes some people happy; other people couldn’t care less. But if you should watch a baseball game or two over the next months—even by accident—you’ll likely hear some weird stats fall out of the mouths of announcers. They may tell you, for instance, how rare it is for a 6’5” first baseman who owns a pet goldfish and whose father’s name is Randy, to swing at the first pitch every time he is up to bat in a game that starts after noon on a Sunday. That is SO rare! Baseball loves that kind of thing. Now, I don’t know if Jesus would have been a baseball fan while living in this world—if it had been invented then, but I do know that he liked something that was indeed rare. That thing was “great faith.” Perhaps you’re aware that Scripture only tells us of two people Jesus ever came into contact with, who impressed him so much, that he said they had “great faith.” One story is that of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed. The other we hear about today. As we look more closely at this man, we will also become aware that our lives of faith bear some similarities to his. This morning, we turn our attention to STORIES OF IMPROBABLE AND RARE FAITH 1. A ROMAN CENTURION’S 2. YOURS AND MINE Capernaum was a city on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. A particular Roman centurion was among the soldiers stationed there to enforce Roman law and ensure that no rebellion would take place. This man was in charge of over 100 men. With that job and that kind of responsibility, we might imagine him to be a tough guy, authoritative, a no-nonsense, battle-hardened solder—not a man to be trifled with! To the Jews who lived in Israel, the Romans were the oppressive enemy and a commander with this kind of authority was to be feared. As improbable as it seems, THIS centurion was different…really different! He actually loved the Jewish people. He had a synagogue build so that the LORD’s people could worship. He was humble. He sought help from Jesus, but didn’t play the “Do you know who I am?” card with Jesus in order to impress him or convince him to do something for him. He didn’t even go to Jesus himself, but instead sent Jewish elders. It was those Jewish men who spoke so highly of him and felt that he deserved the Savior’s help. But the most remarkable thing about this man was his faith in Jesus! I’m betting that you wouldn’t guess that many Roman soldiers would put their faith in Jesus. I know I wouldn’t think that very likely! To the Romans, Caesar was god. He was the one to be honored and worshiped. Years after this, the Romans would systematically kill Christians for professing faith in Jesus and for not worshiping Caesar. But there he was—a man of rare faith! As unlikely as it was, he put his trust in Jesus.