"And when he was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
and saying,
'Lord, my servant lays in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented."
"And he (Jesus) saith unto him, 'I will come and heal him.
"And the centurion answered and said, 'Lord, I am not
worthy that thou should come under my
roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be
healed.
" 'For I also am a man under authority, having under myself
soldiers: and I say to this one, Go,
and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
"And when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them
that followed, Verily I say unto you,
I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel...."
- Matthew 8: 5 - 13 -
Another accounting:
" After he had ended all his
sayings in the ears of the people, he entered into Capernaum."
"And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him,
was sick and at the point of death.
And when he heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders
of the Jews, asking him that he
would come and save his servant. And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him
earnestly,
saying, 'He is worthy
that thou should do this for him: for he loveth our nation, and himself
built us our synagogue.' And Jesus went with
them. And when he was now not far from the
house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him,
'Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am
not worthy that thou should come under my roof: wherefore
neither thought I myself worthy
to
come unto thee: but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.
" 'For I also am a man set under authority, having under
myself soldiers: and I say to this one,
Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes and to
my servant, Do this, and he
does
it.' And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned and said
unto
the multitude that followed
him, 'I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel.' And, they that were
sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole."
- Luke 7: 1 - 10 - -
Here it is, an outsider's instant
recognition and acknowledgment of Jesus' authority. Not from one of his insider
group of friends, but recognition from, of all people, a Roman Centurion. How is
this possible, when those who were supposed to acknowledge the office and power
of Jesus failed to do so? I consider this incident a brilliant example of the
blind arrogance of the Jewish people at that time and their failure to
comprehend their God incarnate as he walked amongst them and preached a gospel
so inspired that it could come only from one who had the greatest of authority
and power unlimited.
The Centurion not only recognized the authority of
Jesus, but served up another example to follow for all those who claim Christ as
their savior: Place completely one's faith entirely in Jesus and expect
him to perform a miracle. By recognizing and deferring to the absolute authority
of Jesus Christ, the Centurion showed us all, literally, how we are supposed to
conduct ourselves in our roles as disciples.
It comes down to this: Either each of us has complete
faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master...
or we don't!
Which is it for you? Are you a Christian who has
made the public confession of faith, yet... you seek out reinforcement in one
form or another to continually reassure yourself that you've made the correct
decision in accepting Christ? Or, are you a true believer, and ideally, a
disciple? A follower of Christ who does not question the orders of 'the boss',
but steps up, willingly accepts them, and carries them out?
The Centurion
made it perfectly clear by his words and his faith in the power of the Christ.
In Luke's accounting, he recognized supreme authority when he learned of it. He
didn't even have to see Jesus, but sent emissaries. Both the Centurion, and
Jesus' disciples, had not the gift of hindsight - that is, they had no Bible.
Any observations of Jesus, acceptance of the messages in his parables, his
declarations of oneness with the Father, his prophesies of death and
resurrection, and the acceptance of his miracles - all of these had to be seen
and heard as they happened, or relayed by witnesses, and the results of Christ's
miracles, his preaching, and his claims to being God incarnate had to be
accepted, or rejected, by his disciples and others right then and there.
Some places where Jesus preached, he would never return. For many hearing his
words, witnessing the miracles he performed, these people were compelled either
by common sense, or by a deep spiritual need, to make up their minds and accept
him, or reject him. What those people back then were forced to do is no
different than what each and every one of us is forced to do right now when we
submit to the authority and majesty of Jesus: proclaim it, and having done so
are not to be vexed by continual doubts as to whether we have made the right
decision.
Recognizing, and acting upon, the authority of Christ as the
'Captain of my ship' - as do I - is the first and primary step in becoming a
disciple of the Christ. Luther and Bonhoeffer summarized it best when they said
in so many words: Believe and then obey. Remember, we do not choose to join
Jesus. Instead, it is Jesus who calls us, and when he does, we are compelled to
make an 'Either/Or' decision: Either we join him, Or, we don't.
<<Table of Contents
Next>>
©Copyright 2009 - Donald Neal McKay -
The MISSION DISCIPLESHIP
|
