Luke 7:1-17  

Two short stories.  Have a read  here:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207%3A1-17&version=NLT

Here we meet a man whose faith amazed Jesus. 

Honestly? Respect! 

I would love to meet Jesus one day and have him say, “Girl, remember your faith in that moment?  You blew me away!” Oh my goodness I want that!  What kind of faith amazes Jesus? I gotta know.    

This man is a centurion, a small-time Roman soldier, but still an officer. He had authority, and understood how authority worked. It seems like he used his authority with a lot of grace and generosity. The people whose town it was his job to occupy, loved him. They described him as loving their nation. Obviously he wasn’t a Jew but he loved them. He even built the local synagogue. He was also the kind of guy who built relationships with his servants and cared deeply about them.

 And he was humble. He didn’t feel worthy to approach Jesus in person. He wasn’t even comfortable having him under his roof. 

He recognized Jesus was something special. 

He had confidence in Jesus’ authority. He knew how authority worked, and he recognized Jesus had it. 

He believed that Jesus’ word was enough. He believed Jesus’ word.  If Jesus was willing to remove his servant’s suffering, it would be removed and all it would take was a word.

This centurion just seems like a good man, aware of who he is and who Jesus is.  There’s a quiet confidence and humility in him that is really admirable. And he amazed Jesus.  

Part of me wishes Jesus was like, “Nah, I gotta spend some time with this amazing guy!” But in a way he honoured him with his response, “You’re absolutely right. I can heal your friend simply by saying so. Thanks for believing in me. I’ll take this opportunity to show other people what you’ve already figured out”. 

Jesus talks in other stories about coming to him “like a child”  He says a faith that honours him is childlike.  I think this Roman officer embodies childlike faith.  There is a simple trust.  He doesn’t come with fancy words, pomp and pageantry.  He sends a servant to get help from someone who he is confident can give it.  Like sending a friend to get your dad when you have hurt yourself and can’t get up.  You have no doubt that he can help.  You have no doubt that he cares.  “Go get my dad.”  Childlike faith! 

Then Jesus is travelling through Nain and passes a funeral. He sees a woman who is already a widow, and he knows that the man in the coffin is her only son. She’s not only grief stricken but quite defenceless and hopeless in that culture. 

Jesus’ heart goes out to her. In that moment he feels her pain and anxiety, and instead of walking by, he moves to her. Walking into the middle of the little procession he approaches her and makes sure he has her attention. 

Then he says, “Don’t cry.”

And see, when you and I say “Don’t cry” we are just as helpless as the person to whom we say it. “Don’t cry” is no different than saying, “I’m so sorry.”  which is generally neither helpful nor wise to say.

But when Jesus says, “Don’t cry” he’s saying, “you don’t have a reason to cry anymore”. We are told there are no tears in heaven. That’s not because God has outlawed tears. It’s because there will never be another reason to shed them. 

Then Jesus walks over to the coffin and removes her cause for tears.

I am so grateful that the Jesus I find in scripture is one who truly cares about my heart ache but also has the ability to heal it.