Sermon Notes

7 1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.” 6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well. (The Message)

In this week’s lesson, (Faith of a Centurion vs Healing From A Distance), the story of the Centurion’s faith is noteworthy because he is a Gentile, and a Jewish outsider. Luke provides no evidence to suggest that this Roman official was a disciple of Jesus before his slave was healed, or that he becomes one after. However, Jesus employs his declaration of faith as a teaching exercise on the measure of faith. Neither Jesus, nor his disciples, would have expected a politically influential Roman official to demonstrate such faith in the peasant prophet from Nazareth. However, because the Centurion exhibits such trust in Jesus’ authority and the power of his word, Jesus responds to his faithful request with healing and a commendation that endures throughout the ages.
Regarding the witness and efficacy of the Church, nothing is more important than having vigorous, maturing faith. Faith is the fertile ground from which discipleship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and agape-love sprouts. Without faith, the Church is hampered in its audacious task of enfleshing the radically inclusive Kingdom of God. Without faith, the Church is ill-equipped to take a bodacious stand against the people and systems that marginalize the least, lowly, and most vulnerable among us. Without faith, the Church is unable to commit itself to transforming this world by the Spirit of the resurrected Christ. Thus, Luke’s narrative of the Centurion’s faith provides both 1st century and 21st century followers of Jesus with an example to emulate and embrace.

Luke’s version of Jesus healing a Roman Centurion’s slave is paralleled in Matthew 8:5-13. (Note: John also has a similar story of healing a Roman Official’s son in John 4: 46-54.) In both Gospel accounts, Jesus enters Capernaum after his didactic discourse on the responsibilities of discipleship—The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6 )—where he is greeted by a report of a request of healing by a Roman military official. However, there are notable differences between the Matthean and Lucan accounts. In the Matthean account, Jesus and the Centurion have a face-to-face conversation, and the slave’s illness is identified as paralysis that does not appear to be a fatal condition. In the Lucan account, the Centurion never personally speaks with Jesus and the slave is near death. However, the cause of his suffering is not mentioned. These differences draw attention to the common oral source traditions that underscore this healing narrative, while highlighting the diversity of memory and lived experience within these two distinct faith communities.
It is important to note that Luke emphasizes the reversal of social roles between Jesus and the Centurion, inviting readers to consider how the Centurion’s faith is the impetus for the slave’s healing. According to New Testament scholar Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, “The powerful and respected centurion rightly sees in the lowly Jesus a power greater than his own. For that insight he is praised.” Although highly decorated and politically influential, the Centurion readily humbles himself so his slave can be healed.

1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.”
Before Jesus enters into Capernaum, in Luke 6, he has been preaching and teaching the Sermon on the Plain, which is Luke’s abbreviated version of the Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The fact that the text says Jesus enters Capernaum, as opposed to traveled to Capernaum, indicates that he was likely near the city as he was preaching and teaching. Capernaum was a city located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 2.5 miles west of the entrance of the Jordan River. The city was an economic center and toll station in Galilee because it was situated on intersecting east-west trade routes. There was also a Roman military installation there, under the command of a Roman Centurion—one who was responsible for the command of 100 soldiers. Although Jesus was brought up in Nazareth, Capernaum became a homebase for his Jesus’ ministry (Mark 2:1; Matthew 9:1).
Luke describes the Centurion as being generous to the people within this community. While he possessed tremendous authority and political power due to his position within the Roman Empire’s military structure, he must have exercised his power judiciously, because is respected by Jewish leaders. They say he built the synagogue in Capernaum and that he loved the Jewish people. Further, Luke uses the Greek word philo, meaning friend, to describe persons within the delegation that greets Jesus.
Notably, the Centurion does not approach Jesus directly. Instead, he sends Jewish elders who vouch for his character and the merit of his request. Thus, the Jewish leadership, which has previously renounced Jesus as a false Messiah and a heretic (Mark 2:24, 7:5) asks Jesus to help the Centurion’s servant. Their actions reveal their obvious hypocrisy. If these leaders were convinced that Jesus was a heretic, they should have rejected the Centurion’s appeal for Jesus’ help. However, because of their relationship with the Centurion, the Jewish leaders request Jesus’s assistance.
6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Jesus accompanies the men, heading towards the Centurion’s house. However, mid-way through the journey, he is stopped by a second delegation who report the Centurion’s humility and personal acknowledgement of inadequacy in the face of Jesus’ authority. In contrast to the attitude of the Jewish leadership, which appealed to Jesus on behalf of the Centurion’s worthiness, the Centurion describes himself as being completely unworthy to meet Jesus face-to-face. His appeal for help is on the basis of a dying man’s need—not on any authority that is vested in him due to his rank or political connects. In fact, the sending of the first and second delegations of elders (πρεσβυτέροι or presbuteroi in Greek), indicates the Centurion understands his position of inferiority in the face of Jesus’ superiority. The elders essentially act as an envoy of subjects before Jesus.
The Centurion’s military experience and knowledge of chain-of-command tell him that Jesus’ authority extends beyond His physical presence. He believes Jesus does not have to be physically present to heal the slave. Jesus needs simply to say the word and healing will occur. The Centurion’s declaration is an insightful observation of Jesus’ divine authority, especially since this request is based upon what he had heard of Jesus. Luke does not indicate that the Centurion had ever met Jesus personally. However, perhaps he heard of the miraculous draught of fish (Luke 5:1-11); the healing of the paralytic, who was lowered through the roof and whose sins were forgiven (Luke 5:18-26); or the Sermon of the Plain (Luke 6:17-49). Regardless of what he heard, the Centurion believed and acted on that belief. As Christians, we are expected to be like the Centurion. We should hear the Word of God, believe the Word of God, and then act upon what we have heard.
The Centurion appears to have had an appreciation for the Jews because they affirm that he built their synagogue. Of course, the building of the synagogue may have been as a result of political expedience—maintaining a good relationship with the natives engenders peace and ensures payment of taxes. But it seems clear that this Roman official had an understanding of Jewish culture and religion So, he did not wish to have Jesus put in the position to have to come into his house, which could have damaged His reputation among the Jews because of his perceived intimate contact with a non-Jew. This showed both humility and practical wisdom on the part of the Centurion.
9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.
In the final verses of the lesson text, Luke narrates the healing of the slave and most importantly, Jesus’s response to the Centurion’s faith declaration. Jesus points out that this non-Jew had exhibited a level of confidence in God and His authority that should have been on display from the Jewish people. The Jews should be able to attest to God’s healing power, but they do not. This healing is the fifth healing episode in the Gospel of Luke—four times Jesus has a healed a Jewish person of an infirmity in a face-to face incident (Luke 4:31-44; Luke 5:12-26; Luke 6:6-11; Luke 6:17-19). However, this time the one who requests the healing with formidable faith, and the one who receives the healing, is a Gentile.
These observations evoke a question for the 21st century Church: Do non-Christians have an expectation of God’s healing power that Christians do not have? Or put another way, Does the world have more faith in God than the Church? Where is our faith, and our resurrection expectancy? Do we like to profess Christianity without the authentic markers of Christianity: faith, hope and love? It is lamentable that others would have a better understanding of the authority of God—and the witness of the faith—than those who are supposed to be God’s disciples.
Luke’s account of healing the Centurion’s slave is addressed primarily to a non-Jewish audience and emphasizes the faith of an outsider. When Jesus commends the Centurion for his faith, it underscores that he is looking for those who:
• Recognize the authority of Jesus as the Christ, and are “crazy enough” to trust God for the impossible. Further, the Kingdom of God is looking for people who will act on their faith.
• Acknowledge they are insufficient in themselves, but they know that because of Jesus Christ’s gracious invitation, they are deemed worthy of healing and wholeness.
• Embody a perspective that sees the world with compassionate eyes—seeking to care for the helpless, the hopeless, and those who are on the margins of society. Jesus’ authority and grace extends to those whom society forgets, despises and ignores. As Christians we must leave a legacy of love—not hate, disinterest, or apathy. Contemporary Christians must exhibit a compassion and concern to those whom the world ignores, forgets, and casts aside.

i. See Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder’s article, “Luke” in Brian Blount, et al, True to Our Native Land: An African American Commentary, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 167.
ii. See Barbara E. Reid and Shelly Matthews, Luke 1–9 (Wisdom Commentary Series Book 43) Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition, p. 495.