Devotional Tuesday: Authority of Faith
What can the West learn from the Roman Centurion?
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Luke 7:1–10 (ESV)
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
A quick break from our Psalms series. I was reading this morning, and the Holy Spirit began to reveal these insights to me during my study, and I wanted to share them with you.
A few days ago, I saw this video from Jon Tyson on Instagram. I have some qualms with Josh Howerton, but that’s a separate conversation. I do like John Tyson. The long-form podcast episode can be found here. I did not listen yet but for reference.
Why aren’t there more healings in the Western Church?
Jon’s answer to this question is really significant for us. There is a communal and cultural atmosphere of faith. Jon is aware of the layers of nuance around this, but I think rightfully so, acknowledges there is something about the corporate atmosphere of faith in the West and specifically in Western Churches.
Simply put, we need more faith.
We have become so accustomed to putting our faith in ourselves or in the things of earth which we can see—administrations, hospital systems, financial institutions, policymakers, innovative companies, charities, etc.—that we often lack authentic and bold faith.
We lack faith because, 99.9% of the time, we do not need faith. We need to schedule doctor appointments, make a little more money, or work out some problems ourselves. Most of the time, we do not need faith.
How many minutes this year did you need a divine miracle? Probably very few. (Unless you really did… We will get to that in a moment.)
There are five lessons for us in the faith of the centurion.
Faith is developed in the normality of life. (Lk 7:3-5)
Faith is activated in crisis. (Lk 7:2)
Faith is established in belief. (Luke 7:3).
Faith is seen in authority. (Lk 7:7-8)
Authority comes from humility and faith. (Luke 7:6;9)
Faith is developed in the normality of life. (Lk 7:3-5)
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”
This centurion was no stranger to the Jewish faith or their ways. This man was a friend of the Jews. He invested in their faith community. He built their church. His faith was developed in the normal times of his life.
This short sentence reveals that there is a longstanding history this man has with the people of Capernaum and their Jewish beliefs. Over the years, this centurion has had his faith built up throughout the normality of life. Weekly sabbath and teaching, daily prayers, fasting, reading of the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy). These aspects of faith were simply part of Jewish life. Normal, consistent spiritual disciplines aimed at developing faith.
Faith is activated in crisis. (Lk 7:2)
2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
While faith is developed in normality, it is activated when a crisis appears. Like sports, practice is the place where skills and abilities are developed, but they become important and active within the actual game of play.
The centurion reveals that this crisis of death requires his faith to be activated in order to preserve the life of his servant. Notice that the servant is important to him. Urgency always increases with the proximity of our value.
Unless we are engaged in a cycle of crisis that seems to compound, most of us probably only have crises occasionally. This means that we are not familiar with activating the needed faith that the crisis requires. This is why developing faith is so important, yet sadly, many Western Christians do not adequately invest in developing their faith. Thus, the crisis becomes overwhelming.
Faith is established in belief. (Luke 7:3).
The centurion is not overwhelmed.
His faith has implanted into him the strength to seek God and preserve in the face of death and suffering.
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
His faith in God gave him the wisdom to understand the need for Jesus to heal his servant. The response of faith and belief in God is always seen as wisdom to take the right next step.
The centurion rightfully sought out Jesus as the answer to his problem.
Why is this important? It means that he believed that Jesus was able to heal his servant.
Faith without belief does not make sense. But when we believe and have faith in God, we always find ourselves in the best possible place, seeking the presence of God
Faith is seen in authority. (Lk 7:7-8)
7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Here is the heart of the story and the main key for us here in the West as we seek to grow our faith…
Radical faith in Jesus ought to be expressed in authority. The centurion had so much faith in Jesus that he knew all it took was the command to be healed. The physical presence of Jesus was not required because the authoritative command would bring forth healing.
Our Western churches are not generally familiar with this kind of authority because we cannot look beyond ourselves. We have become so blinded by the baggage and history of Jesus or our own faulty expression of him that we cannot (or choose not) to believe in his power in our lives.
As a response to not seeking the power of Jesus, we have focused on fixing our problems ourselves with our own power. And so the cycle continues… until our own power is not enough… Cancer. Homelessness. Natural disaster. Divorce…
Eventually, we will need a miracle. Sadly, without the development of faith, we will not believe in the authority of Jesus to bring forth salvation to our lives.
Authority comes from humility and faith. (Luke 7:6;9)
Now, this is where the tension of faith is expressed. For many years in the West, prosperity gospel teachers have employed authority without humility. This is where the name-it-claim-it practice diverts from the gospel. People who believe all they need is faith forget the words of the centurion.
6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof … 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
The authority of our faith does not come from us but rather from our complete dependence and faith in God. Authority without humility will not lead to salvation. The Jews had many people who acted in authority on God’s behalf, yet none of them had the prominence of Jesus. The Pharisees, scribes, and rabbis all employed authority but never submitted to Jesus.
This tension is felt and not completely understood. Wrestle with seeking God, believing with authority that he will bring forth salvation, and submitting to him and his sovereign rule.
If you want to wrestle with the heart of Jesus and his desires for you, check out my review of Gentle and Lowly.
What would happen if we developed faith so that in the midst of crisis, we could cry out to God with authority, believing his help is on the way?