2nd Tuesday of Lent (March 18). JESUS WAS AMAZED

Prepare to Listen.  Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 7:1-10
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.  2A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.  3When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.  4When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, 5for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’  6And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; 7therefore I did not presume to come to you.  But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.  8For I also 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 slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’  9When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’  10When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
The centurion was a Roman and a Gentile.  Note what the Jewish elders said of him.  What might a person of another race say of you?
 
The story focuses on the centurion’s faith, which amazed Jesus.  Normally, people were amazed by Jesus, what he said and did.  Only twice in the Gospels is Jesus amazed, and both times relate to faith.  Here he was amazed at a Gentile’s faith.  In Mark, he “was amazed at [the Jews] lack of faith.”[1]  Faith and its lack, amazed Jesus.  Still does.
 
What about the man’s faith amazed Jesus?  His disciples had faith in him, most of the time, but Jesus wasn’t amazed about that.  What was it about this centurion?  For starters he was a Gentile.  He didn’t grow up learning about the great deeds of Israel’s God.  But perhaps most amazing was his understanding of Jesus and his relation to God, an understanding that surpassed that of Jesus’ Jewish followers.  He recognized that Jesus’s power came from his relationship with God.  He likened it to his own situation.  He was a man under the authority of another, whom he obeyed.  He was also a man in authority over others who obeyed his commands.  He got that this was also true of Jesus and the Father.  “And,” says Wright, “he had grasped it in its shocking new form: this one true God was personally present and active in Jesus of Nazareth.”[2]  Therefore, if Jesus commanded, he must and would be obeyed because God was present in him.  Not even Jesus’ disciples had realized this great truth.  The centurion saw what most people either missed or didn’t want to see.  That’s what amazed Jesus.
 
How about your faith?  Would it amaze Jesus?  Why or why not?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, faith matters.  That’s obvious.  Please help my unbelief and failure to truly see who and what you are.  Help me be as insightful as this Roman centurion.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Desire a faith that amazes Jesus.
[1] Mark 6:6 (NIV).
[2] Wright, N. T.  Luke for Everyone.  Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.  2001, p. 81.