Under Authority: Trusting the King of Kings

Under Authority: Trusting in the King of Kings

Luke 7:1-10

• Greetings and Prayer

• Have you ever felt powerless?

STORY: When my car lost power, I had no other option but to just roll with it. Oftentimes in our lives, we feel this way, spiritually speaking.

Life happens, and it leaves us at a loss.

• We feel like a circumstance has backed us into a corner, and all we can say is, “I don’t know what to do.”
• Maybe it is the health of a loved one; maybe it is our relationship with our children, or maybe it is a frustration we feel at work.
• Sometimes, this makes us just want to scream into a pillow or even run away from our problems. Some of us might even be on that road tonight.
• What we are saying is, “God, I give up. I can’t handle this.”
• The good news. That is exactly the place where God can work. That is the exact moment that we come to the end of ourselves and where God can begin to show his power and his might.

Jesus is powerful when we feel powerless. We can have confidence in Him that while we are unworthy, he has the power to heal, forgive, and restore our hope.

Tonight, I want to look at a couple of stories in the gospel of Luke. In these stories, Jesus encounters people who find themselves coming to the end of themselves. They are in need, and they realize they are powerless.

Let’s take a look at Luke 7:1

Jesus has just given Luke a retelling of what in Matthew was the Sermon on the Mount, but here is the Sermon on the Plain.

• And Jesus has become very popular. He has crowds following him everywhere he goes because people want to hear him speak and see the miracles he is performing.
• Jesus is now going back to Capernaum. This was really ground zero of Jesus’ ministry and was his sort of headquarters. This is where Simon Peter and a couple of the other disciples lived.
• Jesus did more miracles in Capernaum than in any other city.
• It is for that reason Jesus, in the book of Matthew, said that Capernaum would be judged for their continued unfaithfulness and disbelief.

Matthew 11:23-24— And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

We might say to ourselves. If only I could see, then I would believe. If only God showed up in a mighty way. Then I could really know for sure.

• Jesus was surrounded by a crowd of people who witnessed firsthand his miracles and his teachings, but they still had doubts.
• Many who would eventually be standing in the crowd shouting “Crucify Him” were present for miracles we look at in Luke 7.
• So, where is the disconnect?
• Jesus’ miracles are meant to testify to Jesus’ authority.

• John 5:36—”I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.”

• These miracles point to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and that he has authority over all things.
• Many Christians have become obsessed with signs and wonders, but like the crowds, you worship/desire the blessings without recognizing the identity of the blesser.
• So Jesus is in Capernaum and is approached:

Luke 7:1-10—When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.2 And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; 7 for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

So many great spiritual insights from this story.

The centurion understood some clear spiritual truths.

1. The centurion understood he was unworthy.

• Notice what is said of this centurion by the Jewish elders in verse 4.
• They tell Jesus, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him, for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”
• In the Jews’s eyes, why was he worthy? Because he was supportive of the Jewish people and helped build a synagogue for them.
• Centurions would be much wealthier than the average foot soldier in the Roman army. Once they rose to this rank, they would be paid 20 times the average amount of a Roman soldier. They were also given great privileges in Roman culture. They would receive riches from war efforts and even special housing built by the emperor.
• So, the Jewish elders looked at the centurion and saw the blessings the centurion gave them. And because of the centurion’s generosity and support, they say he is worthy!

This is the common belief of society.

1. Many think they are worthy but are not.

• ILLUSTRATION- The nice old lady on the corner syndrome. We think. She is so nice and kind. We don’t need to share the gospel with her because she is a good person. But that is dangerous! You can be a “good” person by the terms of the world, but no one is “good enough” to receive eternal life.
• The Jewish elders tell Jesus the centurion is worthy, but that is not what the centurion says of himself.
• Verse 6 & 7: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason, I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
• The centurion knows he is not worthy. He is so aware of the undeserving nature of his request that he doesn’t approach Jesus himself but sends his friends to speak to Jesus.

2. The centurion was a man of compassion

• The centurion sends this message to Jesus to ask Jesus to heal his servant.
• In that culture, servants were considered property or simply a liability. A master would take account of his possessions every year, sort of like the tax season we are in now. A master would then keep what was beneficial and get rid of what was extra or not helpful to his household. This could include servants.
• Sometimes, a master would release a servant from his household and basically allow them to become a beggar. No one would want them if they were not productive. They would have no rights.
• So this makes the centurion’s relationship with his servant in Luke 7 very unusual. If your servant was dying… why bother?
• But this centurion cared for all those who were under his authority, including even the lowly servants of his household.
• This can be overlooked when considering Jesus’ later amazement.
• QUESTION: What sort of reputation do you have among those under your influence?
• We are not supposed to live to please others.
• If I were to ask your family, friends, coworkers, and children what words they would use to describe… what would they say?
• The centurion cared even for his dying servant.
• God has entrusted us with people who are under our influence.
• Whether they are those we care for in our household or simply the people we brush shoulders with.
• I believe this also applies to the type of church we are in.
• What would a new person attending Calvary Chapel say about visiting here? Are we people who are welcoming those who are new? That is a collective responsibility.
• This is deeper than just more self-management. This has to do with our faith.
• We love because he first loved us.
• We can’t do it on our own. We will come to the end of ourselves. But God is more than able to empower our lives by his Spirit so that we can live a lifestyle of love and compassion for those God has placed under our influence.
• The centurion understood this power dynamic:

3. The centurion understood Jesus’ authority above his own.

• A Roman centurion would have 100 men who would be under his command. He would be a well-trained officer who would understand the strict nature of the authority structure in the Roman army.
• He understands that Jesus is a man under authority and also one with greater authority than he.

John 14:10-11—The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

• The centurion man understood something about Jesus that many around him at the time could not see. He knew that Jesus was under the authority of God and that he had the authority to do all things.
• This, in verses 9 & 10, led Jesus to marvel at him.
• The Greek word is “thaumazo.”
• Some translations say Jesus was “amazed” or “astonished.”
• This word means “mind blown.”

Jesus is blown away by the centurion’s faith.

• There are only two times in scripture where Jesus is “thaumazo” at someones faith.
• It is here at the centurion’s strong faith.
• And in Mark 6:6, in his hometown of Nazareth’s lack of faith. If you remember, Jesus pronounces his ministry to his hometown, and they are like, “Isn’t this Josephs son?”
• They fail to recognize who Jesus is, but the centurion realizes it because his life experience has shown him.
• As a soldier, he was under authority for years. Now, as a centurion, he still is under the authority of the emperor, but he is not a man responsible for leading the men in his cohort.
• And he cares for these men. He knows each of them. He has been in the trenches with them. He is a good leader when he makes an order; his men not only listen to him but also trust in Him.

4. The centurion trusts that Jesus can do what he can’t

• The centurion had come to the end of his authority, and now, what he needed was divine authority on behalf of the person within his care.
• Have you come to that point with someone in your life? You have done all you can with your authority to make things right. You have prayed every prayer you can muster.
• The centurion’s faith astonishes Jesus because he recognizes something we often forget.
• What is impossible for man is not impossible for God.
• His ways are higher than ours.
• His thoughts are higher than ours.
• And when the battle before us seems like a lost cause, we need to send it up the chain to the general of heaven, the king of kings, who creates all things.
• We need to entrust it to Jesus and wait on Him.
• You may have heard, “Let go and Let God.”

• It takes great faith, but remember that at a word, the Lord creates all things, and at a word, the Lord can heal.
• The centurion says, “Just speak a word.”

I love Jesus’ reaction to this:

Jesus said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 

• Throughout the book of Luke, he purposely adds stories about the faith of Gentiles. There was a crisis in the first church over who could be saved. The Judiasers were trying to convince Gentiles they needed to be Jewish first before they could be saved.
• So Jesus’ amazement and then proclamation about the centurion’s faith would be like nails on a chalkboard to these Jewish Christians.
• They were focused on faithfulness to their tradition rather than faith in God. They did not recognize Jesus’ authority.

There is a theme in the New Testament related to centurions. They are always shown in a positive light in the scriptures.

• This is interesting because they were occupiers and Gentiles. Jews do not even associate with them.
• But scripture wants us to understand something from these men under authority.
• Once Jesus had died on the cross, it is recorded in Matthew that the ground shook, tombs were opened up, and the veil in the temple was torn in two.
• There at the base of the cross is a centurion
• Matthew 27:54- Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
• The first person after the crucifixion to declare Jesus is who he said he was… is a Roman centurion!
• Luke wrote in Acts 10 about another Roman centurion by the name of Cornelius. Cornelius was also in good standing with the Jewish people.
• He is given an angelic vision and told to seek out Simon Peter in Joppa. Cornelius sends officials to go and get Peter, who at the time was struggling with the idea that God would bless the Gentiles.
• God gave Peter a vision that led to him going to Cornelius’s home, and an almost Gentile Pentecost happened.

Acts 10:34-36— Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 

Acts 10:44-46— While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

So how can we have faith like the centurion

How can we walk in confidence with Christ?

1. Walk by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7— For we walk by faith, not by sight.

• The sight word here is the Greek word for appearance.
• Life will present itself to us in many forms.
• Things in this life will look very grim at times.
• I think many of us walk by faith, informed by sight.
• We think that because our lives look a certain way, God’s promises have been revoked.
• We think because we lack that, the Lord, in some way, is punishing us.

Psalm 23:1-3—The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

• I saw a video this week. It was a shepherd holding a baby sheep in his hands. He told the story of one of his momma sheep having a twin lamb. One of the twins was having issues breathing, so they took him away from her temporarily after birth to help. But when the sheep was brought back, the sheep’s mother rejected the sheep and began kicking it and not letting it feed.
• So the shepherd was holding the sheep in his arms with a bottle in his hand, feeding the sheep. He said, “This little sheep has hit the jackpot. She will be staying in the shepherd’s house.”
• I want you to know that in this life, you are going to experience rejection and mistreatment by people. Many times, even those who you think should be on your side.
• But that will NEVER be true of your heavenly Father.
• Like a good centurion, he cares for those who are under his authority.
• Like a good shepherd, he takes the lonely sheep and cares for the sheep-like his own child.
• We like to believe that we need others’ approval or that we need blessings in our lives to ensure that our faith is validated.
• But God is calling us into a deeper relationship and deeper trust in Him.

2. The King of Kings stands at our defense

• Proverbs 18:10—The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
• Run into the safety of the General of Heaven.
• Find your hope in God.
• Maybe that means that you have to allow him to tear down the walls of the things you have been trusting in or holding on to that have left you rapid and beaten.
• Maybe it means you only need to be still waiting on Him as he fights the battle for you.
• Maybe you have wandered off and have been hoping that something in the land of the living is going to give you what only the king of heaven can truly give you.
• On your own, you are powerless, but place your hope in Jesus and see as he moves mountains!