Wednesday
night of Sports Plus Camp:
Encounter with the Centurion!
Luke
7v1-10
What do you put your faith in?
Faith is a really strange word – do I
have faith that England will play in the
2008 Euro’s? ‘Nah not really!’
Do I have faith that the chair that I am
sitting on at this moment will hold my
weight? ‘Yeah definitely’
Do I have faith in God – Yes!
So what is faith?
Is it a belief in something that I know
will happen?
In this story a Centurion sends people
to seek out Jesus. One of his servants
is ill, nearly to the point of death and
he believes that Jesus can do something
about it. As the story progresses we
find out that the story isn’t about the
ill servant but about the centurion and
what he has faith in.
V4 – The Centurion sends some Jewish
elders to ask Jesus to come to the
house. Look what the Jewish elders say
of him – He is a good man, he deserves
you to heal his servant because he loves
the nation and has helped to build the
synagogue.
V6 – The Centurion has a change of heart
and sends his servants with a different
message – ‘Lord – don’t trouble
yourself….I am unworthy’. Why the
Centurion has a change in heart we do
not know but at this point he recognises
his position before Jesus – completely
unworthy of anything that Jesus could do
for him
V7 – The centurion understands his
position before Jesus but also
recognises that Jesus can do something
for him- ‘but say the word’.
V9 – At this point Jesus announces
almost triumphantly ‘I have not found
such great faith before’. This man is a
legend in the eyes of Jesus – why? Not
because of who he is or what he has
done, but because of his right
understanding of himself and a trust
that Jesus can do something about it.
That is the essence of having faith in
Jesus today
1 – A right view of self – completely
helpless and unworthy before the King of
Kings
2 – A right grasp that Jesus can do
something about your position.
Do you have faith today?
What a thrill to know that in our
wretchedness it is Jesus and his grace
that sorts us out!
As you play your sport this week – may
the very fact of ‘faith’ thrill your
heart!
The Youth Department.
