I Am Not Worthy

Luke 7:1-10

As I was reading, I thought, "What if the work we do is less important then the faith we have?" I began comparing the parable of the stewards with the Centurion in Luke 7. Two of the stewards were faithful and doubled the talents the Master gave them. One was lazy and did nothing with his talent. When the Master returned, the two were rewarded and the one was cast into outer darkness. But, what if we we could get more than a "Good Job" from the Master?

Don't get me wrong, what we do with out lives is important. We should be faithful stewards with what God has given us. The parable of the stewards is clear on that but what if we could have more than a "Good Job" from God? In our text today, it says Jesus "marveled" at the faith of the Centurion.

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Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

Luke 7:1-10

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To be clear, I am not saying that the parable of the stewards is inferior to this story. Nor am I saying that one lesson is greater than the other. They are both important and we should learn from both. That is why the Holy Spirit led the Gospel writers to include both in the Bible. I am simply saying that we can work without the right attitude toward our master.

That is what I want. I want Jesus to admire my faith. I know that if my faith and reverence for God are where they should be, then the works will follow. I can work and not reverence, but I cannot reverence and not work. If this centurion's motives had been anything but pure, God would not have included this story in the Bible. I doubt Jesus would have even went. Judging by the way he dealt with the proud Pharisees, he may have sent word back for the centurion to come in person. I do not wan to speculate because I am not God, but I do believe this story would have been different.

Being a man of authority, he also recognized what it was to take orders from another. He did not try to exercise his authority over Jesus, but rather recognized Jesus as being a man in authority over him. To many people today, who claim to be Christians, want to give Jesus orders. They want to name and claim what they are owed. That is the opposite of the faith we see Jesus marvel at in our text today. This was complete humility. This was recognizing Jesus for who He is. This was worship.

Father help me to have this kind of faith, that I will call out to you humbly. Help me to have a heart that is tender to the fact that I am unworthy to come into your presence. May I also be eternally grateful for the work Jesus did on the cross that I may enter into your presence. I pray for a faith like the faith of this centurion.