Meet the one man our Lord marveled at

Meet the one man our Lord marveled at.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

2CO 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

1PE 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

JOH 20:29 “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Capernaum was actually the base of operations for our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was a place of a Roman military installation.

The centurion was a Roman officer.
He commanded a century which was anywhere from 80 to 100 men.

The Romans had a clear definition of virtue and it included devotion and loyalty, respect for authority, justice and faith, absolute self-control, consistency and perseverance.

1. This appeal was from a Gentile not a Jew.
2. It was not on his own behalf that the centurion made this request but on behalf of another.
3. It was a request to heal a patient out of sight and even out of knowledge as it were.

To operate in faith and to trust God at His word is much greater than having the Lord come and visit you personally, JOH 20:29.

The Gentile centurion recognizes something the Jews of that day did not recognize…… Jesus Christ is Messiah.

Because he knew what it is to be in a position of authority, he also understood the role of servant-hood.

He knows the Lord is sovereign so all He has to do is will to heal his servant.
He knows that the Lord has omniscience so He knows exactly what’s wrong with his servant.
He knows the Lord has omnipotence so He has the power to heal his servant.

Here is the demonstration of the proper function of reverse concentration; the centurion has taken his mind off the problem and put it on the solution which is the authority of TLJC.

MAT 19:26 “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
LUK 7:7 – eipe logo = “Say the word!”

This centurion was a worthy man from the human point of view, but he called himself unworthy from the divine point of view when he turned to the Lord.

The worthiest men in the world do not think themselves worthy; while the most unworthy people are generally those who boast of their own worthiness, and in some cases their own goodness.

There is a great similarity between true humility, thinking lowly of oneself, and an extraordinary degree of faith.

PSA 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly; But the haughty He knows from afar.
2TI 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
GAL 4:16 Have I therefore become your enemy by telling you the truth?

1. This man recognized his unworthiness before TLJC.
2. He understood the importance of authority.

LUK 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Sympathy, tenderness, and the valuation of others are strangers to those who are proud but not to them who think themselves unworthy.

He said, JOH 14:28 for the Father is greater than I, only in the sense that He had willingly subordinated His humanity to the Father’s will and also put on hold the proper function of His deity to fulfill something greater than we can imagine.

Without authority orientation in His humanity it would have not had been done.

JOH 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

2PE 2:10 – they indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

Marveled – aor-act-ind of thaumazo = to marvel, to be astonished, to be amazed, or to admire.

The reaction that people had toward the miracles our Lord performed was the same type of reaction our Lord had when He found someone with great faith and PVTD.

JOH 20:29 “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

The centurion’s faith in doctrine plus his faith-rest function in a crisis situation exceeded that of all contemporary Jews who had a spiritual advantage over him.

Then the centurion’s self-discipline and authority orientation plus occupation with Christ made the rest all seem very simple.

The centurion filled the solution principle of keeping it simple; he went from the complex of disaster to the point of simplicity.