Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The children’s game Simon Says is an interesting game. “Simon” is given authority to command the
others to do almost whatever he or she wants (provided they use the required
phrase “Simon says” before each command.) At Simon’s word, he or she says, “Jump,”
and the group before them jumps. Simon
says, “Bark like a dog,” and the group barks like a dog. Simon says, “Stand on one foot,” and the
crowd stands on one food. But not just
anyone can give the commands. If one in
the group who hasn’t been designated “Simon” tries the same thing, the others
would look at him with a puzzled, if not, angry expression. This authority must be given.
Words have authority to
command and get things done, as long as the words come from one who has been
given authority. And in our text,
there’s such a man of authority: a centurion in the mighty Roman Legion. A man set over 100 men to command and
control. He has at least one servant who
he also commands. “I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes;
and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” His word is powerful, it commands those under
him and things get done…Quickly.
But with all of his
given authority, with all of his might, even if he summoned all of his “inner
Simon,” there’s one thing that his word can’t accomplish. His word, as authoritative as it is, can’t
heal his servant.
So he seeks out one
whose Word is mightier than his own, someone greater than himself. One who’s able to make the lame walk, the
deaf hear, and the sick well. He seeks
Jesus. But is he worthy of such a
miracle to be preformed for him for a man so holy come under his roof?
The Jews in the area
certainly think so. “And [the Jews] pleaded with [Jesus] earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy
to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation , and he is the one who
built us our synagogue.’” The Jews are looking at his outward works and
determine he’s worthy for Jesus to do this for him. After all, he loves the Jewish nation, he
even built a synagogue for them, (by the way, a synagogue built by a centurion
has been found by archeologists; probably the one mentioned in the text.) Can you imagine this scene? A gentile Roman who’s loved by the Jews and
even go to bat for him. The Jews see all
the stuff that this centurion has done for them and deem him worthy. So, is he?
It seems that this
centurion has a different picture of himself.
He sends his friends, he can’t even bring himself to come to Jesus
Himself, and has them tell Jesus, “Lord,
do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my
roof. Therefore I did not presume to
come to You. But say the Word, and let
my servant be healed.”
Friends,
do you see the two ways God is approached?
Like the Jews, don’t we like to focus on our own worthiness? “I help the poor.” “I volunteer in the church.” “I assist the elderly.” Don’t get me wrong, these are all noble
things, but is this how we impress God?
We’re bred with this instinct to be the best, do the most, and we’ll be
rewarded. “There’s no such thing as a
free lunch so, why would it be any different for God.” We grasp onto our own worthiness, our own
works, our own deeds and try to set them before God and say, “See, look at all
that I did! I’m worthy now, right?” This is how the Jews in the text thought of
worthiness. It’s something that can be
seen; something based on one’s works. He
built them a synagogue; therefore, he should get a healed servant.
But God’s grace isn’t a
game of quid pro quo, this for that, you do your part and God will do His. And the centurion knows it. He’s taken a good look at his life and as a
soldier the things his job required of him.
He took a look at the things that he had done and may have been saying
to himself, “Jesus
cleansed the sick. I sent them away to quarantine. Jesus has healed the lame. I
made them lame by the sword. Jesus drove out demons. I paved the way for those
demons to come in the first place. Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ I killed
them all.” Is there any wonder why he
would say, “Lord, do not trouble
yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof?”
Contrary to the
Jews, who came to Jesus bragging this guy up, he approaches Jesus in humility,
repentance, and faith. A faith that
causes Jesus to proclaim, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Jesus heals the
servant, not because the servant was an outwardly worthy guy. Jesus doesn’t heal the servant because the
Jews put a good word in for him. The
Word of Jesus, the Gospel, isn’t for those who are worthy of it but for those
who are unworthy sinners. The centurion
repented of his unworthiness. He
approached Christ on bended knee in faith.
And faith always seeks a Word from the Lord.
Jesus’ Word is a creative Word, an authoritative Word, a Word that
works the ways of God and does what it says. When Jesus says “arise!” –
the lame leap up. When Jesus says, “be opened” the deaf hear. “Be
loosed” the mute speak. “I am willing” and the lepers are made
clean. “Come out!” and the demons run away. When Jesus
says “talitha cum – little girl get up,” or “Lazarus come forth!” the dead wake
up. Thus this centurion is looking for a Word on behalf of his
highly valued servant. Faith is always looking for a Word from
Jesus. The centurion has faith in Jesus Word, great faith, faith that
Jesus has yet to find in all Israel,
faith that Jesus wishes that He would find in us today.
The centurion’s word
wasn’t able to heal his servant, but Jesus’ Word is active and powerful, it
does exactly what it says. To those who
are weary and heavy laden because of sin, to those who are unworthy to have Him
come under your roof, who aren’t worthy to stoop down and tie His sandals Jesus
says the greatest news an unworthy person could ever hear, “I forgive you all
of your sins. I died for you. My forgiveness I give to you. Your sins are forgiven.” When Jesus says, “This is my body. This is my blood,” His Word attaches itself
to bread and wine. The Lord’s Word heals
the servant and, at last, He will call you from the ground by His Word to new
life where there is no sickness. We, who
are unworthy, because of Jesus and His cross, receive everything. You’re worthy, not because of your works, or
deeds, or actions. You’re worthy because
of Christ. That He had compassion for us
unworthy people and made us a people worthy to stand before the judgment hall
in His very own righteousness. You’re worthy
because Jesus has died for you, because He’s given you His Word of the Gospel,
which found root in your ears.
The Word is what works! The Word is what
saves! The Word is what heals and chases away the
devil. The Word is what brings forgiveness as the cross is
proclaimed. The Word is what makes certain our resurrection and life
everlasting in paradise. The Word is our only
certainty. The Word is our only power, our only
authority. Christ gives His people His Word and the Word made
visible in the Sacraments. Therefore, cling to the Word! Hear
the Word. Believe the Word! Receive the Word, treasure the
Word. Read, learn, mark and inwardly digest the Word. In
a world that is sick with itself, faith clings to the Word that gives Jesus.
Simon says in a fun game for kids. The authoritative word of Simon goes out and
accomplishes what he or she wants. But
our words aren’t capable of forgiving sins, healing a servant, or raising the
dead, Jesus’ Word does all of that. His
forgiveness that He has won on the cross is still spoken into your ears, that
brings to you faith and forgiveness and everlasting life. Amen.
