First Day of Lent, Ash Wednesday
Posted on February 26, 2020 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 7:1-10 (NKJV)
7:1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And 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.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Devotion
The Augsburg Confession, article XXI says, “that saints should be kept in remembrance so that our faith may be strengthened when we see what grace they received and how they were sustained by faith.” The remembrance of the centurion in Luke 7 can surely strengthen our faith.
First, God was gracious to this gentile centurion. He had come to the knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures and the one true God. The nation of Israel had been given the Word of God, and yet many of them did not consider the blessedness of their nation. This centurion did! This centurion not only clung to the Word of God for himself, but he wanted to be a light to others, and thus he used his wealth to build a synagogue for the reading and preaching of the Word.
Second, this centurion knows his humble position of having received grace; and he sustains himself by faith in a loving Jesus. In repentance he confesses, “For I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof,” and yet confidently trusts that Jesus would lovingly heal his sick servant.
Third, this centurion trusts that Jesus’ Word alone can do whatever the Lord wills.
We have such a gracious God to give “great faith” to this gentile centurion. No matter our situation, God has been gracious to us as well. He has shown us our sinful condition by the Law, and He has assured us by the Gospel to humbly approach the throne of grace, knowing that we will be healed of our sinful infirmity and given eternal life.
We pray: O gracious Lord, grant us such a great faith that confessing our sins, we may be sustained by Your promise of forgiveness and help. Lead us to bear witness to others concerning the help we have received. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
