“When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.'” – Luke 7:9
There are only two instances in the New Testament where Scripture refers to Christ as being amazed. One is in the 6th chapter of Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith of the people in his hometown of Nazareth. The text in Mark’s Gospel notes, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 7:1-10) Christ says he was amazed by the faith of the Roman centurion. The passage from Luke teaches some important points about authority and humility which is extremely relevant to us today. The centurion was in charge of one hundred soldiers and understood his authority and his position of leadership. He knew quite well, and according to the passage was confident, that when he spoke certain words or commands, they would be obeyed, whether he was there to oversee his orders or not.
Furthermore, when his servant or slave became terminally ill, he showed the utmost compassion. He did not view the servant as being replaceable or merely as property, but the passage says the centurion valued him highly. This would not have been a common view for a Roman official in regards to the value of a slave. In addition, the centurion was a friend to the Jews, and was responsible for funding a synagogue.
The Jewish elders he sent to intervene for the healing of his servant also personally vouched for his character and friendliness to the Jewish people, despite his overt representation of a conquering army. The centurion sent them because he felt he was not worthy to be amongst Christ as a Gentile, as he later told Jesus through friendly messengers on the way to his house, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”
Amazingly, the centurion recognizes the authority of Christ and his power over sickness and the power of death saying through another, “But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” He had not even met Christ, and still hadn’t met Christ, but surely he had heard stories of his authority and power, and thus believed in his ability to heal his servant of imminent death. He recognized the ability of Christ to transform any circumstance and defy nature, so much so, he believed Christ did not have to be physically present to work miracles. It was an awesome validation of the power and authority of Jesus over the created order.
Even more so, Luke wants us to know this faith came from an unlikely source. The unexpected faith of the centurion is contrasted with those who were expected to believe but did not. Christ himself says in John’s Gospel, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”
