Note: The next (topical series) in this blog will be called, “Fill in the Blank: Worship is ________”  Many Psalms will be heavily relied upon in this series and they will be used to build a beautifully ornate framework for the discussion.  The prep work for this new series is not complete at this time; so in the intervening weeks, I will be adding healing posts.  These represent key takeaways from a Bible Study that I taught in 2019 on the subject of healing–and what each healing that Jesus performed teaches us about Who God is. 

KJV – I have not seen such great faith, no not is Israel. Luke 7:9

NLT – I have not seen faith like this in all of Israel.  Luke 7:9

A humorous story—Last week I was preparing for the lesson about the Centurion, and on a purely random basis, turned the TV on to find there was a pastor preaching a sermon on Jesus’ healing miracles.  The very first one that he mentioned was the Centurion’s.  Thinking this was another Holy Ghost coincidence, I got out my note pad.  The pastor talked about the Centurion’s amazing faith, and then compared it to the Syrophoenician woman’s faith.  Scripture recounts that, in both instances, Jesus referred to their faith as “great.”  The pastor then went on to say that it was generally understood that the Centurion’s faith was uniquely/great because he understood the authority of Jesus.  But the pastor then postured that this wasn’t actually what made the Centurion’s faith, as well as the Syro’s faith, so unique.  By that time, I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what made their faith was so special…Then all of sudden, the producers cut to a commercial for the pastor’s ministry products and the program ended!  I jumped on the web to determine if it was a re-run that had been broadcast before.  Nope.  That meant I would have to wait a week for the answer—and the preview for the next week wasn’t indicating that the pastor picked up where he left off. So there I was—in a proverbial holding pattern. 

In retrospect, I didn’t immediately seek the Holy Spirit for the answer.  So that is behavior that I’m going to change.  But fortunately, God is good, and He still honored my thirst for knowledge.  When I went to the pastor’s on-line archives, I was able to find another series on healing from a few years back, and piece the pastor’s answer together. 

His theory: what made the Centurion’s and the Syrophoenician’s faith great, was that they were both gentiles!  They were not under the Mosaic Law, so their faith wasn’t impacted or marginalized by a performance/rewards mentality.  Theirs had the tenor of the “faith of a little child,” believing that Jesus’ compassion and mercy would be extended unconditionally in the healing of their loved ones. 

In the case of the Centurion, his compassion was as unique as his faith was—because he wasn’t interceding for his son or daughter.  He was begging for a healing for one of his house slaves. In the other two remote healing accounts, it was a family matter—the nobleman had been compassionate about his son—and the Syrophoenician about her daughter.  So this is another aspect of the Centurion’s faith:  it was fueled by a special kind of compassion—for someone whose station in life didn’t typically elicit such a response. 

And a certain centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.  “Highly regarded” is entimos in the Greek (valued, dear, more honorable, precious, in reputation).  This must have been a special servant.  But the Centurion was also a special master, because he exhibited genuine sympathy when the servant became paralyzed and experienced pain.  (BTW, Luke uses the doulos term, which is a general term for bond servant, slave, house slave.  Matthew uses pais, which can mean youth—even child—or very young slave.  So the slave was probably on the younger side—and his value did not necessarily derive from tenured dependability.  Maybe he was Jewish—like Naaman’s servant girl. :-))

Also, this might not have represented “great faith” in the context of sheer quantity.  The expression that was used in the Centurion account was tosoutos.  (“Great” faith mentioned in the Syro account is megas—great, large, mighty, strong)  The meaning for tosoutos is actually derived from how the word was used back in the day—a contextual meaning based on usage.  And tosoutos is actually a two-word expression that has nothing to do with quantity.  Os means “the” and outos means “which,” hence, “faith the which/the type/the sort of – I have not seen.” And in fact, the more modern Bible Hub translations say, “I have not seen faith of this type in all Israel.”

My take is that the Centurion’s faith did indeed border on being the “faith of a little child.”  He trusted Jesus completely—and knew He was well able to heal the house slave—on a remote basis—just by sending a verbal command into the atmosphere. 

Note that the Centurion said he was unworthy—which could have been a concept that he would have embraced if he were under Mosaic Law.  But I think he was saying, “I’m unworthy by Your Jewish standards.”  Also, “I’m unworthy of a Jewish face-to-face encounter—and/or my servant is unworthy of a contact healing.”  I believe that he knew that he was worthy (had the right) to make the petition, and that the house slave had the right to be healed.  And a potential face-to-face denial did not present a problem for the Centurion.  I believe the reason it wasn’t a problem was because of something the T.V. pastor touched on—and I tend to lean more in that direction to characterize the Centurion’s faith.  I believe that he fully understood Ephesians 6:12:  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  The Centurion had figured out the reporting relationship in the unseen realm—and he perhaps realized that his house slave was suffering from demonic oppression. 

This healing took place prior to the demonic deliverance miracle in the synagogue (which BTW may have been the very edifice that the Centurion had/built—although he would not have been permitted to enter).  So when did the Centurion come to his conclusions?  Well Jesus’ “First Galilean preaching tour” occurred in Matthew 4 and Luke 5—prior to the Centurion account in Matthew 8 and Luke 7 resp. Therefore, the Centurion could have witnessed demons departing on Jesus’ command, then obeying the subsequent muzzle directive as they attempted to I.D. Him.

So I think we can say that the Centurion had a special brand of faith that could have encompassed all three components:  (1) child-like in its freedom from Mosaic Law, (2) fueled by a special kind of compassion for a person of low estate—a rare commodity for a conquering leader, and (3) infused with a special kind of wisdom and discernment about the supernatural. 

What was Jesus’ response to this faith?  Thaumazo and immediate healing.  Thaumazo means marvel, wonder, admiration, surprise:  then having heard these things, Jesus marveled at (the Centurion).

What does that teach us about the triune God that we serve:  we don’t have to know/observe all the dos and donts to receive a healing.  And as amazingly marvelous as He is, we still have the opportunity to do things that cause Him…to marvel.