One thing I love about Jesus is just how counter cultural he was. Now, I realize that this phrase is grossly overused, especially in Christian circles. But it really applied to Jesus. He hung out with the outcasts and the "sinners". While many of his followers were hoping to take up arms against the Roman government, Jesus was looking for people who would lay down their lives for the Kingdom of God. Jewish teachers and leaders wanted people to follow rules. Jesus asked people to follow Him to a cross. And while every related to God based on how well they followed these laws, Jesus knew something different.
After the sermon on the mount, and after healing many sick and lame throughout the region, Jesus entered the town of Capernaum. While there, he was approached by some Jewish elders representing a Roman centurion (military leader). This centurion's favorite house servant had come down with a fatal illness, but this man has heard that Jesus had the power and authority to heal the sick. So he sent these Jewish elders to Jesus. Their interaction reveals a lot about the religious mentality of the day.
Luke 7:4-6 tells us, "When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, 'This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.' So Jesus went with them."
Notice these men and their appeal to the Lord on the basis of what the centurion deserved. The Jewish elders would have been so used to relating to God on the basis of their obedience and good behavior that this only makes sense in their minds. And Jesus plays along. But what the centurion says next is astounding.
"He (Jesus) was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: 'Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I don not deserve to have you come under my roof... But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes...'."
The elders tried to impress Jesus with the centurion's resume. He was a patriot and a religious man. We might even call him a "good person" today. But this Roman military man knew that in comparison to the man who had authority over life and death, forces of nature, and even angels and demons, he didn't deserve anything. Talk about counter-cultural...
His words were so genuine and profound that Jesus himself responded, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." The centurion's servant was healed at that moment.
So here's my simple, yet very practical question for us from this passage.
On what basis do we appeal to Jesus?
or
What do you think you do (or don't) deserve?
I believe that we get what we think we don't deserve from God. Did you catch that? In my prayer life, I have often sounded like the Jewish elders. "Lord," I'd say, "You know how much time I spend at church. You know all the things I do for you. I think I deserve to have you meet my need." I will even do this when I intercede for someone else. "God, my friend loves you and serves you will all of their heart. They even give to the church! Please, heal their body. Restore their marriage." But these things do not impress Jesus.
Faith does. Humility does. Knowing what we don't deserve is what gets Jesus' attention. I can't find a single time in the Bible when someone's faith in himself stirred Christ to heal him. Never once did Jesus say, "Daughter, your faith in how good you are has healed you." Our faith and hope is in Christ and his worth alone. When we appeal to God on the basis of our faithfulness, we will only ever get what we deserve, because compared to the perfection and holiness of God, we aren't as good as we think we are. But when we appeal to Jesus on the basis of who He is and what He's done, then we get what we don't deserve.
It's called grace. It's counter-cultural, especially here in the United States of America. And it's how things operate in the Kingdom of God.
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