The Faith of the Centurion

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2026 - PASTOR HENRY CASKEY

MATTHEW 8 VERSES 5 TO 13 

In this portion of scripture we see a man coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a Roman centurion and whenever you go through the scriptures you'll find that there was seven centurions that came to the Lord and each one of them had that mark of respectability about them. This centurion finds himself in a situation that he can do absolutely nothing about. And in seeing this situation, he wants to bring it to the Lord Jesus Christ. This man has a servant and he's lying at home. This servant has no doubt been very faithful to him. He was not only a servant, but he must have been a great friend as well. This centurion looks at him every so often. He maybe passes by his room every day. He maybe calls in to see him two or three times a day. And he's in such pain. He's grievously tormented. He's got palsy and there's nothing that he can do for him. No doubt he's tried every physician for him. He's tried every person that he could think of, but none could help him. Then he turns to the Lord Jesus Christ. The heading just over this passage in my Bible this morning says “the faith of a centurion.” In Hebrews 11 verse 6 we read “but without faith it is impossible to please God.” This man’s coming is very pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. “For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that will diligently search and seek for him.” This man is not named in scripture and nothing more is said about him after these verses. We only have a picture of him standing before the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a lonely picture. This man’s heart is burdened down because he has this servant that he can do nothing for. He comes and finds the Lord Jesus Christ. He is looking into the face of the Lord and he's pleading with him. Sometimes it can be like that for us. We have a burden, we have a difficulty, we have got a pain and we are taking it to the Lord Jesus Christ and there's not another person knows about it. You find yourself sitting before the Lord, you are praying and you're pleading. In Hebrews chapter 11, there's a catalogue of mighty men and women and their great exploits of faith. But you know this morning, we don't want to compare our faith with theirs this morning. We have to be very very careful about that because if we did that, we might maybe fall far short as we fail. Instead, we want to look at the faith here that this man comes with just for a moment or two because don't forget what the Lord said about this man "I have not seen so great a faith. No, Not in all Israel." I want you to take encouragement from this man.

I want you to notice first of all the exercise of his faith. His faith was rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. For this man, his surroundings affected him. He knew there was nothing he could do for himself. There was nobody who could help him so he takes it to the Lord Jesus Christ. This man comes with the burden of this slave upon his shoulders to the Lord Jesus Christ. The vision that he has affected him. Are we affected by what is around us? Are we affected by those in our family circles, those under our roof? Are we affected about those maybe in the estates around about us? Maybe in the neighbourhood where we live. We see them out and about this morning and they are doing all sorts of things. Church is the last thing on their mind. Are we affected by that? Perhaps you are saying "Well, there's nothing I can do about it." Do we have a vision to reach them? This man went to the Lord Jesus Christ. He realized Jesus was able to heal his servant. He wouldn't have gone if he didn't believe that. It's important to have the assurance of faith. To know that we are safe in the arms of Jesus. Quite often perhaps at a funeral we hear the words “he came to faith” or maybe  "Well, you know, he or she had a great faith." You can have a great faith in anything. Some today are depending upon their church. Is that where your faith is? You attend your church and you never miss it. You are there on a Sunday morning and you are around the Lord's table if need be as well and you pay into that church and the minister visits you every six weeks or every six months or whatever the case may be and you feel that's enough and that one day you'll be at heaven and home. That is a falsehood. There is no dogma in the church that will give you access into God's presence. It is good to know where our faith is. Our faith this morning is not in a creed. It is not in a church building. It's not in a clergy man. Our faith this morning is in the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work of Calvary. Whenever he came into this world, he came in with a purpose on his mind and on his heart. He came to fulfil his father's will - that each and every one of us might be saved. And he died on the cross of Calvary just to give that opportunity for men and women to be saved. He loved them with an everlasting love and he still reaches out to this very day. He says, "Him that cometh to me says I will in no wise cast out." Some today will make their way up the aisle and they will bow at the altar rail and they will seek the Lord Jesus Christ and they have that promise upon them. Many have their faith today in a clergyman or pastor today. And maybe they are waiting on a little word said over them at the open grave and they feel that's all they need. This centurion left his home on this particular occasion. He had his eyes and his heart and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. No doubt he had heard much about the Lord. He must have heard about his great miracles, how he gives sight back to the blind, healed the sick and gave life back to those who were dead. He realized all this and he looked into the face of his servant and told him, "If I could find the Lord Jesus Christ you would be healed.” He was the only one who could help him and he believed it. That's the most important thing. He knew that if he got to the Lord, he would see his prayers answered. Never lose sight of the vision of what God can do and never lose sight of being in front of him with prayer. This man believed in what God could do. 

Someone told the story about George Witfield preaching in the open air one day when a man was seen running to hear him. But the man was an atheist. Another man was coming up the street who knew he was an atheist. He said to him, “Where are you running to?" The man replied "I'm running down to hear Whitfield." The man thought this was strange because he knew he's a an atheist so he said to him, "But you don't believe what Whitfield believes." “No but he does."

This man had a servant who was sick. There was nothing that he could do. This man had tried every doctor he possibly could get. But now we see him at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says he is beseeching him. He's pleading with him. He is exercising his faith in Christ and takes this problem to him. We have the same access to God as this man had. Whenever we come to him, he has promised to answer prayer. Remember Jairus - how he exercised his faith as well. He had a daughter of 12 years of age and she was sick. She was at the very point of death and he exercised his faith because he went out through the front door one morning to find the Lord Jesus Christ. He got down before him and pleaded with him. He said, "Lord my little daughter is sick, would you come and heal her?" He exercised his faith. Are we exercising our faith in the Lord Jesus? Do you remember the man with a demon possessed son? Day after day, week after week, month after month, the demon spirit took hold of him. If he went down to the river the demon would have cast him in. In his own home the demon would have thrown him into the fire just to destroy him. There is nothing that man could do. He took him to the Lord asking for his help.  Maybe we need to get back to that stage again where we are pleading and praying and expecting God to move in a mighty way again just amongst our family, just amongst our loved ones. The exercise of this man's faith. He simply went to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But I want you to see his expression of his faith. He opens up his heart. Notice his honesty and humility. Verse number six "My servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented." This man is expecting something great from the Lord. William Carey said “We should attempt great things for God and that we should expect great things from God.” Do we expect those things? Do we expect God to really move? Are we attempting those great things again for God? He's pleading here. He says, "Lord my servant." He's really spelling it out for the Lord. He goes on “he's lying at home, sick of the palsy, gravely tormented.” He is pouring out his real soul to the Lord. Isn't that what prayer is really? It's really pouring out our soul, isn't it? Isn't that what Hannah was accused of whenever she prayed for a child? She went up into the temple and she prayed and pleaded with the Lord. Old Eli was there and he thought she was drunk. She told him she wasn’t but that she was pouring out her soul to the Lord. This centurion comes and he says, "Lord, you know that I'm helpless. You know that I can do nothing about it.” The Lord says, "I'll come and I'll heal him. Jesus at this point was prepared to enter into a Gentile home. That was something unheard of in the Jewish community. A Jew would never have went into a Gentile home in any shape, form or fashion. But the Lord was prepared to do it. Maybe this centurion knew that because notice his expression of faith in verse eight. The centurion knew perhaps that this was going to put the Lord under a great deal of pressure to come into his home. “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed.” He knew he had soldiers who he could say "Go," and he went and to another he could say "Come," and he came. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed. “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in all Israel.” This man knew the authority that Jesus had. He knew Jesus can do something special here. He said to Jesus "All you have to do is speak the word. You don't have to come under my roof. You don't have to come in and see my servant." Wasn't that a tremendous expression of faith from a Gentile man coming to the Lord Jesus Christ? The apostle Paul put it this way. “Now unto him that was able to do exceeding abundantly over all that we ask or think.” This man came and he knew the Lord was well able to do far more exceeding abundantly than ever he could ask or think. He knew there was nothing he could do for this servant, but he knew the Lord could. Do you remember whenever the Lord met the young man, the demon-possessed young man who had his living out amongst the tombs. He cut himself. He had a violent temper. He shouted but nobody could tame him. Nobody could do anything. And you remember the Lord, he spoke one word to the demons - "Go." One word. This man says, "Speak the word only.” Will we get back to praying and pleading more ”Lord, I want to see my children saved this morning.” Remember when the disciples were caught up in the little boat in the storm. Jesus got up and quelled the storms. The disciples looked at him and they marvelled saying “what manner of man is this that even the very waves and the winds obey him?” This centurion knew the manner of man he was talking to. He knew the authority that he had. You remember the three Hebrew children who wouldn't bow down to the image of Nebuchadnezzar. They were told that they would be cast into the furnace as a result. They still wouldn't bow their heads or their hearts to this image and so they were cast into the fiery furnace. Before going in they said “Our God is able to deliver us.” That was an expression of faith but then they said “well if he doesn't deliver us we have nothing to lose.”

Then we see the examination of his faith. This man's simple childlike faith came under the scrutiny and the eye of Jesus because he says in verse 10 "I have not found so great a faith. No, not in all Israel." The Lord was examining this faith. The Lord was looking at this man in the eye. He heard what he said. He knew all about it. And he says, “I haven't seen faith like this. No, not in all Israel.” Do you remember the four men in Mark's gospel chapter 2? They had a friend that wasn't well, that couldn't walk. They put him on a stretcher and they carried him to where the Lord was? And as they approached where the Lord was, they realized there was such a crowd around that house on that particular day that they could not get in. But that wasn't going to turn them away. They went around the back of the house and they got onto the staircase. They went up onto the roof and they made a hole in the roof and they lowered their friend down to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing was going to deter them. Not even the criticism of those Pharisees that were sitting in the same room as the Lord Jesus Christ. The Pharisees claimed that no man has power to forgive sins, only God. And no doubt they were criticizing these men for even bringing their friend to the Lord Jesus Christ. But that didn't deter them. And the Bible says “the Lord looked up and he saw their faith.” Isn't it wonderful this morning, that the Lord looks into our hearts and he sees our faith this morning. This was faith that was acknowledged by the Lord. They weren't going to let anything hinder them. And the Lord turned to the man that was on the bed and he raised him up. That man got up to his feet. He hadn't walked. He rolled up the little bed. He threw it across his shoulder and off he went. The Lord saw their faith. What size of faith is it? It's the faith the size of a mustard seed. And the mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds. That's all the Lord expects this morning.

Lastly see the evidence of this man's faith. Verse 13, “Jesus said unto the centurion, ‘Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.’" And his servant was healed in the self same hour.”  Maybe he had doubt in his mind but he had enough faith to overcome the doubt and come to the feet of Christ. He had enough faith that morning just to get down before the Lord Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, you can heal him just speak the word.” Maybe that's all the Lord's looking from you or me this morning. Just that little nugget of faith to say, "Lord, I believe you this morning. I believe you. I'm waiting on you this morning." It was the very self same hour that this servant was healed. Do you remember whenever the Lord met Bartimaeus, that blind man? Do you remember how that day the Lord said to him "What will you have me to do unto you?" He says, "That I might receive my sight." That was some expression of faith. And then we see the evidence of it. The Lord says, "Thy faith has saved thee."