Luke vii. 2-9. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto
him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he
sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would
come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they
besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he
should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a
synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far
from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him,
Lord, trouble not thyself; for I am not worthy that thou shouldest
enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to
come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers,
and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he
cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus
heard these things he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and
said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
There is something puzzling in this speech of the centurion's. One
must think twice, and more than twice, to understand clearly what he
had in his mind. _I_, indeed, am not quite sure that I altogether
understand it. But I may, perhaps, help you to understand it, by
telling you what this centurion was.
He was not a Jew. He was a Roman, and a heathen; a man of our race,
very likely. And he was a centurion, a captain in the army; and
one, mind, who had risen from the ranks, by good conduct, and good
service. Before he got his vine-stock, which was the mark of his
authority over a hundred men, he had, no doubt, marched many a weary
mile under a heavy load, and fought, probably, many a bloody battle
in foreign parts. That had been his education, his training,
namely, discipline, and hard work. And because he had learned to
obey, he was fit to rule. He was helping now to keep in order those
treacherous, unruly Jews, and their worthless puppet-kings, like
Herod; much as our soldiers in India are keeping in order the
Hindoos, and their worthless puppet-kings.
Whether the Romans had any _right_ to conquer and keep down the Jews
as they did, is no concern of ours just now. But we have proof that
what this centurion did, he did wisely and kindly. The elders of
the Jews said of him, that he loved the Jews, and had built them a
synagogue, a church. I suppose that what he had heard from them
about a one living God, who had made all things in heaven and earth,
and given them a law, which cannot be broken, so that all things
obey him to this day--I suppose, I say, that this pleased him better
than the Roman stories of many gods, who were capricious, and
fretful, and quarrelled with each other in a fashion which ought to
have been shocking to the conscience and reason of a disciplined
soldier.
There was a great deal, besides, in the Old Testament, which would,
surely, come home to a soldier's heart, when it told him of a God of
law, and order, and justice, and might, who defended the right in
battle, and inspired the old Jews to conquer the heathen, and to
fight for their own liberty. For what was it, which had enabled the
Romans to conquer so many great nations? What was it which enabled
them to keep them in order, and, on the whole, make them happier,
more peaceable, more prosperous, than they had ever been? What was
it which had made him, the poor common soldier, an officer, and a
wealthy man, governing, by his little garrison of a hundred
soldiers, this town of Capernaum, and the country round?
It was this. Discipline; drill; obedience to authority. That Roman
army was the most admirably disciplined which the world till then
had ever seen. So, indeed, was the whole Roman Government. Every
man knew his place, and knew his work. Every man had been trained
to obey orders; if he was told to go, to go; if he was told to do,
to do, or to die in trying to do, what he was bidden.
This was the great and true thought which had filled this good man's
mind--duty, order, and obedience. And by thinking of order, and
seeing how strength, and safety, and success lie in order, and by
giving himself up to obey orders, body and soul, like a good
soldier, had that plain man (who had certainly no scholarship,
perhaps could barely read or write) caught sight of a higher, wider,
deeper order than even that of a Roman army. He had caught sight of
that divine and wonderful order, by which God has constituted the
services of men, and angels, and all created things; that divine and
wonderful order by which sun and stars, fire and hail, wind and
vapour, cattle and creeping things fulfil his word.
Fulfil God's word. That was the thought, surely, which was in the
good soldier's mind, and which he was trying to speak out; clumsily,
perhaps, but truly enough. I suppose, then, that he thought in his
own mind somewhat in this way. 'There is a word of command among us
soldiers. Has God, then, no word of command likewise? And that
word of command is enough. Is not God's word of command enough
likewise? I merely speak, and I am obeyed. I am merely spoken to,
and I obey. Shall not God merely speak, and be obeyed likewise?
There is discipline and order among men, because it is necessary.
An Army cannot be manoeuvred, a Government cannot be carried on,
without it. Is there not a discipline and order in all heaven and
earth? And that discipline is carried out by simple word of
command. A word from me will make a man rush upon certain death. A
word from certain other men will make me rush on certain death. For
I am a man under authority. I have my tribune (colonel, as we
should say) over me; and he, again, the perfect (general of brigade)
over him. Their word is enough for me. If they want me to do a
thing, they do not need to come under my roof, to argue with me, to
persuade me, much less to thrust me about, and make me obey them by
force. They say to me, 'Go,' and I go; and I say to those under me,
'Go,' and they go likewise.
And if I can work by a word, cannot this Jesus work by a word
likewise? He is a messenger of God, with commission and authority
from God, to work his will on his creatures. Are not God's
creatures as well ordered, disciplined, obedient, as we soldiers
are? Are they not a hundred times better ordered? A messenger from
God? Is he not a God himself; a God in goodness and mercy; a God in
miraculous power? Cannot he do his work by a word, far more
certainly than I can do mine? If my word can send a man to death,
cannot his word bring a man back to life? Surely it can. 'Lord,
thou needest not to come under my roof; speak the word only, and my
servant shall be healed.'
By some such thoughts as these, I suppose, had this good soldier
gained his great faith; his faith that all God's creatures were in a
divine, and wonderful order, obedient to the will of God who made
them; and that Jesus Christ was God's viceroy and lieutenant (I
speak so, because I suppose that is what he, as a soldier, would
have thought), to carry out God's commands on earth.
Now remember that he was the first heathen man of whom we read, that
he acknowledged Christ. Remember, too, that the next heathen of
whom we read, that he acknowledged Christ, was also a Roman
centurion, he whom the old legends call Longinus, who, when he saw
our Lord upon the cross, said, 'Truly this _was_ the Son of God.'
Remember, again, that the next heathen of whom we read as having
acknowledged Christ, he to whom St. Peter was sent, at Joppa, who is
often called the first fruits of the heathen, was a Roman centurion
likewise.
Surely, there must have been a reason for this. There must be a
lesson in this; and this, I think, is the lesson. That the
soldierlike habit of mind is one which makes a man ready to receive
the truth of Christ. And why? Because the good soldier's first and
last thought is Duty. To do his duty by those who are set over him,
and to learn to do his duty to those who are set under him. To turn
his whole mind and soul to doing, not just what he fancies, but to
what must be done, because it is his duty. This is the character
which makes a good soldier, and a good Christian likewise. If we be
undisciplined and undutiful, and unruly; if we be fanciful, self-
willed, disobedient; then we shall not understand Christ, or
Christ's rule on earth and in heaven. If there be no order within
us, we shall not see his divine and wonderful order all around us.
If there be no discipline and obedience within us, we shall never
believe really that Christ disciplines all things, and that all
things obey him. If there be no sense of duty in us, governing our
whole lives and actions, we shall never perceive the true beauty and
glory of Christ's character, who sacrificed himself for his duty,
which was to do his Father's will.
I tell you, my friends, that nothing prevents a man from gaining
either right doctrines or right practice, so much as the undutiful,
unruly, self-conceited heart. We may be full of religious
knowledge, of devout sentiments, of heavenly aspirations: but in
spite of them all, we shall never get beyond false doctrine, and
loose practice, unless we have learned to obey; to rule our own
minds, and hearts, and tempers, soberly and patiently; to conform to
the laws, and to all reasonable rules of society, to believe that
God has called us to our station in life, whatever it may be; and to
do our duty therein, as faithful soldiers and servants of Christ.
For, if you will receive it, the beginning and the middle, and the
end of all true religion is simply this. To do the will of God on
earth, as it is done in heaven.