Who is Worthy?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Who is worthy to receive the gifts of God? Who is worthy to receive anything at all from God, other than wrath and condemnation? That is the question today's text sets before us.

In Capernaum, there was a centurion – a commander in the Roman army – who had a slave who was highly valued by him. This centurion was wealthy enough to have a well-filled household. He probably was also a God-Fearer, a Gentile convert to Judaism – or at least one who had heard the Torah and was what we might call a catechumen. After all, he was well enough disposed toward the Jews to build for them a synagogue. This man was respected enough by the elders of the synagogue that they would go to Jesus and intercede for the centurion on behalf of the valued slave.

When the centurion's slave lay dying, he sent the elders of the Jews to Jesus to ask His intercession. They pleaded with Jesus to help the slave, saying of the centurion, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” O Dear Jesus, you must save this man's property, because he is a neat person who helps us by doing neat things for us! You must do what he asks because he is rich and powerful and we like him a lot! He loves our nation!

The Jews consider the centurion to be worthy of a miracle from Jesus. Note that no one gives a hoot about the merit or worthiness of the slave, who is the one actually dying.

So Jesus goes with them toward the house of the centurion. But while He was still on the way, the centurion sent friends to Jesus, who brought a message asking Jesus not to come into the house. The centurion professes his unworthiness to have Jesus enter his house. “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” Entering the house of a Gentile would make Jesus ritually unclean and cause Him issues with the laws of the Jews, even though they were the ones to call Him to the scene in the first place. But this Roman does not consider himself to be worthy of Jesus getting into trouble on his account.

But the message relayed by the friends goes on. The centurion professes his faith that Jesus can heal from afar, with just a word. He believes that, just as he is a man in the chain of command, who does as he is told and whose orders others obey, Jesus is a man of authority who can get done what He desires simply by His Word.

How true this is! Jesus indeed can – and does – accomplish what He wills by the power of His Word. When the Lord speaks, it comes to pass. He spoke, and creation came to be. He spoke, and the dust of the earth received breath and life. He spoke, and the Word of the Lord became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Jesus is under authority inasmuch as He speaks only what the Father wills. He does nothing other than what is given Him to do by the One who sent Him. This is why He cannot escape death, but why the Jews cannot put Him to death before His time. They cannot force the hand of God, and neither can you.

But so too is Jesus a man of authority. He speaks, and Isaac is conceived in the womb of Sarah. He speaks, and Elijah is preserved through his tribulation in the wilderness. He speaks, and the hearts of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are uplifted and their bodies preserved in the fiery furnace. He speaks, and demons are driven out and diseases healed.

What makes one worthy of God's favor? In the case of the centurion, the Jews argued that it was his generosity toward them and his love of Israel that made him worthy that Jesus should save his slave. Philanthropy, patriotism, good works, general neatness – all these things are used as arguments for the worthiness of a person to garner God's favor.

In the eyes of the world, what makes one worthy of favor? Watch any of the makeover genre of shows on television, and you will hear language of “deserving” – so-and-so deserves this makeover/transformation/prize because he/she is so [fill in the blank]. Being poor, living in a disaster zone, having a serious illness or condition, or being young or old theoretically makes one worthy of special treatment in the eyes of the world.

Consider how the world treats those who are dying. Some people would try to move mountains for the sake of fulfilling that last special wish, that fantasy of a dying child. Whether it is going to Disneyland or meeting a football star or swimming with dolphins – this poor dying child “deserves” this experience. As though dying earns you special treatment. In this life, we all are dying; just some faster than others.

In some circles, one is worthy of special consideration because of one's perceived spiritual status. If you have dedicated yourself to feeding the hungry, or healing the sick, or building houses for the homeless, then you deserve some special recognition. If you have given millions of dollars to the church, you get the good seats at the special services. If you spend your days in prayer and do lots of devotional activities, God must listen to you more and speak to you more clearly, and therefore you garner more favor.

Nonsense. Nothing you can do can earn you any merit or worthiness before God. You do not deserve anything but wrath and condemnation. You deserve to lie dying like the unnamed slave. You deserve not blessings, but curses, which are the fruit of your sin and your pride.

The centurion knows this. He has heard the Word of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit has worked faith in his heart. He has done good things for the people of God because He has believed the Word of God and acted according to it. He has called out in faith to his God and Lord because he believes that only Jesus has the power to save. The centurion is not worthy to receive the Lord's favor, but Jesus bestows it anyhow. He is not even of the household of faith, of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the Lord hears his prayers anyhow.

This is a fulfillment of what Solomon prayed at the dedication of the Temple:

Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name (1 Kings 8:41-43).

When a foreigner, who is not of the people of Israel, prays to God, the Lord hears. For it is not the origin of one's blood, or the characteristics of one's person, or the worthiness of one's heart, but the faith that trusts the Word of God that makes one's prayers acceptable to God.

What ultimately makes one worthy of anything is not any internal characteristic, but the Name of Jesus engraved on your heart by faith. Jesus lauds the faith of the centurion, not his love of Israel or his generosity. Jesus saves his slave, just as He will save the master, because of his faith in Jesus.

And it is this same Name by which you must be saved. It is Jesus Christ who makes you worthy of receiving any good gift from God. While you were yet dead in your sins and trespasses, Jesus Christ gave Himself into death at the hands of sinful men in order that He might take from you the things which you rightly deserve – wrath, death, and hell.

The slave, who did not ask for anything at all, was saved from death. The centurion, who was so stricken by the Law that he did not want Jesus to enter his house, was confirmed in the faith. The Jews were shown where the true worthiness lies. It lies in Jesus Christ, and is His alone to bestow by grace.

But the glorious thing is that He really does bestow His grace and favor on His people! He really and truly does account the Gentile centurion as a faithful child of God, and He hears and answers his prayers. He does truly hear your prayers, forgive your sins, and provide you with all that you need to support this body and life.

The righteous by faith shall live. You are not worthy of anything, but you have received it anyhow. This is the very definition of grace – receiving what you do not deserve. You have received grace, mercy, and peace. You have received forgiveness, life, and salvation. You have received the Name of God engraved upon your forehead and upon your heart, marking you as sons and daughters of the King, as children of God redeemed by Christ the Crucified.

You need not wonder about your worthiness before God. On your own, you are deserving only of wrath and condemnation. But, by faith, you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. In Christ, you are worthy to receive all the riches of heaven. You are worthy to be accounted the Bride of Christ, to be joined to your God and Lord in the flesh. You are worthy, because your sins are forgiven and your life is hidden in Christ who is your worthiness and your righteousness.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.