Compassion For The Alien

by Sands, A. P. | Category: The Lord's Miracles | Nov 1992

The first miracle we consider is the healing of the centurion's servant (Mat. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10). You will recall that in the story the Roman officer showed remarkable faith in Christ, and here are some important lessons from his experience for our benefit today.

(i)Respectable - but an Alien

The centurion was a noble officer in the greatest army the world had ever seen. He served the mightiest power the nations had ever produced, and personally he was generous and respected, with a high regard for the Jewish faith. But although the Jews appreciated his personal qualities and wanted to help him, they were aware that according to their Jewish tradition he was unclean and his house was a defiled place. As a Gentile, this loyal servant of the Roman empire was an outsider. He was in the same situation as ourselves in our natural sad state:

"Without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (1).

(ii)"I am not Worthy"

In spite of his being an outsider, such were his personal qualities that the Jewish leaders were anxious to help this centurion obtain healing for his valuable servant. "He is worthy" they pleaded with Jesus on the officer's behalf, and the gracious Saviour responded. But when the centurion found out that this unique Person was on His way he sent a message, "I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof... I did not even think myself worthy to come to You" (2).

This is really quite remarkable, that one so highly esteemed should have such an apparently low opinion of himself. But we are not looking here at a morbid introvert - rather a great man showing true humility. Why? Because he recognized that the Jewish people were highly favoured to have One in their midst, so willing and able to heal bodies and minds as no other could. He knew that he was outside their sphere of blessing; and his honest appreciation of Christ, the kind of Man He was, gave him a true assessment of himself. Likewise with ourselves, as we consider the matchless person of Christ and our need of Him as aliens by nature, we each acknowledge, "I am not worthy".

(iii) The Faith of a Forerunner

The centurion, as he voiced his unworthiness, might have said, "I can't believe that Jesus would bless me and my servant, we're outsiders". But instead he displayed outstanding faith when he said, "Just 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..."(3).

So here is one from among the heathen, displaying in such clearly logical fashion both his remarkable appreciation of the power and authority of Christ; and his great faith in laying hold of that power. How this thrilled the heart of the Saviour as He revealed, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (4). Here then was a foretaste, in that while Christ's own people would fail in faith and not receive Him, in contrast, the Gentiles would. Ere long another centurion, Cornelius, would follow this lovely example of faith and herald the dawn of apostolic witness to the Gentile world with the glorious declaration, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life" (5). The Old Testament promise, repeated by our dear Saviour, was starting to be fulfilled at last: "In His Name shall the Gentiles hope" (6).

So as the Lord rewarded this Gentile's faith by healing his servant, He made him the forerunner of many aliens who would be eternally blessed in coming to Him. Taking our minds back to God's promises to Abraham, which we've already considered, the Lord said, "Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham ... in the kingdom of heaven" (7). We thank God for our readers, wherever you are, who are sharers in this glorious promise of grace!

The centurion then is an outstanding example to all who would come in true repentance and faith, with a low opinion of self coupled with a high appreciation of Christ. The two must go together.

The second miracle we consider is the healing of the Syro-phoenician woman's daughter (8). Very significantly, this took place on a rare occasion when our Lord went outside the border of Israel, to the region of Tyre and Sidon in the north (present-day Lebanon). Once more He responded to the pleadings of an alien and healed a severely demon-possessed child. Again, there are many lessons in the story and here are two of them.

(i) Confronting Rebuff with Worship

When the woman began to plead with Jesus for mercy on her daughter He didn't answer. He seemed to ignore her and she knew the pain which we sometimes experience - the perplexing mystery of apparently unanswered prayer. But - and as an outstanding example to us all - she persisted. However, she was then confronted with the Lord's seemingly harsh response; "I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel ... It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs". This was all in keeping with His earlier instruction to His disciples which stressed the clear priority to His covenanted people at that time. He told them, "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles ... but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (9). The next phase of His progressive revelation and widening purpose was yet to commence.

The desperate woman might have gone away devastated by our Lord's rebuff, but He knew her heart. She would not be put off, but rather she fell at His feet and worshipped as she kept up her plea, "Lord, help me". The Saviour is never indifferent to such a prayer, but He was testing this dear soul in order that she might draw out from Him a miraculous and vivid lesson for her and millions of Gentiles to follow. This lesson stresses both priority and widening blessings through the gospel "for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (10). The example of this woman teaches us all to continue in earnest pleading, both for ourselves and for others.

(ii) Great Faith Commended and Rewarded

In her earnest quest this dear woman did not question her outside place as a "dog", but with remarkable faith she overcame, as it were, the Lord's objection, and taking up His own words she converted the negative into a positive: "True, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table" (11).

This was indeed an extraordinary response from a woman so distraught.

She was desperate for her little daughter and she saw this as her only chance to save her from the torment of demon possession. She, would not let this opportunity pass her by. Certainty, she accepted that because she was outside the family of Israel she had no right to "the children's bread". But "the little dogs" were not denied the crumbs which fell to the floor. In humility and faith she accepted that lowly position trusting that her need would be met. No wonder the Saviour exclaimed, "0 woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire" (12).

In healing this Gentile's daughter our Lord was not only anticipating His healing for the nations in a coming millennial day, but also His gift of salvation for the Gentiles in our day.

May we all be challenged and encouraged to follow the examples of the centurion and the Syro-phoenician woman and earnestly go in for strong faith and prevailing prayer for God to bless others as He has blessed us.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

Daily am constrained to be!

Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

References:

(1) Eph. 2:12 (NKJV);

(2) Luke 7:6,7 (NKJV);

(3) Mat. 8:8,9 (NIV);