[AI translation] In this well-known, old story, we get a very pertinent teaching from the Lord about the essence of faith. It tells of someone who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ in a very simple and childlike way, and because he believed, he received the help he needed. "Go thy way, and it shall be done unto thee according to thy faith. "With these words Jesus sent the Roman centurion away, and his servant was healed in that hour.This scene is not written in the Bible so that we can enjoy a beautiful old story, wonder what did not happen in the old days, and then come back to it. For we, too, could do with divine help in all our troubles! Well, this story encourages us that this help is ready for us too, if we believe. This Gentile centurion now stands before us and says: Look, I was free to believe, you are free to believe. Perhaps many of us would now reply to this invitation by saying that it was easy for you, but the trouble with me is that I cannot believe as you can. But is it even possible to say: I cannot believe? You have to be able to believe in the same way that someone can sing or paint, for example, and the other person can only marvel and sigh: what a pity I can't do it like that! So you have to be able to believe? Is faith an ability or talent that one person has and another does not?
If that were so, if faith were really only a faculty of some pious people, some religious genius, then we should all be saying: we cannot believe. For our faith is a very weak and imperfect faith indeed. But it is not so! In fact, if anyone now believed that he had some special ability and power to call, what he called faith would certainly be something quite different from what Jesus called faith in this pagan centurion. For it is precisely this story that convinces us that faith is not the extraordinary science of a few gifted men, but something quite different. Let's take a closer look at this centurion. He could not really be said to have been an extraordinarily religious type of man. After all, he was not even a member of the chosen people, he was a pagan, a son of the world, so he was not some kind of religious genius. Perhaps he himself was most amazed when Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, even in Israel I have not found such great faith" (Mt 8,10b). It was only when it was his moment of need and help that he felt free to go to Jesus and openly reveal his trouble, saying, "Lord, my servant at home is lying in a bad way, suffering great pain" (v.6).
And the confidence to be "free" is faith. But why should we not be free in the same way? We are always sighing that our faith is weak, that we struggle with doubts, that we can't get anywhere with faith like ours, and none of that matters. What is important is not that you go to Jesus with great faith - where would you get that great faith from? Go to Him with the confidence that you are free, that you are free to go to Him with just that little faith, or even with your doubts, or even with your unbelief. The centurion did not go to Jesus because he had an extraordinary faith in him - for where would he have got that faith from - but because he had such great faith in Jesus that he dared to go to Him with his troubles. I could almost say: we can see in the centurion's example how the unbeliever can become a believer at the same time, simply by the fact that he stands before Jesus, that he meets Him, that he stands before Him openly, honestly, with confidence, revealing his troubles. Observe this message: at first, as a man in trouble, feverish, excited, in a hurry, he tells Jesus his trouble. Then, when he sees that he has found no closed doors with Him - for Jesus is ready to go with him immediately to the sick servant - suddenly something happens in him, and he begins to speak in such a way that "just say the word and he will be healed"... To which Jesus then says, "That's faith! And such great faith as he had never seen even in the children of Israel. So his faith grew while he was talking to Jesus. So it was not from the centurion that some impressive great faith in Christ emanated, but from Christ that some power radiated towards him, which awakened faith in him and made it great, strong, certain.
And so it is always. Only have so much confidence in yourself that you too may come to Him as you are: pagan, unbelieving, struggling with doubts, crumbling under the weight of troubles and afflictions. You are free to go before Him, to reveal openly and honestly all that hurts, all that grieves you. Seek Him alone, look to Him alone, as He stands before you in the Bible, as you stand before Him in silent prayer, and then, while you are thus with Him, faith will rise and grow in you. You are free to pray to Him thus. Open my eyes that I may see you. I want to believe in You. Help my unbelief! Try it! The example of the heathen centurion encourages me to do so. Try it today!
But let us examine this man further. The strange thing about this Gentile's faith is that he asked and expected only one word from Jesus, not to go with him, not to reach out and touch the sick, but only one word: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come into my tabernacle; but only say one word, and my servant will be healed."
- (v. 8) He was, of course, looking for a word that had power in it, that had creative power in it, that would be a help. Which of us would be satisfied with one word from Jesus when he asks for help? We expect and demand more, not a word. The word lost its credibility for us long ago. Unfortunately, not only the word of man, but also the word of the Bible often sounds like empty talk in their ears. But you have experienced the power of a single word! It solves a mystery, wipes away a tear, raises a new hope. Sometimes a real word is much more than just talk: it is the most powerful act, the help, the strength, the power that shines a light in the darkness, answers a great, nagging question, solves a seemingly impossible problem, bandages an aching wound. There is such a word. And every word like that that Jesus speaks, that He truly speaks to you.
Can you feel the great need expressed in this request of the centurion: "Just say the word and my servant will be healed"! Somehow, there, face to face with Christ, he sensed, he felt, that the word of this One: creative power. As God said before the creation of the world, "Let there be light! He only "said" - and there was light, his spoken word created what he said should be! (cf. Gen 1:3) If only we could hear the divine word spoken to us from the Bible and the Word of God with such a desire: how much gracious help and divine wonder would fill our lives! In the divine word heard in faith, divine help is realized in deed. For example, there is this well-known saying of Jesus, "Do not be anxious." It depends on how you hear it. It can be heard as a mere word, empty human speech, or it can be heard as a way of truly ceasing to worry. No matter how difficult my fate, no matter how dark the prospects, I am not worried, because Jesus said: do not worry. My care is His, I entrust everything to Him, I have nothing to fear anymore! That's how to hear the word of Jesus: that's faith.
This captain knew from his own military life what it means when someone has the power to command others. He himself, as the representative of a higher power, gives orders to his subjects, and his word is given force and validity by the fact that behind it is the power of the Roman emperor. It is by the authority of this power that he can demand unconditional and blind obedience from his soldiers. And such is the authority he attributes to the word of Jesus. He sensed, he knew, that behind Christ was the supreme power, that Jesus represented the almighty power on earth. When he speaks, in him and through him God speaks. And when God speaks, then something happens, then the power and the help of God are really, truly present. Do we attribute such power to the word of Jesus? Do we expect help from on high, divine intervention in our lives, divine action when he speaks to us from the Bible, in a sermon or in a prayer of reflection? Do we take seriously what Jesus said: 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me' (Mt 28,18) This centurion believed that the dark powers of sickness and death were given to Jesus. Therefore, it is enough for him to say the one word that he had said so many times to one of his servants, "Go - and he will go! There are other dark and evil powers, the mysterious powers of unrest, of vengeance, of selfishness, all of which have been given to Him, under His command. They are all subordinate to Him, with which He has absolute power, as in the military a commander has with his subordinates. It is enough for Him to say, Depart, He is going. Come and he will come. Do this or that and he will do that. Therefore, just one word from His mouth is enough.
Faith means that I attribute such power to Christ, that I see Him as so mighty. And where one looks to Christ in this way, something always happens. The captain's servant is healed. It means that Jesus has helped, His word has acted, He has brought about a real event. Such a humble, expectant, trusting stop before Christ is never without some extraordinary, miraculous help. There life always enters into the light of God.
Do you see now that when we talk about faith, we are not talking about some special faculty? It is Christ who has a special ability, not you. I could say, if we did not take it as a pun, that you do not need to be able to believe, you just need to believe that Christ can, that He is able to do all things. Every believer has experienced that believing is not a "must" but a "free" thing. Faith is the most sublime freedom. Even for the weak, the doubters, the struggling, the unbelieving: it is free, and they are the ones who are the quickest to understand that it is free.
Free for you too. For Christ has come for you too. It is free to go to Him and ask Him to open your eyes to see His omnipotence and grace!
Amen
Date: 16 January 1949.