Great Faith

Key verse: Matthew 8:10 (NKJV): When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Why and how. When you think of individuals in the Bible as having great faith, you think of those listed in Hebrews 11; of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; of Abel and Enoch and Noah, and so on. Indeed, the list is quite long. But, in Jesus time, above them all, is one Roman soldier, an officer, a centurion, of whom Jesus' declared to have a faith greater than anyone in Israel. Let's read it again in Matthew 8:10

• Matthew 8:10 (NKJV): When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly [G281: Amen; Truly or Verily or Most certainly], I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

What Jesus is telling us is that this man's faith is so noteworthy that Jesus himself marvelled [he was surprised, amazed, astonished, stunned]. This means that we, as students of the Bible, should pause and consider this man's faith. His faith was so astonishing that we should take a close look its characteristics. What made his faith so great? This is what we will attempt to do this morning.

Centurion. But, first, we need to know something about a centurion in the Roman army. A correct mental imagine of a centurion is important here.

A centurion; Latin: un centurio, plural centuriones; was the commander of a centuria, a military unit of around 80 soldiers. It varied quite a bit in Roman history. It could be as few as 60 and as many as 120. It typically consisted of 80 soldiers. How that worked out was that the smallest Roman unit was the contubernium, 8 soldiers to a tent. The tent was made of goatskin. It was carried by a mule along with other equipment (pegs and poles) and cared for by 1 or 2 slaves or servants. So, 8 soldiers, 1 or 2 slaves and a mule. But the mule slept outside the tent. Then you have 10 contubernia (or tent groups) which made up a centuria. Effectively, you had 90 to 100 men, 80 soldiers and 10 to 20 slaves, but the slaves were never counted in Roman literature, although they were an important part of the army.

Now, centurias were grouped into cohorts. There would be six centurias to a cohort, or about 480 soldiers, roughly the equivalent to a modern-day battalion. Each cohort was commanded by a senior centurion. The Roman army would then take ten (10) cohorts to form a legion, or about 5,000 soldiers in total, plus supporting staff and a calvary. At the legion level there would be yet another senior centurion who was ranked above all the other centurions in the legion. He was called the primus pilus. So the Roman army had a centurion over every 80 men, a senior centurion over a cohort of 480 men and the highest ranked centurion, the primus pilus, over a legion. At the legion level, the highest ranked centurion was outranked by typically eight (8) officers. They include several tribunes, the prefect and the legionary commander called the Legatus (Latin pronunciation). There is more detail to the ranking of centurions. The important takeaway for the purpose of this sermon is that there was quite an intricate chain-of-command in the Roman army relative to centurions. There were centurions and then there were centurions of higher ranks.

A centurion was chosen from the ranks of soldiers. He had to be a seasoned soldier, having served many years in the military, and be at least 30 years of age. He had to be able to read and write so as to be able to take written orders. A centurion was chosen for his size, strength, and skill with weapons. He was an expert in all manner of warfare.

In battle, a centurion led from the front, occupying a position at the front right of the century formation. He could be identified by the transverse horse-hair crest on top of his helmet. He led and inspired his men by example. He also sought to display the skill and courage that may have brought him to his rank in the first place.

Again, he was a leader and example to the other soldiers. A centurion was a soldiers’ soldier, a man’s man—disciplined, vigilant, and ready to execute orders. He also had the authority to discipline his own soldiers and even to discipline Roman citizens, if need be. For all of this, a centurion was paid well, as much as 17 times the salary of a regular soldier.

The Story of the Centurion’s Great Faith. With this background on a Roman centurion, we come to our story today found in Matthew 8:5-13 and in Luke 7:1-10.

• Matthew 8:5-13 (NASB): And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, begging Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
  

The same story in the Gospel of Luke includes an important detail. See if you can spot it.

• Luke 7:1-10 (NASB): When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof; 7 for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

This story comes right after Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in the region of Capernaum—that is, on a low lying mountain outside of Capernaum. Jesus had just entered the town when he was met by a small delegation of Jewish elders. They had an urgent request. There was this Roman centurion whose servant was so sick that he was expected to die shortly. The centurion had asked these elders to go to Jesus on his behalf to see if Jesus might be willing to heal his servant.

Very unusual. Now, all of this was very unusual. This is an unusual story. Jewish leaders were not fond of Roman soldiers. Nor were they in the habit of doing them favors. Moreover, the Jewish leaders where not exactly fond of Jesus either. So here they were, asking Jesus, whom they did not accept as Savior, to do a favor for a Roman official, who was their enemy. Feeling the obvious oddness of the request, one of the elders quickly added, "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." This was even more unusual because Roman soldiers were not fond of the Jews either.

Perfect illustration of loving your enemies. Understand that Jesus had just preached on the Sermon on the Mount that we are to “love our enemies” and “do good to those who hate you”. This was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate this teaching. So, Jesus accompanied this entourage to the centurion’s house.

As they neared the house another group of friends intercepted them, and one of them spoke on the centurion’s behalf,

• Luke 7:6-8 (ESV) “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Jesus' expression turned thoughtful. He pondered the words, "I am not worthy to have you come under my roof" and "I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me." He nodded his head slightly and there was just a hint of a chuckle. This man was a Roman soldier, a representative of Israel's enemy. And yet he understood what even these Jewish elders didn't yet grasp. This also was very unusual. Indeed, it was a marvel.

He looked back at the friend and then to the elders. Then he turned and scanned his eyes over his disciples and the small crowd of people who had followed him down the mountain. Then he said, loud enough for everyone to hear (using the Matthew 8:10 version in the Greek transliteration),

• Matthew 8:10 (in the Greek): Now, hearing it, Jesus marvels [G2296, ethaumasen]. And He said to those following, "Verily [Amen], I am saying to you, with not one so-much [G5118] faith [G4102] in Israel have I found.

Jesus marvels (G2296, ethaumasen). Both in Matthew (8:10) and Luke (7:9) it is recorded that “Jesus marvels.” This Greek word for “marvel” or “amazed” is also used in one other instance—in Mark 6:6—to describe Jesus’ response to someone’s faith. In that case, Jesus marveled at the lack of faith in the people of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.

Two faiths. There will only be two kinds of people on the earth at the time of the Second Coming of Christ. Those who have no faith and those who have great faith.

• Luke 18:8b (ESV): Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

The answer of course is no, he will not. Revelation 13:3 tells use that all the world will wonder after the beast. They will marvel and follow the beast. They will happily receive the mark on the forehead and on the hand. They will willingly turn their back on God and follow the beast and enter through the gates of the city of Babylon. They will enter Babylon, the great city which is the dwelling place of demons, the haunt of every unclean thing. They will drink of the wine of her passionate lust and immorality. But in one day, Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence and will be found no more (Revelation 18:21).

Great faith (G5118, G4102, tosauten pistin). The great faith that the people of God will have is "GREAT" because of quantity, amount. It is large and vast. "So-much" faith.

• G5118 (tosauten): τοσοῦτος tosoûtos, tos-oo'-tos; from τόσος tósos (so much; apparently from G3588 and G3739) and G3778 (including its variations); so vast as this, i.e. such (in quantity, amount, number of space):—as large, so great (long, many, much), these many.

The phrase “great faith” (i.e. “tosauten pistin”) is found in both Matthew (8:10) and Luke (7:9). So, the faith of this centurion was both AMAZING and VAST (i.e. of great quantity, a very large amount).

An unqualified man of faith. It was so unlikely that such a person would have this kind of faith. It even amazed Jesus. After all, he was a Gentile, of pagan upbringing. He was a man of war. A centurion, achieving this rank by distinguishing himself in the art of war, if one can call it that. Not exactly the résumé you'd expect for becoming one of the Bible's greatest heroes of faith. What caused this man to have such great faith? We don’t know. A miracle of God’s grace, for sure. Yet, we should try to understand it so we can too have this great faith which will be so much needed at the end of time.

The importance of faith. What is faith? The Greek word for faith is #4102 in Strong’s Concordance, which means persuasion, conviction of religious truth, conviction of the truthfulness of God, or reliance on God. It comes from #3982, meaning to convince, to assent to evidence or authority, or to rely on by inward certainty.

• G4102 (pistin): πίστις pístis, pis'-tis; from G3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

There are many Bible verses which describe faith. A key one is Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

This verse tells us that faith is assurance that we will receive the things for which we hope, and it supports the knowledge that we will receive them. The Bible has promises for blessings in this life if we obey God, and it also contains promises for eternal life in the kingdom of God. Faith is the assurance that we will receive these promises.

Understanding God’s Will—The ultimate fulfilment of His promises (i.e. prophecies). How can we be sure that what we ask God, that what we pray for, will occur (or will be answered)? To understand this, we need to understand the deeper meaning behind Matthew 21:20-22 (also Mark 11:22-24):

• Matthew 21:20-22: When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
• Mark 11:22-24: And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

When Jesus said “this mountain”, what mountain was he referring to? Understand that he was outside the walls of Jerusalem at that time. If you looked around Jerusalem, what mountain would you see? Answer: If was connected in any way to the Old Testament, it would have been the Mount of Olives as referenced in the prophecy found in Zechariah.

• Zechariah 14:4-11: On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique [Hebrew: one] day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

The splitting of this mountain (i.e. the Mount of Olives) is in reference to Christ's third coming, after the 1,000 years in Heaven. It is then when Jesus descends on the Mount of Olives and it splits in two. The Mount of Olives will be “removed” in the sense that “it” will be divided in two, “one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.” And, “the whole land will be turned into a plain” (verse 10). This prophecy is an eschatological prayer.

• It is an eschatological prayer; it is a prayer for the fulfilment of God’s ultimate promise, which is the end of sin and the coming of His kingdom on earth, when there will be no more tears, nor death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
• It is a prayer for God to carry out His ultimate will, which is to have His kingdom established on earth. The model prayer of Jesus begins with, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed (or holy) be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Key thought regarding faith: If you believe this, if you believe that God will ultimately accomplish His will, your prayers will be answered. So faith is a belief, a conviction, a certainty, that God’s Will, will ultimately prevail. There is also the understanding and belief that God’s will is not only future but PRESENT.

• 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
• 1 Timothy 2:1-4: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

When we pray for the salvation of our family members and friends, we are praying that God’s will be done on earth now. In this case, the ultimate determiner of man’s destiny is not God, but man’s choice. Yet, we are to pray that an individual’s decision be done with full knowledge and conviction. We are to pray that the individual will not be encumbered with a false understanding of who God is and what He is offering; that the deceptions of Satan be exposed, cast down, and defeated.

Belief in Jesus’ Word. This is what Jesus promised:

• John 15:7: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

God is glorified when our prayers are answered. Our prayers are answered when we pray for God’s will to be done on earth. God’s will is revealed in His Word. God’s Word must abide in us in order for our prayers to be answered. Do you see the relationship here? Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…”

Getting back to the centurion, on this one point: What did the centurion tell Jesus? He said, “Just say the word and it will happen.” All Jesus had to do was say the word and the centurion’s servant would be healed. This was the great faith of the centurion. He believed in Jesus’ word. It would accomplish what Jesus intended it to do.

• Isaiah 55:11: so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

So, the centurion’s great faith was in Jesus’ great power in his word. Just say the word. Just pray the word. Just abide in the word. Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is the Logos. Abide in Him. If you abide in Christ, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified. When Jesus speaks, he speaks for God.

• Hebrews 1:1-2, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
• John 1:3, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
• Jesus spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood forth.
  

Belief in Jesus’ Worth. The centurion’s great faith was also in Jesus’ great worth. The centurion understood himself to be unworthy. He said, “…for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” As is brought out in Scripture:

• Revelation 5:12b: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
• Philippians 2:10-11: so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
• Romans 9:9-10: because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Belief in Jesus’ Name. “In the name of” is understood in Scripture as in the authority of. This centurion understood this authority of Jesus. He said,

• Matthew 8:9: For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

We sometimes overlook the Bible references to the “name” of Jesus.

• John 3:16-18: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
• 1 John 5:5, 13: Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Verse 13: I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

What does it mean to believe “in the name of the only Son of God”? What does his name mean? The name “Jesus” means, “God saves,” and the name “Christ” means, “anointed one.” Jesus is both God’s method of salvation and God’s method of anointing. Through Jesus Christ we are saved and we are anointed.

At the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached, and about three thousand were baptized. It says in Acts chapter two,

• Acts 2:37-39: Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

So, if we believe in Jesus Christ (and manifest this belief through baptism), we receive two things: the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Father’s promise which is the Father’s Spirit. Peter tells us this very thing in the prior verses (verses 32-33):

• Acts 2:32-33: This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

It was the promise of the Father that we are to receive,

• Acts 1:4-5: And while staying with them he [i.e. Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So the Father gives us both salvation and anointing through His Son, Jesus Christ:

• 1 John 2:27: But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
• Romans 8:9-11 (RSV): But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.
  

Summary of the Centurion’s Great Faith. At this point, let us summarize three aspects to the centurion’s great faith.

1. The centurion’s great faith was in Jesus’ superior WORTH. Jesus was worthy, the centurion was unworthy. “I am unworthy for you to enter my house,” the centurion said in so many words. Worthy is the Lamb.
2. The centurion’s great faith was the belief in Jesus’ powerful WORD. Jesus could speak and it would be accomplished.
3. The centurion’s great faith was in Jesus’ great AUTHORITY. The centurion understood authority. Authority is, in fact, a principle. The Father does not do all things directly. The Father delegates. He has given all things to His Son. And the Son also delegates. (See John 20:21.)

An example of this delegation power is in the writing of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:1, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (i.e. the Father) gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.” Thus, the Father gave the revelation to Jesus, Jesus gave it to his angel, his angel gave it to John, and John gave it to us.

There is power in the name of Jesus Christ.

• Acts 3:6: But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
• Acts 3:16: And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
• Acts 16:18: And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

FINALLY: Faith like a grain of mustard seed. How much faith is expected of us? How much faith do you need?

• Matthew 17:20b: He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

The three primary parts of a seed are the embryo, endosperm, and seed coat or covering. The embryo contains the information (the DNA) to reproduce the organism. The endosperm contains the energy needed to develop the organism (this energy is primarily composed of starches). The seed coat or covering is the protective layer that encases the seed. When the seed germinates, the seed coat rots away to give room for the growing plant.

Final thought: So in the spiritual life: We need information, the Word of God; we need power, the Spirit of God; and third, we need to die to self. We need our protective case to be broken. We need to yield our will to God. Not my will, but thy will be done. Our so called "authority" is yielded to God's authority and will for our lives.

In that tiny seed are all the ingredients. We can start out with a small amount of faith. And that faith can grow. We can grow from faith to greater faith.

• Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [of faith (see the previous chapter)], let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Hebrews 11:6: And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Notes

• #304 - Faith of Our Fathers.
• #524 – Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.
• Centurion (Wikipedia).
• The Roman Imperial Legion.

The many centurions mentioned in the Bible. There are said to be seven centurions in the New Testament. Surprisingly, every one of them is spoken of in a noble light. There is, for example, the centurion who stood around the cross, and as he saw what transpired, uttered those famous words, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.” And then there is Cornelius, the centurion who is the first Gentile to come to faith, according to the Book of Acts after the formation of the church on the Day of Pentecost. And then there is this centurion whose faith astonished Jesus Christ which we will talk about today.