Essay 56
(1-15-05)
JESUS WAS REALLY IMPRESSED!
If you notice in Scripture our Lord is not easily impressed, whether
positively or negatively. He wasn't one to be surprised or taken off
guard. He was enough wary of human kind - "knowing what was in man" -that
he could warn his disciples, "Beware of men." But there was balance in his
judgment in that he could say "If you being evil," and yet speak of the
"honest and good heart."
We may, therefore, rightly take special notice of those rare occasions
when he met the unexpected. When he returned to his home town of Nazareth
he seemed surprised at his reception - "He marveled at their unbelief." In
Mark 4:13 he appears nonplussed that his disciples did not get it. If they
couldn't understand the parable of the sewer, would they be able to
understand any of the parables! The disciples' incomprehension of what
Jesus was up to is a continuing theme in Mark, which Matthew and Luke
graciously omit, apparently to put the disciples in better light.
While Jesus was usually prepared for the obscurant tactics of the
Pharisees, it was with "a profound sigh" (NJB) that he said to them, "Why
does this generation demand a sign (Mark 8:12)?
On the more positive side, there is at least one occasion when Jesus
indulges in a superlative - when he commended not just faith, but great
faith, it was the faith of an outsider, a faith that he had not found
among his own Jewish people. Luke says he marveled.
It is a touching story, the kind Luke likes to tell, and he includes
delicate details that Matthew and John omit. Mark doesn't tell the story.
A centurion in Capernaum had a slave boy "who was dear to him," but was
"sick and ready to die." The soldier had heard of Jesus, and he believed
he could heal the boy. He sent Jewish elders of his city to Jesus
imploring him to come and heal the boy. The elders pleaded with Jesus,
explaining that the centurion was a worthy man, one who was generous to
the Jewish people - "He loves our nation and built us a synagogue," they
tell Jesus.
Jesus went with them. Now comes an interesting turn in the story.
Apparently because he had thought about it and decided - when he heard
that Jesus was actually on the way to his house - that he was not worthy
of such an encounter. Too, he was aware that according to Jewish law Jesus
would be rendered ritually unclean by entering the home of a gentile. He
now sends friends to Jesus to intercept him, and to tell him, "Lord, do
not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come under my
roof." He went on to explain - through his friends - that is why he had
not come in person. He was not worthy to be in Jesus' presence.
Then came the impressive statement, "Just say the word, and my boy will be
healed." No anointing oil needed, not even laying on of hands. Simply a
word. Jesus was impressed, superlatively impressed. Great faith!
I am impressed that Jesus was impressed, and I am curious as to what
precisely was so impressive. Perhaps because the centurion was a gentile,
one separated from the covenant and the promises given to Israel. And he
was a man of means and authority who loved a slave boy. And a man of
uncommon humility - an army officer who saw himself as unworthy to be in
the presence of personified goodness.
But mainly, I suppose, Jesus was impressed because of his simple trusting
assurance in the power of Jesus to make whole - which serves as a good
definition of faith. And Jesus must have been impressed by the centurion's
utter self-abandonment in his trust in Jesus. No fanfare needed, no
gimmicks. Just a word! That is what faith is, great faith.
The truth is that Jesus didn't even have to say a word. There is no
evidence that he did. He simply willed it and it was so. The record says
that when the envoys reached the centurion's house the boy was well.
In this story Luke prepares the reader - as he does again and again in his
gospel - for what he makes explicit in Luke II or Acts, the inclusion of
the gentiles as equals before God, especially in Acts 10. The centurion is
a pre-Cornelius, a gentile, an outsider, who has faith equal to or even
greater than that found among God's covenant people. Luke prepares the
reader to accept Peter's astounding announcement, "In truth I perceive
that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears him and
works righteousness is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:34-35).
The story also anticipates all those of us down the centuries who believe
in Jesus having never seen him. According to Luke's account the centurion
never sees Jesus. He heard about him - probably abundant testimony as to
Jesus' works of mercy - and he must have been curious to see him. But his
deep faith eclipsed his curiosity. As 1 Peter 1:8 has it, "whom having not
seen, you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice
with joy inexpressible and full of glory." It is the faith we all have - a
not-seen faith.
There is a marginal benefit to this story in Luke - an example of how
biblical accounts can differ, even contradict each other, and still convey
the story God wants told, which may be the point of inspiration. When one
reads the same story in Matthew 8:5-12 he can't help but notice some
glaring differences. The main difference is that Matthew has the centurion
himself going to Jesus. He sees Jesus and talks with him personally - not
through the elders and then through friends, as in Luke.
Luke even has the elders explain why the centurion himself did not come -
he was not worthy. But Matthew says the centurion himself came. Since the
centurion could not both come and not come it is a contradiction. If Luke
is right, Matthew is wrong. If Matthew is right, Luke is wrong.
I placed this conundrum before my dear Ouida, who is less than
enthusiastic about biblical criticism. She admitted it was a
contradiction. When I asked which account was likely right, she chose
Matthew, concluding that the believing centurion would likely go to Jesus
personally rather than send envoys. Some eminent scholars agree with her,
concluding that Matthew's is the original form.
Since Luke has so much detail in the story - including the centurion's
relationship to the Jewish community ("He built our synagogue") - it
appears that he had sources not available to Matthew, This is common in
Luke, who was an astute researcher. He reveals in Luke 1:1 that he had a
library of documents about Jesus - none of which suited him to forward on
to Theophilus - so he wrote his own account. Thank God for that, for it is
only in Luke that we have the stories of the Prodigal Son, the Good
Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Pharisee and the Publican, the
Walk to Emmaus, etc.
And except for Luke we would never know that on the Cross Jesus prayed,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," nor about his
promise to the thief, "Today will you be with me in paradise." Even when
Matthew and Mark tell the same story, Luke provides details found no where
else, as in the Transfiguration.
So, when Luke takes pains in our story to tell how the centurion sent
elders to Jesus with his request, and has them explain why he did not come
himself, it is not improbable that his account is the right one. Matthew
likely had an abbreviated account. After all, if one sends envoys to speak
for him, it is tantamount to his going himself.
I explained to Ouida that conflicts/contradictions like this do not
matter, for they are insignificant. For the sake of our story it doesn't
matter whether the centurion personally encountered Jesus or did so by
proxy. Both accounts give the essence of the story, and again, that may be
the point of the inspiration of the Spirit.
I say it doesn't matter. It might matter if you are a fundamentalist and
believe that there can be no errors/contradictions in the Bible -not even
minor ones! They do a disservice when they claim that if the Bible is
wrong on anything at all, then none of it can be trusted.
They could not possibly believe this in reference to everyday affairs. An
email from a daughter at college says she had a phone call from her Uncle
Henry. But from the context of the letter the parent can see that it must
have been Uncle Earl. She said Henry when she meant Earl. An error. So, do
you trash her email as untrustworthy? The Bible has conflicts of exactly
that nature. To me that enhances the Bible, not denigrates it. It confirms
what Scripture itself affirms, that such treasure is given to us through
earthen vessels. There may be occasional static in the Master's voice, but
the message comes through loud and clear. Jars and conflicts also bear
witness to the integrity of Scripture, that there is no collusion and no
fraud. Counterfeiters do not leave a trail of obvious conflicts.
It is best to understand the inspiration of the Bible the way the church
universal has always explained it: There are no substantive errors in
Scripture, none that affect the story it has to tell. The fundamentalist
doctrine of inerrancy is a modern invention. If the Spirit verbally, word
for word, revealed this story to Matthew and Luke, we have a problem far
more serious than the one I laid before Ouida.
Personal
The publication date for The Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia is now February
6. You can still purchase it from us at the pre-publication price of $46,
postpaid. This monumental work has 203 photos and illustrations, 860
pages, 600 original articles by 300 writers from all wings of the
Movement. Send check or money order in advance to Leroy Garrett, 1300
Woodlake Dr., Denton, TX 76210.
A lady at our congregation said that her husband had talked about my
autobiography - A Lover's Quarrel: My Pilgrimage of Freedom in Churches of
Christ -- so much that she decided to read it for herself. You too can
read it for yourself. When you send us a check, made out to Leroy Garrett,
for $14.95 we pay the postage. My history book, The Stone-Campbell
Movement is also available from us, and we save you a few dollars at $35
postpaid.
My eye specialist told me on my last visit that I might drive in areas
where I am well-acquainted but not on a freeway and only in daylight. That
was his way of saying I'm improving. I've driven short distances in town
on two occasions, and I felt a little uneasy. I'm leaving the driving to
Ouida for now, which is the way she sees it, whatever the doctor may say!
Thank you for your prayerful concern.
[TOP].