Question: Why did Jesus say to the Centurion, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel”? Didn’t the apostles and others already believe in Him? Isn’t that enough? Do you need great faith to be saved?

Answer: Thank you for the question. To be clear, you do not need “great faith” to be saved. Scripture consistently teaches if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved (John 3:16; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). It never qualifies that you need great faith. So what is “great faith”?

The issue with the Centurion is not faith for salvation, nor faith for healing, but faith in Jesus’ authority. Here is the passage:

When he had concluded saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. A centurion’s servant, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, requesting him to come and save the life of his servant. When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to grant this, because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

Jesus went with them, and when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, since I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant in good health (Luke 7:1-10).

Jesus praised the greatness of the Centurion’s faith: “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel” (Luke 7:9). But what did the Lord mean? I think this incident teaches us several important lessons.

First, it tells us that faith comes in degrees. By pointing out the Centurion’s great faith, the Lord was implying that other people have little faith. In fact, Jesus sometimes faulted the disciples for having “little faith” (Matthew 8:26). Some people can have greater faith than others, and no doubt many of His disciples have little faith today.

Second, it shows faith can grow. At the beginning of the story, the Centurion asks Jesus to come to his house to perform the healing. But then, his faith grew. He began to think about what Jesus could accomplish. He reasoned that if his commands carried authority and power in the military, then surely Jesus’ commands were at least as powerful. He became convinced that Jesus could heal by simply giving the command to be healed and did not have to come to his house at all. In other words, the Centurion showed “great faith” by believing that Jesus could heal at a distance. No one had believed that before. Yes, other people had come to Jesus for healing, but they assumed they needed to be close to Him, within touching distance. They believed He could heal, but thought His power was limited to an area. But the Centurion’s faith grew to the point of believing Jesus had no such restrictions.

Third, it shows great faith depends on great grace. The Jewish elders came to Jesus with the request to heal the Centurion’s servant based on his personal worthiness to receive the miracle: “He is worthy for you to grant this…” In other words, they assumed God’s mercies were earned through good behavior. By contrast, the Centurion did not base his appeal on his worthiness. He admitted he was not worthy at all, saying, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…. I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you…” Instead of basing his appeal on his worthiness, he evidently had faith in Jesus’ grace and mercy. That is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel (and for the saving message generally)—the self-righteous Pharisee who trusts in his works is not justified before God, but the sinful tax who asks for mercy goes away justified (cf. Luke 18:9-14). Because he depended on Jesus’ grace, he could believe for something he otherwise could never earn.

Fourth, it shows great faith can be found in unlikely people. If you were asked who had the greatest faith in Israel, you might guess the high priest. Or you might expect it to be a pious rabbi, studious scribe, or someone else who was “professionally religious.” At least, you would expect one of Jesus’ disciples to have the greatest faith in Israel. But you would never guess it was a despised Roman occupier. I think that highlights faith’s egalitarian and gracious nature—anyone is potentially capable of great faith.

Even though it only takes a little faith to believe in Jesus and be saved, don’t be satisfied with little faith. Let us pray with the disciples, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).

Send your questions or comments to shawn@freegrace.in.

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