Please turn with me in the Gospel of Luke. We'll begin our reading at chapter 6, verse 43, and read down through chapter 7, verse 10. In these next weeks that I'm going to be with you, I'm going to be preaching through the Gospel of Luke, beginning in this place. I've preached through most of what precedes this, and I'm sure you remember that vividly, so I don't want to repeat that, but we'll start here, Luke 6, verse 43, and in the weeks we have together, we'll move through this wonderful gospel that the Lord has given us, and it seems to me this is a particularly good place to start in that this is a part of Luke's gospel where the importance of the word is being stressed, and I think that's a good place for us to begin looking at this gospel together. So, we begin at Luke 6, verse 43. These are actually the concluding words of what has been called Jesus' Sermon on the Plain. We're more familiar with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that's presented to us in Matthew's gospel. We're told here in Luke that he apparently also preached a sermon on the plain that Luke records for us. You'll see there are strong parallels, but there are also significant differences, and it is true that preachers sometimes repeat themselves a bit from sermon to sermon, even if the sermon is different. So, I think this is Jesus' concluding remarks in the sermon on the plain, and then we'll go on to his reflections with a centurion. So, let us give careful attention to God's Word. This is God's Word, Luke 6, verse 43, Jesus speaking. For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against the house and could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him the elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal a servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, 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. And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you, but say the word, and let my servant be healed. 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. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. And turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. So far the reading of God's word. Well, as we've reflected a little bit in the announcement at the beginning of the service in our prayer, we are seeing soon the beginning of a new educational year. Some have been working long and hard for that. Some are thinking soon the kids will be gone. There are a variety of reactions. Some children are eager to get back to school. Some are not so eager. and it's the beginning of a new educational year soon in the church as well. And for us as Christians, education always centers around the Word of God. And we expend a great deal of time and energy and effort, don't we, in teaching the Word of God, in learning the Word of God, in having that Word of God become genuinely familiar to us. I suspect for most of you, as I read this scripture passage, when you heard about the man building the house on a sound foundation, you thought, I know that verse. I know that thought. I've heard that before. Perhaps when we got to this story about the centurion and his slave, you thought to yourself, I know that story somewhat. I've heard that before. We work hard to make the word of God known among us. That's why, in part, preaching is so central in our worship service. Depending on the preacher, the sermon is a half to two-thirds of the service. It's important for us. It's central for us. And perhaps it amazes us that there are Christian traditions where a sermon is hardly ever heard. That the worship service is almost entirely ritual rather than sermon. But we are persuaded that the Word of God has to be a living Word in the hearts and minds of God's people. We are persuaded that that was the model that Jesus gave to us. And the model that his apostles gave to us. And so in the church we devote a lot of time and energy to Sunday school classes as well as worship services, catechism classes, why we support Christian schools when we can. And all of this is so that the word will remain central for us because the scripture tells us in Luke's gospel, the summary of Jesus' whole earthly ministry is given to us in Luke chapter 4 where we're told he taught in their synagogues. Jesus was a teacher. Jesus was a preacher. Sometimes, I think, when we read the Gospels, we are so struck with the marvel of his healing ministry and of his miracles that the ordinary, we might say, part of his labors, we don't focus on so much. But when we look for it, we see Jesus the teacher, Jesus the preacher, is very prominent in the Gospels. Luke 6, we read, a great crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. But they came to hear Him. And clearly the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain are occasions when Jesus spoke to them and taught them and preached to them to bring His Word, His truth, His message to them and to their hearts. And so Jesus, as he's presented to us in the opening chapters of Luke's gospel, has been doing a great deal of teaching and preaching. And chapter 7 then begins, after Jesus had finished all his sayings or all his speakings, in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now, why did he enter Capernaum? Well, Capernaum seems to have been the city on the coast of the Sea of Galilee that was home to Jesus in his ministry years. It's the place he returned to again and again. And so the implication seems to be he's returned to Capernaum for perhaps a little rest, for a little recuperation after all of the energy of preaching and teaching. Preaching and teaching takes a little energy. And so Jesus has returned to Capernaum, but as so often was the case with Jesus, he doesn't really get much opportunity for rest or for withdrawal or for refreshment and almost immediately receives a request for help, we're told, from a centurion. Now, Centurion was an important man, an important official in the Roman army, an important soldier, a commander, at least in theory, of a hundred men. So he's a man of importance in society, he's a man of wealth, he's a man of power. And so here Jesus is receiving a request from somebody important. And it's kind of an interesting story if you look at it carefully. Do you notice that Jesus never actually meets the centurion? The centurion doesn't actually appear in this story. But this exchange that takes place about Jesus and his relationship to the centurion and to the servant of the centurion who is sick becomes very revealing to us about the words of Jesus and about what we should think about the words of Jesus because what this centurion shows us first of all is that he heard the words of Jesus. He had heard the words of Jesus. We don't know exactly where he had heard those words. We don't know exactly when he had heard those words. But when he hears Jesus is back in Capernaum, he sends people to talk to Jesus on his behalf. And he sends people to ask help from Jesus. So he knows something about Jesus. He's heard the words of Jesus. Maybe he was there at the Sermon on the Plain. It probably wasn't very far from Capernaum. Jesus had earlier taught in Capernaum. And in fact, in chapter 4, we read of those who heard him in Capernaum. They were astonished at his teaching for his word-possessed authority. And you notice how the centurion comments that he's a man who understands authority. He's a man who understands how words can have authority. The centurion says, when I give orders to my soldiers, they carry them out. My words have authority with them. And I have confidence, Jesus, your word can have authority in my life and in my need. So he knows something about Jesus. He knows that Jesus and his word have power. That's what he's asking, isn't he? The healing of his servant. Jesus' word has power and authority. He knows that Jesus could heal his servant. And that's why he's sending to Jesus, to ask that that might actually take place. This slave, this slave is dying. This slave is sick. And we're told that this slave is highly valued to the centurion. The word used there, I think, carries more than just the notion that he has economic value. I think it carries also a sense that there is a personal relationship between this master and slave. He's not worried just about losing his investment. He's worried about losing someone who's dear to him. And so he appeals to Jesus for help. We might say that this man has had something of a flood in his life. And this flood is going to reveal what kind of a life he actually has, what kind of a person he actually is. Sometimes that happens, doesn't it? That when tragedy hits us, when calamity hits us, when difficulty hits us, it exposes to ourselves and to others who we really are. How do we react? What do we do? This centurion, in his difficulty, responds by reaching out to Jesus. And that's a pretty good thing to do. I recommend it highly. That's what he's saying to us here. He's heard the word of Jesus. He's seen something of who Jesus is in that word, and he's reached out to him. And that's true all through history, isn't it? That many hear the words of Jesus, but the great thing is, how do they react to having heard the words of Jesus? Some hear them and ignore them. I always think about that when I see a sporting event on television and somebody holding up a sign that says John 3.16. I always have very mixed feelings about that. Sometimes I think, isn't that kind of silly? Isn't that kind of almost diminishing of Christianity? And then I think, well, that person's probably trying to do more than I am most of the time to make Jesus known. I shouldn't be so critical. But there it is, so that many, many people in America have at least a nodding acquaintance with what John 3.16 is. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. You're going to know a verse, that's a pretty good one to know. But how many people just ignore it? Just pass right on. Think, what kind of a crazy comes to a football game with a sign like that? And then other people pick and choose the parts of the Word of God that they like. But here is a centurion who has apparently really heard the Word and responded and encourages us to do that same thing, to treasure the Word of God. Did you notice in that psalm we sang just before the sermon, the psalmist talks about the Word in his life every day? That's an intriguing thing. It wasn't so easy for Old Testament people to have the Word of God in their life every day. There were no Christian Bible bookstores. There were no bookstores generally. There were no books. If you wanted a copy of part of the Old Testament, It had to be copied out by hand, on a scroll, rolled up. It was not easy to have the Bible in your life, but somehow the psalmist, maybe by memorizing, had the Word of God in his life every day. That should be a model for us, a goal for us, an encouragement for us, that the Bible is with us and in our hearts and minds every day. That seems to have been something of the experience of the centurion. He heard the word. And then secondly, this text shows us he did the word. That was the great stress at the end of the Sermon on the Plain. Did you notice that? Jesus says very pointedly, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? And the centurion is presented to us as one who has not only heard the word, but he does the word. The centurion has sent Jewish authorities from Capernaum to talk to Jesus, to plead his case. And what do the Jewish leaders say to Jesus about this Gentile centurion? They say to him, he is worthy of help. He is worthy of help. And then they illustrate that worthiness. He's worthy of help, verse 4. For, verse 5, for, we see that worthiness. For, he loves our nation. And he is the one who built for us our synagogue. Not all Roman occupying troops in Israel loved Israel. You'll be shocked to hear that. Some of them were annoyed at having to be there. Some of them were annoyed at Jewish attitudes and resistance. Some of them only wanted to go home. And some of them were brutal. But this centurion loves the people of God. It's that strong biblical word for love, that self-giving love. That's the love this centurion had for God's people. And he had not only loved them in the way that he had come to know them and to treat them, but he had given of his wealth to help them. He had built their synagogue. It's interesting, when you go to Israel and you travel around, you'll be shown all sorts of places where various things took place. And you should go with a certain amount of skepticism if you're able to make that trip. Everyone is sincere when they tell you something took place here or there, but it's not always accurate. If you go to Capernaum, you'll see a big church built over a fairly sizable house and be told that was Peter's house in Capernaum. I don't believe it for a minute. Now, I may just be a skeptical sort, but interesting, they'll take you to the ruins of a synagogue in Capernaum. And we're quite sure that was a synagogue in Capernaum. And they'll say, those ruins are not the synagogue from when Jesus was there. But if you look down at the foundation of the synagogue, you'll see a different kind of stone right against the ground. And those foundation stones are of the old synagogue that preceded the ruined synagogue. Are you staying with me on this now? You'll see the foundations of the old synagogue before the synagogue that's now in ruins that stands on top of it, and that foundation was there when Jesus was there. That may well be the foundation this centurion paid for. You may be actually able to see that if you go there. Here was a man who had loved the people and had given of his wealth to help the people, specifically in their worship of God. And the elders come to him, come to Jesus and say, he is worthy. Now, when we read a little further, Verse 6, we find the centurion sending further messengers to Jesus, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself. I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. So, what's going on here? Is he worthy or not? Actually, there are different words in Greek, and I don't understand quite why the translators chose to translate them with the same word. I think the first statement is not at all that he's worthy in the sense that he's earned Jesus' care, or Jesus' concern, or Jesus' help. But it's saying he's shown who he is. We ask you to help him because he's demonstrated that he's a man who is a changed man. He's a different person. The good man, out of his good heart, brings forth good things, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Plain. And that's just what we are seeing in this man. He's been a man changed by the grace of God. And out of that changed heart, he's brought forth good things. And in that sense, Jesus, the elders of Israel are saying, he's one of us. Help him. And that goodness of this man is demonstrated that as Jesus is approaching his house, he sends to Jesus and says, oh, don't come into my house. I am not worthy of having you here. You see his humility before the Lord. A centurion had every right to be proud and to be arrogant and to be domineering in terms of the standards of the time, but he's not that way. He's been changed by the grace of God. And the word of Jesus has had an effect, the word of God has had an effect in his life. He's now a good tree, bearing good fruit. And this is important for us to think on. It's not enough to hear the word of God. Jesus says we have to do the word of God. We have to demonstrate that we're a new people. You don't do good to become good, but you do good to show that you have become good. That's what the Scripture says over and over again. We should be, by the grace of God, a different people living different lives than we would have lived otherwise. And just like this centurion, one of the tests we can look at in ourselves is, are we loving? Are we giving? Are we humble? That's what this man shows. What a beautiful picture of what life looks like when Jesus has changed it. And so we see that here. We see a man who has not only heard the Word, but he's doing the Word. He's demonstrating who he is and how grace has changed him. And Jesus marvels. Jesus marvels. And what does Jesus say? Down in verse 9. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, that is, at the centurion. And turning to the crowd that followed him said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. Jesus is saying this centurion heard the Word and he's been doing the Word because he believed the Word. That's the critical thing, that he believed the Word. He trusted the Word. He'd heard the Word of God. We could see evidences that the Word of God had changed him, But in this calamity that faced him, he showed that he had really trusted Jesus and trusted his word because in the calamity he had turned to Jesus for help, trusted in the promises of Jesus to be a helper. And so, doing the Word always rests on the foundation of trusting the Word, of believing the Word. And so, when Jesus calls us to be doing good, He is never calling us to earn His favor. He is never calling us to merit His grace, but He's always calling us to demonstrate by the way in which we live that we have trusted His Word, that we've believed His Word, that we've believed Him. And so clearly here, I think we see this great Protestant doctrine that it is by faith alone that we are made right with God. But the faith that alone makes us right with God is never alone in the life of God's people, but always bears fruit. That's what we're seeing here. And you see how beautiful this is because we're told Jesus heals the slave at that moment. And the appeal of the centurion was interesting. The appeal was, rescue my servant. help my servant. And Jesus rescues and helps by healing. And that act of Jesus shows that it is Jesus that we're to trust. It is Jesus himself in whom we're to rest. It wasn't faith that saved the slave. It was Jesus that saved the slave. And so this passage, like all the passages of the New Testament, call us in the first place to Jesus himself, to trusting him, to resting in him, to relying on him. And so as we begin this new educational year, as we look forward to teaching and learning, as we look forward to having the Word of God present in our lives, let us dedicate ourselves to hearing the Word, because that's really important. Let us dedicate ourselves to doing the Word, because that's even more important. But above all, let us dedicate ourselves to believing the Word, Because that's foundational to everything else. And may God grant that in our worship, in our teaching, in our schools, the Word of God might have preeminence. God grant that. Amen. Let us pray. O God, we are so privileged to be a people that have, most of us, many Bibles. Bibles in our pews, Bibles in various rooms of our homes, Bibles in some of our schools. Let us never take those opportunities to know your word for granted. But let us rejoice with eagerness in having your word, in hearing your word, in doing your word, but especially believing your word. Because your word draws us to you. to your great saving love and power. It draws us to the cross of Jesus Christ and his forgiving mercy. It draws us to his resurrection glory so that we hope one day we will not just believe, but we will see when he returns in glory. So fill us with hope in believing. Fill us with joy in your word. For we pray in Jesus' name, amen.