Lent Day 26 [4.3.2025] / The Marvel of Faith Pt. 2

Scripture: Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10 / 마태복음 8:5-13, 누가복음 7:1-10

Romans 15:13 -  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Overview:

While the story of the Centurion found in Matthew would prove his faith, the account found in Luke would prove his humility and righteousness. We find that the apostle Luke brings our attention to the Jewish emissaries who would plead for Jesus to come to the Centurion’s home:

“This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” – Luke 7:4

In this way, we also discover the apostle Luke’s purpose in writing the gospel of Luke. The apostle Luke was not an eye-witness to Jesus’ ministry but a compilation of the chronological, historical, and eye-witness account of Jesus’ ministry, life, death, and resurrection through the testimony and evidence of primary sources (Luke 1:1-4). At the beginning of the gospel, Luke presents his intention of writing the gospel of Luke as an orderly account for Theophilus. According to historians, we can assume that Theophilus was a Roman official in a position of power. In other words, Luke’s writing was for a gentile audience. Luke includes the Jewish emissaries in his account of the Centurion not only to relinquish Roman-Jewish tensions, but to provide an example of what a gentilian faith should look like and how Jesus had extended His grace, powers, and salvation beyond just the Jews. Luke would portray true power in humility through the good and honorable relationships that the Centurion had with his servants, with the Jewish emissaries, and with Jesus Christ Himself.

When we reconcile the two accounts, the marvel of Jesus becomes very apparent and lucid. Rome had subjugated Israel as a semi-autonomous vassal state and tensions had always been high. Moreover, the Jewish law and tradition suspended interactions between the Jews and Gentiles furthering the great divide; however, despite being a man of power, a Roman official, and a gentile, the Centurion had a deep honor and respect for the Jewish leaders, religion, and traditions, and had a deep love for those whom he had authority over. Remember, the Centurion did not come to ask Jesus to save his master, but rather his servant. He had the love and respect from even the Jewish leaders and had the utmost humility in honoring Jesus’ religious affiliation by deeming himself unworthy in both accounts for Jesus to come to his home. With all of this in mind, the Centurion then confesses his faith to Jesus. The Centurion knows that Jesus has the power and authority to heal because he himself is a man of authority (Luke 7:6b-8). To this Jesus exclaims that He has not encountered such faith in all of Israel and declares the Centurion’s servant healed and surely enough, the servant was healed.

What kind of faith did Jesus marvel in? Not only did Jesus marvel in the unexpected nature of a gentile who would not have grown up hearing the laws of God, to exhibit a faith greater than the ones who did; but Jesus also marveled at how receptive the Centurion was to believe in Jesus. Evidently, the Centurion had been living a life that had been waiting to meet, accept, and honor Jesus Christ. As a Roman, as a gentile, and as an official, he had all the life conditions to reject Jesus, yet in his choices, in his character, and in his life, he lived in humility and reverence for God so much so that when Jesus came, it just felt like the missing piece had been found. The Centurion’s love for his servant would recognize Jesus’ love for the lost sheep. The Centurion’s honor for the Jewish God, would have recognized Jesus’ reverence for His Father in Heaven. The Centurion’s position of authority would have recognized Jesus’ absolute authority. It was a life that would recognize and acknowledge Jesus and a life that Jesus would recognize and acknowledge.

Reflection:

1. Are we living a life that Jesus would marvel in? Are we living our faith so powerfully that our way of life would lead us to believe and recognize Jesus?

2. Does our lives and our choices leads others to see who Jesus is through and in us?

   
   

Prayer:

1. God, thank you for helping understand the two accounts of Jesus’ interaction with the Centurion and how it leads to a greater understanding of living out my faith.

2. Jesus, help me to have a faith-living like the Centurion that would recognize and acknowledge you in my choices and lifestyle.

3. Holy Spirit, give me the strength to believe in Jesus’ power of healing and the faith to witness it manifest over those who are going through illness and turmoil around me.

개요:

마태복음에 나타난 백부장의 이야기는 그의 믿음을 증명하는 반면, 누가복음에 나오는 이야기는 그의 겸손과 의로움을 증명합니다. 우리는 사도 누가가 예수님께 백부장의 집에 오시도록 간청하는 유대 사신들에 주목하고 있음을 알 수 있습니다:“이 사람이 이 일을 행할 자격이 있나이다. 그는 우리 민족을 사랑하고 우리 회당을 지었나이다.” – 누가복음 7:4

이와 같이, 우리는 또한 사도 누가가 누가복음을 쓰게 된 목적을 발견할 수 있습니다. 사도 누가는 예수님의 사역을 목격한 증인이 아니었지만, 예수님의 사역과 생애, 죽음과 부활에 대한 연대기적이고 역사적인 기록을 주요 출처들의 증언과 증거를 통해 정리하여 기록했습니다(누가복음 1:1-4). 복음서의 시작에서 누가는 누가복음을 쓰는 목적을 “질서 있는 기록”으로서, 테오필로를 위한 것이라고 설명합니다. 역사적 기록에 따르면, 테오필로는 로마의 고위 공직자였을 것으로 추정됩니다. 즉, 누가복음은 이방인 청중을 위한 글이었다는 것입니다. 누가는 백부장의 이야기에서 유대 사신들을 포함시킨 이유가 단지 로마와 유대 간의 긴장을 완화시키기 위한 것뿐만 아니라, 이방인의 믿음이 어떻게 보여야 하는지, 그리고 예수님이 유대인들만이 아니라 그들을 포함한 모든 이들에게 은혜와 능력, 구원을 확장하셨음을 보여주기 위한 것임을 알 수 있습니다. 누가는 백부장이 그의 하인, 유대 사신들, 그리고 예수 그리스도와 좋은 관계를 맺고 있다는 점에서 진정한 권력이 겸손 속에서 나타나는 것을 묘사합니다.

두 이야기를 조화롭게 결합해 보면 예수님에 대한 경이로움이 매우 뚜렷하게 드러납니다. 로마는 이스라엘을 반자치적인 속국으로 지배했으며, 긴장이 항상 존재했습니다. 또한 유대인의 법과 전통은 유대인과 이방인 간의 상호작용을 금지시켜 큰 격차를 만들었으나, 백부장은 권력의 소유자였고 로마의 공직자였으며 이방인임에도 불구하고 유대 지도자들, 종교, 그리고 전통을 깊이 존경하고 사랑하며, 그가 권위 아래 둔 사람들에게도 깊은 애정을 가지고 있었습니다. 심지어 유대 지도자들에게서 존경받았으며, 두 복음서에서 예수님의 종교적 소속을 존중하며 자신을 예수님이 집에 오시는 것을 감당할 자격이 없다고 여겼습니다. 이러한 점을 고려할 때, 백부장은 예수님께 자신의 믿음을 고백합니다. 백부장은 예수님께서 치유할 수 있는 능력과 권세를 가지고 계심을 알았습니다. 왜냐하면 자신도 권세 다스리는 사람이기 때문입니다(누가복음 7:6b-8). 이에 예수님은 이스라엘에서 이런 큰 믿음을 본 적이 없다고 감탄하시며 백부장의 하인이 치유되었다고 선언하시고, 그 하인은 확실히 치유되었습니다.

예수님께서 감탄한 믿음은 어떤 믿음이었을까요? 예수님은 단지 유대인의 법을 배우지 않고 자란 이방인이 보여준 믿음에 놀라셨던 것뿐만 아니라, 백부장이 예수님을 믿기로 결심한 방식에 대해서도 놀라셨습니다. 백부장은 예수님을 만날 준비가 되어 있었고, 예수님을 받아들이고 존경할 준비가 되어 있었습니다. 로마인, 이방인, 공직자로서 그는 예수님을 거부할 수 있는 모든 조건을 가지고 있었지만, 그의 선택, 성품, 삶에서 하나님에 대한 겸손과 존경을 보여주었습니다. 그래서 예수님께서 오셨을 때, 그는 마치 부족한 부분을 찾은 것처럼 느껴졌습니다. 백부장의 하인에 대한 사랑은 예수님의 잃어버린 양에 대한 사랑을 알아보았고, 백부장의 유대인 하나님에 대한 존경은 예수님이 하늘의 아버지에 대한 경외심을 알아보았으며, 백부장의 권위 있는 위치는 예수님의 절대적 권위를 알아보았습니다. 그것은 예수님을 인식하고 인정하는 삶이었으며, 예수님이 인정하고 인식하시는 삶이었습니다.

묵상 질문:

1. 우리는 예수님께서 감탄하실 만한 삶을 살고 있습니까? 우리의 믿음은 우리의 삶을 통해 예수님을 믿고 인식하게 만들 만큼 강력합니까?

2. 우리의 삶과 선택이 다른 사람들에게 예수님을 보여주고 있습니까?

   
   

기도:

1. 하나님, 예수님과 백부장의 만남에 대한 두 가지 기록을 이해하게 해주셔서 감사합니다. 이 이야기가 나의 믿음을 어떻게 살아내야 할지 더 깊이 이해하는 데 도움이 됩니다.

2. 예수님, 백부장처럼 나의 선택과 삶을 통해 예수님을 인식하고 인정할 수 있는 믿음의 삶을 살게 도와주세요.

3. 성령님, 예수님의 치유 능력을 믿고, 내 주변에서 질병과 혼란을 겪고 있는 사람들에게 그 능력이 나타나는 것을 볼 수 있는 믿음의 삶을 살게 도와 주세요.