Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

When Matthew recorded this incident in chapter 8 he was simply relying on his own recollections. Luke, on the other hand, had not been present at the time and was a very conscientious, diligent researcher, and he probably interviewed multiple people to get his account. Luke, as a Gentile himself, was impressed with the centurion’s humility in sending others to speak to Jesus rather than going himself. That makes Jesus’ statement here all the more striking, because Jesus praised the faith of the Gentile centurion, specifically in contrast to the faith He had encountered among the Jews. It is perhaps natural that Luke would note this, but it’s also important that Jesus was clearly fulfilling what the Lord had said through Isaiah: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) That’s the passage Paul and Barnabas quoted when resisting the Jews who were jealous of their preaching to Gentiles in Antioch. (Acts 13:46-48) Saving faith is not limited to those with a genetic connection to Abraham! At the same time, we must remember that it is certainly not excluded from physical descendants of Abraham. After all, Jesus, His 12 disciples, and indeed the whole earliest Church were as Jewish as could be. Ephesians 2:8-9 applies to absolutely everyone, with no favoritism.

I realized even as a young child that some people seemed to make distinctions on the basis of race or nationality, and I found it strange. Of course I don’t remember it directly, but around the time I was born a speaker came to Fukuoka from America, and my father had the job of interpreting for him. It turned out the man was horribly racist, putting Japan down in countless ways that my father wanted no part of. God gave him wisdom and he interpreted accurately, but ended every statement with “so he says,” making it very clear he didn’t agree. The Japanese congregation understood what was going on and loved my father all the more for it. Of course, I too am a Gentile, but I have always taken pride in having been born the same year as the current nation of Israel, and for reasons known only to God, we were adopted into the Messianic fellowship in seminary, associating with Jews who had discovered Jesus. Right now I am a Gentile ministering to other Gentiles in Japan, with a profound awareness that every human being is equally loved by God, and they need to repent of having ignored or rejected Him and believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead to give them a living hope. As someone who has received that grace myself, how can I do less?

Father thank You for this reminder. Help me be increasingly effective in communicating the good news of Your grace and love to all who will receive it, whatever their designations or descriptions, so that Your house may be full, (Luke 14:23) for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!