I am not worthy...

Luke 7:2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.

Luke 7:6-9
Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.

"Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

"For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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 turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"


I love this! I was reading this recently and noticed something I never had before. Two times the Centurion confesses that he is "not worthy."

Self-worth is a big area of discussion these days. In the Christian's life, we die to our self so that Christ can be magnified.

I love how the Centurion ACKNOWLEDGES who Jesus is and confesses that he is not worthy of Jesus actual presence in his home...The Centurion realizes Jesus' Word alone has the power to heal. We need to trust Jesus at His Word too.

Just today I was reading about the prodigal son and the "older brother."

The older brother was angry that his father had a party for the younger brother (recall he returned from his spending the inheritance foolishly), "these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat; that I might make merry with my friends" Luke 15:29

Today, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the focus of the older brother. The focus was self.

"I" and "my" and "me."

Five times the older brother says "I" or "me" or "my." (read it again and look for I, my, or me.)

Who's agenda was the older brother focuesed on? Why was he upset? He was upset because he felt cheated. He felt he was worthy of a party like this but nooooo....the father has to have a big party for the foolish younger son. This is selfish thinking and opposite from the centurion in the earlier picture.

The older son was focused on his own self worth. "I've worked hard! I deserve that kind of praise." He didn't get the Father's heart! The centurion got it...I trust your Word Jesus. I am not worthy of you and only AT YOUR WORD my servant could be made whole. The centurion didn't care about his own self worth or agenda. All he cared about was that his servant be healed and restored...

The older son felt cheated. The father in the story said, "'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found'" Luke 15:32

We must remember our self worth. We are NOT worthy of the LORD and if our heart is to be alligned with the Father's we are to say like the centurion, "I am not worthy" and trust God's Word. We are to rejoice like the prodigal son's father when others are saved...and we are to be careful not to become self-righteous in our good works and feel something is owed to us.

We are not worthy...we were lost and now we have been found. We were dead and now we are alive. I think we can all agree that at some point in our lives we related (or can relate) with each person in these illustrations...

As Easter approaches, may we pray for MANY to return to the Father or come to know Him for the first time. May we ask God to give us a heart of humility to say, "I am not worthy" and may we refrain from any self righteousness in our self because apart from Him we can do nothing.

LORD Jesus, you are worthy. I am not worthy. You lived and died and rose again. I am not even worthy to be in your presence, but thank you that by calling on your name I am forever saved and I fall in love with you more and more each day. I love your presence. Please Jesus reveal yourself to many people this Good Friday and Easter. Thank you for your pouring out your life so that we may enjoy eternity with you. In Your Holy Name, the only name WORTHY to be praised Jesus, AMEN.