One of the most amazing stories in the Gospels occurs soon after the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 8:5-13; or the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 7:1-10. Read those accounts of this story if you haven’t.

When Jesus talks to the Jews about their “enemies” he is undoubtedly referring to Rome. The Roman Empire is THE enemy in the New Testament. And everywhere they looked there were reminders of Rome, reminders of who was in charge, who called the shots, who ran the show. Israel did experience a certain level of freedom and autonomy – but only if they kept themselves in line.

But even so, Rome wanted to make sure that nobody forgot who was the boss. Their coins were imprinted with the profile of Caesar. They used these coins to pay taxes which were collected by fellow Jews who had defected to serve the cause of Rome. These taxes went to support the Roman military machine, including the occupying Roman soldiers in every town of significance.

Roman soldiers were basically the closest analog to law enforcement officers that we see in Scripture.

Maybe you can see where I’m going with this.

With all of this in mind, we now turn to the story of the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8 and Luke 7. As Jesus approached Capernaum, the Roman Centurion in command of the garrison just outside of town came out to meet Jesus (Matthew’s account) or sent someone to speak on his behalf (Luke’s account). Capernaum was a sleepy little fishing village. It was Peter’s and Andrew’s hometown, and it served as Jesus’ base of operations during his Galilean ministry.

So the Roman Centurion pleads with Jesus to heal his personal servant whom he holds in deep regard. Here’s the cool part. This Centurion is one of the good ones. We don’t know much about him, but Luke’s account informs us that this Centurion provided the funds for the residents to build a synagogue in town. He is well-respected by the people of Capernaum, which is significant and speaks volumes about the character of this man.

I don’t want to focus on the request and the miracle itself, because if we peel back the layers, the miracle is the least significant part of this exchange. There are three things I want to highlight.

1. The Centurion calls Jesus “Lord”
No, this is not a divine title. It’s not the same as saying “Jesus is Lord.” Lord means “master” or “sir.” It’s a title of respect, acknowledging the authority of a person in power.

Stop. Sit with that for a moment.

Here’s a Roman Centurion, leader of a hundred or more soldiers in the most effective military the world had ever seen. He was a man of power, wealth, privilege, honored and revered by all. And he called Jesus – a poor, homeless, dark-skinned, Jewish rabbi, one who was at the bottom rung of the Roman societal ladder – Lord. He said, “I’m not worthy to have you come to my house.” This Centurion set aside his power, privilege, and dignity in order to elevate this poor, homeless, dark-skinned Jewish man. Let that sink in.

2. Jesus commends the faith of the Centurion
Again, we don’t know much about this man, but he wasn’t Jewish. He wasn’t an Israelite. We have no indication that he believed in YHWH or held any interest in the Jewish religion at all – apart from funding their synagogue. He was an outsider. As much as a typical Roman authority figure might look down on the Jews, the Jews were also very prejudice against Roman authority figures.

But this guy gets it, and Jesus honors him for it.

3. Jesus once again reminds us this kingdom is different
I’m sure a crowd had formed at this point. At the very least his disciples were there. After praising the faith of this Centurion, he turned around and basically told his followers and bystanders, “Get used to it.” People are going to be coming from all over the place to be a part of this thing, while the locals are going to miss it entirely.
__________________________________

Roman Centurions were terrible. The whole system was rigged against the Jews. They had very limited rights and freedoms. One of the most “ominous weapons” at Rome’s disposal was the cross of crucifixion. Rome loved using this torture device to snuff out rebellions and to serve as a warning to any would-be insurrectionists. Roman soldiers would carry out the floggings and beatings. They were the muscle of the empire. They would hammer the spikes through the hands and heals of anyone who dared to challenge the might of Rome. Crucifixions in the thousands were not uncommon, and they were overseen by Centurions.

Violence. Brutality. Oppression. Zero accountability.

This was a system of evil meant to keep the Jews in their place.

So does this interaction between Jesus and the Roman Centurion mean that he approved of the system and supported all Roman officers? Absolutely not! It was this very system that would ultimately torture and kill Jesus on false charges, without a fair trial, and with no mercy. But even from the cross Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Here’s the takeaway. As a follower of Christ, I can support, respect, and love law enforcement officers – while also being critical of the system of violence, brutality, oppression, and injustice. I can show my respect and appreciation for American soldiers – while also standing against war and needless bloodshed.

Jesus shows us that we can and should love the people while also speaking out and advocating for change within the systems. In other words – “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.”

Jesus certainly wasn’t advocating for the Roman occupying forces. But he honored the lives of the Roman soldiers he encountered and even prayed for the forgiveness of those killing him.

And it’s not just Jesus. We see the same thing happen with Peter and Paul. Peter famously travels to the house of Cornelius, another Roman Centurion. He preaches to his entire household and baptizes them all. Peter would later be crucified upside down by Roman soldiers under the orders of Caesar Nero.

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans for them to follow the laws and obey those in authority. But then  Paul would later be beheaded, also under Nero.

By now we’ve all seen the videos. We’ve all heard the accounts. There are dozens of videos circulating of police officers kneeling with, marching with, and praying with protestors. But there are also dozens of videos of police officers beating, pepper-spraying, and needlessly arresting protestors. I want to echo the words of Jesus when he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

As Christians we are encouraged and instructed to pray for those in power, to obey those in authority, and to honor the king. But we are also told to take up the armor of God so that we can stand against the evil schemes of the devil, “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I appreciate the sacrifices that our law enforcement officers make on a daily basis. One of my Elders is a State Trooper. His Facebook post the other day really pricked me. It’s easy to scapegoat the police right now as the cause to all our problems. But I don’t think that’s fair because a) they are victims of sin just as much as any of us, and b) systemic problems by definition are multifaceted and complex. So I support and respect our officers of the law. I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.

But the system should be challenged and critiqued. Those with the authority to enforce the law should be held to a higher standard of accountability than regular citizens – just as I as a minister am held to a higher standard of judgment before God than those under my care.

Racial inequality has plagued humanity since civilization began. Anyone who fights for equality will meet incredible resistance. But the way of Jesus shows us what it looks like to fight the system. It looks like the Oppressor calling the Oppressed “Master.” It looks like intentional diversity, forcing us to get outside our comfort zone. And it looks like an innocent man wrongly executed by the state crying out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

As a Christian and a minister I try my best to base my worldview on the life and teachings of Jesus. He is the lens through which I view the world, society, religion, politics, the news, etc. So obviously I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how Jesus addressed some of the very issues we are facing today.

Particularly I’ve been thinking about the way of Jesus in response to the protests concerning police violence and systemic racism.

Yikes.

These are difficult waters to navigate, but we must brave the rough waters ahead.

IT’S NOT JUST FOR YOU
I want to begin by drawing your attention to two of Jesus’ earliest sermons. His first real “sermon” was delivered in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30). One Sabbath he got up to read from the scroll of Isaiah. He reads what we would label Isaiah 61:1-2a –
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

Then he sat down and declared that this passage had been fulfilled in their hearing. In other words, Jesus is the one through whom these things would come about. The kingdom of God is now here. The kingdom of heaven is breaking into the world. This is purposefully set over and against the Roman Empire and the corrupt religious system in Jerusalem.

We must contextualize Jesus. He didn’t preach in a vacuum.

So far so good. But then he went on to remind them about the stories from 1st and 2nd Kings where the widow in Sidon (not Israel) was saved by God’s miracle through Elijah and where Naaman, the general of Aram’s (not Israel’s) army, was cured of leprosy through Elisha. The crowd immediately turned on Jesus to the point of wanting to kill him! Why? Because he is reminding them that God cares about other people, too, not just the children of Israel. He was calling out their deep-seated prejudice against outsiders, the gentiles. And he is making it crystal clear that this kingdom is not just an Israel thing. It’s a kingdom for everyone.

This is a classic example of a phenomenon we see happening even today in society. Let’s say a certain people group enjoys a level of privilege, power, or special status among society (in this case, the Jews were the People of God and no one else was). There is a nice, obvious Us and Them set up where everyone knows their place. But then things start to change. Suddenly THEY start to gain access to the special privileges that have only been reserved for US. When THEY start gaining rights and privileges and status and wealth and power and freedoms, then it can feel like losing for US. WE haven’t lost anything. But since THEY are gaining, it can feel threatening for US. Again, in this case it was the Jews’ status as God’s chosen, special people. But Jesus assures them that there are going to be a lot of THEM in the kingdom, too.

KINGDOM OF GOD
v.
EMPIRE OF ROME
Next we move to his greatest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The comparisons and contrasts of Jesus’ sermon with the Torah were evident to all his original audience. Jesus is setting himself up as the New Moses, so to speak. But this new constitution of the new kingdom doesn’t start with a list of requirements and laws, dos and don’ts. It begins with blessings. But these blessings are not like the list of blessings and curses found in Deuteronomy. There is nothing we have to do to earn the blessing. It is freely given. The kingdom of God is not a meritocracy.

The ethics and values of the Sermon on the Mount are also purposefully juxtaposed to those of both Israel’s corrupt religious system and the Pax Romana. Yes, the kingdom Jesus established is the anti-empire, anti-Rome, anti-Caesar kingdom. But not in the ways we might think.

Do you remember that whole thing about “going the second mile” (Matthew 5:41)? That was a direct reference to a common, hated practice. Any Roman soldier could force any Jew in Israel to carry his pack and gear for one mile. Jesus says, “go with them a second mile.” By willingly going the second mile, his followers would be highlighting the abuse of this system by those in power.

When Jesus told his followers to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44), who are those enemies he’s talking about? Rome, of course. Rome was the power house. Rome was the occupying military force. Rome was the vile beast of Daniel 7 and the harlot “Babylon” in Revelation. It was at the hands of Rome that countless Christians would die, including Peter and Paul. Rome was systemically evil, violent, and corrupt.

There were basically four responses to the systemic evil of Roman power within the Jewish ranks. There were those like the Sadducees and the Temple Priests who buddied up with Rome. Then there were the Zealots who actively fought against the Roman occupation. Some opted to simply retreat from society altogether, like the Essenes of Qumran (think Dead Sea Scrolls). And finally there were those like the Pharisees who believed that through religious piety and adherence to the Law they could win God’s favor, causing him to deliver them from Roman oppression, like had happened with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Greece.

Jesus introduced a new way, the way of love and self-sacrifice. It wasn’t the obvious way. In fact, it was the more difficult way that not many would find and follow (Matthew 7:13-14). But it was the only way. A mere forty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jerusalem would be sacked and the Temple would be razed to the ground never to be rebuilt. The Jews would revolt against Rome, hoping to overcome violence with more violence. The result would be utter catastrophe. But by that time (70AD) the Good News of the Kingdom of God had already spread across the Roman Empire and beyond. This new kingdom was defined not by borders or race or language, but by submission to Christ the King.

KINGDOM CITIZENS
v.
SYSTEMIC EVIL
Empires come and go. There may come a day when the United States of America is no more. But the kingdom of God will never fail. There is undeniably systemic evil and racism built into the American way of life – from income inequality to healthcare access to education opportunities to law enforcement and adjudication. But our citizenship is in heaven, Paul reminds us (Philippians 3:20). Our fight is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but against those ingrained, unconscious evils that persist in our human power structures – in our precincts and court rooms and statehouses and even among our churches.

So how do we, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, address and confront those evils? That’s where we will pick up next time.