Twice in Jesus' ministry, Jesus is flabbergasted.
Once, in Mark 6:6, after Jesus is rejected in Nazareth, his own hometown, he is dumbfounded — stunned — at their unbelief! Today in Luke 7, Jesus is astonished again, this time by just the opposite — he is flabbergasted at a Roman centurion's amazing faith. Jesus turns to the crowd following him and says, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!" (v. 9).
Who is this man of such faith who causes Jesus to stop in his tracks and marvel? We learn he is a Roman soldier, a centurion, in charge of 100 soldiers. He is a foreigner, a Gentile, a non-Israelite. He has a slave who is ill. He approaches Jesus for healing. Despite his protestations of worthiness, his Jewish friends know he is a noble man. He is humble. He loves his sl…