One guy was a Roman centurion, which meant that he had to publicly proclaim that ‘Caesar was the son of God’. After he ordered all the beatings etc, and he saw Jesus took it without one word, he looks up at the crucifixion and he says: surely He was the son of God.
So what's the answer? Give half of what you have to the poor? Ask the right question? Give the right question? Make the right confession?
The thief on the cross (the guy next Him), in the middle of this horrible day, the thief on the cross looks over, and he... prays the sinner's prayer? No - He looks over, and he says: please remember me (likely the only thing he had breath to say). Please remember me - and on the basis of a 3-word request, Jesus says: that's it - today you will be with me in Paradise.
Another centurion that came to Jesus on the road - his daughter was sick. Jesus said: sure, I'll go pray for your daughter; and the centurion said: no, no, no, I don't want to waste your time. Just speak the word; if You speak the word, I know she'll be healed. Jesus said: I've never seen such faith in all of Israel.
There's another time... and this happened, and it's in Red Letters, and I can't make any theology work with this, I don't know the answer - I just know it's there, and we need to wrestle with it. This guy was paralysed, and his friends picked him up on the four corners of his mat. They lower him down through the roof, and Jesus looked at him and said: your sins are forgiven. It says: Jesus saw the faith of his friends, and proclaimed his sins forgiven!
So what's the answer? Is it ‘have the right friends’ now?
Jesus ‘saw the faith of his friends’, and proclaimed his sins forgiven. You say: Shane, what does that mean? I already told you - I don't know! Like, we would have no problem it said: Jesus saw his faith - and proclaimed his sins forgiven; but for Jesus to see the faith of someone else - and count it to this guy as righteousness, whoa! I can't make any theology work with that. I can just tell you it happened, and we can wrestle with it.
If I was here today, and I was a mother, and I had been believing for my unbelieving children - I would keep on doing it. Yeah! Jesus ‘saw the faith of his friends’ and proclaimed his sins forgiven.
So what's the answer? Ask the right question? Answer the right question? Give half of what we have to the poor? Make the right confession, or the right request? Is it to have the right friends?
There's this one guy in the temple, and he's so broken about something he's done - you don't know what he's done. There's this Pharisee by him, and the Pharisee says: oh, I thank You my God that I'm righteous, and I'm not like this sinner. And it says: the sinner in the temple beat his chest, and said: oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner - and Jesus said: surely that guy left righteous.
So is it to make a confession, some sort of request for mercy?
There's one they call the ‘Philippian Jailer’ - and his job was torturing people. It says there was this one time, where he came in to Paul and Silas' cell, and he bandaged their wounds. In the bandaging of their wounds, Paul said: today salvation has come to your house.
He was just kind.
In Luke 11:39-41, a Pharisee comes to eat with Jesus; and the Pharisee says: Jesus doesn't wash His hands before He eats. Why don't You wash Your hands before You eat? Jesus says to him: you fool, you make the outside of your cup and platter clean, but the inside is full of greed, and all manner of wickedness. To Jesus, greed leads to all manner of wickedness - it was all about greed.