Jesus was nothing short of amazing. The way he taught. The things he did. The life he lived. The fact that he came back to life after being put to death.

Amazing.

Thousands of people came from far and wide to see him. Sometimes he sent them away disappointed (Jesus does not take requests very often), but mostly they were amazed at some story he told or some way in which he confounded the religious and/or political leaders of his time.

There is amazing grace, but it’s important to remember that this amazing grace came from amazing Jesus.

And yet….

The Bible tells us a story about a man who amazed Jesus once. Just once. Well…actually twice Jesus was amazed, but we’ll get talk about that next time. This guy — a Roman soldier — actually amazed Jesus. He came to see Jesus because he had a servant who was suffering, and he knew that Jesus could heal him. In fact, this guy knew that Jesus could heal the servant without even seeing him. This servant whom Jesus had never met, laid up in a house Jesus had never visited, suffering from some disorder Jesus did not know about could be healed if Jesus just gave the word.

Hearing the guy explain his confidence in Jesus’ ability and authority amazed Jesus. The idea that a Roman soldier could have figured out enough to know that Jesus really was who he said he was and could really do what he said he could do — Jesus found that amazing.

Imagine being the guy walking around heaven who actually amazed Jesus! That’s a pretty exclusive club!

Before we move on to the one other time Jesus was amazed (look for that on Monday), I want you to notice again what it was that amazed Jesus. It wasn’t the guy’s knowledge. It wasn’t even the guy’s obedience. It was just his level of confidence in Jesus’ ability to do what he said he could do. This guy did not know anything about a virgin birth. He did not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. He did not know a thing about the gifts of the Spirit or the role of women. He probably didn’t attend church — certainly not in the way we think about attending church. As far as we know he’d never been baptized or prayed any kind of sinner’s prayer.

He just believed that Jesus could do what he said he could do because Jesus had some kind of authority that came from some higher power. He had complete confidence in Jesus, and — according to Jesus — that was enough.

Maybe that’s what faith really is. Maybe faith has less to do with all the finer points of doctrine (though God himself knows how much I love to study and teach good, sound doctrine). Maybe faith is simply being confident that Jesus is who he says he is and can do what he says he can do.

That’s the kind of faith I want.

I’m sort of a traditionalist in many respects. I don’t like the Designated Hitter. I prefer acoustic instruments. We open our presents on Christmas morning. And summer is three months long — not the 10 weeks schools are out.

So, I’m reluctant to say summer is over. But I will admit that the whole “back to school” thing means the end of summer vacation. And that means families everywhere are struggling to adapt to the routine required for early morning drop offs and mid-afternoon pick ups.

As a church leader, I’m grateful for summertime and the chance to relax a little (obviously, I’m not in student ministry!). As a church leader, though, I’m also glad to see the approach of fall and the excitement a new school year brings. September and October mean a little more stability in our attendance and giving — meaning we can budget wisely and appropriately. It also means a time when we can dig in a little deeper than we could over the past couple of months, pausing a little to examine where we are spiritually and how we can get to that next level.

That’s why I’m so excited about the sermon series we’re kicking off this Sunday. It’s called “Miracle Grow”, and it discusses how our faith grows.

Right from the start, I want to make something clear: This isn’t about how our knowledge grows or how our obedience grows. As important as knowledge and obedience are, it’s a really big faith that we’re after. It’s a really big faith that pleases God. It’s a really big faith that impresses Jesus. It’s a really big faith that gets us through tough times. It’s a really big faith that keeps us from pushing the panic button. When the Apostle Paul wanted to brag about one of his favorite churches, it was their faith that he bragged about (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).

But how does our faith grow like that?

Most churches assume that faith increases with knowledge, so they schedule Bible classes as their primary way of growing a person’s faith. But knowledge doesn’t always lead to faith. In fact, the Bible says knowledge can make you arrogant sometimes. That’s the opposite of what we’re after.

Other churches seem to think that faith comes through obedience. Just do what God asks, and your faith will grow. But obedience like that can sometimes make a person judgmental — which, again, is not the direction we want to go.

So, how does your faith grow? How can a church help transform your faith from something the size of a mustard seed into a tree where birds can come and perch in its branches?

Maybe we could begin by asking what faith is exactly? Maybe once we understand what faith is we can better understand how it grows?

There are so few things that are a sure thing — so few things you know you can count on — so few things that are absolute non-debatable universally agreed upon truths. But here’s one:

We’re all gonna die!

I know. You don’t like thinking about this. Who does? Who wants to sit around and ponder their own mortality? It’s…morose. It’s depressing.

And yet…it’s foolish to ignore truth in any arena of life. Ignore truth and its consequences in your marriage, your business, your finances and you’ll end up regretting it. Bury your head in the sand at your own risk. It won’t be long before you collide with the truth you’ve been trying to pretend doesn’t exist, and you’ll probably end up on the short end of that bargain.

Now, it’s possible to ignore some things or pretend you don’t know them. It’s even possible to actually be blissfully ignorant of certain truths. Sure, some truths are intuitive, but there are some things you could never figure out on your own without some outside help.

This one, though, is undeniable, inevitable and obvious to absolutely everyone. You are going to die. I am going to die. We’re all gonna die!

So, help me understand why there’s this one iron-clad truth you can take to the bank, and no one wants to embrace it or live with its consequences.

Pontius Pilate is known for one thing: He played a minor role in Jesus’ story. If you knew anything about him, you’d know how that idea would have driven him absolutely mad!

See, Pilate wanted to be the star of the show — the center of attention. If anything, he’d want to think that we know about Jesus because Jesus was a minor character in Pilate’s story!

Pilate was the Roman governor of roughly three-quarters of what we now know as modern Israel. He had two jobs: (1) keep the peace; (2) collect the taxes. From his perspective, this meant one big goal: Stay in control.

To maintain control, Pilate would do things periodically — flex his muscles — show his power. If he suspected an uprising, he’d dispatch soldiers to randomly kill a handful of folks. Once, he wanted to build an aqueduct, but he didn’t have enough money. No problem — he sent some men into the Temple to steal money out of the treasury to make up the difference.

He did everything he could to make sure people knew he was in charge.

But the sad irony is that most people who demand to be in charge, rarely ever are.

Take his collision with Jesus, for example. The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus dead, but they weren’t authorized to pull the trigger. They needed Pilate’s approval, and that played right into his ego. Trouble is, Pilate couldn’t figure out what in the world Jesus had done to irritate these Jewish leaders so badly.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying or a lack of investigating. Pilate questioned Jesus and just couldn’t see how Jesus had done anything that would merit the death penalty.

Still, Pilate’s job was to keep the peace. When he told the people he was thinking about letting Jesus go, they started making noise like they might riot.

So, even though he believed Jesus was innocent, Pilate had Jesus flogged. No care for justice. No thought as to whether this was morally right or wrong.

See, it’s a lot easier to do the wrong thing — to compromise your integrity — when maintaining control is your ultimate goal.

He thinks this punishment will appease the crowds, but it doesn’t. They don’t just want Jesus to suffer; they want him dead.

Pilate stubbornly insists that he is in charge. He even says to Jesus, “I have the power to kill you or let you go.”

Truth be told, Pilate tries unsuccessfully to let Jesus go 10 different times.

It’s as if he assumes that since Jesus’ hands are physically bound, Jesus cannot be in control. Pilate learns that Jesus is not a man to be trifled with. When Jesus says a thing is going to happen, you can try to stop it, but you’ll soon see that resistance is futile. Jesus had said he was going to die this way. Not even the Roman governor who would have to sign the death warrant was able to stop it.

The Bible also says that one day every knee will bow and acknowledge Jesus’ authority and power. You can try to stop that from happening, but you won’t be able to. You can insist and demand and flex your muscles and cry all you want to. You can stubbornly refuse to admit your lack of control over the universe, but in the end you’ll see who’s really in charge around here.