Say the Word: The Sound of Faith in a World Searching for Signs

The story of the centurion in Luke 7:1–10 has always been a powerful one, but recently, something stood out to me in a fresh way—his deep sense of unworthiness. Here's a Roman officer, respected and powerful, yet when his beloved servant was near death, he didn’t approach Jesus himself. He sent Jewish elders to plead on his behalf. He sent intercessors.

Their message to Jesus was straightforward:

“He is worthy... He loves our nation and built our synagogue.”
From a human perspective, his works proved his worth. That’s how we tend to measure value—what have you done? What have you built? Who have you helped?

But the centurion himself saw it differently. Despite his generosity, his status, and his good deeds, he didn’t consider himself worthy to have Jesus come under his roof. He even says,

“I did not presume to come to you… But say the word, and let my servant be healed.” (Luke 7:7, ESV)

Faith Rooted in Sound, Not Sight

Here’s what’s astonishing: Jesus marveled at his faith. He said,

“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

Why? Because the centurion didn’t need a sign. He didn’t need Jesus to touch, or show, or prove.
He just needed a sound—the sound of Jesus' voice, the power of His word.
He understood authority, and he recognized it in Jesus. He believed that if Jesus simply said the word, healing would come.

That’s rare faith. That’s sound-based faith in a sign-seeking world.

Still Today—We're Looking for a Sign

Too often, we’re still like Israel in Jesus' day—looking for a sign. We want something visible to validate our faith. We want to see the miracle, hear the confirmation, get the goosebumps. And yet, Jesus is still uttering a sound.

His Word still speaks. His authority has not diminished.

But are we listening?

The sound is the sign.

And yet, signs also make a sound—if we’re paying attention.

Can You Hear What the Sign is Saying?

When John the Baptist sent people to inquire if Jesus was “the One”, Jesus’ response was:

“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them". (Luke 7:22)

What they had SEEN was a sign that SPOKE. The sign(s) spoke of the answer to their question!

And the question becomes: Can you hear what the sign you’ve seen is saying?

There are things happening in your life right now—moves of God, divine interruptions, everyday miracles—that are speaking something deeper. But if you only look and don’t listen, you might miss the message.

From Stop Signs to Speed Limits—A Semiotic Faith

Think about how we interact with road signs.

When you see a STOP sign, you don’t think. You just react. You stop.

In a sense, you're hearing and obeying through what you’ve seen.

But when you see a speed limit sign, your response is different. There's usually a bit of an internal dialogue (or maybe this is a confession of my internal dialogue):

“Do I go five over? Maybe nine? How fast can I go without getting pulled over?”

We might see the sign, but then we listen to our own internal voice about how we’ll respond.

This is the tension between seeing and hearing. We can see the sign, but what we hear—and obey—depends on which voice we're listening to.

Faith Comes by Hearing

At the end of the day, the centurion didn’t need to see—he only needed to hear. And Jesus honored that faith.  The same is true for us. The question is:

Are we waiting for a sign to believe? Or are we ready to respond to the sound of His voice?

Because when He speaks, mountains move.

When He speaks, healing comes.

When He speaks, the dead live again.

When He speaks, the Word becomes our anchor.

So today, listen closely. What sign have you seen? And more importantly… what is it saying? May we be like the centurion—not waiting for a display, but ready to respond to a whisper.
 
Just say the word, Lord. That’s enough.

Be watching for another blog dropping later this week!