A centurion’s faith

A centurion’s faith

Scripture:

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,“Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. Matthew 8:5-13

Observation:

After the healing of the Leper, Matthew then records Jesus’ encounter with a Roman centurion, a high ranking military official in charge of at least a 100 soldiers. Now the centurion had a problem. His servant, whom he highly valued was paralyzed at home, suffering terribly, and his great desire was to have his servant healed and well again. Our Lord Jesus agreed to come and heal the centurion’s servant, but surprisingly, the centurion humbly stated that he did not deserve to have Jesus come to his house. Then, the centurion showed his great faith by stating that Jesus was able to heal his servant by just stating the word, without physically having to go there. He understood that Jesus had authority over time and space, and that it was not necessary for Jesus to be physically next to a person to heal. Perhaps, the centurion had already realized the divinity of the Lord personally.

Jesus was greatly amazed at the centurion’s faith and prophesied that many would come from the East and the West to take their place at the feast in Heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but that many of God’s chosen people, the Jews would instead be excluded and thrown into the darkness outside Heaven. He went on to tell the centurion to go back, saying that his servant would be healed just as he believed, and indeed, his servant was healed that very moment, as the centurion later confirmed.

Three things stand out about this centurion. Firstly, his compassion. A selfish and ruthless man would have easily thrown out a servant who had become paralyzed and therefore useless to him. Instead, the centurion kept his servant with him and was even distressed at how much suffering he endured.

Secondly, his humility. Although he was a powerful man in the eyes of the world, he was deeply humble before Jesus, acknowledging that Jesus was far superior to him. Finally, his faith. The centurion not only believed that Jesus could heal his servant, but that Jesus had authority to heal his servant by just the word, without having to go physically to him.

Application:

Do we have compassion like the centurion? Are we concerned with the suffering of others – our colleagues, our subordinates or employees, our maids? Are we humble like the centurion was? Do we approach our Lord Jesus with humility, knowing the great and divine Son of God that He is? Do we have faith like the centurion, believing that nothing is impossible with God and that Jesus has authority over all things?

Prayer:

Praise You, Heavenly Father, for the lesson of the centurion that you have taught me this day. Help me learn and grow in this lesson I pray. To be compassionate and care for others who suffer, to be humble always before You, and to have greater faith, knowing Your authority and power in all things. In Jesus name, Amen.