Devotional:

“1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.” — Luke 7:1-10

There are a few things to point out here. The centurion loved his servant enough to ask for healing. He also loved the Jews, and they loved him back. Both of these things were very unusual during this time. And he recognized Jesus’s authority over life and death and knew he was unworthy of even asking for this miracle.

A centurion was a roman officer in the army. And you could guess by the name that they were in charge of 100 men. But from what history tells us about centurions, this man was different.  As I read about centurions and their role in the Roman army, I learned that they were considered working officials; one explanation I read called them the backbone of the Roman army. They worked their way up from the bottom, earning their rank and were well respected. They fought alongside their soldiers and provided all their training. These guys weren’t high-ranking officers sitting behind desks or lounging at tables while being fed cheese and grapes. They were tough.

Centurions were also known to beat their soldiers with vine sticks. So, for this man to have sympathy and love for a young servant boy was unusual. Most centurions hated the Jews. And Jewish officials and priests hated them, they did not get along! This centurion loved the Jews, and they loved him! He even built them a synagogue. We know he was a gentile with no use for a synagogue because he was not Jewish and probably had no religious affiliation. He was a Roman and they were known to believe there were many gods, but for some reason, he had an affection for the Jews. We don’t know why, and the Bible never says why; it just says they got along well. And he had money, so, he built them a place to worship.

Most Roman soldiers were not allowed to marry or have families while serving. There were a few dispensations, but ultimately, most were forbidden to marry. This soldier cared for this servant boy and probably had no family or children of his own. I can’t help but think that this man had grown to care for this boy with the affection that a father would have for a son. And he cared for him so much, that he took a chance to ask Jesus to heal him.

His relationship with the Jews was so strong that he asked the Jewish elders to talk to Jesus for him because he did not feel worthy of asking Jesus himself. These elders not only asked Jesus to go heal the boy, but it says that they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation.”

This is no ordinary man. He could have thrown the boy out on the street, leaving him for dead because he was now useless as a servant. He could have used his status and forced Jesus to come to his home and demand the healing of his servant, but he didn’t.

He called himself unworthy of Jesus entering his house and instead asked Jesus to say the word. This Roman soldier knew that Jesus had the power and authority to heal this boy from afar with just one word and didn’t need to be there, just as he healed the official’s son in John 4.

The centurion cared for those who were not like him. Even being of different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, he still loved his servant and the Jews, and he looked out for them. This man had more faith in Jesus than even the Jewish elders. He knew Jesus could heal this boy from far away with a word. He also knew he was unworthy of Jesus’s grace and mercy. Jesus told him that his faith was greater than any faith he had seen in all of Israel.

Doubt or feelings of shame can suppress our faith. But even though we are unworthy, Jesus still has the authority. And with one word, He can make anything possible. Do you believe that today? Do you have faith like the centurion? Jesus chose to heal the boy that day. It was because of the man’s extraordinary faith in Jesus. Jesus showed this gentile grace and mercy in response to his faith that Jesus had the power to heal with just a word. May we have that faith in Jesus, that we know He can heal with just a word.

God, we are unworthy of asking anything from You, but we know You have all the power and authority to speak, and it will be done. Give us faith like this centurion man who risked everything to come to You for help. Lord, let us be willing to risk everything for the sake of Your kingdom. Amen