The Faith of the Centurion - Matthew 8:5-13
The Faith of the Centurion
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 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. 9 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.”
10 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. 11 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. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 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.
Reflection: In this second great work of Jesus, following his great sermon on the mount, Jesus encounters a centurion. A Roman military officer in charge of 100 men. Not only does he recognize Jesus' authority but as one under authority he humbly approaches Jesus asking him to heal his servant. Not only is he humble in his approach, but it is one of the few instances of someone asking to heal their servant, not a son or daughter.
So in our first instance Jesus heals a leper who was a social outcast within Israel, and now he heals a fierce enemy of Israel, a Roman military officer also charged with keeping the Jews under their oppression. And so again as Jesus taught on what the kingdom of heaven looks like, he now demonstrates how to access kingdom power. Notice the power is no respecter of location as the man is healed from far away. And it is with a word Jesus heals him. Go! Let it be done as you have said, Jesus replies.
So we see God's kingdom is bigger than social stigma, or national or ethnic labels, but open to all who would humbly approach Jesus as Lord of all. As such Jesus says many will take their place in the kingdom feast reserved for those who have faith in him, but others will be left outside. The presumption is it is all based on what one puts their faith in, their own kingdom, or the kingdom Jesus had come to usher in, which was open to all.
Where is your faith placed? When trouble comes your way, do you look to Jesus for help like this centurion did trusting in Jesus to heal his servant?
Jesus thank you for the gift of faith. We ask for humility like the Roman Centurion to come to you and ask for help when we need it. Amen.
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 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. 9 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.”
10 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. 11 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. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 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.
Reflection: In this second great work of Jesus, following his great sermon on the mount, Jesus encounters a centurion. A Roman military officer in charge of 100 men. Not only does he recognize Jesus' authority but as one under authority he humbly approaches Jesus asking him to heal his servant. Not only is he humble in his approach, but it is one of the few instances of someone asking to heal their servant, not a son or daughter.
So in our first instance Jesus heals a leper who was a social outcast within Israel, and now he heals a fierce enemy of Israel, a Roman military officer also charged with keeping the Jews under their oppression. And so again as Jesus taught on what the kingdom of heaven looks like, he now demonstrates how to access kingdom power. Notice the power is no respecter of location as the man is healed from far away. And it is with a word Jesus heals him. Go! Let it be done as you have said, Jesus replies.
So we see God's kingdom is bigger than social stigma, or national or ethnic labels, but open to all who would humbly approach Jesus as Lord of all. As such Jesus says many will take their place in the kingdom feast reserved for those who have faith in him, but others will be left outside. The presumption is it is all based on what one puts their faith in, their own kingdom, or the kingdom Jesus had come to usher in, which was open to all.
Where is your faith placed? When trouble comes your way, do you look to Jesus for help like this centurion did trusting in Jesus to heal his servant?
Jesus thank you for the gift of faith. We ask for humility like the Roman Centurion to come to you and ask for help when we need it. Amen.
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