Such Faith!!!

 

Jesus Heals A Centurion’s Servant

Scripture 8:5-13 (NRSV)

⁵ When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him ⁶ and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” ⁷ And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” ⁸ The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. ¹¹ I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.

Devotion:

            Today’s scripture is full of surprises. Just as we have seen things as Christians that amaze us, here Jesus really surprises the first witnesses by this healing. At the beginning of the passage, we are told that a centurion came to Jesus. This is interesting because the centurion was a Roman commander. Normally Roman army’s only contact with Jews was if there was some kind of trouble that the soldiers had to deal with. What could have led this Roman soldier to approach Jesus in the first place? He must have been desperate for something that he thought he could only obtain from Jesus.

            The centurion approaches Jesus with a plea for healing. The man’s servant was terribly ill and needed healing. What would Jesus say to this officer in the hated Roman occupying force? Without any discussion Jesus agrees to come and heal the man’s servant. Jesus, it seems is all about healing the sick without regard for their station in life. So, Jesus indicates that he will come to the soldier's house and heal the sick individual. This man, however, objects saying that he does not deserve to have Jesus come to his home.

            In a great confession of faith, the centurion states his faith in Jesus. Likening Jesus authority over illness to his own authority over the soldiers in his command he asks Jesus to save his servant right there and then. This amazes Jesus and Jesus is not easily amazed, Jesus is used to amazing those around him. So, Jesus heals the man’s servant without delay.

            What lessons can we learn from this encounter? First, we can plainly see that Jesus’ love and compassion is not granted on meeting some external token of righteousness. Unlike us, Jesus does not look at a person’s race, religion, or other situation when determining whom he will heal. This should be an example to us. We must not discriminate in any way who is worthy of God’s touch. Even if doing so seems like it might involve some sacrifice on our part. Next, we should help other’s as soon as we can. Our aid can and should rush to a needy person’s situation. Finally, we must be open to others. Ready to serve them at a moments notice. Meeting their need as generously as we can.

Prayer:

            Lord lead us to be generous to others. Help us not judge people according to their outer appearance or other external criteria. Let us be faithful servants of yours following where we see you leading us always at the ready to meet the needs that we will see in this world. Keep us sensitive to the movement of your spirit in our lives. Help us to go about our daily lives attuned to the needs of others that we can meet. Amen.