Centurion's Servant

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The Faith of the Centurion

    When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

    Jesus said to him, “I will go 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 astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, 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! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. -- Matthew 8:5-13

    When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.

    He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But 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 at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. -- Luke 7:1-10

Few occupations can be more difficult for the Christian than that of a soldier. The whole aspect of war is adverse to the spirit of the gospel. War is essentially an evil from beneath, pandering to the worst passions of the human heart.

Christianity, on the other hand, breathes universal goodwill, kindness, and love.

Yet, there are Christians in the armed forces. In spite of unfavorable circumstances, the military has included those who were sincere, devoted, disciples of Christ.

The New Testament, as well as other Christian writings, indicate that there were several members of the military, including centurions, in the early Church.

The character of the centurion

  • Gentile
  • Jewish proselyte
  • Benefactor to Jewish religion
  • Compassionate master
  • Good character
    • Humility
    • Faith

The results of his plea

  • Christ agrees to go with him
    • Christ did not refuse to go to his house
  • Restored the servant to health
  • Commended the centurion’s faith

Application of the parable

  • A lesson of humanity
  • A lesson of faith

 

 

 

 

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